 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||
|
|
CIRCUS OF HORRORS
As I stated above, CIRCUS OF HORRORS is a wonderfully exploitive shocker that is certain to entertain. Anchor Bay’s DVD edition of CIRCUS OF HORRORS looks incredibly good, making this a DVD that genre fans will want to own. |
This DVD review 
|
|||
|
DVD
reviews are Copyright © 2002 THE CINEMA LASER and may not be copied
or reprinted without the written consent of the publisher. |
|||||
I
don’t know if 1960’s CIRCUS OF HORRORS ($25) is so much a horror
movie, as it is a grotesque, overheated melodrama with an unhealthy dose
of gore thrown in for good measure. Regardless of which genre CIRCUS
OF HORRORS is lumped into, this British import of the Hammer school
of school of blood and gore remains wonderful exploitative fun. The plot
of CIRCUS OF HORRORS centers on an egotistical plastic surgeon
named Rossiter (Anton Diffring), whose unorthodox methods have gotten
him in trouble with the authorities.
After
an operation leaves a female patient’s face in ruins, Rossiter and his
associates disappear into the French countryside. Looking for a place
to set up shop again, Rossiter happens upon a broken down circus, which
turns out to be a suitable front for his continued operations. After restoring
the war-scarred face of the circus owner’s daughter and the death of the
circus owner himself, Rossiter changes his name to Schueler and becomes
the proprietor of the traveling show. Finding disfigured women on the
wrong side of the law, Dr. Schueler restores their beauty and trains them
as circus performers for his show. With the evidence of their past identities,
Schueler manages to keep his circus troop in virtual servitude. However,
when his performers do try to leave the show, they all fall victim to
grisly "accidents" under the big top. The cast of CIRCUS
OF HORRORS also features Jane Hylton, Kenneth Griffith, Erika Remberg,
Conrad Phillips, Yvonne Monlaur, Colette Wilde, Vanda Hudson, Yvonne Romain,
Jack Gwillim, John Merivale, Chris Christian and Donald Pleasence.
Anchor
Bay Entertainment has made CIRCUS OF HORRORS available on DVD in
a 1.78:1 wide screen presentation that features the anamorphic enhancement
for 16:9 displays. The transfer is absolutely gorgeous, making this 1960
release look almost as good as a brand new movie. Even the film elements
appear virtually pristine, making the presentation fairly eye-popping.
The image is quite crisp and the level of detail is excellent for a film
of this vintage. Colors are wonderfully vibrant and completely stable-
no signs of noise or bleeding anywhere. Blacks are suitably inky and the
contrast is quite smooth. Digital compression artifacts are never a concern.
The
Dolby Digital monaural soundtrack is free from background noise and distortion.
As expected, the fidelity of the recordings is limited, but the sound
never comes across as harsh or tinny. Still, the film’s circus music has
a lively quality that makes it worth amplifying. Sound effects are pretty
convincing, plus the voices are well recorded and dialogue is fairly easy
to understand. A French language soundtrack has also been encoded onto
the DVD.
Full
motion video animation and sound enhance the interactive menus. Through
the menus, one has access to the standard scene selection and set up features,
as well as a few extras. Included on the DVD is a theatrical trailer,
plus a fairly extensive still gallery containing of photos and publicity
materials, plus a biography of actor Anton Diffring.
