Comments on: Freaks

Freaks

flug — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 14:30:22 -0800

Tod Browning's 1932 cinematic masterpiece Freaks tells the story of a close-knit group of circus sideshow workers who are wronged and take revenge. The film's use of real-life freaks so disturbed audiences that some ran screaming from theaters, distributors refused to handle the film, and it was banned in Britain for over 30 years.

Audience feedback at preview screenings and changes demanded by censors meant that 30 minutes of "repulsive elements" in the original cut were removed or replaced. A lengthy text prologue was hastily added and at least three different endings were tried, none completely satisfactory. Even with these changes, all designed to minimize the grotesque and disturbing impact of the film, audiences of the day did not accept it. MGM finally withdrew it at a loss of some $164,000. Today, critics are more likely to praise the audacious aesthetic and philosophical lengths to which Browning goes to challenge the way we define beauty and abnormality or even parse it as a distorted symbol of the Hollywood studio system Browning worked under. Freaks was (loosely) based on the short story Spurs by Tod Robbins. Full movie: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 (These Youtube links have noticeably better picture and sound quality than the Google Video version linked above; the Google Video version has the text prologue missing in Youtube version.) Notable excerpts: Prince Randian lights a cigarette with his lips - dancing in the forest - Schlitzie - wedding banquet - chase scene/trailer Miscellaneous: Analysis - documents and photos - review1 - review2 - Johnny Eck - Schlitzie - IMDB - posters - Zippy connection - previously

By: dersins

dersins — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 14:31:45 -0800

gabba gabba

By: adipocere

adipocere — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 14:34:03 -0800

Gooble gobble! Gooble gobble! One of us!

By: tkolar

tkolar — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 14:37:18 -0800

If ever there was a good use for the "oneofus" tag....

By: It's Raining Florence Henderson

It's Raining Florence Henderson — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 14:40:24 -0800

The sequel, Freaks and Geeks, though also a money loser, was better received by critics.

By: Astro Zombie

Astro Zombie — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 14:41:42 -0800

I actually prefer the short story. But the Hilton twins are adorable in this film, and Johnny Eck remains amazing. You know, he eventually retired to his native Baltimore and painted images on screens, which is, apparenly, some sort of folk are there?

By: Brandon Blatcher

Brandon Blatcher — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 14:53:14 -0800

WOW, cgi was amazing back then!

By: roll truck roll

roll truck roll — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 14:58:26 -0800

I'm here to mention the Ramones and/or the Clerks cartoon.

By: Astro Zombie

Astro Zombie — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 15:06:00 -0800

folk art, rather.

By: Bathtub Bobsled

Bathtub Bobsled — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 15:11:51 -0800

So, we are to believe that any audacious piece of filmmaking will ultimately win acclaim as soon as critics are slowly desensitized to objectionable imagery (long after its due)? Sigh, somewhere Harmony Korine and Takashi Miike are staring at a clock.

By: Seamus

Seamus — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 15:13:53 -0800

As shitty as Texas may be, Austin has an honest to god Freak Show called 999 Eyes. Their back up band (That Damned Band) is spectacular if you like accordions and circus music and wash tub basses and saws. Some of their musicians are also 'freaks". Spectacular music. Great fun to watch. Can be a bit disconcerting if you happen to stumble upon a performance late at night in the Enchanted Forest while fostering a momentous drunk. But that is a story best told in person. Check out their bio page. It reads as if it was written by a special education inclusion specialist. They claim to be the first real 'freak show' in 40 years. Jackie the Human Tripod is an amazing songstress. Damn! I just missed a show.

By: djeo

djeo — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 15:26:13 -0800

Wow, I was just telling a friend about this movie a few hours ago. That's freaky.

By: sluglicker

sluglicker — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 15:29:27 -0800

I'm known as a human tripod too, but I don't sing.

By: etaoin

etaoin — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 15:33:09 -0800

So, is the one that shows up on TCM the edited-down version? I'll admit that the characters seemed so disturbing the first time I saw this, I couldn't follow the story at all. The second time around, I found the movie a little charming.

By: flapjax at midnite

flapjax at midnite — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 15:57:52 -0800

Le freak. C'est chic.

By: ORthey

ORthey — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 16:43:20 -0800

Oh, Hans. I love you, Hans.

By: Shepherd

Shepherd — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 16:46:41 -0800

I think I can kinda self-link due to extreme relevance: Last page, second-last panel. I love Freaks.

By: Countess Elena

Countess Elena — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 17:14:39 -0800

I love it, too. I never did have nightmares about it. Cleopatra and the strongman were the monsters, not any of the titular circus employees, and that was what I came away with, even though I saw it as a ten-year-old. I remember defending this movie against someone at my college's Women's Center who wanted us to protest a campus showing because it exploited the handicapped. Nobody who saw Johnny Eck grin could think he was that easy to exploit.

By: kozad

kozad — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 17:28:30 -0800

My friend's mom knew Johnny Eck. I don't see this on the Internet, but I heard he was a stained-glass artist in his later years. (He was the guy without a lower torso, pretty much the hero of the film.)

By: Nathaniel W

Nathaniel W — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 18:50:00 -0800

Wow, nice collection of links, flug. Freaks has always struck me as a little clunky at times (never sure if it was the edits forced upon it or Browning's storytelling), but I really do love it and it has a handful of scenes that are among the most memorable I've ever seen. I'd never read the story it was based on before. It was really a bit more like I expected the film to be before I'd seen it, and I enjoyed it. Reading it did confirm, though, that one of the reasons I like the movie so much is because it feels more generous than that. Hans is not as malevolent as Courbet is in the story, and getting to spend time with all the other members of the show and see their little family together gives the film more sympathy for the freaks, despite the horror of the ending. Plus Johnny Eck is amazing and getting to see a filmed record of the people in the show is really neat. Randian, the human worm, always fascinated me.

By: msalt

msalt — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 22:21:12 -0800

It's been a long time but the limbless guy with a knife in his teeth, and the final revenge image, both have really stuck with me.

By: MrMoonPie

MrMoonPie — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 05:37:38 -0800

A post about Freaks is incomplete without a mention of Geek Love.

By: flug

flug — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 12:51:54 -0800

So, is the one that shows up on TCM the edited-down version? According to this review basically only one print has survived and it is the edited-down version--so reduced by approx. 30 minutes of footage from the original. According to the same review, all that additional footage has been lost, with the exception of some alternative ending footage that is available as part of the DVD released in 2004 (that part of the DVD is also on YouTube, linked to in the OP). If you watch the alternative endings and note the type of editing that was done there, you could make a plausible case that the same types of edits throughout could have had a negative cumulative effect on the continuity and overall impact of the film. So the original may have been a noticeably stronger film. But that's just a guess . . .