Boys in the Sand 2 / One, Two, Three... Review

Distributor: Gorilla Factory Productions Edition Details: VHS Edition DVD Release Specs: Also known as: Wakefield Poole: Two Videos: Boys in the Sand 2 / One, Two, Three... Video Format: NTSC Format: DVD-R Regional Code (for DVD/Blu-ray): 0 (All) Number of discs: 1

Gorilla Factory Productions double feature DVD release of Boys in the Sand 2 and One, Two, Three..., along with the companion release The Hustlers and Split/Image, collects all of Wakefield Poole's shot on video movies, some of which are available on DVD for the first time. Both movies are contained on one DVD along with an Easter egg. Outside of the Easter egg, there aren't any extras on the release.

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To access the Easter egg, click left or down from "Play Film" for One, Two, Three... or click down from "Chapters" for One, Two, Three... The icon will then light up.

You can jump to the review of Boys in the Sand 2 or One, Two, Three... or one can just keep reading to read all of them.

Boys in the Sand 2 is the penultimate movie to be made by Wakefield Poole and is one of this reviewers least favorite movies from him. Boys in the Sand 2 is Poole's return to Fire Island, NY, the location that Poole used for his first feature-length film Boys in the Sand in 1971. Boys in the Sand 2 was shot in 1984 but wasn't released, due to legal issues, until 1986 making Boys in the Sand 2 the second to last movie that Poole directed but the last movie released that Poole ever made. The big issue with Boys in the Sand 2 is that it feels very heavily like Boys in the Sand redux but is never as good as the original. While revisiting some of the themes and scenarios from the first film isn't necessarily a bad concept the issue it creates is that one is going to compare it to the original — and, unfortunately, Boys in the Sand 2 just doesn't stack up against Boys in the Sand.

Boys in the Sand 2 is a vignette style all sex gay adult movie that is composed of four sex scenes. Wakefield Poole is usually good at visual storytelling techniques, however, he seems to be off in Boys in the Sand 2. There are apparently linkages between the sex scenes, however, they weren't evident in what exactly was being told without listening to the commentary track. Wakefield Poole's love for the fantastical, which he often does well, is very present in this movie as well, however, half of the scenarios Poole lifted right out of his superior earlier work Boys in the Sand.

The first scene is an all sex scene with Casey Donovan and Victor Houston taking place in the woods of Fire Island, this scene is original to Boys in the Sand 2 as is the threesome fourth scene with Pat Allen, Dave Connors, and Tony Williams. The two sex scenes sandwiched between them are what fans of Boys in the Sand will find very familiar. The second scene with Casey Donovan and Pat Allen will remind viewers of the first scene from Boys in the Sand where a fantasy man (Pat Allen) comes out of the ocean to seduce Casey Donovan. The third scene will also remind viewers of Boys in the Sand, specifically the second scene in Boys in the Sand, when Pat Allen goes out to the pool at night when a fantasy man (Paul Irish) arises out of the pool.

Poole utilizes some nice Fire Island locales for the movie and has some nice footage of the island taken from an airplane to open the movie. The movie itself is nicely shot as well, as one would expect from a movie from Wakefield Poole. However, with everything taken into account, the movie feels more like a standard adult movie than Poole's movies usually do.

Honestly, as far as this reviewer is concerned, if one is going to revisit a concept, the new movie should be significantly different from the original, especially when the original was done right the first time. Boys in the Sand 2 borrows way too much from Boys in the Sand and never manages to measure up to the original.

Gorilla Factory Productions has done a good job with their DVD release of Boys in the Sand 2. Boys in the Sand 2 was shot on video and Gorilla Factory Productions used the ¾” Beta tape master for this release. Boys in the Sand 2 is presented in the Academy aspect ratio of 1.33:1, oddly in a matted widescreen of 1.78:1 with black bars on the left and right sides of the screen, in 480i. Since a Betacam tape was used for the master the resolution is likely actually 320i. The video looks okay. There is combing evident in the image. The colors in the movie are decent and there are some glitches in the video. Honestly, this reviewer has seen better video sourced transfers and many far worse video sourced transfers. Given the limitations of the master tapes, this is probably the best Boys in the Sand 2 will ever look.

