6.7 | / 10 |
Users | 3.8 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
It's action, romance, laughs and treachery all under the big top, culminating in an incredible train disaster that threatens the very lives and livelihood of the Ringling Bros.—Barnum & Bailey Circus troupe.
Starring: Betty Hutton, Cornel Wilde, Charlton Heston, Dorothy Lamour, Gloria GrahameRomance | 100% |
Drama | Insignificant |
Family | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.37:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.37:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
German: Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
French: Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono (224 kbps)
English, English SDH, French, German
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Digital copy
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A, B (C untested)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 1.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Cecil B. DeMille proves to be quite the showman with The Greatest Show on Earth, his sprawling 1952 film about circus life and the human drama that plays out beyond the superhuman feats. In the film, DeMille essentially takes the audience to the circus, exploring the logistical feats necessary to get it up and running. There are several such asides that explore the intricate processes and the complex moving parts that bring a travelling circus from place to place: moving it around, building it up, and pulling it down. DeMille also grants his audience access inside the Big Top for several small performances while opening up some of the backstage areas for exposure to the politics and business ends of the circus life. But the film's true draw is the balancing act between high flying adventure and a messy love triangle that develops when a talented but jealous performer finds herself caught in the middle of the business manager she loves and the handsome act who replaces her at center stage. DeMille and his team of writers prove well capable of juggling the film's interconnected elements for a full picture of circus life and a more accessible and intimae story that broadly stretches along the full spectrum of human emotion along the way.
The Greatest Show on Earth may not be the greatest Blu-ray on Earth, but fans should be well satisfied beyond a few caveats. First, the good: the picture is pleasantly filmic. It's sharp and sure though certainly lighting can be a challenge inside the tent and a number of optical effects shots stand out quite severely. Still, the picture reveals pleasant detailing and clarity throughout, whether bare skin, clown makeup, dense and intricate costumes, or any other number of visual components scattered throughout the film. Color reproduction is solid. Colors are appropriately expressive with good, neutral contrast and plenty of opportunity for baseline punch and vitality to reds, whites, blacks, blues, and pretty much every color under the Big Top. Skin tones are lifelike as well. The image does show an inordinate number of spots and speckles and what looks like a few digital artifacts; there are several perfectly square blocks of varying colors popping up (look in the nine-minute mark for a few of the more prominent examples). The film truly demands to be projected on a large screen; no doubt the death-defying stunts and the general circus atmosphere will play much more impressively on a surface big enough to show its scale, but for home consumption, and even on more modestly sized displays, the Blu-ray is at least well capable of presenting the picture with a general level of high definition satisfaction.
The Greatest Show on Earth swings onto Blu-ray with a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 lossless soundtrack that lacks the dynamism and fluidity of a more modern engineered audio presentation. It's perfectly serviceable under its own limitations, however. Music is clear enough and plays with appropriate, though not fully stretched, front end spread. The lack of a true low end extension leaves it a little thin and fidelity is nowhere near lifelike, but listeners will certainly appreciate the essential musical engagement. Crowd applause and musical accompaniment during performances both want for greater clarity but appear relatively true to the source. The lack of surround channels limit, of course, the sense of true immersion into the environment, but the basic sound signature, along with the visual supports, do well enough to pull the listener under the Big Top. Dialogue is clear and images well enough to the center area.
Paramount's Blu-ray release of The Greatest Show on Earth contains only one supplement. Filmmaker Focus - Leonard Maltin on 'The Greatest Show on Earth' (1080p, 7:42) features the acclaimed critic discussing DeMille's style and character, this film's quasi-documentary style, DeMille's access to the real circus, the film's narrative strings, characters, cast and performances, the actors' own physical performances in the circus, the train wreck scene, and animals on set. This release is the 16th in the "Paramount Presents" line and includes the slipcover with fold-open poster artwork. A digital copy code is included with purchase.
Cecil B. DeMille would certainly use the experience gained in making The Greatest Show on Earth to help craft another large-scale epic in The Ten Commandments only a few short years later. Of course Show is much smaller scale with less historical significance and spiritual movement, but as a "confined" epic -- a film of sprawling grandeur and grandiose acts of courage under the Big Top -- it's quite the impressive exercise in filmmaking and storytelling excellence. The film rolls broad stroke dramatic elements into the high flying world of circus performance to fine and fun effect, yielding a memorable motion picture experience that really does have it all. Paramount's Blu-ray, part of its prestigious "Paramount Presents" line, features solid enough video and audio presentations. Sadly, supplements are limited to a single retrospective featurette. Recommended.
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