P.T. Barnum (1999)

Admirable film.

When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

The merit of this film is that it persuaded me to try to find out more about P.T. Barnum, since it wasn't really telling me anything about him. Other reviewers have mentioned the meandering biographical style. I couldn't follow Mr Barnum's business dealings. His younger self seemed quite engaging, but I kept asking myself if this was Beau Bridges. It didn't look like him, but the later stages of his life didn't seem to resemble him either. By the time he was on his death-bed, which was a position he was in fairly often, he looked as if he was 160, although he was only 80. Perhaps he got confused with the 160 year old slave woman, who turned out to be only 80. I never discovered what made this man tick.There was something immensely dull about the whole story. George Hamilton must be easily the worst actor I've ever come across. Every time he came into the picture it was as if he was saying: Look at me. I'm acting. And I'm tanned. He should stick to skin care and sun care. No, this was not an enlightening or interesting biopic. I found the Wikipedia article much more useful and informative, with a brisk account of numerous facts which seemed to have escaped the film makers.

Although I cannot argue with the former comment about this miniseries a bit boring, I feel it's also misleading. Certainly, it needn't have been 4 hours long, but if you look past that, and watch it as the costume drama it is, you'd probably enjoy it. The sets are magnificent, and the acting isn't as bad as the former comment suggested. But what is stunning is Barnum himself, and all the things that we take for granted, that he started or invented - like Madison Square Garden, the permanent circus, the terms "rain check", "grandstanding", and "press conference" (as well as the very notion of a press conference), but also modern advertising - including full page ads, creating a demand, and infotainment. That's the real strength of the miniseries - Barnum's optimistic view of the world and his ideas of marketing and showmanship.So, if you're interested in how show business started to be a legitimate business, you should see it, even if you shouldn't place it at the top of you "to watch"-list.

We, my girlfriend and I, enjoyed being in another epoch. The people and their costumes made us go back in that time. People were polite and smiling. Life was more simple.We really enjoyed that tv-series. Thanks to all those persons who have made us live a nice moment of the past.We thank you all.

My wife and I thoroughly enjoyed Beau Bridges' (and his son's) portrayal of P.T. Barnum in this well written, well acted, and well directed production. We felt it provided an excellent insight into PT's feelings and motivation. His need for approval by the "upper class" (George Hamilton's character in particular) was illustrated quite eloquently, as was his eventualacceptance.While it may not have been 100% historically accurate, it was quite refreshing to see a well made movie that did not depend on gratuitous sex, language, and violence. This is a film that can be enjoyed by the entire family.