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Circuit

Circuit

List Price: $19.99
Your Price: $17.99
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Dark and Hopeful
Review: As movies go, it was entertaining and informitive. A good movie to watch. It had some darkness too it and it addressed self destructive behavior and hit some very real gay issues on the head. Most folks I know have never been part of this type of life, not that they would not have enjoyed it if they had the chance when they where young and it would have nearly destroyed them as it has so many others. Its a peek into a diffrent world and the quality of the production was good. The acting was good and the script, engaging. This would be a good investment and a possitive addition to the video collection.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Rent or buy it as soon as possible.
Review: At first the movies starts out and you are immedietly confused but stick with it. I hardly ever get emotionally envolved with a movie. But I screamed and ranted and cried at the television this time. The movie doesn't gloss over life and through out it there is a very dark undertone. Highly recommended

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Another segment of the gay life
Review: CIRCUIT does not purport to be a total description of the Los Angeles gay population as some reviewers seem to believe and object. This film shows a very real segment of men whose lives ARE ruled by physical appearance, gym bodies, dance clubs, sexy clothes and drug abuse. 'Circuit' refers to the widespread gay parties that glorify the razzle dazzle of Dionysian sexuality - the White Party in Palm Springs, the Red Party, the Blue Party, etc. The story shows how a closeted cop from a small town ventures to West Hollywood, finds comradery in the freedom of life he has been repressing, and goes all the way with the extremes of the wild life, ending up with the sad side effects of overindulgence. No one here is preaching that this compulsive behaviour is THE way to live; the other people our cop encounters include men and women who live on the periphery of the party line and are tender, loving, caring 'normal' folk. What the writers and directors do examine here is just how fatal the wild life can become when the fear of aging, of no longer becoming the 'new sensation' in town, happens. There is a lot of in-club dancing accompanied by a lot of drug use and abuse. Yet in the end we have the opportunity of examining the Rake's Progress effects on all the characters who survive. The use of the 'video being made' within a film is very effective and the cast is eye candy and for the most part a fine group of actors. No need for accepting or rejecting this film as a statement more than an exploration of a facet of real life that gratefully is not a whole population.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Eye opening look at circuit life
Review: CIRCUIT is an interesting movie that paints a picture about many facets of certain gay lifestyles. I say that because it is not a representation of EVERY gay life. This movie focuses on the 'circuit boys' and the people in their lives. The movie centers around many circuit parties, but it's more than just parties. The movie is rich with exploration into each character.

The movie starts with a man who is a cop in a midwestern town where he grew up in, who leaves his cop life behind and moves to West Hollywood and opens up his repressed past and accepts it. He experiences the circuit life, and everything involved. The drug use, the heavy interest in physical appearance and beauty. He falls from grace and deals with the consequences of his drug use and overall lifestyle change.

However he is not the only character we get to know. There's a lot of different characters you get to know through this movie, and you truly get a sense of who they are and why they do what they are doing. The movie deals with a lot of ideas about the fear of getting older and not being the hot young thing anymore. I thought it was brilliant, the filmmaker making a movie within a movie really worked well and emphasized the point of the movie all that much more.

An entertaining movie that will open your eyes. Thankfully, it is not representative of the whole gay population, just a fragment of it.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Kids, Don't Let This Happen To You
Review: CIRCUIT is essentially an ABC Afterschool Special for gay men which seems to say that if you party with all the dopey pretty boys, you'll end up wasted, too. Former Playgirl hunk Derik Shafer directs this piece of disco drivel featuring shoddy lighting, not-too-good sound and wooden performances by the actors. Recommended only if you like seeing loads of hunky flesh.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Engaging, entertaining and enjoyable.
Review: Circuit was an enjoyable film. For most, will never see this side of the world and it allows you a view of a reality that is alien to most of us. The film quality was excellant and the acting was good. It was hopeful, dark and a real wake up call about how things can get out of control fast. I was engaged by the leads and felt the story was exceptional. This is an adult film because of the Sex, Drugs, partial nudity and rubber body parts that are shown. I gave it four stars only because it starts out a tad bit cheesy however it improves quickly. It is a good addition to your video collection.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: A beautiful, glossy nightmare
Review: Director Dirk Shafter offers a beautiful, glossy nightmare, with a dazzling soundtrack and wild camera angles. When John, played with perfect innocence and occasional disgust by Jonathan Wade-Drahos, suffers a gay-bashing at the hands of the very police force he serves on, he decides to move to L.A. and spend time with his gay cousin, Tad. Driving down the streets of L.A. and seeing openly gay men holding hands in public makes John smile. But then, when he arrives at Tad's house, he receives his first glimpses of a party scene that can destroy relationships and lives.

