Wakefield Poole: Three Films (Blu-ray) Review

Distributor: Gorilla Factory Productions Edition Details: Limited Archival Edition Blu-ray Release Specs: Video Format: NTSC Format: Blu-ray-R Regional Code (for DVD/Blu-ray): 0 (All) Number of discs: 3

Gorilla Factory Productions has released this limited edition Blu-ray edition, limited to only 75 copies, that contains four of Wakefield Poole's six shot on film feature films (The only films missing from the collection are Take One and Hot Shots.). Included on the release are Bible!, Bijou, Boys in the Sand, and Moving! And all four of the films have never looked better. The three Blu-ray set is also loaded with extras.

The first disc has the feature film Boys in the Sand. The disc has extras that are related to Boys in the Sand that are discussed specifically in that section. In addition to the film-specific extras, there are also a wealth of non-film specific extras contained on the disc. There is a collection of Wakefield Poole's short films and television work collected on the disc.

Four of Poole's early experimental films have been included on the release as well. “Andy,” a ten-minute film from 1971 shows the Andy Warhol retrospective at the Whitney Museum. “A Gift,” is a nine-minute film from 1971 with Edward Parente and also has a commentary from Wakefield Poole. “Head Film,” is an 11-minute film from 1971 with Peter Fisk and Wakefield Poole. And last is “Vittorio,” a three-minute film from 1971 from the Triton Gallery which was part of their art of Vittorio Fiorucci exhibit.

There is also a four-minute television piece from The Ed Sullivan Show called “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.” The piece is a segment from the 22nd show from the 23rd season, a Beatles tribute show, that has Edward Villella performing a solo ballet to “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” that was choreographed and directed by Wakefield Poole.

The second disc has the feature film Bijou and an Easter egg containing the full-length loop carrier Moving! Other than the Easter egg, there aren't any extras on the disc that don't relate to Bijou.

[Click here to show how to access Easter egg][Click here to hide how to acccess Easter egg]
To access the Easter egg, on the second disc (Bijou) in the "Extras" menu, click left or right from "Main Menu." The icon for Moving! will light up.

The third disc has the feature film Bible! In addition to the extras specific to Bible! there are two more of Wakefield Poole's short films contained on the disc. The two short films are Wakefield Poole's 1974 short film “Freedom Day Parade” on the gay pride parade in San Francisco that runs for 12 minutes and “American Victorian Museum” from 1976 that runs for eight minutes and was made for the American Victorian Museum in Nevada City, Nevada.

Each edition is hand numbered and comes with an optional hand signed signature from Wakefield Poole himself!

You can jump to the review of Bible!, Bijou, Boys in the Sand, or Moving! or one can just keep reading to read all of them.

Bible! is a silent softcore film from noted gay filmmaker Wakefield Poole, which is designed for heterosexuals. Bible! was originally intended to be a hardcore film but Poole changed his mind due to all the controversy at the time going on with Deep Throat. Subsequently, Poole intended to get an R-rating for the film; the film ultimately got an X-rating, despite the lack of hardcore footage.

The first biblical story presented is the story of Adam (Bo White) and Eve (Caprice Couselle), starting out with the “birth” of Adam and his meeting Eve. The only line of dialog that appears within the film is at the end of this scene. The film, utilizing a great transition, then goes into the story of David (John Horn) and Bathsheba (Georgina Spelvin). Starting with Bathsheba and her husband Uriah (Robert Benes) interacting then going into her affair with David. The final story is that of Samson (Braham van Zetten) and Delilah (Gloria Grant), which tells how Delilah removes Samson's God-given superpowers by distracting him so his hair can be cut. There is a brief final fourth story showing the immaculate conception of Mary (Bonnie Mathis) aided by an angel (Dennis Wayne)..

Since the film is silent, the viewer has to watch the visual cues that Poole has put into the film to tell the stories. Poole has combined beautifully shot softcore sequences with humor and homages to many past films and directors for a visual treat, which also shows off the acting talents of the cast. The locations and sets used are beautiful and aid the telling of stories..

Bible! will not appeal to all audiences. There isn't any hardcore footage within the film and watching the film is benefited by knowing the biblical stories that the film depicts. The stories are left to be interpreted by the viewer. Audiences looking for simple masturbation fodder will be highly disappointed. Viewers looking for intellectually stimulating softcore stories will be well rewarded.

Gorilla Factory Productions has done an amazing job with their Blu-ray release of Bible! Bible! was shot on film and Gorilla Factory Productions has used a 2K scan of the original pre-print 16mm elements for this release. Bible! is presented in the Academy aspect ratio of 1.33:1 in 1080p and looks absolutely stunning. The image is crisp and clear with grain, artifacts, and print damage. The colors in the film are beautiful and vibrant.

Bible! is presented with an English Dolby Digital 2.0 monaural audio track, which is the only disappointing part of the release. The audio track doesn't sound bad, there are pops and cracks present. The music in the film, which takes up the bulk of the film, sounds excellent and the line of dialog is clear. The only disappointment with the audio is that it isn't presented in a lossless format. There are English SDH (Subtitles for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing) subtitles for the film along with French, Spanish, Portuguese, and German subtitles.

