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Robert Harris

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Gee, Brad, it's not as bad as all that. Some contemporary reviews really liked it.

Mr. DeMille's 1952, 152 minute circus extravaganza, The Greatest Show on Earth finally arrives from Paramount, as one of the hold-out Best Pictures to hit Blu-ray as spine number 16.

It just doesn't stand that "test of time" everyone talks about.

Derived from a scan of the original negative(s), it looks just fine, Brad.

Peopled with actual circus performers, with a handful of SAG players thrown in for good measure, it comes of as being what it was back in 1952, a quasi-professional production, directed with all the verve that Cecil DeMille could throw at it.

As noted, people have been requesting this one for ages, and now they have it...

Fans of the circus should love it. I'm one of those who can still not figure out how it won Best Picture.

Image – 5

Audio – 5

Pass / Fail – Pass

Upgrade from DVD – Yes

RAH
 
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Rob_Ray

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THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH won as the Best Picture of 1952 mainly because Cecil B. DeMille made the first film ever shot in Hollywood, had been working continuously since then, and, at 71, may not have had another opportunity to take home a well-deserved career Oscar. Nobody knew that his biggest hit would come four years later. And it's not the worst film to win the Oscar. Actually, far from it. It may not be the best film of 1952, but it was a huge crowd-pleaser and epitomized what DeMille had excelled at for over 40 years. Had the Lifetime Achievement Oscar been created yet? If not, that's what this was.
 

Alan Tully

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Ha, 5 for image & audio, that'll do for me. As corny as hell, but I like it (I only read these reviews for technical info, I know what I like by now), I'm glad I pre-ordered it. So that's, Unconquered (1947), Samson & Delilah (1949), The Greatest Show On Earth 91952) & The Ten Commandments (1956), a nice run of Technicolor DeMille films on Blu-ray (my favourite there is Unconquered).
 

battlebeast

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I’m excited to get this for My collection. I’m very glad the picture and sound are perfect; I can’t wait to watch this again.

As for the Oscars, if it was for “lifetime Achievement,” wouldn’t they have given him Best Director? Anyway, I always heard that it won over High Noon because the latter was considered too communist or some such like that. I dont see it myself, but that’s what I’ve read and heard.
 
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Rob_Ray

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I think DeMille didn't win as Best Director for the same reason that Michael Anderson didn't win for AROUND THE WORLD IN EIGHTY DAYS. Audiences left the theater saying "Boy, that was a great show!" Few people left saying "Boy, that was a great film!". DeMille didn't make great films. He made great shows. It's a subtle difference that becomes apparent at Oscar time.
 

Matt Hough

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Nope, the 1952 Best Picture Oscar was not given to DeMille to honor his lifetime achievements. The Academy had already done that in 1949 - an honorary Oscar for his achievements as a film pioneer. The Board of Governors also voted him the Irving Thalberg Award for his lifetime role as a producer in 1952 as well. So the Academy voted for The Greatest Show on Earth because they wanted to honor it as the year's best picture. Obviously a majority of the voters that year felt that way. It's too bad they didn't reveal vote totals as it would have been interesting to see which film was the runner-up.
 

cinemel1

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Glad to know this received your 5 rating for Image and sound. I for one really enjoy this film and it is true DeMille over the top directing. Looking forward to its delivery.
This was the first movie that I saw more than once. I was 10 years old and loved trains. If nothing else it puts on the screen what has been cancelled, the circus. Children will never have that experience as it was in 1952. At least they can see it in this film with the actual ”greatest show on earth”. DeMile narrates the workings of the circus in documentary style. Also any film with Gloria Grahame is pretty good in my book.
 

Nick*Z

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Can't wait for The Greatest Show on Earth. Odd that nobody has a listing for the pre-order for this yet - not even Amazon, given that it's supposed to be coming down the pike in less than 2 weeks. Very odd indeed.
 

Robert Crawford

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Can't wait for The Greatest Show on Earth. Odd that nobody has a listing for the pre-order for this yet - not even Amazon, given that it's supposed to be coming down the pike in less than 2 weeks. Very odd indeed.
It's been listed on Amazon for weeks now.





Some of you guys need to subscribe to this Amazon Pre-Order thread.
 

Mark Booth

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Another nominee for BP in 1952 was High Noon. Some believed that Academy voters shied away from voting for High Noon because its screenwriter, Carl Foreman, had just been blacklisted. However, The Greatest Show on Earth also won all three of its Golden Globe nominations; BP-Drama, Best Director and Best Cinematography.

Mark
 

Colin Jacobson

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Nope, the 1952 Best Picture Oscar was not given to DeMille to honor his lifetime achievements. The Academy had already done that in 1949 - an honorary Oscar for his achievements as a film pioneer. The Board of Governors also voted him the Irving Thalberg Award for his lifetime role as a producer in 1952 as well. So the Academy voted for The Greatest Show on Earth because they wanted to honor it as the year's best picture. Obviously a majority of the voters that year felt that way. It's too bad they didn't reveal vote totals as it would have been interesting to see which film was the runner-up.

The Oscars can do both, and I think for those involved with films, an award for a specific movie is more prized than one for cumulative work.

The "lifetime" stuff kinda seems like a consolation prize, so even though CBD already had the Thalberg, I'm sure he still craved a "real" Oscar...
 

Nick*Z

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It's been listed on Amazon for weeks now.





Some of you guys need to subscribe to this Amazon Pre-Order thread.

Actually, it's never been available for a 'live' pre-order. You just get this:

Temporarily out of stock.
We are working hard to be back in stock as soon as possible.

You can add it to your wish list, but that isn't the same as a legitimate pre-order, which this title has yet to all on Amazon.com or Amazon.ca. Just odd. Very odd.
 

Nick*Z

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Actually, it's never been available for a 'live' pre-order. You just get this:

Temporarily out of stock.
We are working hard to be back in stock as soon as possible.

You can add it to your wish list, but that isn't the same as a legitimate pre-order, which this title has yet to allow for on Amazon.com or Amazon.ca. Just odd. Very odd. It's also not available for a pre-order on other popular internet websites like Movies Unlimited, or Screen Archives.
 

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