Friday, March 19 «Prev Next»

Repertory Series!

Big Top Cinema

Cirkestra founder Peter Bufano approached us with the idea of doing a series of circus films last year – and we jumped at the chance. This weekend of films features not only classic Hollywood B-movies (FREAKS and NIGHTMARE ALLEY) and more recent celebrations of circus life (BIG TOP PEE-WEE and BIG FISH) but we also wrangled Mr. Bufano to write a brand new, original score for the macabre Tod Browning/Lon Chaney classic THE UNKNOWN which Cirkestra will perform live on the Brattle stage!

This repertory series includes films and events between Friday, March 19 and Sunday, March 21. See individual film and event listings below for today's programs, or click the Calendar link below to see the complete line-up for this series.

Related Links
Calendar for the 'Big Top Cinema' repertory series

Circus Noir!
New 35mm Print!
Nightmare Alley

(1947) dir Edmund Goulding, w/Tyrone Power, Joan Blondell, Coleen Gray [110 min]
Stanton Carlisle, an ambitious carnie, falls in with Zeena, a beautiful but down on her luck scam artist, and her alcoholic husband who have been relegated to a third-rate carnival after their fall from grace. After accidentally killing the husband, Stanton convinces Zeena to reinstate their once famous psychic act, and they do so to great success. However, Stanton falls in love with a younger woman, Molly, and the two are forced take the act on the road, finding even greater success than Zeena and Stanton ever had. Nevertheless their scam is revealed and all of their scheming comes full circle.

New 35mm Print!
Freaks

(1932) dir Tod Browning, w/Wallace Ford, Leila Hyams, Olga Baclanova [64 min]
Strangely beautiful, FREAKS is the preeminent movie about the weird and wonderful world of the sideshow as it once was: fraught with prejudice, deception, and drama. Beautiful but morally bankrupt trapeze artist Cleopatra and her strong-man boyfriend Hercules devise a plan to have her marry the leader of the side show performers, a good natured midget named Hans. However, the rest of the performers smell a rat and set out to prove that Cleopatra is only interested in Hans’ inheritance, and will go to any length to achieve it.