Squeeze

[T]he film incensed Patricia Bartlett and the Society for the Promotion of Community Standards who campaigned vigorously against it. Writing to MPs to express their concern over the subject matter and the possibility that Government might finance such a film, the Society caused the film to be debated in Parliament. Some say this resulted in the addition of clause 18b in the Film Commission Act — which states that the Commission must have due regard to normal standards of general public morality.

– Film Archive historian Diane Pivac on Squeeze

Squeeze was a significant movie for both New Zealand film-making and New Zealand gay life. The raw, urban, night-time docu-drama was about as far as one could get visually from other New Zealand movies of the era. The movie also depicted a gay subculture and its conflicts in the last years of its illegality – a representation of immense importance to its first audience who had never before seen versions of themselves or their lives on screen.

– David Herkt on website Public Address, 15 February 2014

Squeeze is a true rarity because its hero is a bisexual [...]. What is most important about Squeeze is the steadfast compassion with which it views its hero.

– Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times