Freaks
- Year: 1932
- Country of origin: USA
- Genre: Drama, Horror
- Director: Tod Browning
- Length: 64 min
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Can a full grown woman truly love a midget?
Film Synopsis
Freaks (1932) concerns a sideshow performer in a travelling circus who abandons his fiancée after becoming infatuated with a glamorous trapeze artist. Learning of his inheritance, the aerialist conspires with her strongman lover to marry and murder him, but the surrounding community grows suspicious of her intentions. This pre-Code horror drama moves from intimate scenes of circus life towards betrayal and gathering menace, grounding its sensational premise in the solidarity of performers played largely by people with disabilities and physical differences.
Freaks Blu-ray & DVD editions
See which disc extras are included across selected editions.
| Disc Extras | Criterion BD-A/US 2023 | Warner DVD-1/US/OOP 2004 |
|---|---|---|
| Audio Commentary by David J. Skal | ||
| Freaks: Sideshow Cinema | ||
| Interview with Megan Abbott on Director Tod Browning and Pre-Code Horror | ||
| “Special Message” Re-Release Prologue | ||
| Alternate Endings with Introductions by David J. Skal | ||
| Reading of Short Story “Spurs” | ||
| Stills Gallery |
Edition and Packaging Notes
- Criterion’s Blu-ray is included in the “Tod Browning’s Sideshow Shockers” box set with The Mystic (1925) and The Unknown (1927). It includes a booklet with writing by Farran Smith Nehme.
- Warner’s DVD is also available in the “TCM Greatest Classic Films Collection: Horror” box set with Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1941), House of Wax (1953) and The Haunting (1963).
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Collector’s guide
Compare presentation quality and explore notable disc extras across selected editions.
| Editions | |
|---|---|
| Extras | Audio Commentary by David J. Skal Warner DVD |
| Freaks: Sideshow Cinema Warner DVD | |
| “Special Message” Re-Release Prologue Warner DVD | |
| Alternate Endings with Introductions by David J. Skal Warner DVD |