Chaplin remains possibly the greatest comedian in all history. 10/10.

he's trying to be one. My favorite moment is when the ringmaster demands the auditioning Tramp to be funny right that instant: the Tramp grins and shyly dances around a bit, gingerly falls down, puts his cane between his legs and meekly lifts himself back up. "Terrible!" roars his would-be employer.This film has more self-awareness over comedy conventions that any other Chaplin I know of. The Tramp ineptly but hilariously performs a couple of standard comedy routines with the other circus clowns. Later, there's a funny twist to the old banana peel gag; and near the end he crashes into an old general store, looking as if he's thrust himself back into his old Keystone days. This is Chaplin's last true silent film, and the Keystone moment feels like a nostalgic farewell to the past."The Circus" is funny throughout, but the opening scenes are probably the best. There's a marvelous funhouse sequence and a priceless routine where The Tramp pretends to be a motorized dummy. Has anyone seen the Swiss clock routine from "Your Show of Shows"? He also falls in love with the ringmaster's cruelly treated daughter, which leads to a poignant ending.I enjoyed the music, which Chaplin composed for this film in 1969. His scores are always repetitive; but they're also sweet and funny and they enhance the action. I could have done without the title-sequence song which he sings himself —something about looking up at rainbows. Otherwise, this comedy is near-perfect and holds its own against Chaplin's even greater features, "The Gold Rush," "City Lights" and "Modern Times."

tolerate in his other classics. It's a pure, light, clever, cinematically sophisticated comedy. And the physical tricks, the timing of certain gags, is breathtaking. It also has a deeply satisfying ending, shot in 1927...which you might see echo of in the last moments of "Being There" with Peter Sellars, from 1999."The Circus" is just over an hour and it never flags, never repeats, is never strained. Chaplin had the rare ability to do the most outrageous things and make them seem perfectly plausible--even though we know better. It's partly because he would do dozens of takes, "perserverance to the point of madness," as he said, until it felt right. A note on the sound. This was a true silent film on its release. In the 1960s and 70s, Chaplin created musical soundtracks, composed by himself and made edits, as well for his earlier features. The song sung over the opening credits on the Warner Bros. DVD is Chaplin himself, as an old man, singing a song he composed. It's not really legit, in terms of period 1928 , but it feels good. The music is fairly innocuous, but a bit too emphatic at times. Still, it's better than the add-on tracks most silent films get these days, and Chaplin was smart to have paid it attention.Most of all, this is funny, uncompromised Chaplin genius. Maybe the best way to get introducted to his large body of work. See it!!

involved in all kinds of amusing predicaments that involve several other interesting characters. Most of it keeps a pretty light tone, which makes the serious parts that much more effective. And there are several sequences which, though perhaps not as well known as some of the scenes from other Chaplin films, are quite funny and creative.With plenty of humor and Chaplin's trademark sympathetic characters, this is a very enjoyable feature for anyone who appreciates classic comedy.

great and i hope soon i can get my hands on some more of his films. I almost wish they could make a films like this today just maybe with some color, i think it'd be a great idea.

different kind of ending that what you'd normally see for a comedy but it's inspiring as Chaplin performs a noble deed. However, Kennedy's character is in question as she seems satisfied to marry either of two men. Huh? Chaplin's timing and clever slapstick routines never fail to amaze me. Even though silent films aren't seen by many people these days, it's works of art like this that will endure forever. This is not of one of Chaplin's more famous movies.....but it should be. I think it's one of his best.

is, once again, a lot of "schmaltzy" moments and the film is jam-packed with pathos. In other words, the movie tries VERY VERY VERY hard to be poignant and touching--and I am the type of person that prefers a little more humor and a little less of the sappy hero. I know this ISN'T the opinion of everyone--so if you LIKE when he tugs at your heartstrings and helps a damsel in distress yet again , then you'll be thrilled. I just thought I'd seen this theme one time too many.BY THE WAY--Chaplin was well-known for being very obsessive-compulsive about his films--doing scenes again and again to get it "just right". Well, he made a big blunder here and I was surprised it wasn't caught. While doing the very funny high-wire act, his right pant leg came off while he was holding on to the pole for balance and monkeys were climbing all on and around him. Then, when the shot cut back, the pants leg was back ON!! Oops. This doesn't spoil the movie at all--it's just a funny little mistake. Or, maybe, one of the cute monkeys crawling all over him during this scene put his pants leg back on him!PPS--only a few weeks after I first wrote this review, I have seen about 8 more Chaplin movies. After each one, my appreciation for his talents increased. In hindsight, I think a score of 8 is more in order. While it's true I'm not much for pathos, I must acknowledge his amazing talents.

would probably come across as a bit of an imbecile with sound, rather than naive with all of his accidental high-jinks and follies. It is this naive innocence that makes the Tramp so likable, and when he losses Merna at the end, Chaplin's face and defeated body language do more justice to the sad moment than any dialogue with him lamenting her loss could have. The Circus is an altogether enjoyable piece whose rather predictable story-line is kept fresh with Chaplin's charismatic antics.