In 2012, this film was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the United States Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry.[4]
The Times of Harvey Milk documents the political career of Harvey Milk, who was San Francisco's first openly gaysupervisor. The film documents Milk's rise from a neighborhood activist to a symbol of gay political achievement, through to his assassination in November 1978 at San Francisco's city hall, and the Dan White trial and aftermath.
The film was produced after Milk's death using original interviews, exclusive documentary footage, news reports, and archival footage, so that Milk is credited as the lead (posthumously). Other politicians including San Francisco mayor George Moscone (who was assassinated with Milk), and Moscone's successor and later United States Senator Dianne Feinstein appear in archival footage. The film opens with a tearful Feinstein delivering her announcement to the media that Moscone and Milk had been assassinated by Dan White.
A digitally restored version of the film was released on DVD and Blu-ray by The Criterion Collection in March 2011. The release includes an audio commentary featuring director Rob Epstein, co-editor Deborah Hoffmann, and photographer Daniel Nicoletta; a few interview clips and news clips not used in the film; a new interview with documentary filmmaker Jon Else; a new program about The Times of Harvey Milk and Gus Van Sant’s 2008 film Milk, featuring Epstein, Van Sant, actor James Franco, and Milk's friends Cleve Jones, Anne Kronenberg, and Nicoletta; a rare collection of audio and video recordings of Milk; excerpts from Epstein's preproduction research tapes of interviews he conducted with a number of people who were ultimately not interviewed for the final film, including Milk's partner Scott Smith; footage from the film's Castro Theatre premiere and the 1984 Academy Awards; a panel discussion from 2003 with Dan White's attorneys; and excerpts from the 25th anniversary commemoration of Milk's and Mayor George Moscone's assassinations.
