A Fool There Was

Starring:May Allison, Theda Bara, Victor Benoit, Clifford Bruce, Mabel Frenyear, Minna Gale, Creighton Hale, Runa Hodges, Edward JosÃ©
Studio: Kino Video
Product Type: DVD

Average customer rating:

THEDA BARA IS A REVELATION
Alluring Vampire
Earliest movie I have ever seen
Edwardian morality play
Ah! Theda Bara

A Fool There Was
Starring: May Allison , Theda Bara , Victor Benoit , Clifford Bruce , and Mabel Frenyear
Manufacturer: Kino Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Classics | Genres | DVD | Video

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ASIN: B0000633SY
Release Date: 2002-04-02

Customer Reviews:

THEDA BARA IS A REVELATION.......2007-01-24

for any fan of classic hollywood , this is a must for your dvd collection.

theda bara was the first-ever sex symbol of the cinema. with almost all of her films now lost, we mostly have photos of her. those iconic photos of her-- the bulging eyes rimmed all-around in black mascara, her hands pulling on her long black hair, the wild expressions on her face, the cleopatra circular breast plates!! one gets the impression of a plump 'lily munster'. from our modern viewpoint it's hard to take her seriously in these images.

when most film historians talk of her, they relate the incredible hype that surrounded bara and her films from 1915 to 1919, mostly dreamt up by her studio,fox pictures. a female vampire that sucks men dry. her name an anagram for 'arab death'. her belief in past lives. a famous story bara relates herself concerns her giving an apple to a young child who then recognizes her, screams 'it's the vampire!!', and runs away in horror.

she has been written about humorously, a bygone, repressed era's quaint way of dealing with sex.

so to now finally see bara on the screen in her first film is quite a revelation. in her first appearance in the film, she takes a long stem rose, breaks it off the stem, and drops the petals on the floor smiling at its destruction. bara has a shocking and commanding presence.

she is also quite pretty and natural in front of the camera. bara resembles elizabeth montgomery with black hair (for anyone who remembers montgomery's look in that "twilight zone" episode she did with charles bronson). there are a few scenes that take place in bara's bedroom, and she's quite lovely with her long, glossy black hair cascading down her back, and a nightgown that constantly slips off her shoulder as she moves about.

bara is a suprisingly powerful actress as well, as good as any modern actress of today. this is the biggest surprise of the film. no overacting or hair-pulling in this one. she gives a perfectly controlled, mezmerizing, detailed performance, with a couple of displays of fury that will make you jump!!

the film itself looks good for almost being 100 years old. my only complaint being there are no closeups of bara in the film. the closest we get to one is a head and sholder shot of her. i believe dw griffith invented the closeup shot in his film "birth of a nation", which was released about the same time as this film.

all in all this is a very good film, and if this is the kernel on which the mighty bara myth grew, now i understand why.
the hype and hysteria that surrounded bara in 1915 must have been similar to the buzz and hysteria madonna caused in the eighties and nineties. and like madonna i see theda bara had the talent to back up all the hype.

Alluring Vampire.......2006-07-14

A Fool There Was is based on a poem called "The Vampire," a piece about and evil woman who corrupts innocent men to do her bidding. The vampire is Theda Bara; her name is an anagram for Arab Death. Although her real name is Theodosa and her image has been fabricated by studio publicity, the public is in awe of her, the first sex symbol whose pushy nature is absolutely unheard of at the time. She is thrilling and unique and a major star.

Unfortunately today, practically nothing exists of Bara's career. Only this early film and perhaps a few others exist for viewing. This is an adequate representation; it certainly emphasises her image. The Vampire is a gold digger who enjoys ruining the men she feeds on but keeping them loyal to her all the while. The particular man in this film is a family man with a gorgeous daughter and a devoted wife, but somehow, this Vampire is cunning enough to lure him away.

The story is not particularly interesting, but what is is watching Theda Bara. She has a quiet attraction with the audience, something very subtle but very inviting. From seeing pictures of her, one might expect that her acting would be overly exaggerated and strange, but it is not in the least. If anything, she is rather casual; it is the others in the film that overact.

I did not expect to like Theda Bara after seeing this film, but is left me sadly wishing that there were more films to see. Let her career stand as an example; we need to preserve the films we have left.

Earliest movie I have ever seen.......2005-08-02

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!

Edwardian morality play.......2005-07-27

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.

Ah! Theda Bara.......2005-03-14

How can any movie staring Theda Bara get less than
100%? I recomend this movie just to watch Theda in
action. The clothes she wears are her own. The scene
packing for the cruise ship while wearing a white night
gown is memorable! The strap was loose and kept sliding
down while she packed. She would yank it back up and you
could tell she was frustrated over it. To her surprise, the
director refused to reshoot the scene. There are other actors
in this film, but they pale beside Theda. The scene in Italy,
where Theda was lounging outside on a chaise lounge and her
lover was leaning against her, drinking what she gave him.
The postman walked up with a letter and gave Theda a long
appraising glance up and down as she lounged--hilarious!!!

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ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B000C9U4ZA

Product Description

TRACKS: 1) All My Loving; 2) Till There Was You; 3) She Loves You; 4) I Wanna Hold Your Hand; 5) I Saw Her Standing There; 6) From Me To You; 7) This Boy; 8) Please, Please Me; 9) Twist And Shout; 10) Fool on the Hill; 12) I am the Walrus; 13) Blue Jay Way; 14) Your Mother Should Know. ++++ DVD FEATURES: This officially licensed release from South Korea is All-Region NTSC Code 0 (playable worldwide) with 4:3 Full Screen display and Dolby Digital 2.0/THX Surround Sound in ENGLISH.

Theda Bara: A Fool There Was / Unchastened Woman

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Theda Bara: A Fool There Was / Unchastened Woman

Manufacturer: Film Faktorie/White Circle Films
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Product Description

From the White Circle Collection on DVD. The only surviving films of Theda Bara presented on DVD from the White Circle Collection. Note: White Circle DVD discs are "no frills" editions and present the films with no extra features or additional content.

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