Circus of Horrors

Rating:
Summary: THE TEMPLE OF BEAUTY.....
Review: Anchor Bay outdid themselves with this DVD. I hadn't seen this Euro-shocker in years and it's flawlessly preserved on disc. It's a grisly tale of plastic surgeon Dr.Lassiter (a deliciously over-the-top Anton Diffring) who messes up on a wealthy socialites's face and, fearing ruin and/or jail, takes it on the lam with his nurse and her brother. They discover a broken down circus kept by the drunken owner (Donald Pleasance) and his war disfigured little girl. After the convenient death of the owner by bear mauling and miraculously fixing the daughters' face, Lassiter seizes a golden opportunity and creates his own circus. Over the years he enlists disfigured shady ladies, restores their beauty and puts them to work as performers. If they try to leave, they meet with violent death in "accidents". The little girl is now grown into the gorgeous Yvonne Monlaur who is devoted to Lassiter and training to be in the show. She knows nothing of his grotesque business arrangements. The beautiful Erika Remberg is featured as a temperamental trapeze artist who resorts to blackmailing Lassiter for star status. Her theme song is a syrupy pop tune "Look to a Star" that is repeatedly used to creepy effect. This film is British/European horror at its' most luridly bizarre and is wonderful in color. The circus atmosphere is vividly captured and Remberg's routines are an eyeful. Yvonne Romain ("Devil Doll", "Curse of the Werewolf") is also featured as a disfigured (but what a figure!) doll restored to her stunning beauty and put to work as a lion tamer. Horror fans should treasure this glorious excercise in the macabre and it's a must have for collectors.

Rating:
Summary: Beautiful transfer of a minor, but must-have film
Review: First off, the film transfer on this DVD is nothing short of stunning. The picture is presented in widescreen and the colors are very comparable to the same studio's production of "Peeping Tom". Sound transfer is fine, and there is even a French language soundtrack available.
"Circus of Horrors" is quite enjoyable, but it is a tiny bit of a cheat. There are not nearly as many "horrors" as one might expect. However, a final 15-minute sequence is worth the price of admission. The acting is generally good among the principles, with the lead, Anton Diffring, a standout. He plays just the right amount of crazed obsession to keep it entertaining.
Reizenstein's musical score is more than adequate and often very good. As for the featured song, "Look for a Star"--it's true, you will hum it to yourself for days afterward.
Extras are absolutely top-drawer: trailers, tv spots, posters, lobby cards etc, excerpts from a comic-book version of the film, and, most surprising, a reproduction of the song-sheet for the song! There is also a nicely done biography/filmography for Diffring.
Menus are extremely well-done, animated and accompanied by music from the film.
And, if all this is not enough, there is an Easter Egg. Go to the 'Extras' menu, sit back, and you will hear "Look for a Star" in a complete, uninterrupted performance.
A must-have for 1950s and 60s horror aficionados.

Rating:
Summary: Mediocre but fun horror thriller.
Review: Ho-hum, another "women in jeopardy from an evil man trying to cure his disfigured face" horror flick?? But this one is reasonably good fun and is worth seeing. Plenty of gruesome incidents keep the cliche plot moving along. One interesting footnote: we learn quite early in the film that a caged circus gorilla hates the villain. Obviously, he will be killed by the gorilla in the thrilling climax, right? (Unless he first dies of cancer or emphysema caused by his chain smoking.) Wrong. Getting attacked by the gorilla is merely one of about six bad things that happen to him during the last several minutes of the film, before he finally dies.

Rating:
Summary: Mediocre but fun horror thriller.
Review: Ho-hum, another "women in jeopardy from an evil man trying to cure his disfigured face" horror flick?? But this one is reasonably good fun and is worth seeing. Plenty of gruesome incidents keep the cliche plot moving along. One interesting footnote: we learn quite early in the film that a caged circus gorilla hates the villain. Obviously, he will be killed by the gorilla in the thrilling climax, right? (Unless he first dies of cancer or emphysema caused by his chain smoking.) Wrong. Getting attacked by the gorilla is merely one of about six bad things that happen to him during the last several minutes of the film, before he finally dies.

Rating:
Summary: CIRCUS OF HORRORS
Review: I love this movie, which is why I probably wound-up with several copies of it. It is an excellent movie with an unexpected twist at the end (you won't be able to guess at the ending). BEAUTIFUL EUROPEAN WOMEN in various states of undress, but still suitable for family viewing. The movie is in brilliant color. Recommend this movie to all horror/sci-fi/mystery fans.

