Customer Reviews

Eddie Izzard - Circle

5 star:		(29)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Ok, if you've seen Eddie Izzard onstage or in D2K and are addicted to his style of stand-up, you will definitely enjoy this. If you are looking that will make you fall on the floor laughing, go buy Dress to Kill or Glorious first. However Eddie Izzard's material is more than just for laughs; he's one of the few enterainers that offers more. This DVD offers just as many segments of him pointing out things that will make you double take your favorite movie, religion, history, etc.

True, it is not nearly as funny as his other material, at least not this performance. And the bonus documentary on the disc explains why. In addition to being shouted at mid-show, the previous evening had the production team sweating over the sound blowing out with Eddie having to shout "from ze diaphragm," trying a cord mic, and having to apologize and take an intermission to fix the tech, keeping his cool the whole time. This one is still a brilliant and triumphant performance with gold material.

The documentary itself is also well worth it, including a drunk interview and the like.

So in the end, if you know Eddie Izzards style, get this. If not, introduce yourself to it with another of his shows, and pick this one up later.

Having seen most of Izzard's more recent releases (eg. Glorious, Dress To Kill) I was a little hesitant to purchase this DVD after reading earlier reviews. However, quickly becoming a die-hard Eddie Izzard fan, I simply had to bite the bullet and go for it...

I AM SOOOOOOO GLAD I DID!!

True, there are parts that hint at material used in his later acts, HOWEVER - it is only that, a HINT. He explores these ideas in areas that are completely different from Glorious and Dressed to Kill. So fear not that you will receive nothing but repeat material.

That laid to rest, I must say that the audience Does get much of what he says, and in true Izzard fashion - he comments on what "they are not going for..." and where "he lost them" in a way that serves to capture the humor and continue the energy/momentum of the act.

Delighted by his wit and intellectual humor (where very low brow things are described in a highbrow way & highbrow things are done so in a lowbrow way) Circle is a precursor to his later shows yet a success in it's own right.

I highly recommend this DVD, even AFTER seeing and owning Glorious and Dressed to Kill. Izzard is original all the time (he never writes out his act, but rather improvises on a roughly outlined idea). Thus, while some themes may be continuous throughout his different acts, there is always something different, unique, and oh so Eddie.

In Circle, Eddie Izzard is still the madcap comedian we all know and love, but filming in front of a New York audience seems to have put a bit of a damper on his normally frenetic pace. Izzard always makes a point of assuming his audience's intelligence, but in this show it seems he is limited by his American audience - he takes the time to explain some Britsh phrases and expressions and a great bit about the Northern Ireland peace process ends with Izzard sighing, "Do you know there are other countries?" As a previous reviewer already noted, this DVD was pieced together from one show on one night recorded in one go and as a result feels a bit unpolished in its delievery. However, having seen his most recent show, Sexie, live in Minneapolis, I can say that Circle DVD seems to be a more realistic portrayal of his real live shows.

The Circle DVD is also much shorter than the marathon show we were blessed with on the Dress to Kill DVD. Circle, like most of his filmed shows prior to Dress to Kill, runs about 80 minutes (just enough time to fit onto the CD release) instead of the Dress to Kill DVD's 120 or thereabouts (Eddie mentions on his commentary track that much of the stuff that was cut from Circle was him playing with the audience). His liberal stance on politics is evident in bits about gun control and religious fanatics. Much of his material is also more structured - there is a definite sketch format to some of his routines, especially the Darth Vader bit at the end. Here, his delivery is slick and seems far more rehearsed than his normal scatterbrained approach. However, perhaps that is to expected since the show was filmed at the end of his four month world tour, after most of his material had been set and performed night after night with little room for improv. After this time, Eddie notes on the commentary track that, unfortunately, his delivery becomes less like a conversation with the audience and more like a "prayer."

