Wakefield Poole’s Bible!
Plot: From acclaimed erotic filmmaker, Wakefield Poole,
comes The Bible, like you've never seen it before! The stories are given sexual
twists in this visually stunning and sensually charged masterpiece of the
erotic avant-garde.
My Review and Thoughts:
This is a soft-core, adult version of the tales from the
Holy book itself the Bible. Filled with erotic imagery mixed with the fantastical
religious idea of history.
Now to understand what the viewer is getting into one has to
understand who Wakefield Poole is.
Wakefield Poole is not his real name, he was
born Walter Wakefield Poole III. He is a master dancer, and amazing
choreographer, a powerful theatrical director, and most of all what he truly is
remembered for is being a pioneering director in the gay pornography movement
that he dominated in the 70's and continuing on into the 80's.
His first experiment with film was the 1971 Boys in the Sand
which still is considered the top landmark male on male sexuality film around.
Poole was a very fascinating director, gifted director that never knew his
potential of creating truly memorable moments and characters throughout his
career. He tried to cross over into the mainstream world from pornography with
this movie the Bible, he tried to capture a more mainstream film.
Sadly the Bible was never respected mainly due to Poole's
past and mainstream not willing to accept the gay pornography director creating
an erotic mainstream version of the Bible which during the time was considered
blasphemy and still today would be considered blasphemy.
I don't look at this picture as blasphemy. I look at it as a
truly one of a kind piece of art. It is very artistic, very avant-garde,
art-house underground movement. It has that odd since of imagery mixed with a comical
overtone and pure nudity and erotic sensuality.
The Bible came out in 1973. Many critics that saw it praised
it for its unique quality and its unique reality on the subject matter. Those
who didn't see it automatically condemned it, because of who directed it and
because of the subject matter.
Wakefield Poole was the writer, director and cinematographer
of this true one of a kind experience.
This stars Bo White as Adam. At one time, it was written
that he was an actor to watch and an actor to truly keep an eye on in the
entertainment business. He starred in the very beautiful coming out A Very
Natural Thing (1974) which was the first mainstream film to deal with an honest
gay relationship without stereotypes. A Very Natural Thing is a masterpiece and
a personal choice for being a landmark piece of cinema history.
This also stars Georgina Spelvin who was a main porno star
and most remembered for The Devil in Miss Jones. She plays Bathsheba in the
Bible! with a true comical flair. She had cameo appearances in the mainstream
comedy movies Police Academy and Police Academy 3 where she plays hookers,
where it was meant for the audience to pick up on who she was. Her performance
as Bathsheba is a true slapstick comedy segment of the Bible.
This film is a perfect example of how to create something
unique, original and downright memorable. Vinegar Syndrome brought out a true
forgotten original gem and gave the eye opening visuals it deserved. A crisp
picture, awesome sound work and a true restoration of beauty.
In this wild erotic film you get the retelling of Adam &
Eve, Bath Sheba and Samson & Delilah. Now this is not your Sunday school
innocence with messages. This is a twist of sex mixed with amazing visuals and
a truly unique and extraordinarily awesome classical soundtrack.
The telling of Adam and Eve is a birth like quality. It is
an artistically visual piece to stimulate the idea that this was man's first
touch of skin. Woman and man coming together. This was the first sensual
reality of kissing and of the act of sex. It's filmed in an artistic way. It's
filmed to make it look like a piece of art coming to reality on screen.
The story of Bathsheba is done in a slapstick comical
reality showcasing the more reality side of sex, or the idea of nudity, or the
idea of a relationship and all its silly funny obstacles.
The final segment Samson and Delilah is the darker tone. It
is the more artistically avant-garde, art-house feel. It has a darker weird
tone of images and twisting the more confusing ideas.
This movie is a strange oddity of cinema of the avant-garde art-house
nature. Vinegar Syndrome did it again and brought out a true forgotten
powerhouse piece of erotic cinema. This DVD is a beauty to be hold and mastered
in the highest quality available. This movie has never looked like this.
The images and sound and most of all the ability to finally
see the film in all its wonderful restored glory makes me smile and giddy as a
film buff. I have always wanted to see and adventure into this odd art form of
a film restored. I originally saw this, sadly I must confess on a poor bootleg
VHS and it was really a piece of garbage due to the quality.
To see this and to own this is to buy the Vinegar Syndrome
DVD, in this respected and priceless fixed and remastered version. The beauty
of what Vinegar Syndrome does is capture forgotten films, films that seem to be
overlooked, seem to be forgotten about and in reality sometimes destroyed.
Thankfully there are companies like Vinegar Syndrome that gives the respect to
these underclass, underrated films.
Wakefield Poole was inducted into GayVN Awards Hall of Fame
in 2003. The GAYVN Awards are given out annually to show respect and honor in
the gay porn industry.
It's an honor to see this film for the first time fully
restored, uncut and remastered from the original negative. It also comes with
amazing special features that make you want to buy this, just for them, because
it truly comes with in-depth special features that Vinegar Syndrome supplied.
Director's Audio Commentary
Director's Introduction
Interview with Actress Georgina Spelvin
Interview with Actress Gloria Grant
Screen Tests
Stills Gallery
Theatrical Trailer
The interviews and the commentary are truly awesome to
experience. Many people won't get this film. Many people won't understand this
film and most of all many won't like this film. I for one love this film. Many
who are cinema buffs would experience something extraordinarily different and
extraordinarily eye-opening and visually odd to comprehend as a piece of
cinema.
This film is not for everyone. There is only one line of
dialogue spoken. Most of the backdrop is just classical music as you witness the
images on the screen. Very few, especially modern-day movie watchers, will not
understand or comprehend this type of filmmaking. This is an art-house approach
of telling a story through the historical Christian bible and mixing a comical
and soft-core eroticism to the reality of the picture.
I respect Vinegar Syndrome because I'm a true film
historian. I love all aspects of filmed cinema, no matter what the subject
matter is, no matter what the subject matter details or what the images are.
Weather a movie causes controversy due to nudity or full blown sex or weather it’s
a film that causes one to fall in love with it because it's a masterpiece. I am
a movie buff and when it comes to Vinegar Syndrome they pay respect to the
historical reality of film.
One of the best ways to describe this film or to see the
reality of what this movie is filmed like, is a comment made by Frank O'Dowd
who was a public access TV host and producer for the show Emerald City. He
described it as reminisces of Federico Fellini imagery.
This is truly a different type of film. A film that plays with the senses through
images and through sexual erotic nudity and a retelling of historical events.
Told only through the eyes of Wakefield Poole. Poole is a one-of-a-kind
director and visionary that many don't get, many don't understand and many have
never seen. For those who love art-house cinema, for those who love independent
quality of filmmaking and for those who love an erotic nudity in an artistic
way, then this is for you.
This is a great transfer of this film to DVD. You
get to see all the images in clarity. The musical score throughout which is the
classical music is truly, thought-provoking and wonderful to listen to by
itself.
I highly recommend this as a visionary film. I recommend
this as an artistic film. I recommend this because it had never been done
before and has never been done since.