Customer Reviews

Carlin on Campus [VHS]

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4 star:		(3)
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In my opinion this is some of Carlin's best work. He does three classic monologues including "A Place For My Stuff", "Baseball and Football", and "Cars and Driving". I think a person who loves carlin should have this but one flaw is he throws in strange cartoons at odd moments.

My favorite part of this DVD is the bit on Cars and Driving. This one's also got his classic bits on Stuff and Baseball vs. Football, along with some inspired observations on flamethrowers and the Rain Dance. There's also some fun memories about his Grandpa and his famous dog, Tippy. He even offers tips on how to deal with your boss ("Hey, it's MY JOB, I'll do it MY WAY!"). After watching the whole show, I've decided that you can't possibly own just ONE George Carlin concert on Video/DVD. Also, I found that it's even better to actually WATCH the guy perform than to just listen to his act on CD. Carlin's so good with pantomime and facial tics.

When I moved last Summer, I inherited a vast collection of 1980's recordings, all on cassette tapes, from the people who lived in the house before. In the mess was a cassette tape of "Carlin On Campus," and I remembered watching this on TV a long time ago, as well as last Summer at the news of his death (I moved a few weeks prior).

Listening to this material last night (at this writing: October 20th, 2008), I am reminded of how genuinely FUNNY he really was. I have the first two books he wrote, and where the material is taken mostly from his live shows, it doesn't always translate to the written word like it should. And even listening to him, you lose something, because his gestures, especially his facial expressions and vocal inflections were priceless.

As he got older, he still kept his outsider image, but it seemed, to me, anyway, he came off as a bitter old man. Still pretty funny and insightful, but bitter and fed up. Although I don't blame him; I share a lot of his disappointment with "our failed species," as I have heard him often call people. But some of his ideas, perverse as they are, touch on genius, in their simplicity. Talking about the idiot behind you in traffic who won't turn off his high beams, he suggests slamming your brakes so they crash into you, destroying their headlights and teaching them a lesson in the process; Want to get rid of a counterfeit bill? Put it in the collection plate at church. These two points are perfect examples of his humor coming off better when you actually hear him, or better still, see him go over it. It's funny to read, but the comedian's true magic is in the live delivery.

The set ends with an expanded list of "impolite words," a trademark of his live shows, and detractors dismiss it as someone who just gets off rambling off obscenities for the sake of obscenity, like a kid who has just discovered profanity. Not necessarily the case. Words are tools, they convey thoughts and intentions, and he just shows us how far down that road we have gone. There are so many ways to describe the sex act, and insult one another, or simply express emotion, and to hear this much of it at one time, when you take it to its extreme, one can see just how silly it all becomes. And the amazing thing is, this list of words and phrases, to this day, continues to grow.

I found some of his material a little dry at times (only just a little, seldom at that, re: "Occupation Foole"), but as well, I feel I am one of his biggest admirers. He did what he wanted to do, and he did it well. "Carlin On Campus" is solid proof.

Carlin does it again! His skits on driving as well as his flame thrower skit do it for me. Don't miss out on this one!

HILRIOUS!!! I already owned one of Carlin's DVD's "What Am I Doing In New Jersey?". This is much better. I think his earlyest work is by far the best. The earlyer you go, the better, thus far. I taped this off of HBO Comedy, so I can't speak for the DVD. But the actual performance was much less filled with stupid opinons than the others I've seen. And although there's some cussing, it does seem like it's reduced. You've probably heard most of the matertial before, but if your unfamiliar with Carlin this is a good start. The act is basically the usual Carlin. Long, angry rants, with extreme randomness in between. My only complaint was the weird cartoons thrown in at odd points in the show. Just as you started to get into the act he'd cut away to a cartoon. I can understand if they didn't have enough time, but ewhy not show it before or after the act or something. Why'd they spring it on you at random times? Better yet, why didn't he just perform those bits live, too? I dunno.... Not to sound like I didn't enjoy it, though. The majority of it was very good, in fact, probably the best Carlin I've seen so far. Recommended.

Watching these shows now after his sudden death, I appreciate them even more. Not only are they funny, they are completely engrossing as you watch a master at work! This is a very good set, not his best, but it's still well worth seeing. Like a fine wine, George got better with age and there were better sets to come! I thought he would be performing well into his 80's.

R.I.P. George
You will be missed.

This was my introduction to Mr. Carlin. Funny.

I want to buy only the gig entitled "Stuff" Can I get this without purchasing an entire album??