The Greatest Show on Earth

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Eli H @EliHendricks 3 days ago When it's being a movie, this is fine. When it's being an advertisement for the circus, it is insufferable. Unfortunately, that's not an inconsiderable length of the film. See more Mike W @MikeW269 Jul 9, 2026 I liked the movie while agreeing with some that the plot line was a little weak. It showed Emmett Kelley without makeup (it was very short) which was cool (most people dont know who he was). The movie was long and could easily have been edited down. See more Tammy W @RT38020232 Apr 4, 2026 I loved it. I am working my way through all the Oscar Winners, and was not excited to watch this one. I expected it to be underwhelming, but the romance of the circus, the costumes, and pageantry got me. Of course, the acting is horrible, but I expect that from this era. The plot isn't great, either, but just to see how amazing the Ringling Bros Circus was, and how it all ran like a tight ship in the background, was enough to keep me interested. And as someone who went to the circus as a kid, this made me so nostalgic for what we've lost - the wonderful magic of the circus coming to town. See more Jon W @Watchdown101 Mar 5, 2026 How This Bloated, circus movie won Best Picture is beyond me. This movie has too many cameos, and by far has to be one of worst movies about the circus. How this movie beat High Noon for the Academy award is beyond me. Jimmy Stewart is scary as the clown who never removes his makeup. I would recommend you watch The Greatest showman instead. This movie is about sixty minutes too long. This was a bad attempt at trying to Award Legendary director Cecil B DeMille for his career. They should have waited a few more years for a true DeMille Classic. See more This Old G @RT92609406 Jul 19, 2024 Lots of spectacle and daring do. the highlight of the film is the spectacular train wreck these are all the best parts of the movie everything else pretty forgettable. See more Blu B @RT43513976 Jan 3, 2024 The only way I can see this being a Best Picture winner is if you turn your brain off and just focus on the lavish colors, production values, and pur spectacle. In that regard yeah it's a masterpiece but this is all sizzle and no steak. The pacing is terrible, it starts out entertaining enough kind of like your actually watching a circus and it's not half bad but than it just starts to drag because the circus act scenes just start to get repetitive because you've seen it already and the drama never adds up to anything. Rinse and repeat, drama than a long 10 plus minute take of the circus performance that adds nothing to the story and if it does has no reason to be as long as it is. This easily should've been 90 minutes. The editing isn't good either. It feels like your watching a compilation of circus performances mixed with a bad melodrama about characters that is done Robert Altman style but isn't skilled enough to make it all work. None of the storylines really ever add up to anything meaningful and it feels like there really isn't any central character ot theme to any of it. Everything else is just ok. The music is a mix of circus music and generic Golden Era sounding tracks. The production value is insane but it gets so repetitive at points when it shows the tricks because you've seen it all before and it does work at first. The drama is so over the top at points like Buttons being a killer and the train crash. This really shows DeMilles worst tendencies as a director for bombastic productions but lacking substance. This should have just been a 90 minute compilation of circus performances and make it into a musical hybrid. It still owuld'nt be a masterpiece but at least it would'nt be the bloated unfocused over the top mess it is. I really can't recommend this to anyone. See more Read all reviews

The Greatest Show on Earth

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