The Circus(1928)

125 years have rolled by since the comic genius, the showman and the master (the epithets will never end) Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin has graced earth and its also the centenary of his "Tramp" character (who first tiptoed into our hearts in the film "Kid Auto Races at Venice"). The timing couldn't have been better for me to pay my tributes to an all time Chaplin classic, The Circus.

Charlie Chaplin and Laurel & Hardy films were a big part of my childhood and one of the first films I ever remember watching in a theater was another Chaplin classic "The Kid". But despite watching several of his short films and masterpieces such as Modern Times and The Great Dictator I never knew that Chaplin made a movie called "The Circus" until a few weeks ago(Thank you Romedy for airing the picture and enlightening me).

This won't be a typical review. I won't go too much into the plot but I will say this "The Circus" combines Chaplin's trademark fast-paced comedy with an intricate emotional message which tugs at your heartstrings. While I was watching the movie I couldn't help but feel that Chaplin's athletic ability is grossly underrated considering his enormous acting potential. So without any further ado here are five outstanding scenes from this film:

1. Chaplin is mistaken for a thief and is pursued by a policeman when he runs into the real thief who himself is being chased by another policeman. The hilarious chase ends up in the Circus where Chaplin becomes an immediate star because of his impromptu histrionics.

Who's chasing Whom?

2. Chaplin proves that genius can't be trained when several of the Circus performers try to educate him about the nuances of humor and also try to introduce him to some long standing gags performed by them.

3. In an unbelievable turn of events Chaplin ends up in the circus lion cage and ends up convincing himself that the lion is well and truly intimidated by him. Watch this scene for the show stealing lion which matches Chaplin step for step.

Chaplin in the circus lion's cage

4. In an effort to woo his lady love Chaplin dons a new avatar as a tightrope walker and ends up chewing much more than what he can handle. Watch this scene for the monkeys which like the lion above give Chaplin a run for his money.

Chaplin doing a Tightrope walk

5. The climax, Sorry! I don't believe in letting out the spoilers hence the reason why I haven't attached any screenshots. The impression that a movie makes on a viewer is directly proportional to how well it ends. And "The Circus" leaves an indelible impression on the audience minds by re-emphasizing the integrity of "The Tramp" and raising some very valid existential questions.

So there you go my friends I hope you've enjoyed my sneak peek into "The Circus" and also wish that you get to watch the movie soon enough. What's life without a few well invested laughs adding a bit of etc to it.

Rated: Must Watch

Until Next Time,

Your Movie Buff,
J.J. Chaitanya

PS: On an interesting side note I do believe that this movie has inspired some scenes in two Indian classics:

The Hindi film Mera Naam Joker
The Tamil film Apoorva Sagodharargal

As they say only a genius can inspire another genius.

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