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Variety

1925 1h 19m Drama List
100% Tomatometer 9 Reviews 82% Popcornmeter 50+ Ratings
This silent German film tells a tale of jealousy, obsession and murder, set against the backdrop of the circus. Carnival owner "Boss" Huller (Emil Jannings) used to be a talented acrobat. Now he owns a lowbrow sideshow act with his wife. When he meets a beautiful young woman (Lya De Putti), he runs off with her, abandoning his family. But a strapping trapeze artist (Warwick Ward) soon lures away Huller's new lover. Huller then realizes he has swiftly moved from cheater to cuckold.

Critics Reviews

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Evelyn Gerstein The New Republic It moves rhythmically, relentlessly towards its end, a perfectly coordinated work of art, each detail pertinent, illuminating, carved in the round. There is no gesture that is unconsidered, no planting of the camera that is not arresting and eloquent. Sep 3, 2021 Full Review J. R. Jones Chicago Reader The way emotions play across [Jannings'] wide face it could practically be a movie screen itself. Sep 22, 2016 Full Review Mordaunt Hall New York Times This is a production which not only shows the way in which a story should be unfurled, but impresses one with the magic of the camera in picturing effects, such as the torrent of thoughts rushing through a maddened mind. Mar 25, 2006 Full Review Robert E. Sherwood LIFE It is another genuine demonstration of the amazing scope of the movies. Oct 2, 2021 Full Review Richard Propes TheIndependentCritic.com Remains a vivid and powerful film to this day. Rated: 3.5/4.0 Sep 26, 2020 Full Review Edwin Seaver The New Masses Variety riots in the beauty of materials, of things alive and perfect in themselves. May 8, 2020 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Audience Member One would think that a circus couldn't be exciting on a movie screen, not least because what makes acrobatics and acts of derring-do so riveting is being physically present at an event where there is the possibility of a terrible mistake. And yet, Varieté manages to be exciting with quick cuts and exceedingly clever camera angles, such as when the camera shoots from the point of view of an acrobat perilously swinging upside-down above an enraptured audience. Dupont's visual intelligence is on full display here, and narrative symmetry is used to breathtaking effect, such as in the two trapeze scenes which rhyme with one another to create tension. The acting is very good, even down to the extras. For example, the audience members watching the trapeze show midway through the film all exhibit distinct personalities during their short time on-screen. Jannings has astonishing emotional range as the front-man, and makes this tale of envy and betrayal highly believable without ever speaking a word. The film also has a great score, which drives the action along without resorting to the repetition that silent film scores often do (I watched a restoration of the German version with the score by the Berklee Silent Film Orchestra). Silent melodrama at its finest. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/22/23 Full Review andrey k Tremendous German spectacle from their most prolific era of the 20's. Production is outstanding, visuals are dazzling, acting is superb. The intense performance of Emil Jannings is tour-de-force one must see, especially in the second half of the movie when he's trying to cope with jealousy. The suspense particularly in the acrobatic scenes is of high-level. No wonder Hitchcock admired this picture. This film is German "studio constructivism" at its best. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member A beautifully restored German Classic about a mysterious prisoner reflecting on his life as an acrobat & his struggles with life & the young woman he has an affair with that is distracted by the other acrobat. Visually decades ahead of contemporaries & shots that stay with you long after the scene has moved on. Emil Jannings was truly a consummate actor that engulfed the film. From early in the piece you know the film is going in a tragic direction but it is none the less gripping. A stunning circus drama that must be seen for film lovers. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/31/23 Full Review Audience Member Boss is a washed up trapeze artist who gets a second lease on life once he abandons his wife and child to go on the road with a younger woman. The adulterous pair are taken in by a renowned and successful acrobat, but his lecherous designs bring out Boss' homicidal jealousy. Variety's frank depictions of lust and violence resulted in it being cut, censored, and edited into an incomprehensible mess for its initial American release. Overlooked for decades, a 2014 restoration of this film shed new light on its daring cinematography, cool stunts, and intense storytelling. As a whole, Variety is an underrated gem of German Expressionism and it's worth tracking down. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/05/23 Full Review Audience Member A wonderful movie from the Weimar period, when German cinema was exploring the endless posibilities of the film medium as the new form of expression of the Modern Era. Had the chance to enjoy a restored version of the film by the Murnau Stiftung. The movie was accompanied by music by Mambo Noire Trio who played live at the Stockholms Cinemateket. Emil Janings plays an acrobat who along with his new young wife would become big acrobat stars in Berlin. The complex camera work, and the unusual camera angles take the stage than the plot in "Variete". Dupont tried to capture the excitement of the spectacle, both from the perspective of the acrobats and from the perspective of the spectator. The plans interchange one another, with close shots to the faces that capture every feeling, every blink of the eye. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/04/23 Full Review Read all reviews
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Movie Info

Synopsis This silent German film tells a tale of jealousy, obsession and murder, set against the backdrop of the circus. Carnival owner "Boss" Huller (Emil Jannings) used to be a talented acrobat. Now he owns a lowbrow sideshow act with his wife. When he meets a beautiful young woman (Lya De Putti), he runs off with her, abandoning his family. But a strapping trapeze artist (Warwick Ward) soon lures away Huller's new lover. Huller then realizes he has swiftly moved from cheater to cuckold.
Director
E.A. Dupont
Producer
Erich Pommer
Screenwriter
E.A. Dupont
Genre
Drama
Runtime
1h 19m