Bread and Circus (2003 Video) User Reviews

Realism, sure - real surrealism!

[Clift · 6/10 · 10 September 2004]

Bread and circus was a fun surprise. It reminded me of when I saw Bad taste (1987) for the first time some 15-16 years ago. It doesn't really have all the qualities of Peter Jackson's masterpiece, but it sure has qualities enough to make it worthwhile looking up a copy.

The story is about how to avoid becoming a grey salary-man that fits in perfectly in the system from birth. In the future, everybody who is opposing, ugly, violent or just "strange" will be executed. Our hero runs away from his death squad, gets caught but leaves a message on a rune stone which is read two years later by a couple that immediately continues his struggle for liberty.

Sort of.

In between we get to enjoy an Ilsa-like female officer who rapes a lazy security post (the director, Martin Løke, himself) before she cuts his throat (the very same guy who had a bottle of beer stuck up his anus). We also get to see a man get his head smashed in with a hammer, another one gets his head sliced in two with a machete and so on. The gore'n'guts are all quite well down, very Pythonesque, just like in Peter Jackson's early movies. (6/10)

gore and circus

[trashgang · 5/10 · 24 April 2009]

Well well, another OOP to search for. This splatter flick coming from the land of the vikings is really nice. It's surrealistic, that's a fact but there's also some black humor in it. For example, when a guy is a bit addicted to booze he puts the bottle up his....remembering that there's still some booze in it he pulls it back out of his..., do I need to say more. the main storyline is the fact that earth is giving birth to men through the womb of earth. But when a girl is sentenced back to the womb she has to go via the black hole, get it, of the earth. But the main course to watch it is the gore, no cheap effects, no blood just to see blood. The acting isn't that well at all times but if you can catch this splatterfest you will be satisfied.

Made No Sense At All

[nikmaack · 3/10 · 4 March 2006]

Some movies you watch and you say, "Well, that made no sense." And you don't really mean it. You're just saying things were overly complicated or slightly nonsensical.

"Bread And Circus" makes no sense at all. And I mean it. And that's not because it's surreal. From the start, it's pretty clear it's a feeble excuse to do splatter special effects. There's no script. There's no plot. There's no story of any kind. One event does not lead to the next -- that's how fundamental the bad writing is here.

So what? I mean, there are TONS of movies out there that fall into that category. They want to show you gore, they give you gore. Why even talk about it?

Because, in this case, "Bread and Circus" gave me hope. Okay, there are some surreal elements. Vaginas, in the ground -- people crawling out of them. The earth, in space, two legs on either side. These sorts of images are wonderful, fun, odd, crazy. But the movie doesn't do anything with them.

Stuff happens, the movie ends, and it's all very unsatisfying. I suspect the script was made up on the fly. Too bad. If there had been a story of ANY kind at all, it would have made for a much more entertaining film.

The film is very much like the beautiful car you would love to own. Then you lift up the hood and there's no engine. Just a small man peddling a bicycle.

GRR!

Dregs and Outcasts

[nogodnomasters · 1/10 · 28 August 2020]

This is a confused low budget film that is gory. It is in part English, but mostly Norwegian. I would not have understand what was going on without having read the DVD cover and even at that not knowing Norwegian, I could not make it out. the DVD does not have any type of subtitles. Lots of blood and rubber genitals. Sick stuff. Does have some male nudity. Viewed under the title "Alien Scum."

Outrageous amateur style splatter, only for cult viewers

[OJT · 2/10 · 6 July 2014]

This is a amateur splatter film not unlike Braindead in filming style, with a bad taste touch of the early John Waters and early Monty Python, made on a meager budget. There's no point in telling the plot, because it's not really there.

There is feces, blood, gutter and a lot of silly walks and running in this film which is some kind which displays some kind of talent, but still is by far a good film. Watchable and laughable it is, with quite effective gory details, which is really the best part, well, really the only good part of the film.

To the tones of classic music and some folkloric Norwegain music, we see gory details of a hunt which is really not anything but ridiculous. It is really not funny. It is too amateurish to be funny, though it tries.

Watch only if you like splatter, and like watching underground movies. The film will be valued greatly by those looking for obscure films with what you might call good ideas. Still be warned. This is a really bad movie, but with quite some cult potential.

Very Strange Mixed-Genre Splatter Film - With A Message!

[EVOL666 · 7/10 · 6 September 2006]

BREAD AND CIRCUS isn't a great film. Hell, it's really not even a good film - but this is another case where the film as a whole is stronger than the sum of it's parts. The film is an amalgamation of many different elements - German influenced splatter, surreal social-commentary, shoot-'em-up actioner, all laced with a dose of Monty Pythonesque humor and done on a relatively miniscule budget.

