Freaks

johnny_ultimate

What. The. Hell.

Now I'd heard all about Freaks being an odd film, but it really is something else. While the film treats its 'stars' with a lot of respect, it also has some really bizarre imagery and characters in it. There is something inherently disturbing about a table of 'freaks' chanting "One of us! One of us!". And what other film has a main character that is a 3 foot tall man child?

While the story and film-making is simple (it is the best part of 75 years old) this is still a very bizarre and involving film. Definitely lives up to its unusual reputation.

Running Bing

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

What. The. Hell.

Now I'd heard all about Freaks being an odd film, but it really is something else. While the film treats its 'stars' with a lot of respect, it also has some really bizarre imagery and characters in it. There is something inherently disturbing about a table of 'freaks' chanting "One of us! One of us!". And what other film has a main character that is a 3 foot tall man child?

While the story and film-making is simple (it is the best part of 75 years old) this is still a very bizarre and involving film. Definitely lives up to its unusual reputation.

Its great though, really effective piece of film making and its never condescending or disrespectful towards the "cast" (Browning was a performer in carnivals and sideshows himself). It is a bit strange though watching a film that would never be made today and if it was would be described as an absolute abomination (although that pretty much happened even at the time and it cost Browning his career).


I heard a story that the head of MGM at the time walked into the canteen one day whilst the cast was having lunched and he was absolutely repulsed and ran right out of the canteen:D

Otis Driftwood

Great little oddity of a movie.

johnny_ultimate

Babybing wrote: »

Its great though, really effective piece of film making and its never condescending or disrespectful towards the "cast" (Browning was a performer in carnivals and sideshows himself). It is a bit strange though watching a film that would never be made today and if it was would be described as an absolute abomination (although that pretty much happened even at the time and it cost Browning his career).

Yeah it is impressive that the film never seems to mock the characters. The community spirit of these social outcasts really comes across, and in some kind of demented sense is sort of uplifting

(well, however much a bunch of limbless dwarves changing a woman into a chicken thing can be uplifting :pac:)

.

tech77

Remember seeing this a few years ago when i was younger and it really disturbed me.
Yeah, it's a sympathetic treatment of these people but it's still kinda shocking to our "normal" sensibilities.
The limbless guy ingeniously lighting a cigarette is a memorable scene.

Blisterman

Pretty cool movie, that definately sticks with you.

I'm a bit conflicted to whether or not the movie is sympathetic to the "freaks" in the cast, or not.

Sure, it shows them as more than just freaks, to be real people.
But, on the other hand, it relies on some of the same tricks that the carnival operators use. In some scenes, they are genuinely presented as scary. And you get the feeling, that although it presents them in a positive light, it's still very much a case of "Roll up, Roll up and gawk at these freaks".
It's hard to articulate, but hopefully some of you know what I'm talking about.

Pigman II

I don't think this movie has any value outside of its frequent pop-culture referencing.

Watch Gummo if you want to see a real bunch of freaks. It's total garbage but is at least a little disturbing and certainly bewildering.