Far more than circuses featuring impressive acrobatics, Cirque’s live and filmed shows are powerful presentations that seamlessly combine daring acrobatic feats, intense artistry, and simple, yet emotionally rich stories. Worlds Away is a stunning compilation of acts from seven Las Vegas shows: O, KA, Mystère, Believe, Zumanity, Viva Elvis, and LOVE. The disparate acts are woven together by a poignantly romantic story of a young woman who falls into an ethereal world searching for a man she’s only glimpsed, but is destined to love. The film showcases everything from synchronized water ballet to martial arts-inspired combat, aerial silk acrobatics, contortionism, and the frightening Wheel of Death. Each impeccably choreographed presentation is absolutely breathtaking in its beauty and its seeming defiance of the laws of the human body’s capabilities. Viewers will leave the film feeling awed, uplifted, and inspired.

paramount pictures and james cameron present a cirque du soleil production in association with reel fx/strange weather and cameron / pace group - An andrew adamson film: cirque du soleil worlds away. Edited By: sim evan-jones A.C.E. dirk westervelt. Executive Producers: james cameron, jacques methe, cary granat. 3D Film Processing: ed jones, vincent pace. Produced By: martin bolduc, andrew adamson, aron warner. Written and Directed by: andrew adamson.

• "The Making Of..." (2:26) — { Read }

  In “The Making of Worlds Away” the film’s creators ask, “What if you had the chance to leave the ordinary and enter the extraordinary? What would you discover? Who would you find?” Although the filmmakers wished for us to find love and adventure, ultimately there’s little to discover in this special feature. It’s more of a promo of the film than a behind-the-scenes peek into the film’s creation. However, Executive producer James Cameron and Director Andrew Adamson talk briefly about the production (“I have been trying to talk to the Cirque people for three years. Why aren’t we doing your shows in 3D? – James Cameron) and you get to see some of the technology that went into producing the film in its eye-popping three dimensions.



• "A Day in the Life with Erica Linz" (13:23) — { Read }

  Here we’re shown a rehearsal and creative development of an act “worthy of Cirque du Soleil,” with Linz and a few of her troupe-mates: Pierre-Luc Sylvain (Aerial Strap partner with Erica in KÀ for 6 years), Kyle Deschamps (with whom Erica worked on floor exercises in LA), and Cheetah Platt (actor, aerialist, acrobat and instructor). Although it is an intriguing peek into the creation of such an act, we’re also taken through a brief personal history of the film’s main star: Erica Linz.

  Like many young girls in the era in which she grew up, Erica idolized Mary-Lou Retton (An American gymnast and Olympic gold medalist, she was the first female gymnast from outside Eastern Europe to win the Olympic gold medal in the Gymnastic Individual All-around competition) and Nadia Comaneci (A Romanian gymnast, winner of three Olympic gold medals at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal and the first female gymnast to be awarded a perfect score of 10 in an Olympic gymnastic event. She is also the winner of two gold medals at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow), which led her to try her hand at gymnastics.

  But “competition didn’t float my boat”; she’d rather work the floor where she could be more expressive, and in her words “silly.” She began singing; that and gymnastics lead to the theatre, where she took on small roles in operas and Shakespeare plays as early as eleven years old. Later Erica discovered the circus arts, and following high school graduation, flew to Las Vegas to meet with Cirque du Soleil. Her audition was successful: she performed in Mystère for three years (From November 2001 through December 2004 as the Bébébé character, the female baby) before transferring to KÀ in 2005 (playing a character and performing Aerial Straps).

  The act the foursome is rehearsing appears to be a combination of Acrobatic Dance (as seen first in Varekai then later Corteo), Banquine (but only slightly, as some of the catching and throwing moves are performed here), and Aerial Straps. It would have been nice to see the final performance in order to compare it to the rehearsal, but this certainly gives you some appreciation for what goes into creating an act, and the physical talents of the performers preparing it. Will we see this in a future Cirque du Soleil show? Who knows!



• "Cirque in Vegas" — A sixty-second commercial for Cirque du Soleil’s shows in Las Vegas. The video showcases clips of each of the shows, wrapping them around the Cirque’s “Today I Am…” advertisement campaign whereby “Whimsical” is Mystère, “Aquatic” is «O», “Playful” is Zumanity, “Epic” is KA, “Groovy” is The Beatles LOVE, “Mysterious” is Criss Angel Believe, and “Surreal” is Zarkana.

{ Paramount Cover }

Paramount Home Video

	• R01 (USA/Canada)    Release Date — Mar.12.2013    Catalog — #17004 (UPC 0-97361-7044-1)    1 Disc | Just the Film
	• R00 (Free)    Release Date — Mar.12.2013    2 Disc — #17005 (UPC 0-97361-70054-0)    3 Disc — #17006 (UPC 0-97361-70064-9)