Product Details

• Actors: John Wayne, Rita Hayworth, Claudia Cardinale, Lloyd Nolan, Richard Conte
• Directors: Henry Hathaway
• Language: English
• Rated: Unrated
• Number of tapes: 1
• Run Time: 135 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000GGQKA2
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #369,403 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Filmed in Cinerama and Technicolor, Circus World may have drawn the crowds for various reasons -- not the least, perhaps, for the big names. John Wayne stars as circus owner Matt Masters, who takes his show to Europe hoping to save it from financial ruin. Accompanying Matt is young Toni (Claudia Cardinale), whom Matt had raised since her aerialist mother Lili (Rita Hayworth) left them years before. Just before he departs from New York, Matt is reminded that Lili may be somewhere in Germany. After their arrival in Europe, much of the equipment is lost when their ship sinks in a Spanish port. Matt doesn't let that get the best of them, and he is soon up and running with the show, becoming a hit throughout Europe. Against Matt's wishes, Toni trains to become an aerialist like her mother. A quiet figure in the shadows proudly watches Toni rehearse her daring routines. The writing team of Ben Hecht, James Edward Grant and Julian Halevy adapted their screenplay from a story by Philip Yordan and Nicholas Ray. Though this was not a gunslinger role for Wayne, Matt Master was not a far stretch. This could have been due to the fact that Wayne had previously worked on several projects with director Henry Hathaway and writers Hecht and Grant -- and the part was altered to suit him.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Better than no copy at all, December 19, 2007

By 

Charles J. Taraboletti (Bartlesville, OK) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Movie - Circus World (DVD)

The copy of Circus World I had taped off the air more than 15 years ago was really starting to wear out and I was really glad to find this DVD. When I got it, I noticed the Chineese text underneath all of the English on the cover. I found the DVD had sub-titles you couldn't turn off, only an OK picture and sound that was out of phase. At times the audio sounded like it was at the bottom of a barrel. Since I can't find anything better out there, I'll keep it, but "let the buyer beware" on this one. It's really only better than no copy at all of what is otherwise a really good John Wayne movie.

28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Awful copy of Circus World, May 4, 2008

By 

Katherine Kemp (Texas) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Movie - Circus World (DVD)

Circus WorldThis dvd isn't even worth the small amount of money I paid for it. I would have paid a better price but this was all that was available to me. The quality of the sound, plus the speaking was out of alignment with the mouths moving. Over all I was displeased with this product. What is so terrible that we here in USA have far more ablity to re-product such great classics but don't. It makes no sense to me that we can't buy GOOD quality producted dvd's of great movie classics. How about doing much more about this! We are going to loose such fine entertaining movies such as this one! K. M. Kemp

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Buy the OTHER version!!!, May 26, 2008

By 

ArtiztikFoto "ArtiztikFoto" (Michigan) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Movie - Circus World (DVD)

From all of the complaints about the quality of THIS Korean import release, may I suggest you check Amazon for availability of the alternate Korean version. I just purchased it, and it has an excellent fully synchronized clean sound track, presented in its original wide-screen cinamascope, and transferred from a fairly clean original print. I only saw some minor dust during the opening credits. Maybe some day Hollywood will do a much deserved full restoration on this circus classic, throw in some bonus features, and even English sub-titles for the hearing impaired and those who have a problem with Claudia Cardinale's Itallian dialect. But until then, the alternate Korean version is probably your best way to view this classic! Region "0" NTSC is playable in US and Canada.