Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		5.0
Overall		4.5

The Circus Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov August 20, 2019

Charlie Chaplin's "The Circus" (1928) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the disc include original trailers for the film; outtakes and extended scenes; vintage documentary featuring filmmaker Emir Kusturica; exclusive new audio commentary by Chaplin biographer Jeffrey Vance; and a lot more. With English intertitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

Falsely accused of being a pickpocket, the Tramp runs from the police and hides in a traveling circus. While a persistent cop chases him around, he disrupts a number of different acts and impresses the audience. The circus owner (Al Ernest Garcia, City Lights, Modern Times) immediately recognizes his talent and offers him a job as a property man (!)

Time passes by and the Tramp becomes known as the Funny Man. Because of him, the circus owner makes a ton of money. Realizing that the Tramp is not justly rewarded for his work, the circus owner’s beautiful stepdaughter (Merna Kennedy, Embarrassing Moments, The Gay Buckaroo) encourages him to demand that he is paid fairly. But the Tramp misinterprets her words and instead falls madly in love with her. Later on, when the Tramp overhears a fortune teller telling the stepdaughter that she is going to marry a tall, dark and handsome man, he concludes that they are meant to be together.

Much to the Tramp’s disappointment, however, a handsome tight-rope walker (Harry Crocker, South Sea Love) joins the circus and immediately steals the stepdaughter's heart. The two begin spending time together, and the Tramp finally realizes that she was never in love with him. He becomes so disillusioned that eventually loses his ability to be funny.

Like most of Chaplin’s films, The Circus blends comedy and drama exceptionally well. The Tramp’s relationship with the circus owner's stepdaughter is simple and naive, but at the same time quite touching. The way he looks at her before she meets the tight-rope walker really is quite extraordinary - there is so much admiration, hope and love in his eyes. Then later on when she breaks the Tramp’s heart, there is an entirely new set of emotions on display. He looks enormously hurt, disillusioned and sad.

There is a good dose of sentimentality in the film, but there is a great deal of seriousness as well. Obviously, The Circus is not as far reaching as Modern Times and The Great Dictator, but there are still quite a few effective jabs at modernity in it.

The Circus contains some of Chaplin’s best improvisations - the hall-of-mirrors sequence; the chase sequence inside the circus that attracts the attention of the owner; the wire-walking sequence with the monkeys playing with the Tramp. Chaplin spent hundreds of thousands of hours preparing and filming them to make sure that they are as good as they could possibly be.

Even though The Circus won Chaplin’s first Academy Award - for versatility and genius in acting, writing, directing and producing The Circus - for years he ignored it. In the late 1960s, however, he finally returned to The Circus to record a new music score for its rerelease. A title song, "Swing Little Girl", was also composed, and though a professional singer was hired to perform it, Chaplin sang it.

*The Circus proved an incredibly difficult film to complete. While Chaplin was working on it, his mother passed away, his studio burnt down, and the IRS claimed that he owned $1 million in back taxes.

The Circus Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Charlie Chaplin's The Circus arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.

You can see from the technical credits that are posted in one of the final screencaptures at the very bottom of our review that the release is sourced from a new 4K restoration, which was actually a complex reconstruction job. Multiple sources were accessed, with the main one being a second generation dupe-negative. This is important to underscore for two reasons. First, as you can see depth isn't optimal and plenty of shots actually reveal modest delineation in the backgrounds. Second, the visuals routinely tend to appear 'thicker' than they should be. But these are unavoidable source limitations, so the end product is the best presentation of the film.

How does the current presentation compare to the one from this Region-B release which used the old MK2 master that was initially used for the first release of the film in 2010? You should expect to see the following improvements:

More grain is retained and as a result there are more noticeable fine nuances. However, the source limitations are such that in some areas the difference is marginal at best; elsewhere the improvements are significant. (Screencapture #1 is from one such area where the improvements are quite dramatic). The grading job is superior and the halo-like effects that become distracting on the previous release are drastically minimized here. On a bigger screen this is an important improvement; for folks with projectors it will be a huge improvement. Focus/clarity is better, but again there are areas where the source limitations are significant. (The entire sequence that screencapture #14 is taken from perfectly visualizes the issue). Finally, the new restoration is a lot healthier. It is significantly cleaner and with improved overall stability. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

The Circus Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: LPCM 1.0. English intertitles are present on the film. (Obviously, they are restored as well).

