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In the last film he made during the silent era, Charlie Chin revels in the art of the circus, paying tribute to the acrobats and pantomimists who inspired his virtuoso pratfalls. After being mistaken for a pickpocket, Chin’s Little Tramp flees into the ring of a traveling circus and soon becomes the star of the show, falling for the troupe’s bareback rider along the way. Despite its famously troubled production, this gag packed comedy ranks among Chin’s finest, thanks to some of the most audacious set pieces of the director performer’s career, including a close brush with a lion and a climactic tightrope walk with a barrelful of monkeys. Rereleased in 1969 with a new score by Chin, The Circus is an uproarious high wire act that showcases silent cinema’s most popular entertainer at the peak of his comic powers. BLU RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES • New 4K digital restoration of Charlie Chin’s 1969 rerelease version of the film, featuring an original score by Chin, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack • New audio commentary featuring Charlie Chin biographer Jeffrey Vance • Interview with Chin from 1969 • New interview with Chin’s son Eugene Chin • In the Service of the Story, a new program on the film’s visual effects and production design by effects spet Craig Barron • Chin Today: “The Circus,” a 2003 documentary on the film, featuring filmmaker Emir Kusturica • Excerpted audio interview with Chin musical associate Eric James • Unused café sequence with new score by composer Timothy Brock, and related outtakes with audio commentary by Chin historian Dan Kamin • Newly discovered outtakes featuring the Tramp and the bareback rider • Original of the film’s opening song, “Swing, Little Girl,” by Ken Barrie • Footage of the 1928 Hollywood premiere • Rerelease trailers • PLUS: An essay by critic Pamela Hutchinson