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Circuit
by TLA Releasing
| List Price: |
$14.99 |
| Price: |
$12.99 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. |
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$2.00 (13%) |
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DVD
Publisher: TLA Releasing
Format: Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
Actors: Jonathan Wade-Drahos, Andre Khabbazi, Brian Lane Green, Kiersten Warren, Daniel Kucan
From Director Dirk Schafer, whose "Man of the Year" pulled women's magazine centerfolds out of the closet, comes this sultry hyper-kinetic drama set in the sex-and-pecs, music and steroid world of the circuit party scene-where drugs flow and inhibitions fall on the sweaty dance floor. John is a closeted small-town cop who moves to L.A., where he is quickly seduced into a new lifestyle. As John falls deeper and deeper into a spiral of drugs and carousing, his one chance for redemption lies in the arms of his new boyfriend.
| Customer Reviews: |
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| Party hard?! |
| Customer Rating: 4 out of 5 |
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I saw this at the Reel Pride festival last November (2001), and couldn't stop thinking about it for days afterward. While it's been called a "wake-up call" to some members of the gay community it doesn't come off as didactic as it could. Instead you find yourself caring about the characters and wondering what will happen to them after the movie ends.
The only thing wrong with the film is the intended main character, i.e., the cop who leaves the repressive and hostile smalltown life for the wildlife of West Hollywood. While his character is not a static one, the changes that take place in his life seem to come as a result of his passivity rather than any active move on his part. This isn't helped by the bland and vanilla acting of Jonathan Wade-Drahos. Andre Khabbazi as the jaded Hector on the other hand brings much to his character, and so Hector becomes the one your heart goes out to. Wade-Drahos acting aside, this is a well-told story, and one that merits a wide release. Check it out as soon as you can. As for me, I can't wait for the video.
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| I'm In The Minority Here... |
| Customer Rating: 1 out of 5 |
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I'd like to help the Director Dirk Shafer and the screenwriter Gregory Hinton make this a better movie.
This movie took me to a place I am unlikely never to see; the world of circuit parties. Some reviewers have praised this film for it's honesty and unflinching look at circuit parties. WHO CARES? If I wanted to learn about circuit parties, I'd tour the local sewage treatment plant.
Mr. Shafer and Mr Hinton, you can't seem to make up your minds if this film is supposed to be a fictional account or if it's a documentary. It fails miserably at both. The film tries to show the shallowness, danger and narcissism of the circuit lifestyle and becomes shallow and narcissistic itself. The plot is razor-thin (pardon the pun) the musical montages are wincingly bad. Worst of all the characters are cardboard cut-outs moved from scene to scene. We never really see any motivation let alone any growth. And in place of redemption Shafer offers a cheap and easy out: death.
I make these suggestions, Mr. Shafer, because I think -- and correct me if I'm wrong -- that you were trying to make a fictional film. Because if you were trying to make a documentary you would have partnered with Ken Burns and gotten funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
The best movies have character-driven plots. My .02 Mr. Shafer: you really missed the boat with the main character. John leaves Illinois because he's been outed at work as a police officer and is led into the vacuous and empty world of the gay circuit party. Allow me to make some suggestions. Why doesn't he get a job as a cop in LA -- or at least attempt to? That would have lead to all sorts of interesting developments. How do his new coworkers feel about his sexuality? How does he deal with the demands of his job after a hard night of partying? How do the other characters such as Hector react to John's getting a job? Cop in LA --let's see...corruption, Rodney King...lots of opportunities there.
One last suggestion. Instead of having John leave Illinois couldn't he move to that big city up there by Lake Michigan? What's the name of it again? The city that beat LA as the USOC candidate for the 2016 Olympics? Oh yeah -- Chicago. But, silly me, gay men only live on the two coasts and the middle of America is simply a vast wasteland to be flown over.
And treated with the utmost contempt.
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| it is like going to a club |
| Customer Rating: 5 out of 5 |
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this dose show you the dark under bellie of the crcuits and the problems it cases for peolple
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| Drugs, drugs, drugs and bois |
| Customer Rating: 3 out of 5 |
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"CIRCUIT"
Drugs, Drugs, Drugs and Bois
Amos Lassen and Cinema Pride
We know that drug addiction is a problem in the gay community and especially at circuit parties, but "Circuit" (TLA Releasing) goes a bit to far with its assumption that everyone at a circuit party is a druggie. The film does say what the drug laden circuit party syndrome does to its victims but it presents a picture that is not true for anyone. But have no feat, there is a happy ending.
Dirk Shafer (former Playgirl man of the year and subject of a film of that name) directed this expose of the circuit party scene. It is an interesting look at the gay dance marathons that travel the United States. Let me start with the good points. The characters are beautiful specimens of masculinity and can even act. The story is compelling and interesting and the costumes are fantastic. The characters are such that they make you care for them. The idea of a movie within a movie is wonderful and it allowed the characters to express their points of view and showed them at their most vulnerable even though they saw themselves as invincible. The deterioration of the characters is real but hard to watch because it is real. There are some excellent performances and by and large the movie is well done. It also makes those that disagree with it angry. It is a picture of the way some live but it does not represent all of us. It is about circuit boys and not about the gays that live a regular life. It is not just about circuit parties as it explores the characters in detail.
It all begins with a cop in the Midwest who leaves it behind to move to West Hollywood and opens up his repressed past and learns to accept it. He experiences everything about circuit life--the drugs, the sex, the emphasis on physical appearance and beauty and he falls from grace and has to deal with the results of his drug use and the changes in his lifestyle.
We get to know other characters too and the viewer gains a sense of who they are and why they behave the way they do. Some of the issues dealt with in the movie are the fear of aging and the perpetual party, perfect body toning, and of course drug usage. It has something to say and if you can get through the shallowness that hits you in the face at first, there is something to see and absorb. It is a good depiction of the subject matter. The bodies are amazing, the guys are handsome. It presents a very deductive atmosphere.
What failed in the movie? For one the sound is horrible although the soundtrack is great. It is very hard to understand some of what is said. Production value is sorely lacking and although some of the characters deliver fine performances there are some really weak ones as well.
Overall, I enjoyed the film but I did see its shortcomings. It is a move toward helping us establish a genre of our own so it is welcome. Even if it is not perfect, it has something to say.
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| Haven't you ever loved someone that no-one could understand? |
| Customer Rating: 1 out of 5 |
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Drugs, drugs, and more drugs! This film goes way way overboard with drug addiction. It does give an expose of what the drug laden gay circuit life does to it's victims. At least there is somewhat of a happy ending with the main character, a very hot ex-cop getting his act together after the death of a hustler he had been in love with. I suppose it was a good depiction of it's subject matter, but this film was definately not my cup of tea. The video quality lacked extensively and the soundtrack was disgusting. The cast was good and they done a fairly good job with their acting, but I honestly wouldn't recommend this film to anyone. I bought it at a bargain discount price, but still feel that I wasted my money and my time watching it. The description was much better than the film. If you like drugs, hustlers, watching people ruin their lives and aging very ungracefully, you might like this flick. There are a lot of self-absorbed characters, AIDS, deception, villians, and self abuse. I really found nothing in this film that I could relate to, or would ever want to relate. Definately not main stream. Maybe I'm sheltered, but this film make me rather proud of that fact. I got nothing out of it, but perhaps you will if you decide to see this one. I found the whole thing revolting and sick. It was however put together pretty well, so I suppose that is something postive to say about "Circuit". Three thumbs down...........
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