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intereact!Actor: Guy Chapman (II)
Rated: Unrated
Retail Price (not our price): $59.98
Release Date: 2006-07-18
Theatrical Release Date: 2003-09-14
Studio: HBO Home Video
Run Time: 720 minutes
Format: Array
Format: Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Subtitled, NTSC
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
Discs: 6
Editorial Reviews (supplied by Amazon.com):
1) Amazon.com
The second season of HBO's Depression-era gothic--John Steinbeck by way of Tod Browning--picks up where the first left off. Professor Lodz (Patrick Bauchau) is dead. Ben (Nick Stahl), the show's protagonist, appears to be the culprit. Samson (Michael J. Anderson) helps him dispose of the body. Later he tells the other carnival workers that Lodz "took a powder." Lila (Debra Christofferson) doesn't buy it. Meanwhile, Sophie (Clea DuVall), who lost her mother to fire the previous year, feels unmoored without her guidance. A few states away, Brother Justin (Clancy Brown) harbors ever greater delusions of grandeur--and inappropriate thoughts about his sister, Iris (Amy Madigan). In "Alamagordo, NM," he decides to establish a temple, which he dubs Jonestown, er, Jericho. At the same time, life amongst the carnies, who are heading towards Justin's California, is becoming increasingly tense. Ruthie (Adrienne Barbeau), for instance, is starting to see dead people--like Lodz--and Stumpy (Toby Huss) is no longer able to keep his gambling in check. As with the first season, the action continues to alternate between the carnival and the congregation. What binds the two is a man named Scudder (John Savage), who has connections to Ben and Justin. Although writer/creator Dan Knauf had planned to tie things up between seasons three and six, HBO did not renew CarnivĂ le a second time. Nonetheless, a surprising number of questions are answered, like the identity of "Management" (voiced by an un-credited Linda Hunt) and whether Ben and Justin will have a final showdown. The answer to the latter question is: Yes, they will--and there'll be casualties. --Kathleen C. Fennessy2) Description
(HBO Dramatic Series) As the final war between Good and Evil looms two powerful avatars divided by fate share one mission. For Ben Hawkins and Brother Justin, the race is on to find the elusive Henry Scudder--and the fate of the world depends on who finds him first. DVD Features:Audio Commentary:3 Audio Commentaries with Creator Daniel Knauf, Executive Producer Howard Klein, Director Rodrigo Garcia and cast members Clancy Brown and Clea Duvall. Documentary:"Magic and Myth: The Meaning of Carnivale"--half-hour documentary exploring the apocalyptic writing and mythology behind the show. Interviews with the creator, executive producer, and writers and directors of the show to get their take on the mythology, as well as independent contributors who have examined the show?s characters and the archetypal roles they represent. Featurette:"Creating the Scene" Featurettes--Find out how Carnivale's creators brought the Daily Brothers show -- and its Scorpion Lady, He/She and Praying Mantis-to vibrant life! Other:Museum of Television and Radio panel discussion with cast and crew
Customer Reviews (supplied by Amazon.com):
Average Customer Rating: 5.0 out of 5
1) Great TV Show only to be killed like other HBO shows [Rating: 5 out of 5]
I finished Deadwood, The Wire (well, still need to see season 5), and 6 Feet Under. All great shows and all HBO. Deadwood left me hanging, big time, but left an ounze of hope there will be a movie to complete the series. 6 Feet under was quite an amazing journey and actually did complete the series with the very last episode, which to me was a brilliant ending that brought all 5 seasons to a close. Now, onto Carnivale... The first season was a little slow, but I understood, character development and it was only 12 shows long. The second season really picked up and I enjoyed them both immensley. However, when you get near the end of season 2, you start thinking, ok a lot of stuff better start unfolding otherwise they are going to pull a Deadwood. Well, you get to the last episode and blam, Deadwood! Or if you watched Carnivale first, you probably said the same thing aboud Deadwood. Eitherway, WTH HBO? Jeeze... if you are going to sell these freakin DVDs for 60+ dollars a pop/cable subscription for over $100 a year, at least give the people who pay for your cable subscription and DVDs some closure! Anyway, I do highly recommend this show if you like suspense, mystery, and at times some serious creepiness to borderline horror. It's a journey that is ended abruptly at Season 2 and I hope, like Deadwood, the more people that see how good this show is, the more will push to get them to finish it or reattack.*As I read back through some of these posts, I came to a realization, that yes, in a sense, they did give you a small dose of closure, but it really feels forced, as in, there's no choice, we have to end this, but lets leave a something open in case we get to continue in the future* Either way, I don't believe it was the best wrap up if they knew they were not going to make any further episodes.2) Most intriguing show I've ever seen! [Rating: 5 out of 5]
If I win the lottery (or marry a rich man), I will definitely buy the scripts or fund this project myself so we can have a 3rd season. This show is THAT good and I feel robbed of the greatest show ever now that they're not doing a 3rd season.I understand that it takes a lot of money but this tv show would, even if over time, make up more than it costs.3) More Carnivale!! [Rating: 5 out of 5]
