Eddie Izzard: Circle (2002)

That was an excellent one.

Self-important, over-dramatic, uninspired.

Fanciful, disturbing, and wildly original, it announces the arrival of a fresh, bold voice in American cinema.

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

After a terribly dated and silly Matrix-style opening sequence, this DVD opens up with the show filmed live in New York Town Hall. Circle was the first live show I've seen from Izzard in a while and I was quite looking forward to it and was happy to find him on good form. His style is the same as it ever was, with perfectly scripted scatological material done with good timing and delivery that makes him such fun to flit along with. Fans have already noted that some of the topics he covers are similar to ones he has done before – God as James Mason, religion, the British Empire, Star Wars etc; but he doesn't really do the same things or the same jokes with these.Instead he goes off on different flights of fancy which are witty and clever even if they are slightly more hit and miss than normal. One of the problems is that the film either doesn't capture the atmosphere or there wasn't at atmosphere to capture. The venue doesn't feel "full" in the way that a venue full of excitement can do but rather it feels full of people who have come along for a look. This feeling probably wasn't helped by the fact that technical problems with the sound broke up the flow for about thirty minutes during filming but regardless the audience don't seem to be getting into it and it is something Izzard notices with his regular references to "6 people jokes" etc. It knocks him a little bit at times and you can see it as he doesn't appear to be enjoying himself quite as much as his best shows but still he delivers it well.Fans will still have much to enjoy here because Izzard is almost as good as he has been in the past and it is only the slight feel that he has done some of the topics before and also the slightly stilted audience that takes away from it.

I know a lot of people say this ones really bad... but still I think it shows his comic genius anyways. There is so much great material, even though it does start out a bit slow. Plus I watched the behind the scenes footage and in the middle of the show there were technical difficulties and they had to have an intermission... so its kind of messed up, and they might have done too much editing. I wouldn't say its as good as Dress to Kill, but I think it is better than Unrepeatable. I haven't seen all of his stand up so i can't testify to all of the shows... its not his best but its definitely worth taking a look at!

I have been a fan of Eddie Izzard for years now, ever since his bit on The Old Testament and "Evil Ducks". (If you don't know what I'm talking about it is his 1997 stand-up named 'Glorious') I have since watched all of his available stand-up several times, and always laugh.That being said, I was so excited to see this become available in the US. But I must say,I was a little disappointed. Although still chuckle worthy, I didn't feel like he was quite as comfortable with an American audience. His unique way of dispensing interesting pieces of information, always so witty and honest. I will continue to follow Eddie in hopes that this was an off year(2000). I would imagine,with all the world events lately,he should have plenty to say now. Let's just hope he will.If you're an Eddie fan,I would say this is a must rent. Still lively, and intelligent,just with slightly less enthusiasm than I've seen from him in the past.

i was greatly looking forward to seeing this new dvd of eddie's show from New York after reading the praise heaped upon him by our american friends on this very site. I love eddie izzard's material, and have a couple of his older shows on VHS, so what didn't i like about this one? Mainly the beggining of the show itself, i thought it took him a good ten minutes to find his feet, didn't seem to know where he was going a lot of the time, which in itself is sometimes one of his endearing qualities, but too much can make me feel irritated! A lot of the show seemed way under-rehearsed, which he does actually admit to on the commentary. Too much about 'God' as well i thought, needs to get some different topics going on, like he used to. Having said all that, once he got into his stride there was some very funny stuff: 'Chimps with guns', 'Stoned olympics' and the bit about Darth Vader in the Death Star canteen, was Izzard firing on all cylinders! Once i've viewed this show three or four times i'm sure i'll love it to pieces, but that initial first view was a little shakey.