Freaks

Rating:
Summary: Not exploitive at all, you've missed the point.
Review: 'Freaks' is the only movie that I know of that gives people with such deformities the opportunity to show that they are not monsters but people, with the same desires and feelings like any one else. I found Todd Browning to be very compassionate in how he portrayed the circus people in this film. Its not a documentary thus the very strange and surprising shock ending.
Consider this also, it is a good example of how small groups of people must bind together to survive in a hostile world. It gave me the opportunity to show my children that they're not monsters and should not be feared.
The word 'exploitation' is so worn out today. Some think that unless you're 'defending' some 'minority' group you're not being 'compassionate'. They probably made a few bucks (nothing wrong with that, they apparently didn't have much to begin with- filmed during the Great Depression I believe), and probably had a lot of fun doing the picture(nothing wrong with that either).
Can't they for once in their sad lives be portrayed as real people?! Maybe they WANTED to be in the picture? Exploited at the circus, probably. But where do you go in a world where very few people would stand to look at you?
'Freaks' gives them a human face. 'Freaks' is one of the most compassionate horror movies I have ever seen. Thanks for your time.

Rating:
Summary: Freaks-hardley mentioned
Review: Well the movie is great but you don't hear much about it. I recommend this to anyone who enjoys old movies of any genre. It's not scary but pretty dsturbing. It's amazing what some of these people can do. It is sad at some points and hardly funny. Excellent movie with acting that you can only get in the 1930s.
So check this out,try renting before you buy because you never know you just might be disturbed or just hate it. It's not for everyone

Rating:
Summary: Wonderfully "uncomfortable" film shocks and thrills
Review: Tod Browning, in 1932, created a film that in its time was considered so repugnant that it was quickly taken off the screen. Great Britain banned its showing for over 30 years. In the United States, it was not shown until it became available in the 1960's. So why all the fuss?

To appreciate this film (and most films and most books too), you need to create a visual time machine and travel to the period when the film was made. In this case, in 1932, there was no television and there was no internet. There most certainly weren't reality shows or "talk shows" of the Jerry Springer ilk. In short, people who went out for entertainment, went to films, circuses, fairs, athletic events, etc. It was a time when the "televised news" came as "newsreels" shown before a feature film. Films such as "Frankenstein," "Dracula," etc. were considered truly horrifying. When, in 1927, "The Phantom of the Opera" was released in all its silent glory - at Lon Chaney's unmasking, women fainted in theaters with regularity. The world was a simpler place. Actual murders, mutilations, etc. weren't shown in video over the cinema screens as happened with the repugnant "Faces of Death" films. Jeffrey Dahmers and Ted Bundys didn't get worldwide press and have every disgusting detail of their crimes published.

For frights people went to the horror films or they went to the circus side show. That is when "Freaks" was made and this is the audience to whom the film was targeted. It is with this knowledge that one must have to watch this film.

"Freaks" is a short film, coming in at just over an hour. It would have been considered a "short" and shown on a double bill with another film.

The premise of the film is that the denizens of a circus' sideshow encounter a possible murderer in their midst and they have a suspiscion of just who it is - the non-freak Olga, the trapeze artist - who has been seducing the resident male midget (who just happens to be from quite a wealthy European family). She wants to get his money and to do so must convince him to drop the woman who truly loves him - and marry her.

The plot is thin and the acting is marginal, at best. However, what Browning was really doing was...yes, in part, exploiting the "freaks"...showcasing real circus side show freaks. You have a man born with no legs, who walks on his hands. A man born with no arms, legs, shoulders, or hips (who is showcased as he demonstrates how he lights his own cigarettes). There's the bearded lady, the pin heads, the strong man, the half man-half woman (who were in reality were hermaphrodites made up in halves for the general public, but for an extra amount would show you their privates to really demonstrate their uniqueness), and the aforementioned midgets to name a few. These people weren't actors - they were real, honest-to-God circus sideshow freaks. Each of these "characters" is given a brief showcase for their sideshow shtick, as it is worked into the story.

"Freaks" brought about a complete change in circuses throughout the United States. It became all but illegal to have freak shows as the public became repulsed by such shameful displays of unfortunate humanity. The feeling was that these people were not "freaks," and shouldn't be exploited. In reality, for the most part, these freaks had long ago realized their plight and decided to make a living from their disfigurement or deformity. Frankly, most made a darn good living from the guilt off the "normal" folks and when that livlihood was taken away from them, they became destitute (but at least the normal folks could feel good about themselves for "saving" the poor pitiable "freaks" - HA). It was one of the first of the ill-designed movements in the "politically correct" arena.

However, time has a way of addressing injustices - even those well intentioned ones. The circus "freaks" of the world spoke out and got angry with their livlihood having been taken away from them, without anyone asking them what they thought (When was the last time you heard of Barnum and Bailey's freak show? There hasn't been one in over 60 years, because of all this fuss). So, the public realized their concern was unnecessary and got off their high horse.

So, watch "Freaks" for what it is: a time capsule of a film that DOES have a very horrific scene in it (imagine yourself as a child seeing this film for the first time): the angry freaks go after the person they believe is a murderer. This takes place in the dark, during a driving rainstorm.

Rent or buy this film and enjoy it without a bit of guilt!

Rating:
Summary: Boring and Stupid!
Review: This movie is in no way scary, disturbing, or gross. The acting is pitiful, and the ending creates chuckles instead of screams. I was bored by every single minute of this movie. Let me tell you why this movie stinks. The plot is pathetic, It's slower than Lord of the Rings. The script is bad, and don't even get me started on the dialogue. (Sorry I must pause to laugh hysterically for using the word dialogue to describe the speaking parts of the charcters.) I'm back. The acting (if you can call it that) is absolutly terrible, and the final reason that this film should be avoided is that it fails to generate a sense of dread or even a little bit of suspense. This movie was made on to shock, and at that it fails miserably. This movie simply fails at everything these positive reviewers have said. I was looking forward to this, but in return I got a usless piece of crud and about 2 hours of my life gone forever. I would strongly advise anyone with taste to stay away from this godforsaken film. It's boring, pointless, and not scary...