There is a feature-length director commentary track by Wakefield Poole, where he talks about the film production. There is a two-minute optional introduction to the film by Wakefield Poole, who talks about the film and his intentions with the film. There is an 11-minute interview with Georgina Spelvin, where she talks about her early career and Bible!, and a seven-minute interview with Gloria Grant, who talks about Bible! and her later career. There is an interview from The Emerald City, a community access Cable TV program which aired on Manhattan Cable and Teleprompter Cable's Channel J aimed at the gay community, from 1977 where host Frank O'Dowd talks with Wakefield Poole about Bible! that runs for 4 minutes.

There are actor and actress screen tests included for Brahm Van Zetten, Gloria Grant, Georgina Spelvin, Bo White, Caprice Couselle, two unknown males, and one unknown female that run from between four to six minutes. There are also costume tests that run for 14-minutes and special effects and set tests that run for five minutes. The theatrical trailer for Bible! is also included on the disc along with a photo gallery.

Bijou is the second feature-length film that adult film director Wakefield Poole made, his follow up to Boys in the Sand. Bijou is a far more technically accomplished film than Boys in the Sand was telling a single story this time instead of essentially being several loops that are connected by a single character. One can see what Poole did well in Boys in the Sand was continued here with aspects where he wasn't as good in Boys in the Sand vastly improved.

The story for the film is a construction worker (Bill Harrison) is on his way home when a man driving his car (Marvin Shulman) hits a woman (Cassandra Hart) crossing the street. Her purse flies in front of the construction worker and lands by his feet. He grabs the purse and takes it home. When going through the purse in his apartment, the construction worker finds an admission ticket for Bijou, with an address and time on it. He goes to the address on the ticket and is admitted into Bijou; he is directed to remove his clothes in a dark room by a series of signs at which point he starts his journey through the surreal world that is Bijou.

What makes Bijou the powerful film that it is, is that the story is up to the viewer to fully create. Poole gives the viewer the narrative path and includes aspects within the narrative path that can lead to different versions of the story depending on what the viewer chooses to focus on and how they interpret what they see. One aspect, for instance, is the sexuality of the construction worker. The first scene of the film shows him masturbating in the shower while thinking of pin-up pictures of girls that adorn the walls of his shabby bedroom. Is the construction worker straight, gay, or bisexual? If you read different reviews of the film, different reviewers have read this scene different ways. This is just one instance of where Poole leaves the story that you find within Bijou up to the viewer. This is truly a case of a film experience that depends entirely on what effort you choose to put into it.

Exactly what the Bijou in the film actually is has been left up to the viewer to decide as well. There are various different stories that can encompass what Bijou could be that Poole has included in the film. As to which is right, I guess that is up to what each viewer decides on. Poole manages to pull off Bijou with only one line of dialog within the entire film, which occurs 23 minutes into the film. The rest of the film is told entirely by the visuals on the screen and the expressions and actions of the cast. As far as the sex scenes go, as a straight male, the sex scenes are hard to rate.

Bijou is nicely shot with some great set work and effects. One aspect I really liked was the feeling that Bijou was huge whereas the construction worker's apartment was so small. In reality Bijou wasn't huge as that was all shot in Poole's apartment, however, he certainly made it appear huge to me. Poole picked what to shoot and how to shoot it, along as exactly what to show and what not to show, very well creating a very visual and nicely done final project.

Bijou is, in my opinion, the best film that Wakefield Poole made. Like many of his films, it relies on almost no dialog and strong visuals to tell the story. The finished product for Bijou looks great and each viewer can walk away with a different concept of portions of the story. Bijou is a film definitely not to miss.

Gorilla Factory Productions has done an excellent job with their Blu-ray release of Bijou. Bijou was shot on film and Gorilla Factory Productions has used a 2K scan of the original pre-print 16mm film elements. Bijou is presented in the Academy aspect ratio of 1.33:1 in 1080p. Bijou looks absolutely gorgeous on this release. Most of the film takes place in dark locations and the image quality is outstanding. The colors in the film are full and vibrant. The image contains print damage, artifacts, and grain.

Bijou is presented with an English Dolby Digital 2.0 monaural audio track, which is, honestly, the only complaint this reviewer has with the edition. The complaint isn't that the audio sounds bad — it doesn't — the complaint is that this is a lossy audio track versus having a lossless audio track. The audio sounds great with an occasional hiss and a couple of pops and crackles. The one line of dialog is clear and easy to understand. There are English SDH (Subtitles for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing) subtitles for the film along with French, Spanish, Portuguese, and German subtitles.

There is a feature-length audio commentary track for the film with Wakefield Poole. There is also a one-minute optional introduction to the film by Wakefield Poole. There is a one-minute piece on the restoration of Bijou by Vinegar Syndrome for their DVD release of the film. There is a total of 42 minutes of outtakes, unused audition footage from actors that dropped out of the film, and alternate versions of footage in the film on the disc. Some of the footage is used within the film but it is nice to have the full set of original footage included on the disc as well.