The technical credits clarify that the audio was restored in 2K and then digitized. I thunk that the end result is excellent. The music is very clear, stable and nicely balanced, and completely free of age-related anomalies. The dynamic balance is very convincing as well.

The Circus Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Rerelease Trailers - with English narration and music. (6 min, 1080p).

• Eugene Chaplin - in this new video program, Eugene Chaplin, the filth child of Charlie and Oona O'Neil Chaplin, remembers his parents and what it was like growing up in Switzerland. The program features plenty of archival family footage. It was produced by Criterion and recorded at Chaplin's World in Corsier-sur-Vevey, Switzerland, in 2019. In English, not subtitled. (15 min, 1080p).

• In the Service of the Story - in this new video program, film scholar Craig Barron discusses the various visual effects and gags that were created for The Circus. Also included is brand new footage from the Chaplin Studios where many of Chaplin's other famous films were put together. The program was created exclusively for Criterion in 2019. In English, not subtitled. (21 min, 1080p).

• Chaplin Today: The Circus - an informative documentary focusing on Charlie Chaplin's career and legacy featuring filmmaker Emir Kusturica (Underground, Black Cat, White Cat). The documentary was created by Francois Ede in 2003. In English, not subtitled. (27 min, 1080i).

• Stepping Out - in the 1980s, film archivists Kevin Brownlow and David Gill screened thousands of feet of outtakes from Charlie Chaplin's silent movies for what would become the British television series Unknown Chaplin. One treasure from The Circus is the deleted sequence presented here, edited by Brownlow and Gill as Chaplin might have, and with a score by Timothy Brock. Also included is a selection of outtakes from this sequence, with narration by comedy choreographer Dan Kamlin. The score and the narration were recorded for Criterion in 2019.
  
  1. Edited Sequence (10 min, 1080i).
  2. Outtakes (30 min, 1080p).

• A Ring for Merna - presented here are outtakes that Charlie Chaplin filmed working on the scene where the Tramp expresses his love for Merna. Also included are alternate takes showing the Tramp feeling rejected after learning that Merna has fallen for the tightrope walker. The program was produced by Criterion in 2019. With music. (8 min, 1080p).

• Eric James - presented here are audio excerpts from an interview with Charlie Chaplin's musical collaborator Eric James, which was recorded by Chaplin biographer Jeffrey Vance in 1998. The comments address Chaplin's working methods. In English, not subtitled. (10 min, 1080p).

• "Swing Little Girl" - in 1968, Charlie Chaplin composed a new score for The Circus and wrote a song for the film's opening credits, "Swing Little Girl". The song was originally recorded by singer Ken Barrie, but Chaplin used a version that he performed. Presented here are audio excerpts from the recorded session for Chaplin's version. In English, not subtitled. (6 min, 1080p).

• Hollywood Premiere - presented here is archival footage from the Hollywood premiere of The Circus at Grauman's Chinese Theatre on January 27, 1928. Silent. (7 min, 1080p).

• Charlie Chaplin in 1969 - presented here is footage from an archival interview with Charlie Chaplin which was conducted by several international journalists at his home in Corsier-sur-Vevey, Switzerland. The interview was recorded for Swiss television in 1969, as The Circus was being rereleased. In English, not subtitled. (6 min, 1080p).

• Commentary - this brand new audio commentary was recorded by Charlie Chaplin biographer Jeffrey Vance for Criterion's release of The Circus in 2019.

• Leaflet - an illustrated leaflet featuring an essay by critic Pamela Hutchinson as well as technical credits.

The Circus Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Circus won Charlie Chaplin his first Academy Award in 1929. However, the film had an incredibly difficult production history and for years he chose to ignore it. He finally returned to it in the late 1960s to record a new music score for its rerelease. This upcoming release of The Circus is sourced from a new 4K restoration and reconstruction, which I think will remain its definitive presentation. The release also comes with a very interesting collection of archival and new supplemental features. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.