Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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92 of 93 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
For the die hard fans., October 16, 2003
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.
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27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
More than reviews led me to believe!!! Classic Izzard!, October 27, 2003
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.
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41 of 46 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not as fresh as D2K, but still very funny, September 29, 2003
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.
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DVD ~ Eddie Izzard
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