“The Easter Sunday Bijou Screening,” is a four-minute feature on Wakefield Poole talking about a Columbia University Psychology professor who asked him to screen Bijou for him and his family on Easter Sunday in 1973. “Linda Williams on Bijou” is a three-minute piece where Linda Williams talks about Bijou. A three-minute interview with host Frank O'Dowd featuring Wakefield Poole and Casey Donovan from 1977 from The Emerald City, a community access Cable TV program which aired on Manhattan Cable and Teleprompter Cable's Channel J aimed at the gay community, is included on the disc. The theatrical trailer for the film is also included on the release.

The landmark film in straight adult cinema is widely considered to be 1972's Deep Throat. A year before Deep Throat was released the far less heard about these days landmark film in gay adult cinema Boys in the Sand was released in New York City. Shot on Fire Island Pines by Wakefield Poole, who had formerly worked on Broadway, Boys in the Sand doesn't have a story within it in the traditional sense of the term. In fact, Boys in the Sand doesn't even have a single line of dialog anywhere within the film.

Boys in the Sand is essentially three loops titled “Bayside,” “Poolside,” and “Inside.” The three segments are connected by one central character, an unnamed blonde male (Casey Donovan). The unnamed blonde male is in all three of the segments which gives the three segments a feeling of continuity with each other. Where Boys in the Sand very much differs from the loops that it resembles and what made Boys in the Sand the landmark film it was for gay adult cinema is the look of the film.

Poole has created a visually beautiful film. Filled with artistic shots and portions that don't contain sex but pad out the segment to give it a story feel to it. While there is no dialog within the film, each segment does contain its own small story. The stories are obviously primitive in nature since they are shown only through visuals. Poole has also written the credits, and the names of each segment, in the sand.

Boys in the Sand isn't the best film that Poole made over his career and the film can be slow at times when Poole gets too heavily into the visuals that he is showing however in a field of films where so many of the director's don't care about their finished product, it is nice to see the work and care that Poole put into making Boys in the Sand. As far as the sex scenes go, being a straight male, they are hard to rate.

Gorilla Factory Productions has done an absolutely amazing job with their Blu-ray release of Boys in the Sand. Boys in the Sand was shot on film and Gorilla Factory Productions has used a 2K scan of 16mm pre-print elements. The negative for Boys in the Sand is no longer available due to having deteriorated past the point of being usable. Boys in the Sand is presented in the Academy aspect ratio of 1.33:1 in 1080p. The image for the film looks beautiful with vibrant colors and the expected grain, print damage, and artifacts.

Boys in the Sand is presented with an English Dolby Digital 2.0 monaural audio track. The only issue this reviewer has with this release is that for some reason the audio is lossy instead of being a lossless audio format. There isn't any dialog contained in the film. The audio has a low hiss and occasional crackles and pops. There are English SDH (Subtitles for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing) subtitles for the film along with French, Spanish, Portuguese, and German subtitles.

Gorilla Factory Productions has loaded this release with film-specific extras. There is a feature-length commentary track with Wakefield Poole and an optional introduction to the film by Wakefield Poole that runs for roughly two minutes. The original first segment for Boys in the Sand with Dino and Peter Fisk, called “Peter and Dino,” is included on the release and runs for 16 minutes. This segment was shot again for the final film with Casey Donovan and Peter Fisk because Dino wanted too much money.

There is an 11-minute feature called “Revisiting Fire Island,” where Poole visits the shooting locations from Boys in the Sand. There is a feature called “Linda Williams on Boys in the Sand” that runs for seven minutes and author Williams talks about the film. There is a 24-minute segment from The Emerald City, a community access Cable TV program which aired on Manhattan Cable and Teleprompter Cable's Channel J aimed at the gay community, from 1977 where host Frank O'Dowd interviews Wakefield Poole and Casey Donovan. The theatrical trailer for Boys in the Sand is also included on the disc.

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 an excellent job with their Blu-ray release of Moving! Moving! was shot on film and Gorilla Factory Productions has used a 2K scan of the camera negative. Moving! is presented in the Academy aspect ratio of 1.33:1 in 1080p. The image contains grain, artifacts, and print damage and has beautiful colors.

Moving! is presented with an English Dolby Digital 2.0 monaural audio track. The only complaint about the audio is that it is in a lossy format instead of a lossless format. The audio for the film is music and “ambient noise” only. There were no noticeable issues with the audio presentation at all.

Gorilla Factory Productions hasn't included any extras for Moving! Since Moving! is an Easter egg, no extras were really expected, however, some scans of the original Circle Products boxes for the loops would have been nice.

Any fan of Wakefield Poole is going to want to pick up this limited edition Blu-ray set before it is gone. All four of the films included on the release (Bible!, Bijou, Boys in the Sand, and Moving!) look absolutely gorgeous and sound excellent. Gorilla Factory Productions has loaded the three-disc set with extras as well. This release is worth every penny.

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