FemaleFirst.co.uk: DVD: The Greatest Show On Earth [DVD] [1952]

The Greatest Show On Earth [DVD] [1952]
enlarge	Director: Cecil B. DeMille Actors: Charlton Heston, Betty Hutton Studio: Paramount Home Entertainment Category: DVD List Price: ~~£9.99~~ Buy New: £3.98 as of 23/11/2009 07:34 GMT details You Save: £6.01 (60%) New (10) Used (1) from £3.26 Seller: Amazon.co.uk Rating: 4 reviews Sales Rank: 10232 Format: PAL Language: English (Original Language) Rating: Universal, suitable for all Region: 2 Number Of Discs: 1 Running Time: 147 Minutes Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2 Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6 EAN: 5014437919830 ASIN: B000KQGX3M Theatrical Release Date: 1952 Release Date: February 12, 2007 Availability: Temporarily out of stock. Order now and we'll deliver when available. We'll e-mail you with an estimated delivery date as soon as we have more information. Your credit card will not be charged until we ship the item.


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Customer Reviews: WATCH IT AND BE ENTERTAINED June 3, 2009 Crackerjack (Australia) 0 out of 1 found this review helpful The old style classics cannot be bettered in today's modern world of computerised technology. Sure - some effects may be a little outdated but the storyline is superb: the actors are cast in great roles and the viewer is entertained and enthralled from start to finish. br /This movie brings the old style world of circus right into your home with all the thrills and spills we used to see when we were kids. br /I would recommend that anyone who enjoys a great movie should watch this. You will not be disappointed An old-fashioned family classic October 25, 2008 A. F. Penfold (Herefordshire, UK) 0 out of 1 found this review helpful This was my first 'adult' family film. A doctor who has killed his wife, and is wanted by the police, takes refuge in a travelling circus. To hide his identity he dons a clown's mask - perhaps the film began my interest in the 'Clown Syndrome' concerning unhappy comedians epitomised in the Kenneth Williams diaries. br /Anyway...the film follows the doctor-clown as he becomes submerged in colourful circus life. We meet the lion-tamer, outwardly brave and daring, inwardly a womanizer - another mask; a dog handler; a pair of trapeze artists whose rows and ego lead to an accident that just would not be allowed in today's litigation and health and safety culture (I'm not sure that animal travelling circuses are P.C. now either). Of course they don't need to ask, 'Is there a doctor in the house?' nor in the film's train-accident climax, but the clown's alias comes slightly unstuck in both. br /Another aspect that struck me then was the sense of action and colour, the film being directed by Cecil B. de Milne. Today some of this would be generated by computers; then it was usually done on outside location, and finished in the studio. It was made for the BIG screen, and when seen on TV something is lost. br / Still a great show! October 30, 2008 DoDo Fan (United Kingdom) 0 out of 1 found this review helpful Unless you possess a very large TV indeed you will not enjoy 100% of this movie! Maybe 95%! Movies are made for the cinema, not for TV and are seen at their best on movie theatre screens. However this is still terrific stuff. You'll not come across a better circus film than this one. Lots of big stars, Charlton Heston, Gloria Grahame, James Stewart Betty Hutton, Cornel Wilde et al (at a time early in their careers), and plenty of action. Anyone whoever fancied the circus life should take a looksee here to see what they should expect! Cecil B. de Mille is in the chair, holding the megaphone and directors of the big action movies don't come much better than this ! br /This movie was shot in the days when a travelling circus had wild animals to thrill the crowds and not the parrots and ponies that seem to be the limit these days. Here you can see real high-wire flyers when they were not controlled by the health and safety crowd. br /The stunts, especially the train wreck, are very well done for the time, no chance of a second take for this scene; and not a hint of computer generated extravaganza. The film has transferred well to DVD and the audio too is good, although only 2 track mono. br /Enjoy the movie, its a long one, and will hold your interest. Just the thing for a rainy Sunday afternoon! A lavish helping of corn and ham November 14, 2009 Bill (Cornwall, UK) Probably the slowest show on earth, and certainly the corniest, this is little more than an extended (150 minutes) trailer for the BB circus itself. The plot, such as it is, gets sandwiched between interminable circus parades, high-wire acts and desperately unfunny clown routines. The dialogue is a hoot (with a lot of annoying wordplay on 'stardust' and 'sawdust'), Heston is carved from wood and Hutton mugs furiously, and even dependable Jimmy Stewart (barely recogniseable in whiteface throughout) and sultry Gloria Grahame can only struggle with a lamentable script. br / br /So, fast forward through the tedious processions of carriages and costumes, and savour instead the few tasty morsels amongst the whopping slices of ham, including: Betty Hutton's acrobatics (which she performed herself); Cornel Wilde's sweaty torso; some surprisingly near-the-knuckle double-entendres involving wet hair, men's pipes and blood transfusions; and the climatic train wreck. Watch out for Hope and Crosby amongst the adoring crowd, and prepare to be gobsmacked at the sheer number of elephants trooping through the Big Top. br / br /It's difficult to believe this won an Oscar for Best Picture in 1952, beating High Noon. And what I want to know is, who rounded-up all the runaway tigers and what did the boy say to his parents when he brought home Button's puppy? br / br /

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