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Reviews of silent film releases on DVD home video.
Copyright © 1999-2008 by Carl Bennett. All Rights Reserved.
The Circus
(1928)
on

2004 Warner Home Video edition

The Circus (1928), black & white, 69 minutes, Rated G.

Warner Home Video, 37644,
UPC 0-85393-76442-5, ISBN 0-7907-7161-6.
Full-frame 4:3 NTSC, two single-sided, dual-layered DVD discs, Region 1, ? Mbps average video bit rate, ? kbps audio bit rate, Dolby Digital 5.1 surround and Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo sound, English language intertitles, English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Thai and Korean language subtitles, 20 chapter stops, cardboard wrap case with plastic tray in cardboard slipcase, $29.95.
DVD release date: 2 March 2004.
Country of origin: USA

This new edition from Warner Home Video is sanctioned by the Estate of Charles Chaplin and was digitally restored from excellent 35mm materials held by the estate.

The disc’s supplementary material includes outtakes from The Circus, studio visitor footage, 3D test footage shot by Chaplin’s long-time cameraman, A-B camera footage comparisons, and more.

  
  
  

 
USA: Click the logomark at right to purchase
a Region 1 NTSC DVD of this edition from Amazon.com.
Canada: Click the logomark at right to purchase
a Region 1 NTSC DVD of this edition from Amazon.ca.

2000 CBS/Fox Home Video edition

The Circus (1928), black & white, 71 minutes, Rated G.

CBS/Fox Home Video, ID9180CUDVD, UPC 0-14381-91802-1.
Full-frame 4:3 NTSC, one single-sided, single-layered DVD disc, Region 1, ? Mbps average video bit rate, ? kbps audio bit rate, Dolby Digital 2.0 mono sound, English language intertitles, no foreign language subtitles, chapter stops, snapper case, $29.99.
DVD release date: 8 February 2000.
Country of origin: USA

We have not seen the DVD. We are familiar, however, with this film. The Circus is one of Chaplin’s best films is one not so well known as his other features. We love the tightrope-walking sequence. The disc features an outtake scene. Based on our knowledge of the film itself, we recommend the DVD.

It appears that the masters from the 1993 Chaplin: A Legacy of Laughter laserdisc series will be utilized for this and other year 2000 Chaplin DVD releases. The disc is now contractually out-of-print to make way for the Warner edition noted above.

 
USA: Click the logomark at right to purchase
a Region 1 NTSC DVD of this edition from Amazon.com.
Canada: Click the logomark at right to purchase
a Region 1 NTSC DVD of this edition from Amazon.ca.

Other silent era Charles Chaplin DVDs available on DVD home video:
Chaplin’s Essanay Comedies Volume 1 (1915)
Chaplin’s Essanay Comedies Volume 2 (1915)
Chaplin’s Essanay Comedies Volume 3 (1915-1918)
The Chaplin Mutual Comedies, 90th Anniversary Edition (1916-1917)
The Chaplin Revue (1918-1923)
City Lights (1931)
The Gold Rush (1925)
The Kid (1921)
Tillie’s Punctured Romance (1914)
A Woman of Paris (1923)

Chaplin-related films available on DVD home video:
Chaplin’s Goliath (1996)
Unknown Chaplin (1983)
Charles Chaplin filmography in The Progressive Silent Film List
 
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