PLEASE NOTE: Michael D's is currently in READ ONLY MODE. Anything submitted will simply not be written to the database.
Lots of stuff is still broken, but at least reviews can now be looked up and read.
PLEASE NOTE: Michael D's is currently in READ ONLY MODE. Anything submitted will simply not be written to the database.
Lots of stuff is still broken, but at least reviews can now be looked up and read.
The Circus (1928)

The Circus (1928)

If you create a user account, you can add your own review of this DVD

Released 16-Mar-2004

Cover Art

This review is sponsored by
BUY IT

Details At A Glance

General Extras
Category Comedy Main Menu Audio
Introduction-David Robinson (Chaplin Biographer)
Featurette-Chaplin Today - The Circus
Deleted Scenes
Outtakes-October 7-13, 1926
Featurette-Mountbatten Home Movies
Featurette-The Hollywood Premiere
Gallery-Camera A, Camera B
Featurette-3D Test Footage By Roland Totheroh
Featurette-Circus Days With Jackie Coogan - Excerpts
Gallery-Photo
Gallery-Poster
Theatrical Trailer-2
Trailer-The Chaplin Collection
Rating Rated G
Year Of Production 1928
Running Time 68:36
RSDL / Flipper No/No
Dual Disc Set
Cast & Crew
Start Up Language Select Then Menu
Region Coding 2,4,5 Directed By Charles Chaplin
Studio
Distributor

Warner Home Video
Starring Al Ernest Garcia
Merna Kennedy
Harry Crocker
George Davis
Henry Bergman
Tiny Sandford
John Rand
Steve Murphy
Charles Chaplin
Case Amaray-Transparent-S/C-Dual
RPI $34.95 Music Charles Chaplin


Video Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame Full Frame English Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s)
English Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio None
16x9 Enhancement No
Video Format 576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio 1.33:1 Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures No
Subtitles French
Spanish
Italian
German
Portuguese
Danish
Finnish
Hebrew
Icelandic
Norwegian
Swedish
Czech
Greek
Hungarian
Polish
Turkish
Russian
Smoking Yes
Annoying Product Placement No
Action In or After Credits No

NOTE: The Profanity Filter is ON. Turn it off here.

Plot Synopsis

    The Circus was the most troubled of Chaplin's feature productions. The shoot took almost two years and was plagued by problems. The circus tents were blown down by a gale before shooting started. Then the first month's work was lost when the negative was scratched in laboratory processing. After nine months, a fire destroyed the interior set and some props. All the while, Chaplin was going through an acrimonious and public divorce from Lita Grey, and going through a tax investigation. No wonder his hair turned prematurely white during this period. Chaplin does not even mention the film in his autobiography.

   The story tells of a tramp (Chaplin) who stumbles into a circus when trying to escape the police. Unwittingly, his antics upstage the circus performers. The tramp is put to work by the circus owner, who is brutal towards his employees, especially his stepdaughter Merna (Merna Kennedy), a trick rider. Charlie is not able to be funny when he tries to be a clown, but put to work as a prop man his incompetence is hilarious and he is the hit of the show. The owner does not tell him that he is in fact a star, so Charlie is unaware of his talent.

    Charlie of course falls in love with Merna, but she falls in love with Rex, the tightrope walker.

    All of this is of course merely an excuse to hang a series of gags and sketches together, most of which are very funny. Of particular note is the long sequence in and around a hall of mirrors; the bit where Charlie is accidentally locked in the lion's cage; and Charlie's tightrope walk where he is beset by monkeys. There is also a humorous running gag involving a mule that has taken a dislike to the tramp.

    Because of the problems with the film, Chaplin put it in the vault for 40 years after the initial release, even though he was awarded an honorary Academy Award for the film. In 1969 the film was re-released with a new score composed by the star, but because of the four decade absence from the screen this film is underappreciated in comparison to his other features. It is consistently funny and is well-constructed, with little of the sentiment that would affect his later films.

    This two disc set has the 1969 reissue on disc one and extras on disc two.

Don't wish to see plot synopses in the future? Change your configuration.

Transfer Quality

Video

    The video quality of this transfer is excellent considering the film is 76 years old.

    The film is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1 and is of course not 16x9 enhanced. This is the original aspect ratio.

    The image is quite sharp, though I think it could have been better. The image is quite luminous as well, though the contrast levels have been boosted a little too much, reducing the level of shadow detail. There is also some flicker caused by varying brightness levels between frames.

    Unlike the previous release in this series of Limelight, aliasing and motion blurring are almost entirely absent from this transfer. There is some evidence of edge enhancement, but it only appears infrequently and is not an issue. There is telecine wobble throughout, as well as vertical jitter, but this is only slightly distracting. Given that only the film is contained on disc one, there are no compression issues, even though only 3.41Gb is used on this disc.

    Film artefacts appear regularly, but are limited to flecks and faint scratches. In terms of artefacts this film looks good for its age. Grain levels are kept to a minimum.

    The film is presented on a single layered disc, with a choice of 17 subtitle languages.

Video Ratings Summary
Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    There is a choice of audio tracks, either Dolby Digital 2.0 or 5.1. The default is the 2.0 mix.

