Rating: 
Summary: An unsettling, yet human, masterpiece.
Review: Tod Browning's Freaks is a prime example of what films used to be and a sad reminder that they will never quite be like this again. Based on the short story 'Spurs' by Tod Robbins, the movie tells the story of a circus midget who falls in love with a beautiful, 'normal' trapeze artist. When she and her strongman lover try to poison him for his money, the 'freaks' exact their revenge on them. Browning, a former circus performer himself, treats his unusual cast of real-life circus freaks with genuine sympathy. They are the true human element of the film. In most ways this is the first truely compassionate horror film ever made. But upon it's release, censors flipped, audiences ran in horror, and the film was yanked from the screen and banned in Europe for 40 years. A shame, indeed, as the film is a true triumph for Browning. A film that makes a convincing argument about our expectations of beauty and humanity. Sure, it's creepy and frightening. But it's also very sad. It shows you that it's not what we look like that makes us human or that we don't have to be beautiful to be respected. A strange argument for a 'horror' film to make. The only downside to this long-lost and vastly underappreciated film is that the sound can sometimes be rather muffled and a few of the actors have thick accents that sometimes make understanding the dialogue a chore. But it's a minor complaint and doesn't really distract from the wonder up on the screen. If you're in the mood for something a little... uh... different... definitely check this one out. You will be thankful you did.
Rating:
Summary: A Must See Movie
Review: Freaks will always be a unique film. The film is a mix of a fictional story brought to life with real life oddities. The story takes place with a traveling Circus. The Circus people are very much their own community. The "Freaks" of the circus stand out even from the other circus folk. They are still made fun of and lied to. Olga Baclanova plays Cleopatra, an evil trapeze artist. She takes advantage of a midget named Hans, stealing him away from his fiancé and taking his money. Unfortunately she did not consider the loyalty and capabilities of these abnormal people. She and her lover pay a great price for there ignorance. The "Freaks" of the circus eventually live happy and Cleopatra the fate of those she tormented. The Director Tod Browning has brought some the most famous sideshow attractions of that time, including Frances O'Connor (armless girl), Peter Robinson (human skeleton), Daisy and Violet Hilton (siamese twins), and Johnny Eck (boy with no legs), to name only a view. He brings this incredible cast of real-life sideshow freaks for this bizarre and fascinating film. The epilogue was clearly added to the film after its creation by its conflicting words. It made points that were later proven false by the story. It said that the oddities longed to become beautiful but this was never promoted in the film. The story was well based but not acted well, possibly due to the fact most of the cast where not professional film actors. The scenes were often over acted most of the time with more then enough enthusiasm from the characters. The visual scenes themselves where quite pleasing. The sets did a good job of bring out the conditions that the circus people lived in. There was also little make-up and special effects needed to show the audience how real these people are with their genuine flaws. Overall it is a movie that must be scene at least once. It brought to film the lives of the deformed and unwanted for the first time. It has a good point of not taking advantage of those that can not help who they are and the consequences you mite face.
Rating:
Summary: Holds up as a disturbing masterpiece...
Review: Too bad there isn't an affordable way to own the DVD of this incredible film. It still manages to shock and disturb nearly a century after its release and has timeless lessons about human compassion, or the lack thereof. For anyone who has ever experienced rejection...for anyone who has ever rejectED, this brilliant "little" movie will haunt you always.
Rating:
Summary: browning; an auteur of the most interesting order
Review: todd browning's films too often get compared to james whale's films and, consequently, come up short.
while i am the first to agree that browning's 'dracula' artistically pales to whale's 'frankenstein', i think the point is rather mute.
the quintessential browning film is here in 'freaks' and it does indeed contain the blazing, unique, twisted visison of todd browning.
yes, the film also has his flaws, the main one beingt he stilted dialogue.
browning was a 'silent director' and this film's major flaw
(like 'dracula' )is the fact that it isn't a silent.
in only scene does the dialogue work and that is in the chorus like 'we accept her' scene; a scene to send chills down yuor spine even today.
but, to harp on the flaws, detracts from what this so obviousely is; a flawed masterpeice from a true auteur.
it's history is well knwon.
thalberg ordered browning to come up with a film to outdo frankenstein and dracula.
much to thalberg's chagrin, browning delivered freaks and mgm promptly shelved it.
i recall reading much about the film as a child. when the day of vcrs came round blackhawk films announced they were carrying this for a hundred dollars and i promptly ordered it.
it was one of those films that after reading about it for so long i was a little bit dissapointed and at the same time, floored, which i expected to be.
if you accept the flaws of the film you will be as well.
