Moving! / One, Two, Three... Review

Distributor: Gorilla Factory Productions Edition Details: Standard DVD Release Specs: Also known as: The Films of Wakefield Poole: Moving! / One, Two, Three... Video Format: NTSC Format: DVD Regional Code (for DVD/Blu-ray): 0 (All) Number of discs: 1

Gorilla Factory Productions release of Moving! / One, Two, Three... brings the viewer two very different gay adult movies from Wakefield Poole from two different periods of his adult movie making career. Moving! is a shot on film loop carrier film that Poole made in the mid-1970s whereas One, Two, Three... is a shot on video movie that was Poole's last adult movie ever that was made in the mid-1980s.

Both movies are very different, Moving! came from a period when Poole was heavily playing with the fantastical in his films whereas One, Two, Three... is a performance piece that resembles a live stage show. The two movies offer open-minded viewers two different styles that have more than just the sex on display for the viewer.

You can jump to the review of Moving! or One, Two, Three... or one can just keep reading to read all of them.

Wakefield Poole's Moving! was never originally intended to be a gay theatrical adult film. The three segments that make up Moving! were originally shot as silent loops to be sold on 8mm film for the home market. “House For Sale” starring Casey Donovan and Val Martin as Circle Products 41, “Rooms For Rent” starring Burt Edwards and Curt Gerard as Circle Products loop number unknown, and “Apartment for Rent” starring Peter Fisk and Tom Wright as Circle Products loop number unknown.

The three loops did so well that Wakefield Poole and Marvin Shulman decided to tie them all together into a loop carrier to be released to theaters. Unlike most loop carriers, Poole didn't make any new footage for Moving! to attempt to tie the loops together at all. Since loops were silent, there was never any sound recorded for any of the three loops originally. Music along with “ambient” noise — bird sounds and the like — have been added to the loops for Moving!

Thematically, and stylistically, two of the three scenes fit together really well. The two scenes, “House for Sale” and “Apartment for Rent,” bookend the film and showcase what Wakefield Poole was really good at doing with his films; stylistically shot sex scenes with a visual story presented to the viewer. These are really the only scenes that fit in with the theme of the title of the film as well. The odd scene out is the middle scene “Rooms For Rent,” which really doesn't fit in the film well at all. This isn't to say that “Rooms for Rent” is a bad scene, it just feels out of place.

“House for Sale” is a fantastical scene where a man (Casey Donovan) is checking out the grounds of an estate that is for sale. He has a fantasy encounter with another man (Val Martin) there. “Rooms For Rent” is a standard scene that features Burt Edwards and Curt Gerard going to a hotel to hookup. Finally, “Apartment for Rent,” which features an oft-cut fisting scene, is another fantastical scene where Tom Wright is looking at an apartment for rent when a painting (by the late Chuck Arnett) of a man (Peter Fisk) comes to life.

All three of the loops contained within Moving! are beautifully shot, which should come as no surprise to fans of Wakefield Poole's work; he always had a great eye for what the camera was going to capture. Both “House for Sale” and “Apartment for Rent” also showcase Wakefield Poole's visual storytelling techniques, which he is also great at. The two loops have extensive non-sexual opening material, which often isn't seen in loops — meaning these were likely 400' instead of 200' loops, that set up the sex scene. The third loop “Rooms for Rent” is more the standard loop design that was seen at the time — although due to the runtime it was also probably 400' instead of 200'.

Wakefield Poole is good at giving the viewer more than just sex to watch and Moving! is no different. He combines some interesting short stories with some nicely shot sex. Fans of Poole's work should enjoy Moving!

Gorilla Factory Productions has done a nice job with their DVD release of Moving! Moving! was shot on film and Gorilla Factory Productions has used the 16mm negative as the master for this release. The director's cut of Moving! is presented on this release in the Academy aspect ratio of 1.33:1 in 480i. The presentation for the film looks nice. There are the expected print damage and artifacts and the colors in the film pop off the screen. The only real issue is that darker scenes look a little over dark.

Moving! is presented with an English Dolby Digital 2.0 monaural audio track. There is a low hiss present throughout the film. There isn't any dialog in the film but the added music and ambient noise sound good.

The only extra that Gorilla Factory Productions has included on the release for Moving! is a four-minute featurette “More on Moving!“ “More on Moving!“ was edited and produced by CJ Rinehart in 2011 and covers the creation of Moving!

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 this reviewer is assuming the ¾” tape Betacam master was used for this release. One, Two, Three... is presented in the Academy aspect ratio of 1.33:1 in 480i. If this reviewer is correct and a Betacam master was used the resolution would actually be 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.

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.

The only extra that Gorilla Factory Productions has included on the release for One, Two, Three... is a five-minute featurette called “More on One, Two, Three...” Produced and edited by CJ Rinehart, the 2011 featurette covers the making of One, Two, Three... starting with the conception and the controversy over Dave Connors finding out he was HIV-positive.

This collection of Wakefield Poole movies from Gorilla Factory Productions presents two movies from two very different periods of Poole's career. Moving! is a shot on film loop carrier made in the mid-1970s and displays Poole's silent storytelling techniques whereas One, Two, Three... is shot on video from roughly a decade later and is an avant-garde performance piece. Both movies are worth watching and Gorilla Factory Productions has done a nice job with this release.

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