That is not to say Circle is without its fair share of geniunely funny moments, and it would be a crime to give away any of them. Despite some of the limitations placed on him, you can still see his surreal self shining through. The DVD also includes the "Dress to Circle" cut of one of his Paris gigs in French which was also on the Dress to Kill DVD. With English subtitles, it is a throughly enlightening look into his comedic mind as filtered by another language. There is also a short behind-the-scenes feature that has some fascinating and amusing moments and also shows Izzard at his absolute improvisational best with footage from the attempted taping of the show the night before the one featured on the DVD, in which he carries on brilliantly through technical problems in the sound system. In short, Circle is unlikely to be the sensation that Dress to Kill was when it stormed the Emmies a few years back, but in the end, its still a rare opportunity to experience one of the strangest and funniest minds of our time.

I keep reading review after review going on and on about how Dress to Kill is so much better. Yeah. I loved it, too, but Circle is a whole different animal. Firstly, the DVD was shot WAY early in the tour, so the material is pretty fresh. Eddie is still in the process of rounding the edges and developing flow, which I feel he does quite well. Most comedians record at the end of the tour as Eddie had done with Definite Article. Circle is great because you get to see this early, raw comedic talent.

Secondly, the ad lib. There are tons and tons of asides during this show. From organ music at baseball games to guns in Ireland to a TV program featuring a not so friendly shark, Circle is rich with poignant, awesome (like a hot dog?) or rather awe-inspiring flits of quick witted fancy. Eddie's years of improv experience keeps him on his comedic toes. His brilliant if sudden lapses into the bizzare confirms this. These asides, I think, add to the wandering, rambling structure to this show. But, those who are not into conversational comics probably wouldn't like Eddie anyway and should stick to comics who write their shows and repeat verbatum.

Thirdly, the complaint that Eddie appears tired. Perhaps its all the purple. A great deal of this show, as in other Izzard shows, is performance comedy or pantomime. Eddie goes through the motions of a monkey communicating by signing. He pantomimes conversations between God and Jesus. He pursues happiness with a gun. Yeah, a lot of time he just stands there as he talks...he is a Stand Up Comedian!

Lastly, the transvestite thing. In circle, he doesn't cover his transvestism that much...probably because he's famous enough now he doesn't feel he needs to. Yes, it is part of who he is, but it really doesn't enter into his comedy as much as some may think. In Circle he barely talks about it, just touching on make-up and wearing heels.

All in all, those who have reviewed this DVD unfavorably may want to watch the DVD again with the above points in mind. You may notice, then, how sharp he is so early in the game. Those of you who have yet to view this DVD will be entertained. How much is up to you.

So, keep it groovy, man.

This is a fantabulous DVD! First of all, the show is filled with hilarious jokes from mad cows to Lord Vader in the canteen and all sorts of fun religious bits and more NRA stuff, "Guns don't kill people, people do, and monkeys "if they have a gun!" Fun stuff! Also, there are several fun bonus features like the tour documentary, which shows Eddie having a giggle fit at the end. There is a commentary and a neat little trivia track that teaches us useless information like, "The Statue of Liberty's finger is 8 feet high". Good to know! And for anyone out there who has a crush on Eddie the intro will have your jaw on the floor as it shows short video clips of stocking-clad thighs and leather pants being pulled on!

I noticed that one of the reviewers on here gave one star to
Circle, saying that it didn't compare to Dress to Kill because Eddie bounces around and gets lost in his jokes. Dress to Kill was more than one show; they took the best of all the shows and made one perfect show. At the beginning of this show it says it was filmed on one particular day (June 20th or something like that). That makes it harder to have a perfect show. Also, part of Eddie's comedy is the fact that he is scattered brained. I even read an article where he says he's like that because he is dyslexic and therefore thinks laterally. His comedy is supposed to feel a bit like improv (and some of it is improv) and I thought he pulled it off great in Circle. That reviewer made it sound like Eddie didn't even know what he was saying, I didn't get that impression personally.

If you are a true Eddie fan there's no question you'll love this DVD too!

