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Circus of Books

Circus of Books

Documentary · History · 2019

For decades, a nice Jewish couple ran Circus of Books, a porn shop and epicenter for gay LA. Their director daughter documents their life and times.

Movie details

Circus of Books

“Neighbourhood entrepreneurs, local heroes”

2019 Documentary · History 1h 32m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.8 / 10

Community rating

For decades, a nice Jewish couple ran Circus of Books, a porn shop and epicenter for gay LA. Their director daughter documents their life and times.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Circus of Books?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Where it lives

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Rachel Mason

Written by

Kathryn Robson · Rachel Mason

Rachel Mason

Rachel Mason

Herself

J

Josh Mason

Himself

Larry Flynt

Larry Flynt

Himself

Jeff Stryker

Jeff Stryker

Himself

Alaska Thunderfuck

Alaska Thunderfuck

Himself

P

Phil Tarley

Himself

J

John Weston

Himself

Court is in session

Put Circus of Books on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Auteur Devotee

“Ambition earns the room.”

The film reaches for consequence and scale, accepting the risk of seriousness instead of shrinking from it.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Importance has entered the chat.”

The production keeps announcing its significance, as though awards-season posture were proof of insight.