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A Fool There WasRating:
Release Date: 02 April, 2002 Retail Price: $29.95 OUR Price: $26.99 You SAVE: $2.96! Cast: |
A Fool There Was Reviews
Edwardian morality play
This movie really isn't much to write home about, though one must consider that feature-length films were only a few years old in 1915 and just about every feature from the early and mid-Teens won't seem very complex or technically advanced by modern-day standards. Unfortunately, the handful of surviving Theda Bara films seem to be unrepresentative of her true scope of talents and ability, although clearly one can tell, when seeing her in motion as opposed to those often ridiculous-looking publicity stills Fox Studios had her sit for, that she was quite talented and even beautiful, in an off-beat kind of way. (I feel that 'The Unchastened Woman' is a slightly better film in terms of pacing and story development, though unless some of her more representative films are ever found, all we have to go by are the sub-par films that remain--those two, 'East Lynne,' half of the short film 'Madame Mystery,' and an early pre-stardom appearance in 'The Stain.') This is the film that made her a star, that established the concept of the Vamp, the beautiful dangerous mysterious evil woman who uses power and sexuality to lure men to doom and destruction, laughing at her victims after they've run their course with her and she has no use or want for them anymore.
The story itself is little more than some Edwardian morality play; a dangerous woman who is interested in sex and therefore the dark side lures a series of men to rack and ruin; when she's finished she either coldly abandons them or they are too broken morally and physically to go on anymore, killing themselves or wasting away. Most features in 1915 weren't that long, but given how many chunks of time are just glossed over with title cards such as "Six months later," "The next morning," and "A week later," one can't help but feel that maybe there's some footage missing. This leads to a feeling of uneven plot and character development. Although as uneven as some of the pacing may feel to a modern audience, it is revolutionary in that the "bad" woman isn't punished for her actions, and there is no cheery happy moral ending that a lot of people of the time might have been accustomed to. There wasn't as much screen time given to Theda as I would have liked, but when she is onscreen she's very good. The extras are a bit skimpy but still interesting.
Earliest movie I have ever seen
I bought this movie because it stars the great Theda Bara. I had no idea what to expect because I just wanted to start watching some of the older silent movies. This was actually very good. I did have a little trouble following the storyline but that didn't really matter. I was so captivated by Theda Bara! There was one scene where she shows her ankle...how revealing for 1915!
The extras were disapointing, I was hoping for my photos of Theda Bara or a biography.
It is so interesting to see who they made movies at this time!
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