The plot surrounds a society where anyone who isn't completely "average" is cast-out to fend for themselves in the woods. One guy bucks the system and leaves his mark for future generations to follow. A young couple finds the original anarchists writings a few years later, and take up the struggle against non-conformity...

Sounds like pretty "heady" stuff, right? Well, in concept it kinda is - in execution, the film takes the idea and turns it into a splat-stick style gore-filled comedy, which works for what it is. Despite obvious budget restraints, the many splattery FX and camera-work really look quite decent - far more competent than many other recent SOV Euro-splatter-fest's that I've seen in recent years. Recommended to low-budget splatter fans that want something out of the ordinary...7/10

A Norwegian Bad Taste as directed by John Waters.

[NateManD · 8/10 · 15 July 2005]

"Bread and Circus" is quite an interesting little splatter film. It's gory like "Bad Taste" and sick like "Pink Flamingos". In the beginning we see a vagina in the ground, which is mother earth. The vagina gives birth to a man (slime and umbilical chord included) The man is forced to be given a normality test by a monk. In the future people who try to be individuals, get hunted down by the government. Some people live in the woods as cannibals. The film is pretty disgusting, but also creative and surreal. Take note, there's gratuitous frontal male nudity, extreme splatter violence, excrement, and even a guy who gets a beer bottle stuck up his ass. Some of the Scandinavian humor is hard to figure out at times, but the film was still a lot of fun. If you enjoy Troma, John Waters, Pete Jackson and even Peter Greenaway; you'll probably love this film.

A thinking man's splatter movie

[frodo_unplugged · 8/10 · 11 September 2004]

"Bread and Circus" is a rare treat, a splatter movie that is brainy and yet still blows your brains out. A true Independent, in every aspect of the word, this sleeper from Norway isn't as well known as it should be. While generic output like "Undead" or even worse "House of the Dead" is peddled all over the world, movies with a heart (popping out) often remain forgotten silver. Fortunately, "Bread and Circus" still has cult potential, even more so because it stays true to the spirit of guerrilla film making and it dares to go where no man has ever gone before: quite literally into the anus of mother earth.

The story is simple, it's about a fascist regime that censors every form of life outside the ordinary. All the weak and strong, all the dumb and intelligent are cast out and left alone in the nearby woods to die. Until one day when a man rebels against the system, breaks out and with his story inspires a young couple to overthrow the fascist government for good.

The movie abounds with symbolism and social criticism as well as fart jokes and gross splatter effects. In the end, this crude mix is what makes the whole thing work. Disgusted by what has become of our world, a place of comfort and conformity, the director expresses his anger and frustration by using images of intense barbarism, almost as barbaric and wretched as the society he sets out to criticize. It's metaphors and blood, a mixture that isn't too appealing to a lot of viewers, the intellectual will be disgusted, the splatter freak might be alienated by the philosophical undertones, everybody else might feel uncomfortably normal, but one thing's for sure, "Bread and Circus" is uncompromising in it's vision, a piece of art that belongs equally in the s**t house as in the art house.

Beside that there are countless references to movies and movie history: slapstick humor from the silent era, black humor from the works of Monty Python, a sense of adventure from "Indiana Jones", martial arts sequences in homage to Jackie Chan, powerful use of music as in "Clockwork Orange", splatter effects right out of the trash masterpieces by Peter Jackson, a surreal ending that will remind you of Takashi Miike, actors that seem to come right out of comic books and direction as unyielding as Francis Ford Coppola's in "Apocalypse Now" (BaC was shot over 5 years, on an ever growing budget and a faulty camera that ruined 1/4th of all takes). All in all this is a movie lover's dream come true, a true source of inspiration for every aspiring filmmaker and a rewarding experience for everyone who dares to look beyond the surface.

It's a little film with high goals, my recommendation: dream a little dream and have great fun!

A surreal nightmare that rapes your mind, but yet amuses in a strange way.

[Elvis- · 10/10 · 15 September 2003]

This film is as surreal as it can get!! It is sometimes hard to keep up with the symbolics and the storyline. I had to watch it a couple of times extra to really grasp the full meaning of it. You are the fish as the bate gets ripped out of the water in a way. It's a very big bite for such a small and independent picture. But it has elements of brilliance and intelligence that keeps it floating.In a few words, i got raped,i liked it and then enjoyed it! ELVIS LIVES