Rating:
Summary: An exploitive classic film
Review: Director Tod Browning's 1932 film "Freaks" centers on the lives of actual deformed circus performers. The plot resembles an evil Gulliver attacking Lilliput and the Lilliputians win. The film exploits the circus performers' deformities, and the deformed circus performers' group cohesiveness is the film's plot. This classic film never has been remade.

Historically the United States' strength has been that it was a 'melting pot' -- diverse peoples immigrated to the United States to become citizens of a prosperous and united country. Recently the United States increasingly is a collection of societal groups defined by ethnicity, gender, religion and age. Personal and family history are a strong and important foundation for personal development, but dissension among societal groups weakens United States' society.

I believe that increased energy costs, security issues, and possibly epidemiological concerns will make future travel and mobility within the United States more expensive and less convenient. Less travel and mobility will make United States' society increasingly regional, parochial and stagnant. Less travel and mobility will make *devisive* regional and group identities (and contention for resources) increasingly important. Nationwide broadcast entertainment will counter this devisive trend somewhat, but I believe the overall result will be further weakening of United States' society.

Rating:
Summary: Great, but... not so great.
Review: Lets face it, this is a horribe movie. But I can't stop watching it!

Rating:
Summary: A cinematic masterpiece
Review: This film about the lives of circus sideshow "freaks" was considered too horrific to view in its day, but it is a true must-see for all. There was a time in the past of the west, in the present of many places elsewhere in the world, when those born into bodies that were not "right" in some way were left to the elements, killed, or in cases as portrayed in this movie -- left to a life in circus sideshows.
This movie shows a small glimpse into a world where the "freaks" are outcast even by many of the circus folks that they travel with. For those that keep track of the more famous sideshow members, they will see some familiar faces like Schlitze and Johnny Eck. For those who have never paid much attention to such matters, it is an enlightening movie about how different things are now for those in the world of western medicine compared to "back then".
While there are a few romantic subplots surrounding the central tale of Hans and his love for Cleopatra "Peacock of the Air", and her plans of deceit and coniving in regard to him -- the main focal point of the movie is the "code of the freaks". Such codes exist in just about any subculture that must defend itself when forced to interact with a host culture that views it as abhorrent.
While many a piece has been written and even committed to film about the humanity of "freaks" and "monsters", such as the legendary tales of the hunchback of Notre Dame or of Frankenstien, none can show the true human beauty within as well as the real-life sideshow "freaks" themselves. Beauty truely is in the eye of the beholder.
It is not surprising that people left the theaters screaming when this movie was first released, as they were indeed contemporary to the woman in the opening scene of the movie who screams and swoons. While the members of the human genome project look forward to the promising end of various genetic abnormalities, they still pull their hair out as to how much tampering is ethical and humane.
We live in a time where outward physical beauty is objectified and pursued at all costs by society at large, but if one has also seen movies the likes of "Gattica" -- one has to ask themselves in light of *this* movie -- what means and what ends are reasonable and ethical? Even if one is born in a less than "perfect" body, it does not mean that they are not beautiful or human. They feel and they bleed red just like the rest of us. Tod Browning's masterpiece "Freaks" captures these points quite succinctly.
As to the technical side of the movie -- while current-day viewers may say that the actors seem to be overacting or underacting in various places, one must remember that the style of acting itself has changed greatly since the days when people would run screaming from the sight of a sideshow "freak" regardless of whether they were 5 feet away or portrayed on film.
There isn't a terrible amount of makeup in this movie, and special effects are quite limited indeed, but when you have over a dozen real live sideshow folk who indeed perform their "abilities" throughout the course of the scenes they appear within -- any more special effects than were actually used would have detracted too much from the movie.

Rating:
Summary: SHOCKING YET FASCINATING....
Review: One of the most bizarre and original shockers ever made. This film lingers in your memory long after you've seen it. Tod Browning created this horror masterpiece using real physically handicapped oddities or "freaks" as characters alongside the "normal" actors in a circus sideshow story. Absolutely amazing every time you watch it and every bit as disturbing as it was in 1932. The story of a trapeze artist who marries a sideshow midget for his money and then humiliates him in front his friends is still uncomfortable. Of course the final revenge on the trapeze star is revolting but the way the "freaks" stalk her prior to the attack is one of the scariest scenes ever committed to film. This classic needs to be preserved on DVD badly. An absolute MUST for anyone who hasn't seen it.

Rating:
Summary: "Gooble gobble, we accept, you, one of us! one of us!
Review: An amazing film that still retains its interest despite a rather sappy sub-plot of love under the big top. Perhaps the greatest tribute one can pay to Browning is to say that he showed that "freaks" are not only people too, but sometimes more loving and friendly than those who are "normal" by our view.

Rating:
Summary: "BUT FOR AN ACCIDENT OF BIRTH, YOU MIGHT BE AS THEY ARE!"
Review: You can't miss this classic, powerful, perverse movie. It was way ahead of its time and is still as incredible today as it was then. It is a story of lust, revenge, torture, and loyalty. What a combo! Tod Browning (also the director of 1931 "Dracula") really outdid himself. He uses real circus "freaks" and you can really get a feel for what their life is like and how they must stick together. The anti-heroine, Olga, finds out the hard way that they may not look like other people, but when you cruelly hurt one of them, they will all band together to extract vengence.
The movie builds to the thunderstorm ending scene which still gives me goosebumps. See this movie NOW!