Bijou
Theatrical release poster by Paul Jasmin[1]
Directed byWakefield Poole
Produced byMarvin Shulman
StarringBill Harrison
Cassandra Hart
Lydia Black
Peter Fisk
Bill Cable
Production
company
Poolemar
Release date
1972[2]
Running time
75 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$22,000[1]

Bijou is an 1972 American gay pornographic film directed and edited by Wakefield Poole and starring Bill Harrison as a construction worker who witnesses a car accident and discovers an invitation to a club called Bijou in the purse of the victim.

Production

Using some of the proceeds from his debut film Boys in the Sand, director Wakefield Poole bought a Beaulieu 16 mm camera for $10,000. Poole recorded screen tests of each actor he wanted to use, and had each of them "seduce the camera", undress, and masturbate to climax.[3]

Poole shot the film over four days at his apartment. The interiors of the Bijou club were filmed in his living room; the crew covered the walls and floors with black felt and built a platform in the center of the room that was covered with black velvet.[4] Poole edited the film over the summer of 1972.[5]

Release

Poole first screened Bijou during a weekend in August 1972.[6] The film opened in October, with a 24-week run at the 55th Street Playhouse.[7]

Critical reception

A contemporary review in Variety called the film "part ersatz Kubrick, part raunchy Disney".[8][9] Al Goldstein, editor of Screw, praised the film's "sophisticated direction, magnificent photography and editing".[8] Bijou was named "Best Picture of 1972" by Screw, though it shared the honor with the film Deep Throat.[10] According to Poole, Goldstein considered Bijou to be superior to Deep Throat, but did not want to "honor faggotry over heterosexuality".[10]

When asked by Women's Wear Daily what his favorite thing he did on his visit to New York was, French fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent answered, "Seeing Bijou".[10]

Home media

In May 2014, the film was released on DVD by Vinegar Syndrome.[8]

References

  1. 1 2 Olson, Jenni (2004). The Queer Movie Poster Book. Chronicle Books. ISBN 978-0811842617.
  2. ↑ Poole 2011, p. 279.
  3. ↑ Poole 2011, p. 167.
  4. ↑ Poole 2011, p. 171.
  5. ↑ Poole 2011, p. 173, 177.
  6. ↑ Rodriguez, Joey (2016). "'All of my films deal in fantasy.'". The Gay & Lesbian Review Worldwide. Retrieved March 21, 2020.
  7. ↑ Crumpler, David (March 20, 2016). "Films challenged erotic status quo". The Florida Times-Union. p. F1.
  8. 1 2 3 "Bijou – Vinegar Syndrome". Vinegar Syndrome. Archived from the original on August 12, 2020. Retrieved January 21, 2020.
  9. ↑ Holmlund, Christine; Wyatt, Justin, eds. (2004). Contemporary American Independent Film: From the Margins to the Mainstream. Routledge. p. 170. ISBN 978-0415254861.
  10. 1 2 3 Poole 2011, p. 178.

Bibliography

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