Boys in the Sand 2 is presented with an English Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo audio track. There are a lot of problems with the audio presentation in Boys in the Sand 2, which likely date back to the original masters. The left channel is only music and sound effects that were added to the movie whereas the right channel is only the live captured audio while shooting the movie, the two channels switch at the end of the movie. This audio design gives the movie an unbalanced feel. Then comes the issue with the dialog. Some of the dialog was never properly captured or is too low on the audio track — this reviewer isn't sure which — causing it to be impossible to discern. In other portions of audio, the dialog is very hard to hear. The audio definitely needed more work. Boys in the Sand 2 also has English SDH (Subtitles for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing) subtitles.

One, Two, Three... is the final gay adult movie to have been made by Wakefield Poole. One, Two, Three... was made during the period when AIDS was ravaging the gay adult movie industry and One, Two, Three... was intended to raise money for AIDS research. However, its theatrical run was shorted due to one of the main stars, Dave Connors, subsequently finding out that he had contracted AIDS prior to making the movie and committing suicide before promotion for the movie had begun.

One, Two, Three... is an avant-garde gay adult movie that is done with minimalist staging and ultimately comes across more as a live stage show, or even a live theatrical presentation, than a movie — which is appropriate since originally the movie was going to be accompanied by a live show with the cast on opening nights. The movie consists of three sex scenes, which feel like acts, and a finale.

The opening scene features J.D. Slater having a monologue consisting of a one-sided discussion with presumably you, the audience, while undressing and then seducing you, the audience. This opening scene just has the one actor on the stage. The second scene, which features two actors — you can probably guess where this is going, starts out with one actor (Steve Kaye) undressing alone on stage while a narration is heard in the form of a Penthouse Forum letter — had Penthouse Forum printed stories of gay encounters. After the narration is completed the other actor (Dave Connors) enters and the two have sex wordlessly. The final scene is a threesome with Rydar Hanson, Ron Pearson, and Tom Stone where two men start out making love while the third man has an opening soliloquy before entering the action himself.

This brings us to the finale, which is a circle jerk with all of the players that have been seen within the movie all together. The way this is shot, the finale honestly feels like the curtain call for the movie where, in a way, each member of the ensemble does a sexual stage bow of sorts. There isn't a story or plot of any sort in One, Two, Three..., just sex but sex shown in a different way than you have seen it in the adult movies before.

The minimalist set for One, Two, Three... is a black stage, sometimes empty and sometimes with a piece of furniture. Due to the lighting techniques, some optical tricks, and the cinematography, this design doesn't come across as cheap but instead adds to the art of the movie.

One, Two, Three... is a unique adult movie from Wakefield Poole that hearkens back to Poole's days working in the theater. Sadly, One, Two, Three... also serves as Wakefield Poole's swan song adult movie. One, Two, Three... is a very stylistic movie that has more to offer the viewer than just sex. If you like Wakefield Poole's work or enjoy visual works of cinematic art, you should give One, Two, Three... a try.

Gorilla Factory Productions has done a nice job with their DVD release of One, Two, Three... One, Two, Three... was shot on video and Gorilla Factory Productions has used the ¾” tape Beta master for this release. One, Two, Three... is presented in the Academy aspect ratio of 1.33:1, oddly in a matted 1.78:1 widescreen with black bars on the left and right sides of the screen, in 480i. Due to the Betacam master, the resolution would actually be roughly 320i. The video quality for One, Two, Three... looks very good. There are minimal glitches in the video and some haloing. The colors in the movie look great. Due to the limitations of the source material, this is the best that One, Two, Three... will ever look.

One, Two, Three... is presented with an English Dolby Digital 2.0 monaural audio track. The only noticeable glitch with the audio track is a low whine, which is noticeable at first but becomes part of the background noise fast. The dialog in the movie is clear and easy to understand at all times. One, Two, Three... has an English SDH (Subtitles for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing) subtitle track as well.

Boys in the Sand 2 and One, Two, Three... collects two of Wakefield Poole's four shot on video gay adult movies. Both movies have been previously released on DVD, Boys in the Sand 2 from the now-defunct Mercury Releasing and One, Two, Three... from Gorilla Factory Productions, and the transfers present here look similar to the previous releases. Owners of the previous releases may not want to upgrade, the Easter egg on this release is good and will please fans of Wakefield Poole, however, the extras from the previous releases were not ported over to this release. This reviewer doesn't think that the two movies on this release are as strong as Wakefield Poole's shot on film movies but fans of Wakefield Poole's work will want to add this release, along with its companion release The Hustlers and Split/Image, which together encompass all of Wakefield Poole's shot on video work. Gorilla Factory Productions has done a nice job with this release. The two movies look as good as they can given the limitations of the source material, however, the audio could have used a remaster.

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