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Carnivale: The Complete First Season (2004)

Guy Chapman (II) , Hot Pie  |  NR |  DVD
4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (211 customer reviews)

List Price: $29.98
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Product Details

  • Actors: Guy Chapman (II), Hot Pie
  • Format: Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, NTSC
  • Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0), English (Dolby Digital 5.1), French (Dolby Digital 2.0), Spanish (Dolby Digital 2.0)
  • Subtitles: English, Spanish, French
  • Dubbed: French, Spanish
  • Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  • Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
  • Number of discs: 6
  • Rated: NR (Not Rated)
  • Studio: HBO Home Video
  • DVD Release Date: December 7, 2004
  • Run Time: 720 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (211 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: B0002YLC1U
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #48,072 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
  • Learn more about "Carnivale: The Complete First Season" on IMDb

Special Features

  • All 12 episodes from the 2003 season, three with commentary
  • Behind-the-scenes featurette

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Carnivàle doesn't waste any time making its--wildly ambitious--aims clear. As carnival manager Samson (Michael J. Anderson, Twin Peaks' diminutive backwards-talker) notes in pilot episode "Milfay," directed by Rodrigo García (son of Gabriel García Marquez), "To each generation [is] born a creature of light and a creature of darkness." With that the story begins. The year is 1934, the setting the Oklahoma dustbowl. In short order, Ben Hawkins (In the Bedroom's Nick Stahl) loses his mother and his home. He's poor, he's alone--he needs a job. So he joins Samson's carnival, en route to the West. Hawkins, naturally, is the good guy. Waiting for him in California is the not so good Brother Justin Crowe (Clancy Brown, The Shawshank Redemption), a fire and brimstone preacher with supernatural powers and a fiercely loyal sister (Amy Madigan). Hawkins, as it turns out, has similar powers....

Created by Daniel Knauf (Wolf Lake), Carnivàle feels like David Lynch (weird, slow, occasionally kinky), plays like American Gothic (Shaun Cassidy's cult series about a good kid and an evil sheriff), and looks like John Ford's Grapes of Wrath. It features one of television's most colorful casts of characters. They include Sophie (Clea DuVall), who reads fortunes--with her comatose mother's assistance, the vaguely sinister Lodz (Patrick Bauchau), blind absinthe-drinker and mentalist (he can see both the future and the past), and Ruthie (Adrienne Barbeau), snake charmer, strongman's mother, and all-around maternal figure. By the final episode of the season ("The Day That Was the Day"), also directed by García, one of these characters will be dead. Carnivàle won five richly deserved technical Emmys for its first year, including awards for cinematography and art direction. Like HBO's edgy Deadwood, it's period drama for people who don't normally like period drama. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

Product Description

1934. The Dustbowl. The last great age of magic. In a time of titanic sandstorms, vile plagues, drought and pistilence - signs of God's fury and harbingers of the Apocalypse - the final conflict between good and evil is about to begin. The battle will take place in the Heartland of an empire called America. And when it is over, man will forever trade away wonder for reason. See the conflict of good vs. evil played out against a pair of vivid and unusual backdrops: a traveling carnival working the American Dustbowl circuit, and an evangelical ministry in California.

DVD Features:
Audio Commentary:3 Audio Commentaries with Creator Daniel Knauf, Executive Producer Howard Klein and Directors Rodrigo Garcia and Jeremy Podeswa
Featurette:"Making of Carnivale" Featurette detailing how set and costume designers collaborated to achieve the look of the Dustbowl in the 1930s


Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
306 of 321 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars The first steps to trading away wonder for reason December 19, 2004
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
"Carnivàle" is part of small but growing number of quality television shows that are committed to the sort of lengthy and complex story arc that was once the province of the mini-series. But shows like "Wiseguy" and "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" in the past and current offerings such as "24" and "Lost" have paved the way for television shows that emphasize the big picture rather than the more traditional episodic approach. As such, "Carnivàle" is most similar to "Lost," in that we are pretty sure we know what will happen at the end of the journey, but we have no idea how many seasons down the road that end game will be played out. Does creator Daniel Knauf ("Wolf Lake") have an ambitious five-year plan similar to what J. Michael Straczynski had in mind from the start for "Babylon 5"? We will have to wait and see.

With a show like "Carnivàle" it is easy (and fun) to play with various antecedents that explain the series in simple but readily understood terms. From the start I was thinking of the show as a cross between John Steinbeck's "The Grapes of Wrath," Tod Browning's "Freaks," and Stephen King's "The Stand," all of which I consider to be classics in their respective genres. But there are other options as well (with Michael J. Anderson in the cast "Twin Peaks" becomes an obvious choice), which simply speaks to the potential of "Carnivàle" to resonate with its viewers.