Rating:
Summary: ''A HAUNTING TUNE''
Review: I WAS A KID WHEN I SAW THIS MOVIE,BUT IT IMPRESSED ME ENOUGH TO NEVER FORGET IT,ESPECIALLY THAT HAUNTING BUT BEAUTIFUL SONG THAT IS PLAYED AS THE FIRL DANGLES FROM A ROPE. THE SONG BECAME A HIT BY GARY MILES AND THE STAUES...''LOOK FOR A STAR''. YES, I'D ADD THIS MOVIE TO MY COLLECTION.

Rating:
Summary: CIRCUS OF HORRORS
Review: I was delighted to find this DVD - the film, in its original release, had haunted my childhood dreams for months after I saw it at a Saturday matinee! Watching it again, I was amazed I still remembered many images as clearly as if I'd seen it yesterday. Great fun, the picture's an unholy brew of sex and sadism; Anton Diffring's chilly intelligence as the crazed plastic surgeon turned ringmaster provides a disturbing center to the film's moral universe. CIRCUS is pleasingly peopled with large-busted European starlets constantly in a state of undressed distress, sports luscious color photography by Douglas Slocombe (presented by Anchor Bay in a stunningly crisp transfer), and features an insistent pop ballad that's repeated so often, Helen Keller could leave the theatre humming the theme! Like many horror films, this one's a mixture of intelligent handling of trashy material; it manages to transcend the genre and become truly memorable, like EYES WITHOUT A FACE. Grab this CIRCUS while it's in town!

Rating:
Summary: Lurid and Lovely
Review: I was delighted to find this DVD - the film, in its original release, had haunted my childhood dreams for months after I saw it at a Saturday matinee! Watching it again, I was amazed I still remembered many images as clearly as if I'd seen it yesterday. Great fun, the picture's an unholy brew of sex and sadism; Anton Diffring's chilly intelligence as the crazed plastic surgeon turned ringmaster provides a disturbing center to the film's moral universe. CIRCUS is pleasingly peopled with large-busted European starlets constantly in a state of undressed distress, sports luscious color photography by Douglas Slocombe (presented by Anchor Bay in a stunningly crisp transfer), and features an insistent pop ballad that's repeated so often, Helen Keller could leave the theatre humming the theme! Like many horror films, this one's a mixture of intelligent handling of trashy material; it manages to transcend the genre and become truly memorable, like EYES WITHOUT A FACE. Grab this CIRCUS while it's in town!

Rating:
Summary: THAT AMAZING SONG - IN A HORROR MOVIE!!
Review: It's amazing to see so many reviewers remembering the song "Look for a Star" from this 1960 thriller gem. I saw this movie first back in 1960 when I was a highly impressionable child and was overwhelmed by its brutality and gripping suspense. The song has haunted me ever since; it's one of those melodies that stays in your head even years later.
And in addition, the movie's many scenes have haunted me: the beautiful Yvonne Romaine's fatal lion taming scene; Donald Plesance's brief role as the drunken owner of the circus; Erika Romberg's fall from grace; the actors who portrayed Rossiter's compatriates in crime--how their subtly understated performances are so well done; and of course, the finale where poetic justice is so passionately observed.
This is really nothing more than a very good thriller; it's horrors are psychological, and so well evidenced in Anton Diffring's performance as Rossiter/Schuler. His egomania and love for what he does is the soul of Diffring's performance and in spite of a sometimes difficult accent, he is perfect in this little gem.

Rating:
Summary: Anton Diffring makes a good film even better
Review: It's amazing to see so many reviewers remembering the song "Look for a Star" from this 1960 thriller gem. I saw this movie first back in 1960 when I was a highly impressionable child and was overwhelmed by its brutality and gripping suspense. The song has haunted me ever since; it's one of those melodies that stays in your head even years later.
And in addition, the movie's many scenes have haunted me: the beautiful Yvonne Romaine's fatal lion taming scene; Donald Plesance's brief role as the drunken owner of the circus; Erika Romberg's fall from grace; the actors who portrayed Rossiter's compatriates in crime--how their subtly understated performances are so well done; and of course, the finale where poetic justice is so passionately observed.
This is really nothing more than a very good thriller; it's horrors are psychological, and so well evidenced in Anton Diffring's performance as Rossiter/Schuler. His egomania and love for what he does is the soul of Diffring's performance and in spite of a sometimes difficult accent, he is perfect in this little gem.