Cirque de Cinema

Circus Movies!

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  • (Photo Credit: Matthew Akers)
  • A resident of New York City most of the year, Glen Heroy uses his Vespa to get around while he’s on the road with the Big Apple Circus.



In honor of Cirque Du Soleil’s intense new show Ovo, at Atlantic Station, and in conjunction with the documentary mini-series “Circus”, a Fredrieck Wiseman-esque look behind the scenes of the Big Apple Circus currently running on a PBS station near you, and available for download on iTunes; and inspired by the recent meme making the rounds featuring a “cell phone time traveler” in background footage of the DVD release of Charlie Chaplin’s The Circus, I was compelled to compile a list of films that feature the circus, or in which the circus plays a pivotal role.

Circus:
The folks at PBS were so kind as to write a sample blog post—which I’ll copy outright:
“This collection of online resources is available for you to use and share CIRCUS on your blog, website or social networks. Please feel free to re-post any of the content found on this page along with the fact that CIRCUS premieres Wednesday, November 3, 2010, 9:00-11:00 p.m. ET on PBS. More information about CIRCUS is available at the PBS Pressroom.

Sample Blog Post
Haven’t you always wanted to ditch your day job and run away with the circus? Well, now is your chance. In November PBS airs CIRCUS, a new multi-part documentary about life under the big top. For the series, producers followed the Big Apple Circus for the better part of a year, capturing the gritty, real moments between performers, managers and crew. The result is a taut production that reveals back lot drama without tarnishing our love affair with the glitter and spectacle of the circus. The producers coupled beautiful performance footage — much of it slowed enough to depict the immense physical control and strength of the artists — with personal, quirky vignettes about love, loss and ambition. They captured the story of Big Apple Circus Founder, Paul Binder, who is stepping down from his post after more than 30 years in the ring. And we see the tale of rookie Glen Heroy, who, in his mid-40s, is braving the circus limelight for all the glory and pain that is clowning. This documentary gives viewers front-row access to the inner-workings of a fascinating community. PBS CIRCUS premieres on November 3, 2010, 9:00-11:00 p.m. ET.”