    This is a silent film with a score added in 1969 and the audio portion is quite well transferred, if lacking somewhat in body. The score was written by Chaplin in association with Eric James, and is quite a good one with some nice themes. Chaplin also wrote a song to be sung over the opening credits, which he himself eventually sang.

    There is little difference in quality between the 2.0 and 5.1 tracks, so it will be a matter of personal preference which one you listen to. The surrounds and subwoofer are not much in evidence in the surround mix. Audio sync is of course not an issue here.

Audio Ratings Summary
Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Extras

    Again, a substantial extras package, with only the absence of an audio commentary to stop this getting a high recommendation. The extras are included on the dual layered second disc, which has no noticeable layer change.

Main Menu Audio

    A static main menu is provided on each disc with audio from the score. The main menu is available in several languages.

Introduction (5:09)

    A video introduction to the film by historian and Chaplin biographer David Robinson.

Chaplin Today: The Circus (26:30)

    A featurette by François Ede detailing the problem-plagued production, with an interview with director Emir Kusturica, whose films have links with those of Chaplin. This is much better integrated than the similar material for The Kid.

Deleted Sequence (9:47)

    A sequence devised by Chaplin and filmed on another set while the burned out main set was being rebuilt. This sequence was not included in the film as Chaplin thought that it was not necessary, the rushes being saved without Chaplin's knowledge (against his wishes) by Rollie Totheroh. A reworked version of this sketch was included in City Lights. There is no audio.

October 7-13, 1926 (26:28)

    An interminable series of outtakes from the deleted sequence, as Chaplin tries numerous variations to try to get the sequence to work. This is an insight into Chaplin's working methods and indicates why his films took so long to produce. There is no audio.

Mountbatten Home Movies (6:27)

    Three home movies taken by Lord Mountbatten. The first shows Chaplin on the set of The Circus. The second has Chaplin visiting the set of Douglas Fairbank's film The Gaucho, also released in 1928. Lastly, a film called The Sacrifice, shot in someone's backyard with Charlie as the king of a South Sea Island, sending a native to her death. All are in pretty poor condition, with the film apparently warped in the Fairbanks footage. Again there is no audio.

The Hollywood Premiere (1928) (6:24)

    Footage from the premiere of The Circus, with numerous Hollywood stars filmed being interviewed for radio. The premiere takes place at Grauman's Chinese Theatre, and there is a long preamble showing the crowds gathering and the pre-film entertainment, which are live circus acts. No audio.

Camera A, Camera B (1:16)

    Two cameras were generally used as negatives tended to wear out quickly, and also to supply negatives for the foreign market. This compares footage from the two cameras and there are stills showing them being used.

3-D Test Footage by Roland Totheroh (2:27)

    This bizarre footage by Chaplin's cameraman shows several men standing around a tree gesturing as though they were trying out some sort of hocus-pocus. I am sure that if there was audio they would be saying "you are getting sleepy, sleepy". The three-dimensional effect is not immediately apparent, but after a couple of minutes you do notice something. It is not surprising that this was not a success, however.

Circus Day - Excerpts (12:28)

    These excerpts are from a circus-themed film starring Jackie Coogan released in 1923. Lots of film artefacts and no audio. My player shows the running time as 72:28, though it is really an hour shorter and this discrepancy does not occur in my DVD-ROM.

Photo Gallery (12:08)

    A lot of photographs of the production, plus publicity stills of Merna Kennedy and the aftermath of the fire.

Film Posters

    12 posters for the film from various countries and eras.

Trailers (5:20)

    Two reissue trailers, one American and the other French with no subtitles. Audio is Dolby Digital 2.0 mono. These are in reasonable condition.

The Chaplin Collection (10:43)

    The same trailer as included on other releases in this series, with excerpts from each of the films.

R4 vs R1

NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.

    An earlier Region 1 edition was issued by CBS/Fox/Image. This version is the original release version, which means that it includes the original opening credits, without the song by Chaplin. The credits sequence for the reissue is included as an extra. This edition also contains the rushes of the deleted scene as included on the Region 4 disc, but with an audio commentary by film restorer and historian David Shepard, plus production statistics and copies of production records. There are set sketches and advertising material. This disc was withdrawn from sale prior to the release of the Warners discs, and judging by reviews the picture quality of the Region 4 is superior.

Summary

    Not the best film Chaplin would make, this is still pretty good and worth seeing. It is unlikely that we will get a better edition than this in the foreseeable future.

Ratings (out of 5)

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

© Philip Sawyer (Bio available.)
Thursday, March 18, 2004
Review Equipment
DVDPioneer DV-S733A, using Component output
DisplaySony 86CM Trinitron Wega KVHR36M31. Calibrated with Ultimate DVD Platinum. This display device is 16x9 capable.
Audio DecoderBuilt in to DVD player, Dolby Digital, dts and DVD-Audio. Calibrated with Ultimate DVD Platinum.
AmplificationYamaha RX-V596 for surround channels; Yamaha AX-590 as power amp for mains
SpeakersMain: Tannoy Revolution R3; Centre: Richter Harlequin; Rear: Pioneer S-R9; Subwoofer: JBL SUB175

Other Reviews
AllZone4DVD - TerryJ
DVD Net - Jules F