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There were times when I forgot that I was watching a silent film because the actors' facial reactions were so loud. Almost ninety years later, The Circus is still hilarious, beautifully acted, and there were some fun effects that actually looked fine. The story was more like a series of sequential scenes than a real through-line story, but it helped keep the pace up with the constantly changing focus of the story. After slugging through Nosferatu, I am thrilled to get an example of a good silent film. At the beginning had me wishing for more text cards, but the enunciate enough that it is easy to read lips most of the time and the facial expressions were big enough that I could get the big ideas, but not so big that it felt annoying. The Criterion edition looked great for a movie that is edging towards a century old, so if you decide to check it out, that's the version I'd recommend.
By : Greg Mueller | Date : 4 years ago
