The Circus
This four-hour mini-series tells the story of one of the most popular and influential forms of entertainment in American history. Through the intertwined stories of several of the most innovative and influential impresarios of the late nineteenth century, the films reveals the circus was a uniquely American entertainment created by a rapidly expanding and industrializing nation; that its history was shaped by a tension between its unconventional entertainments and prevailing standards of respectability; and that its promise for ordinary people was the possibility for personal reinvention. For many Americans, the circus embodied the improbable and the impossible, the exotic and the spectacular. Drawing upon a vast and richly visual archive and featuring a host of performers, historians and aficionados, The Circus follows the rise and fall of the gigantic, traveling tented railroad circus and brings to life an era when Circus Day would shut down a town and its stars were among the most famous people in the country.
a WINTER PINK FILMS production for AMERICAN EXPERIENCE written, produced and directed by SHARON GRIMBERG edited by MARK DUGAS and JON NEUBURGER narrated by MICHAEL MURPHY co-producer MELISSA MARTIN POLLARD original music by GARY LIONELLI and NATHAN HALPERN cinematography JASON LONGO and STEPHEN MCCARTHY“This dazzling documentary… gets to the point at once—namely, how it happened that, from its earliest days, the circus cast a spell Americans found irresistible.
— The Wall Street Journal
Photo credits: Tightening ropes, Courtesy of the Library of Congress; Elephants in train yard, Courtesy of The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art; Spectacle performer Zelda Boden, Courtesy of The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art; Circus Horses, Courtesy of the Library of Congress; Elephants in Parade, Library of Congress; Circus girl with horse, Courtesy of the Library of Congress; Sideshow, Courtesy of the Library of Congress; Clown talks to aerialist Lilian Leitzel, Courtesy of the Library of Congress; Equestrian on horseback, Courtesy of the Library of Congress