I've seen both D2K and Glorius and this remains my favorite Eddie Izzard routine. I can see why some people don't like it as much, but I connected with just about all of it: the religion material (I'm studying this in college), the movie references (I'm a big movie buff), the cafeteria in the Death Star (need I say more). Who else would equate the Big Bang with cooking a flan? Who wouldn't be entertained by the stoned olympics? If you like Eddie's work (especially if you like the topics I listed), then I think you'll like Circle.

I am a big Eddie fan, and I almost bought into those negative reviews and didn't get this DVD.Boy, were they wrong.This is a very funny show,if you like intellectual comedy you will love this DVD.You don't need to be familiar with Eddie's work to love this show, you just need to love to laugh.

Before I go into this, you have to realize that I am a HUGE fan of Eddie. When I say this album isn't 'top form', it is in comparison to other works he has done. Eddie Izzard on his worst day is still better than 95% of the comedians out there on their best, so keep this in mind.

Circle is a great album that uses religion and history as one running gag. Just when you think that the content has segued away from religion on some bizarre tangent, it comes racing back to draw inevitable conclusions between Jesus and say... dinosaurs..

I don't really want to go into too much detail here, nor should you read any review that does if you haven't yet heard the album. That's the trouble with comedy albums; they are far too easy to spoil without meaning to.

If you are a fan of Eddie's work, do not hesitate for a moment to buy this album. I own all of his albums and will keep buying them as they come out.

However, if you are new to Eddie.. This album is a good starting point if you are a big fan of the British style of dry wit and subtle humor. If you're new to all of the above, then I would recommend starting off with a little more 'accessible' an album such as Dress to Kill or my personal favorite, Definite Article.

If you've never seen Eddie Izzard before and you order this DVD, you won't be disappointed.

If, like I did, you watch this immediately after watching Dress To Kill and Glorious on consecutive nights, you won't think it's as good.

But come on, people, reality check -- there are very, very few (if any) comics whose -best- shows rival the quality of Izzard's simply average, which is what Circle is. It's one night, take it or leave it, and it was an average night, with some great highs and a few unfunny lows.

But it's still, on the whole, hilarious. Even just reading the teasers in the other reviews here, I started laughing again.

I also know a bit of French (not as much as Eddie, but I can muddle through a conversation). I watched the Dress to Circle extra, which Eddie performs entirely in French. It was hilarious -- I actually thought it was funnier than the main DVD feature, which is probably because it combined the best elements of D2K with the best elements of Circle, with a few entirely new things that were quite funny on their own.

Bottom line: I'm glad I made this purchase and I will be watching this show again and again, just as with D2K and Glorious. I'll be ordering Sexie as soon as it's released -- even if that turns out to be a mediocre Eddie show, I'm certain to do better than if I bought a DVD from some other comic.

Eddie is simply... incomparable. I own several of his DVDs, and while I am a huge fan, I have quickly turned my friends and family into fans as well. We play it all the time at home for our guests, and they are often in stitches from laughing. There are so many fine subtleties to his humor, things you miss the first 10 times you watch but catch on that 11th showing ( hint: the subtitles can help with that). There's a definite intellectual quality to his humor, if you're not an intellectual he'll still make you crack up laughing and you'll learn something new - double trouble. The awesome hotdog bit is my favorite, and most quoted section of his routine. Warning - you will find yourself quoting; but I think that's one of the signs of a genius comedian. If you're considering purchasing this or any of his routines, and are from U.S., I would just say that I hope you have a sense of humor, he pokes fun at many cultures and governments, bringing up everyone's history, and you have to be able to laugh at yourself just as hard as you would while he's making fun of other cultures. Pretty much everyone's fair game, and the funniest part about it all is that the things he says are true. Religion, politics, space exploration, dinosaurs.... If you have an opinion, he'll poke fun. His improvisation is amazing, his mannerisms and gestures contribute much to his jokes and are perfectly timed, his jokes are REFRESHING, original and plain hilarious. Are you Jeff Vader?