The Greatest Show on Earth
Picture: B Sound: C+
Extras: D Film: B+
When something like Cecil
B. DeMille’s The Greatest Show on Earth
(1952) arrives to DVD and looks stunning it says something very profound about
filmmaking that is over half a century old as well as what a good transfer
should look like despite its age. While
age has a lot to do with a films ‘look’ on DVD, as well as certain restoration,
another factor is laziness, which has plagued the format as certain companies
have seen it fit to recycle older, poorer transfers in order to save a
buck. Other companies are devoted to
delivering superior product and while Paramount does not have a perfect track record they
certainly have some phenomenal examples of good films done right! For example Apocalypse Now Redux, Hud,
John Frankenheimer’s Seconds, and a
few others…this is yet another good example!
I have seen many good
examples of films brought to DVD from the 50’s, but this one offers some of the
best looking color I have seen yet. Other
good examples would be Warner’s reissue of My
Fair Lady, Criterion’s Richard III
(a VistaVision film), and even to some extent the Marilyn Monroe’s from
Fox. It’s almost fair to say that
without prior knowledge of this film that within the first few moments of the
film it’s hard to tell what year this film was made because it looks that
good! While it may not be perfect and
could undergo an even further restoration to alleviate certain issues with
detail and other minor problems, this is certainly more than expected! If the color is right I can live with the
slight imperfections elsewhere and that is exactly the case here!
DeMille would only direct
one film after this and that would be his own revamped and Technicolor version
of The Ten Commandments (1956),
starring Charlton Heston also. DeMille
was responsible for making Hollywood the big production that it is today, his
earlier work was sexually charged romantic comedies and then did more Biblical
epics, which would transform the big screen as little known stars were put
aside and the focus became more drawn on the large scaled sets and production
itself.
The Greatest Show on Earth (with it’s ironic title) studies the complex lives
behind the circus workers as competition to be the ‘main’ attraction pins two
of the circus talents against one another in the ring, while tension outside
the show arises as well between Holly (Betty Hutton) and The Great Sebastien
(Cornel Wilde), they are also a couple as well, which only fuels the fire
between them. A few subplots emerge as
well as a racketeering organization tries to move in on the business as well
and all this boils up through this lengthy, yet powerful production all the way
to the end.
The block style 1.33 X 1
image looks terrific and even with some softness the colors standout quite
well. This is a beautiful example of
just how good Technicolor looks even after many years and when done correctly
on DVD can show the new market of consumers that older films can still be
eye-popping. The Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
has its limits, but still handles pretty well given its age. I would almost be interested to see how a 5.1
mix could have been reworked for a film like this, but sadly that is not the
case here. If the film would have been
made a few years later it most likely would have been shot in 70mm with the
large 6-track magnetic masters, or in Paramount’s case the VistaVision DeMille was soon to employ
on a series of big-budget hits for the company, and that would have really
delivered. Neither was the case.
There are no extras for
this DVD and even the two versions released onto LaserDisc had no supplements
either, so it’s probably fair to say that nothing was ever produced for this
title. DeMille’s The Ten Commandments was just reissued through Paramount and is also reviewed on this site, which makes for
a nice addition to this title. Some may
even think that the picture here looks more accurate overall.
- Nate Goss