Rating:
Summary: BRING IT BACK INTO PRINT!
Review: PLEASE bring this back into print in some format. VHS, DVD, I don't care. I love this movie but I just can't afford $50 plus S&H for a used copy. The market it here, just give us the supply!
Rating: 
Summary: Old But Awesome!
Review: This film came out the year my dad was born....1933....
its amazing to me to watch a movie this old and still find it
thrilling and a bit scarey. If youve read all the other reviews then you know about the Director and Writer...Bla Bla...
but overall..let me tell you...this movie is cool..Odd and a bit insane...circus freaks and their daily lives....a bit like a soap opera....but oh so demented....if you like twisted tales of love and revenge then watch this.
I waited about 15 years to finally see this film....it was well worth the wait....
Rating:
Summary: AN UNIQUE FILM
Review: FREAKS IS AN UNIQUE FILM THAT SHOWCASES THE DAILY LIVES OF CIRCUS FOLK AMID BETRAYED LOVE AND FRIENDSHIP. IT BASICALLY FOLLOWS THE CIRCUS PROMOTER WHO IS A MIDGET AND THE LOVE TRIANGLE BETWEEN HIS WIFE, ANOTHER MIDGET, AND A GOLDIGGER WHO WANTS HIS MONEY. IT DEPICTS BROTHERHOOD AND THE CODE OF THE FREAKS WHICH IS EVERLASTING AND HAS DIRE CONSEQUENCES IF YOU BREAK THEM. THIS MOVIE IS CLEVER AND POIGENT AND SHOULD BE SEEN BY PEOPLE OF ALL AGES.
Rating:
Summary: Where Is It
Review: Does anyone know who the distributor of this DVD is? Please don't tell me that some politically-correct types are the reason this has still not come to market. This is the only DVD I can think of that I really want to own (I'm not a buyer of movies, but this one is special). We should inundate the distributor with requests for the release of this DVD, or find out who's holding up the show, so we can think bad thoughts about them. Let's go, damnit!
Rating:
Summary: Enough Waiting!
Review: Read other reviews for opinionated synopses and descriptions - I'm just demanding this cult classic make it to DVD sometime during my lifetime!!This pre-order has been up on Amazon's site for more than a year. I have it as an open order still. What is with this distributor - don't they understand this is a huge selling title!? And there better be some decent extras - bios on the featured Very Special People, the alternate endings, info on the British ban that lasted into the 60's, etc. We deserve it after such a long wait!
Rating:
Summary: Chilling Masterpiece Gets Under Your Skin
Review: For anyone who thinks "Freaks" is merely exploitation, guess what? You're right. Cinema is all exploitation. To exploit means "to make the most of" or "achieve highest expression," and that is exactly what director Tod Browning does with his 1932 masterpiece, "Freaks." He takes a rather simple story: greedy trapeze artist foiling a love-struck midget into a marriage of convenience, and makes it special. First, he populates it with real-life "freaks," (a term that in today's p.c. world makes one shudder) allowing them to speak their own voices. Sure, their acting is not exactly Oscar-caliber, but neither is that of the ensemble cast of Visconti's neorealistic, "La Terra Trema," and yet, the latter film ranks amongst the world's all-time greats. Browning's film is not a horror film by any means. It may be frightening or disturbing, but its effectiveness stems from a deeper realm of cinematic mastery. Browning seems to use more artistic freedom here than he had been allowed in his earlier Universal classic, "Dracula," and the result is pure magic. While "perfect" is not an adjective that one would readily apply to "Freaks," (and by the way, even "Citizen Kane" contains some interesting technical and/or creative flaws), let it be said that like other chilling classics, such as Herk Harvey's "Carnival of Souls" (1960), and Hitchcock's "Psycho" (1960), "Freaks" may well be one of the most inspirational movies for aspiring filmmakers and avid film buffs ever made. It is complex in its simplicity; it is tragic in its purity; and ultimately, it is the stuff that celluloid dreams are made of... just ask David Lynch if "Freaks" entered his mind while he was making "The Elephant Man."
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