The premise of the show is provided as the opening narration: "Before the beginning, after the great war between Heaven and Hell, God created the Earth and gave dominion over it to the crafty ape he called man. And to each generation was born a creature of light and a creature of darkness. And great armies clashed by night in the ancient war between good and evil.
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34 of 34 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars A brilliant program December 28, 2004
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
In a short period of time, "Carnivale" has grown into my favorite television show. Structured like a dense, epic novel, the production values are sumptuous, the acting uniformly ingenious, and the central mysteries complex and involving. The series, ostensibly about the final battle between good and evil, as wonder gives way to reason, is so firmly rooted in a three-dimensional, realistic world with three-dimensional realistic characters that I would classify it as more magical realism than science-fiction or fantasy. The characters drive the plot, rather than the other way around, which is a difficult feat to accomplish in such a complex narrative that includes shadowy symbolism and prophetic dreams. There have been complaints that the first season did not wrap up any loose ends, but why should it? Season 1 is but the prologue to this novel-for-television, and narratives are never concluded in the prologue. Be forewarned, though, if you are looking for a television show that does not tax your intellectual muscles and does not ask you to do some work to understand it, this is not the show for you. If, on the the other hand, you are looking for a show that is fascinating, multi-layered (the symbolism alone could be discussed for hours), and intellectually stimulating, with fantastical situations that still manages to maintain a strong verisimilitude of character and the time period in which it occurs (1934, the Great Depression, in the Dust Bowl), I would urge you to watch this DVD set immediately, so you can be caught up for the second season, which premieres January 9th. The video quality of this DVD set, by the way, is among the finest I have ever seen. I would rank it up there with "The Lord of the Rings" Extended Edition sets for a near-perfect picture.
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52 of 55 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars The Best HBO Has To Offer October 15, 2004
Format:DVD
Some may complain that "Carnivale" leaves too many loose ends. I would argue that these people are entirely missing the show's point. If you are the sort of person who likes things to be wrapped up all neat with a little bow, turn back now... Otherwise sit back, and let the pure magic of this show suck you in.

"Carnivale" has a plot that begs to be questioned, mysteries waiting to be theorized upon, and characters that you will truly love (or love to hate). It is a show you can discuss for hours on end. The joy of it is not discovering the answers through the plot itself, but by your own deduction.
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27 of 29 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars "Somethin's building, Kid. I can feel it..." April 11, 2005
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
"Carnivale" has now become my favorite show. I didn't know much about it when I got the first season on DVD for Christmas. I just knew that it looked like something that I'd really like. It seemed to have that strangeness and darkness that I find so fascinating at times. I think it only took two episodes, and I was hooked. I finished the 12 episodes in less than two weeks. Never has a show grab my attention like "Carnivale." It is one of the most unique, beautiful and disturbing shows I have ever seen.

The year is 1934, a pretty dark and depressing time in history. A traveling carnival finds Ben Hawkins, a restless kid that has a lot of mystery to him. He turns out to have a rather remarkable gift of healing, but he has yet to learn the true power of it... or the consequences. States and states away is Brother Justin Crowe, a man of God. He has always tried to serve the Lord to the best of his abilities, until he starts finding out strange things about himself. A darkness within that reveals itself little by little until it is all clear what his real purpose is. This sets the stage for the ultimate battle between good and evil. Even though Ben and Justin have not met each other, they know their paths will meet eventually.

The first season is really a set-up of things to come, but boy does it ever hook you in. The show is so well-written and well-acted. At first, you're not entirely sure what's happening, but with each episode you learn a little more. It doesn't cheat, either. Everything is in there for a reason, even if it's not very clear at the beginning. Out of the 12 episodes in this first season, I did not find a single episode that I didn't like. All of the episodes are intense and mesmerizing.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars If only we'd known
"Carnivale" opened the screen for "Heroes" and "Battlestar Galactica" redux (and Ronald Moore was even involved in it). Read more
Published 4 days ago by G. Mosley
5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing show
Too bad they cancelled it after 2 seasons. It's still definitely worth watching for the characters, the period, and the magic!
Published 5 days ago by Michael Berko
5.0 out of 5 stars Hooked!
This series will have you hooked from the start. Beautiful cinematography and well written script. Actors are fantastic and easy to love. You will even love to hate the bad guys. Read more
Published 24 days ago by lisa bragg
5.0 out of 5 stars Very entertaining
It was a great series! I truly enjoyed it. I also ordered the second season as well. I wish they would of made a third season!
Published 1 month ago by susan
1.0 out of 5 stars lousy show
This series sounded pretty good and it seemed to have pretty good reviews. I got it for a good price and took a chance. I WASTED my money. Read more
Published 1 month ago by DVDwatcher
4.0 out of 5 stars Its a gold series
Its the best series that i ever saw!
Only some problems with the play option on the dvd menu!
Best quality and sound!
Published 1 month ago by SGE
5.0 out of 5 stars Imaginative series offering a well thought out story
After watching the first episode of the series, I knew that we had found a keeper. The story is fantastical, mysterious, dark, edgy and just plain creepy at times. Read more
Published 1 month ago by DeeInWa
5.0 out of 5 stars brilliant
Hbo failed when they canceled this masterpiece! Twists and turns...mind blowing music. I have rewatched this show 3 Times in the last 2 years.
Published 2 months ago by Melkor
5.0 out of 5 stars Carnivale
I originally watched this show on HBO when it first came out. I loved it then and I love it now. I bought season 1 to share with friends; they love it too. The acting is great. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Dan
5.0 out of 5 stars VERY GOOD
what can anyone say it is a DVD you have no right to demand how many words to write. because

of that demand i usually wont write anything why do you need so many... Read more
Published 2 months ago by L August Rockwell
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Any subtitles?
Both the 1st and 2nd season sets have English, French, and Spanish subtitles.
Dec 15, 2007 by J. Ancevicius |  See all 2 posts
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