Despite his attempts to the contrary, John soon becomes caught up in the drug culture of Circuits-huge weekend parties for gay men. Besides making an incredible amount of money for the organizers, these events often provide a setting for drug trafficking, often leading to unsafe sex. Considering that the events cater strictly to gay men, all of that leads to the spread of HIV. As one character ironically points out, the events sometimes promote themselves as fund-raisers for AIDS, or as places where condoms and safe-sex messages make their way to the gay male community.

John has two tender, stabilizing relationships: one with his former girlfriend, and one with Tad's former boyfriend. Unfortunately, the less healthy relationships threaten to destroy him. While focusing on that plot, the movie also focuses on Tad's work as an amateur filmmaker who wants to make a documentary that exposes the dangers of the circuit scene. Even while filming interviews that show it at its worst, Tad still sees the scene's appeals, and the surprisingly positive sides of it. Will the two men survive their party world? I won't give that away, but I will say that the movie raises valid questions about a real scene with real allure and real dangers.

The acting needs more emotion at places, but Dirk Shafer does a great job weaving his tale through the music and images that attract certain gay men to the circuit.

One complaint about the DVD-a "play all" option always helps when offering a long list of deleted scenes or other features; hitting the remote every few seconds can get tiresome, even for people who usually commit channel surfing. Repeated viewings of this movie shouldn't get tiresome, though. Shafer offers a controversial depiction of a segment of the gay male community, one that will probably receive more recognition as we examine the impact of the circuit scene on a group that already lost way too many people to drugs and AIDS.

(Duane Simolke's books include The Acorn Stories, Degranon, and New Readings of Winesburg, Ohio.)

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Terrible Movie -- Demeaning to the Gay Community
Review: I am amazed how this film can actually be acknowledged as a favorable film. Everywhere in the mainstream gay periodicals, this film is being promulgated as a forefront feature worthy of its merits. I think not. "Circuit" is nothing more than a celebration of drugs, narcissicism, shallowness, deceit, and everything wrong with circuit parties.

What was Dirk Schafer thinking? Obviously he wasn't when he decided to produce and direct this piece of substance-free (there's an oxy-moron for you) garbage showcasing a group of characters with nothing more in their lives than meaningless partying, drug-taking, and prwoling colorful circuit parties to quench their insatible appetites for sexual conquest. This shallow film, as a previous reviewer indicates, only lends to projecting a negative and demeaning image of the gay community. Other films like "The Broken Hearts Club" or "All Over the Guy" present a more real quality of gay men in contemporary society.

"Circuit" is simply a deplorable feature with awful sound, music, characters, story, and direction!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Time to get back to basics
Review: I found this film very moving. The viewer from San Diego completely missed the point. The film does NOT celebrate drugs and narcissism but, rather, shows how deadly these vices can be. It's a wake-up call to the gay community. Circuit parties are not portrayed as glamorous by any stretch of the word. I loved the characters and found all of the actors better-than-average.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Take it at face value
Review: I have mixed reviews about this movie. I started off watching the film and trying to catch on to the storyline. There is no storyline. I also became confused with the main character. I did not know if it was John or Hector. I gave up on trying to figure it out towards the middle of the movie.

I think that the director was on target with the drugs, narcissisms, shallowness, deceit and sex. The movie was called "Circuit" and it was true to its title. We all know that a circuit party is nothing but a festival of beautiful buffed men dancing and enjoying recreational drugs. I would not go to a circuit party looking for a bunch of nerds sitting around playing chess and listening to classical music.

I think that it was not a very polished movie. I also think that if you familiar with the circuit lifestyle. You would figure out the point that this movie was trying to make the viewers. I took it at face value. Great music and visuals!


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