The Circus
1928 Directed by Charlie Chaplin
Synopsis
Charlie, a wandering tramp, becomes a circus handyman and falls in love with the circus owner's daughter. Unaware of Charlie's affection, the girl falls in love with a handsome young performer. Charlie's versatility makes him star of the show when he substitutes for an ailing tightwire walker. He is discharged from the company when he protects the girl from her father's abuse, but he returns and appeals to the handsome performer to marry the girl. After the wedding the father prevails upon them to rejoin the circus. Charlie is hired again, but he stays behind when the caravan moves on.
Cast
Popular reviews
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Charlie Chaplin At His Utter Plainest Attempts At Making Us Laugh
The Circus is a very dragged out version of Charlie Chaplin's most average short films. It does not have the amazing sense of comedy that Chaplin presented in The Gold Rush, or the earnest dramatic side of The Great Dictator. So... what does The Circus have to drag us into it? It has a few examples of what Chaplin can do physically... but not much else. I can’t quite comprehend what everyone seem to see in the film.
Yes, The Circus manages to give us a few classic moments, but none of them are quite as memorable as they would like to be. There is no comparison whatsoever from…
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Chaplin provides some laughs for the audience, but nothing continuous. I'm sure at the time, he was hysterical; but he isn't here. But Chaplin isn't just trying to entertain the audience, he's trying to spread a message.
The Circus provides a message of doing the right thing. Chaplin's tramp is a down on his luck guy, and any time he can make a buck or two, he'll take it; even at the cost of others (as shown in the beginning with the "pick pocketer"). Within the next hour of the film, he has transforms into gentleman; putting himself in physical harm and takes a step back to let his "love" have what she needs to be safe from her step-father.
Though it's short and has a simple story, I wanted it to be over sooner. Chaplin's charm can only carry a film so far.
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Seventy minutes of pure joy.
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Chaplin favorite.
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simply brilliant....=) =)
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Seen it countless times. My daughters think this is Chaplin's best film. I don't agree but I do agree that this is one of his best!
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The Circus, which was initially nominated for several major awards in the first Oscars -- and then just given a special achievement award instead -- earns that acclaim by being a very funny and well-filmed silent movie. It's possibly one of Chaplin's best. Read full review.
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It may not have the impact that Modern Times or Great Dictator have, but it's definitely another hilarious Chaplin film. I laughed quite a bit throughout and must recommend it to any Chaplin fan.
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Charlie Chaplin At His Utter Plainest Attempts At Making Us Laugh
The Circus is a very dragged out version of Charlie Chaplin's most average short films. It does not have the amazing sense of comedy that Chaplin presented in The Gold Rush, or the earnest dramatic side of The Great Dictator. So... what does The Circus have to drag us into it? It has a few examples of what Chaplin can do physically... but not much else. I can’t quite comprehend what everyone seem to see in the film.
Yes, The Circus manages to give us a few classic moments, but none of them are quite as memorable as they would like to be. There is no comparison whatsoever from…
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Delightful and sweet story on a small scale that works beautifully.
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Chaplin provides some laughs for the audience, but nothing continuous. I'm sure at the time, he was hysterical; but he isn't here. But Chaplin isn't just trying to entertain the audience, he's trying to spread a message.
The Circus provides a message of doing the right thing. Chaplin's tramp is a down on his luck guy, and any time he can make a buck or two, he'll take it; even at the cost of others (as shown in the beginning with the "pick pocketer"). Within the next hour of the film, he has transforms into gentleman; putting himself in physical harm and takes a step back to let his "love" have what she needs to be safe from her step-father.
Though it's short and has a simple story, I wanted it to be over sooner. Chaplin's charm can only carry a film so far.
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Not my favorite Chaplin film, but it does have what is probably the funniest scene that he ever did. And I might be biased on that opinion, given all the monkeys present and how monkeys just tend to make me laugh.
Nah. It’s really funny.
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Non-stop funny. My little boys (3 and 4) loved it as well.