Great series idea and excellently done! Very sad it only went 2 seasons. Just as I was completely hooked, it was over, leaving many more questions to be answered and mysteries to be solved. Is it possible we may see a resurection some day??4) Just as Good as Season One! [Rating: 5 out of 5]
Unlike most series, this one doesn't start out slow and boring, it catches your attention beginning with the very first episode. I had to do a project for a college class where we watched a show without the sound on, to try and figure out what was occurring via the nonverbal communication used. Then we were to view it again, but with the sound, to see how well we caught on to what was happening. I wanted to use something I had never seen before, and had been meaning to watch the series for over a year. I can't believe I put it off for as long as I did... Of course, I used episode one of season one for the project, and after watching it, I had to finish season one off within the week, then immediately moved on to season two. If I wasn't working full time, going to school, and watching my kids on my days off, I would have just plunked myself down in front of the tv right then and there, and watched them all straight through without budging for anything. Now that says a lot for me. I have a very large genre spread for what I like viewing, but the only other series I have ever liked enough to sit down and watch back to back are Firefly and Wonderfalls. Unfortunately, HBO cut Carnivale off before it was truly finished. They answered many questions with what they did in the two seasons that were produced, but there is still enough to go on that they could make an awesome movie to wrap up all the loose ends and not end up beating a dead horse like so many series go on to doing. I totally understand the fact that they wanted to end on a high note and not run the series into the ground by dragging it out when they have run out of new content ideas, so lets hope they decide to hit the big screen with the final moments of Clayton Jones, Sofie, Ben Hawkins, and all the other unique souls that make up the Carnivale. It worked for Firefly, with the movie Serenity, so why not them as well?5) By far, the BEST SHOW ever made [Rating: 5 out of 5]
When I first saw this series in "real time" when it was being aired on HBO, I didn't know whether or not to continue watching it as I couldn't understand what was going on. Still, there was something there, story-wise, that was appealing, although at the time, I had no idea what it was. Another reason I kept watching was how "beautiful" it was. Not to say that the 1930s, depression-era setting was uplifting, but it came across as so authentic that it almost had a documentary feel to it. Needless to say, if you're reading this now, chances are you've seen it and you know that it all came together in the second season. And did it ever! Never in the history of television (or movies for that matter), was anything created that was this complex and was telling a story that could be taken on so many different levels. A major disappointment was when HBO cancelled it. Something as unique and produced to perfection could have easily gone on for the standard 5 years that HBO gives most of its shows. Still, the writers managed to wrap it up in the most satisfactory manner. Also, after realizing how deep this Carnivale was after its conclusion, I regretted not having the opportunity to see it again from episode #1. Now, with its new low price (surprisingly, only if bought as separate seasons and not as a complete series), the opportunity to view this most magnificent show from start to finish is finally here! Season One makes so much more sense now than it did the first go-round. But wait! There's more! As previously stated, this show is so complex and can be taken on so many levels, that watching it one more time won't be enough. First, watch it straight through, as-is. Second, watch it again with the commentary. Then, watch it again without the commentary. Finally, put it away for a month and watch it yet again. The more you see it, the more you realize how very special this epic was on every level there is: production, story, acting, etc., and perhaps most importantly, a deeper understanding of Carnivale as a whole. This was not only the best cancelled TV show of all time; it was the best TV show of all time, period. Nothing is in its league. This is television that challenges you to think on so many different levels... see it for what it is and see it to learn what lies beneath the surface. I've now seen this series three times and I know that in a way, it's only just begun... that I'll watch it again and again, and each time, I'll learn more than I did before because it's depth is something never attempted before. Perhaps that's why it was cancelled? Because it was simply too artistic, too intelligent, or too deep for the average viewer to stick with it? If you watched the whole show once on HBO, or especially if you only saw a few episodes and gave up on it, by all means, buy both seasons (separately to save approximately $60 at the time of this writing), and watch it again. This is television at its best because it keeps delivering the goods with each viewing. If you've never seen it and have a taste for something "different" you won't go wrong here.