VeteranLight I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

Cleveronix A different way of telling a story

Mandeep Tyson The acting in this movie is really good.

Juana what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

cynthiahost I oppose communism.Its a dictatorship around workers.This is no different than a dictatorship around big business and the wealthy.No even right and responsibilities no checks or balance.But the Communist Russian classic film, I finally saw, was great .I happen to be Orlova fan.A piece of this film was used in a comedy documentary about Czechoslovakia or was it Poland? first feature that had sound in it,they were very late.This film tells the struggles of and circus performer ,played by Orlova ,and her tyrannical agent ,A German American,i think,Paval Masslasky ,who looks typical of a bad guy.She has a secret She has a black baby .He threatens her that if she dumps him he will tell every one about her truth.She fall in love with fellow Circus performer,played by Sergei Stolyarove,but her manger get in the way of that.Arlova was a good actress and singer and dancer.Unfortunately mainstream corporate film firms and broad cast channels would never broadcast or distribute this hypocritically just because it under the communist regime and its impersonating Hollywood throws of the fact that it was made under a murderous dictatorship fortunately on line resources offer the print for American players ,but no subtitles.One of the characters is another circus performer who pretend to be Charlie Chaplin.He must of been Russia's favorite,portrayed by a Charlie Chaplin looking N.Otto .This movie also pays Russian tribute to Busby Berkley.There a big number near the ending that shows all the chorus girl changing in one movement style to another with Lyuba in the middle singing and dancing.This should really appeal to serious classic film fans,who don't like to be over expose to popular classics.Cause this on is unpopular.This should appeal to you,to compete in a healthy way ,with t.c.m.By the way Sergei appeared in a popular Russian classic Ivan the terrible part 1 and 2.You can get it in the united states from amazon.com and eBay, at this writing. 06/23/13

Nicole Renee I haven't seen many propaganda films but among the ones I have seen, Tsirk was the most entertaining. Tsirk is a socialist propaganda movie commissioned by Stalin with an overall theme of equality and unity. Marion, played by Lyubov Orlova, is an American dancer on tour with a secret. Von Kneishitz her stage manager, who seems very German, knows her secret and threatens to expose her because he believes her secret is so scandalous that no one will accept her. In the end Marion's secret is exposed to the public but it turns out the public does not replace her, because they are soviet Russia and they accept everyone no matter what! It was interesting to see this movie and be able to compare it to the musicals that were being created at the same time in other parts of the world. I also found it interesting that they had to have a character in the movie that was evil and represented Germans. The very end of the movie was the best because the extreme amount of obvious propaganda. The movie as a whole was a propaganda film but the ending reminded me of watching the grand finale of a fireworks how they once gradually get faster and increase in number. The end of this movie was also like a grand finale for soviet propaganda. The song and the people involved with it gradually increased, got louder and a huge picture of Stalin was carried by the crowd. I'm glad I watched it for historical purposes but I would only recommend the film to someone who was interested in history or propaganda films.

americanmovie3000 Circus is about an American dancer, who is touring through Moscow – as a dancer in the circus. She falls in love with a soldier in Russia. It's discovered that she is the mother of an interracial child, which displeases her manager. She comes under attack from him, but she is ultimately accepted into the loving embrace of the Soviet people.The director of Circus – Grigori Aleksandrov – had a specific purpose when making this film - to show that the unity of the people could rise above any opposing force. The film serves as a propaganda piece for Russia, Stalin, and socialism. At the end of the film, when our main character is under attack from the villain, everyone in the circus audience quickly comes to her aid and hides the baby from hard. This represents the unity and equality of the Russian people. Everyone is equal and everyone is accepted. The film takes place in the 1930s, in Russia. Most of the action takes place within the walls of the circus. Although, at the end of the film, the whole group of performers and friends march through the streets of Moscow in praise of unity, communism, and Russia. I thought the movie was very interesting and thought provoking. Not only did it contain musical elements, but it also proclaimed an intense social message. I especially liked the story line, because it seemed unique and interesting - how many movies about American dancers in the Russian circus are there?I would definitely recommend this film to a friend because of the unique story, the 30s-era musical numbers, and the interesting social message. Not many movies usually spell out their message in such a way as Circus did. Imagine if every movie with an important social message had its characters run through the streets at the end, proclaiming the lesson learned!It's interesting to see a moment in time, in a country where the people are so passionate about unity. You know things were not this perfect in real life, but its fun to see a glossed over version of history - if only to recognize its weirdness.

edwartell We rented this movie for my Russian grandmother; she's seen it, she says, 17 times. Scary. This is a saccharine romance in which an American actress, impregnated by a black man, escapes to Russia and starts a new life. She loves one man; the heavy, however, threatens that if she doesn't marry him, he will reveal her secret. This continues for a long time until the end, when he does so; indignantly, the masses at the circus rise and say that it doesn't matter what color the baby is, this is tolerant Russia! Then, for no reason whatsoever, the actress and her new lover are marching at the head of a huge parade singing about the freedom that Soviet Russia provides.This is one of those knock-off comedies that Aleksandrov made after returning from Hollywood. It even features a Chaplin impersonator. It's not that great, and anyone who masochistically feels they simply must learn about Soviet film in the 1930s would be advised to stick to Eisenstein and The Three Songs Of Lenin.