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By
NICK ZEGARAC
"The Greatest Show on Earth" is Cecil B. DeMille's epic melodrama of tragedy set under the auspices of the big top. It's a mind-bogglingly overstuffed bon-bon of oddities: James Stewart masquerading as a clown who is actually a murderer; Betty Hutton lampooning a trapeze artist; Charlton Heston overacting as the macho manager, attempting to part a herd of elephants as though they were the Red Sea; beefcake, Cornel Wilde as a vane trapeze artist who becomes crippled; sultry, Dorothy Lamour as a singing gold digger and equally as sultry Gloria Grahame as the gold digger after Heston's heart once Hutton dumps him for Wilde.
True to form, DeMille's eye is never far from the candy and on this occasion the director seems to enjoy drowning his audience in the absurdity of circus lives. Nevertheless, this is one heck of a good piece of 50s kitsch, a real barnburner that will make you want to book a seat at the nearest circus. The climactic derailment of the circus train is outstanding.
The transfer is full frame, as it should be. Colors are rich, bright and bold. Age related artifacts crop up now and then but do not terrible distract. Shadow and contrast levels are bang on. There is a slight hint of edge enhancement and some pixelization, particularly on scenes that have been shot with rather obvious matte paintings standing in for background, but again, these do not distract. The audio is a big fat mono but nicely balanced. There are no extra features on this disc. Still, this one's a vintage necessity for your film library! |
