Product Description

Treachery is discovered amongst a traveling circus sideshow. Studio: Warner Home Video Release Date: 09/13/2005 Starring: Wallace Ford Roscoe Ates Run time: 62 minutes Rating: Nr Director: Tod Browning

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4936 in DVD
• Brand: Warner Brothers
• Released on: 2004-08-10
• Rating: Unrated
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Black & White, Closed-captioned, DVD-Video, Subtitled, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, Spanish, French
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 64 minutes

Amazon.com
Tod Browning, who directed Bela Lugosi in the original Dracula, stepped into even eerier territory with this 1932 story of betrayal and retribution in the circus. Evil trapeze artist Olga Baclanova seduces and marries a midget in the circus sideshow, hoping to inherit his wealth. But in doing so, she has crossed the wrong folks: the tightly knit group of nature's aberrations, who stick together like family--and who set out to avenge their little pal. Browning brought in some of the most famous sideshow attractions of the era, include Siamese twins Daisy and Violet Hilton and Johnny Eck the Legless Boy, as well as Zip and Pip, microcephalics whose appearance in this film inspired cartoonist Bill Griffith to create his comic strip, "Zippy the Pinhead." So disturbing that it was banned for 30 years in Great Britain. --Marshall Fine

Customer Reviews

COOL!
Once a horror movie is now a morality play. Completely identifiable characters and identifies predjudices and their consequences. Browning suffered after making this film but he was a visionary for sure.

You Will Be Punished If You Ridicule Those Who Are Different
Growing up, I never thought I was very attractive. I spent too much time complaining about my physical imperfections. I wish someone had shown me the classic horror film, "Freaks." Seeing the unfortunate humans, known as "circus freaks," who suffered from birth defects made me appreciate that I had arms and legs. My heart broke for them. It is sad to think that people would abuse and exploit other humans simply because they are handicapped.

Todd Browning, who directed 1931`s "Dracula," also directed this horror masterpiece which used real life "circus freaks" as actors. Hans, a German midget, falls in love with a beautiful trapeze artist, Cleopatra. Cleopatra pretends to love Hans while she and her secret lover, strongman Hercules, plan to kill him for his riches. When they are caught in the act, the "circus freaks" exact a horrifying revenge.

"Freaks" made me feel more sympathetic towards those with handicaps. They have feelings just like everyone else. Hans insisted that he was a man despite his diminutive size. Perhaps Todd Browning was trying to tell us that if you hurt one of these special people, then fate will take revenge upon you. I never make fun of people who are overweight for fear that I might become overweight. A horrible accident can easily take away the use of a limb or cause brain damage. It's very easy to become a "freak."

The ending of "Freaks" is very creepy and unsettling. You won't soon forget it. Do I feel sorry for Cleopatra? Most certainly not. This film clearly sends out the message: Don't harm the freaks or you will be harmed.

"Freaks" is highly recommended for those who enjoy good horror classics. It is also recommended for those who seek out docudramas on the plights of those who are ostracized by society because of their appearance; such films include "The Elephant Man" and "Mask."

"These are God's children."

Freaks is a film that is entertaining and disturbing. As a matter of fact, it is just so very disturbing that it was banned for many years. When first released, the studio cut almost half an hour from it because it so disturbed audiences of the day. Freaks was directed by Tod Browning, who also is responsible for Bela Lugosi's Dracula.

Somehow this film was rediscovered by the counterculture and it became a favorite at midnight shows. If you were in college at the time, you've probably seen this film. Perhaps the theme of beauty not being what "the establishment" perceives it to be spoke to that generation. How disturbing is it to find that the real evil is in what seems the most attractive to us?

Set in a carnival populated by society's outcasts, the story's soap-opera theme is acted out by non-professionals who are, indeed, deformed in some way. That's why Freaks is so unique. Don't look for actors transformed by Hollywood make-up.

This DVD is not recommended for everyone. But if you are interested in seeing an amazing film that is made even more shocking by the times that produced it, Freaks should not be missed.