the Port Authority Bus Terminal and twirling her crown on one hand. Reception Critical response The documentary originally opened to generally positive reviews in June 1968, when first released in the United States, with subsequent releases across Europe in 1968 and 1969. In January 2013, The Queen was revived at the Film Forum in New York, then restored in 2019 by Kino Lorber for screenings at the IFC Center and Melbourne International Film Festival. In a 1968 The New York Times review, Renata Adler called the film an "extraordinary documentary" that "shows us another America." Andrew Sarris from Village Voice stated "The drag queen contestants are eminently likable in curiously peripheral ways." In a retrospective piece written after the film's restoration, Jerry Portwood of Rolling Stone described the film as "extraordinary because it captures so much, doubling as a time capsule of a generation's innocence and fashion-forward sophistication. You can tell why it functioned as a template for many future gender-nonconforming people looking for some sort of pre-internet guide through the confusing maze of sexuality and gender." Influence on popular culture The film's concluding scene featuring Crystal LaBeija has led to The Queen become a "cult favourite"; Crystal's speech was sampled in the track "Ambience 001" in Frank Ocean's album Endless, and drag queen Aja (who would later join the House of LaBeija) impersonated LaBeija in season three of RuPaul's Drag Race: All Stars. The Queen has often been compared to Paris Is Burning, a documentary focusing on the New York City drag ball scene of the 1980s, which includes in its cast members of the House of LaBeija. References Further reading External links 1968 films 1968 documentary films Documentary films about LGBT topics American documentary films Historiography of LGBT in New York City Drag (clothing)-related films 1968 LGBT-related films 1960s English-language films Films directed by Frank Simon 1960s American films