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      Being Different

      1980 1h 43m Documentary List
      Reviews 33% Fewer than 50 Ratings Audience Score This compassionate documentary offers snapshots of a number of people living productive lives while coping with physical abnormalities. Beginning at a sideshow in a Florida carnival, we meet a pair of conjoined twins, a hirsute woman billing herself as "Monkey Girl," a man claiming to be the world's fattest human and more. An interview with Hollywood celebrity Billy Barty introduces a segment about dwarfism and gigantism while segueing into other profiles across the U.S. and Canada. Read More Read Less

      Audience Reviews

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      Audience Member For the 80s, this was a pretty PC look into the lives of what many would call circus freaks. Nothing more than a poke at the surface of how they lived their lives. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 01/12/23 Full Review Audience Member This is one of those feature length docs that makes me think what a pussy I have become. More power to all who all who suffer with a smile. #truegrit Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/22/23 Full Review Audience Member One year after the success of Lynch's Elephant Man, this documentary was released. Clearly, cashing in on its publicity. This would make an interesting double-bill with Todd Browning's Freaks. That said, Being Different is a surprisingly intelligent documentary. The narration by Christopher Plummer is poetic and at times profound and the film creates a great deal of sympathy for the "irregular people". In fact, they never come across as being exploited. (At least not by the filmmakers - more by themselves). The last subject (the woman with no arms) is particularly inspiring. She's strong-minded, positive and has such incredible determination. In fact, I was truly humbled. Most of the film deals with Little People but there are plenty of other intriguing characters. A shame this hasn't been properly released. It's an important document. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/24/23 Full Review Audience Member A fairly well-organized documentary about "human oddities", those people who are born with extraordinary physical conditions that act as both blessings and curses in their own way. The film begins by surveying some of the inhabitants of Gibsonton, Florida--the carnival capital of the USA--to speak with some of those individuals who choose to exhibit themselves, and continues on to speak with people who prefer to live a life of normality. I'm always fascinated by this culture of peculiarity and so I am biased in that I was totally engaged throughout. It's difficult not to be, I think, even if one doesn't share my love of sideshow culture and medical maladies past and present. The interviews are interesting, the people are extraordinary, and as always with these kinds of docs, the conclusion is generally the same--they're as normal and as charming sorts of people as you could imagine. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/13/23 Full Review Read all reviews Post a rating

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      Being Different

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      Movie Info

      Synopsis This compassionate documentary offers snapshots of a number of people living productive lives while coping with physical abnormalities. Beginning at a sideshow in a Florida carnival, we meet a pair of conjoined twins, a hirsute woman billing herself as "Monkey Girl," a man claiming to be the world's fattest human and more. An interview with Hollywood celebrity Billy Barty introduces a segment about dwarfism and gigantism while segueing into other profiles across the U.S. and Canada.
      Director
      Harry Rasky
      Producer
      Don Carmody
      Screenwriter
      Harry Rasky
      Production Co
      Astral Bellevue Pathé
      Genre
      Documentary
      Original Language
      English
      Release Date (Streaming)
      Apr 16, 2018
      Runtime
      1h 43m