Bijou (Vinegar Syndrome) Review

Distributor: Vinegar Syndrome Edition Details: Standard DVD Movie Specs: Genres: Golden Age Classic (1970s Shot on Film), Feature Film, Gay Also known as: Wakefield Poole's Bijou, The Films of Wakefield Poole: Bijou Run Time: 76 minutes Rated: X Release Year: 1972 Director: Wakefield Poole Written by: Wakefield Poole Director of Photography: Wakefield Poole Cast: Bill Harrison, Cassandra Hart, Tom Bradford, Lydia Black, Robert Lewis, Peter Fisk, Rocco Passalini, Michael Green, Bruce Shenton (as Bruce Williams), Bill Cable (as Cable), Wakefield Poole, Marvin Shulman, Bob Stubbs Release Specs: Audio: English Dolby Digital 1.0 Mono Subtitles: none Video: Full Frame, 1.33:1 Video Format: NTSC Format: DVD Regional Code (for DVD/Blu-ray): 0 (All) Number of discs: 1

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.

Vinegar Syndrome has done a great job with their release of Bijou. Bijou is presented in the academy aspect ratio of 1.33:1 and is presented in 480p. The transfer for the film looks beautiful with vibrant colors, some print damage, and artifacts. Bijou looks absolutely beautiful here.

Bijou is presented with an English Dolby Digital 1.0 monaural audio track. There is a low hiss present throughout the audio track. There is only one line of dialog within the entire film, which is clear and easy to hear. No viewers should have any issues with the audio track.

Vinegar Syndrome has included a nice collection of extras to go along with Bijou. There is a feature length audio commentary track with Wakefield Poole. There is also a one minute introduction to the film by Poole. “Bijou Easter Sunday,” is a four minute feature on 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 Williams talks about Biijou. “Unused Bijou Auditions” is 14 minutes of audition footage from actors that dropped out of the film. 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. A three minute interview with 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.

Bijou is a great adult film from Wakefield Poole. There isn't a story in the traditional sense of the term, however, Bijou is wonderfully constructed to create a great viewing experience where different viewers will walk away with different beliefs of what just happened. Despite being a gay adult film, viewers of all orientations should find something of value within the film. Vinegar Syndrome has done a great job with the release of Bijou.

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