Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2380 in DVD
• Released on: 2005-03-07
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Formats: Box set, PAL
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, French, Dutch, Arabic, Finnish, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Swedish, Danish
• Number of discs: 6
• Running time: 720 minutes

Synopsis
Like a cross between TWIN PEAKS and THE GRAPES OF WRATH, HBO's acclaimed television drama CARNIVALE fashions an allegorical fable about the mythic battle of good and evil set against the surreal backdrop of a Depression-era travelling circus. Having lost both his farm and family to the 1930s Dust Bowl, recent prison escapee Ben Hawkins (Nick Stahl, IN THE BEDROOM, BULLY) joins an itinerant carnival in a desperate bid to escape poverty, the police, and his own discomfort with his miraculous healing powers. Ben's story is juxtaposed with that of California preacher Justin Crowe (Clancy Brown, THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION), whose evangelical ministries with sister Iris (Amy Madigan) take on increasingly sinister overtones and hint at an eventual confrontation between himself and young Hawkins--whose fate seems somehow intertwined with his own through the mysterious figure of former circus showman Henry Scudder (John Savage). As the series leisurely builds to this apocalyptic showdown, there is much drama to be found in the daily goings-on of the carnival denizens. Lorded over by the pint-sized Samson (TWIN PEAKS' Michael J. Anderson) and the strangely unseen Management, the ragtag collection of sideshow freaks features blind soothsayer Lodz (Patrick Bauchau); his bearded-lady companion Lila (Debra Christofferson); matronly snake charmer Ruthie (Adrienne Barbeau); her strongman son Gabriel (Brian Turk); Siamese twins Alexandria and Caledonia (Karyne and Sarah Steben); the lizard-man Gecko (notorious NEA Four performance artist John Fleck); and, most intriguingly, catatonic tarot-card reader Apollonia (Diane Salinger), who communicates telepathically with her sensitive but troubled daughter Sophie (Clea DuVall). Rounding out the eccentric troupe are wounded former baseball-player-turned-roustabout Jonesy (Tim DeKay) and a family of strippers and prostitutes comprised of mother Rita Sue (Cynthia Ettinger); her daughters Libby (Carla Gallo) and Dora Mae (Amanda Aday); and their pimpish father Stumpy (Toby Huss). Creator Daniel Knauf surrounds this impressive cast with impeccable period-piece production design, a rotating roster of directorial talent that includes Alison Maclean (JESUS' SON) and Rodrigo Garcia (fittingly, son of magical-realist writer Gabriel Garcia Marquez), and innovative storytelling that is at once supremely creepy, intellectually provocative, and emotionally gripping. This collection includes all 12 episodes of the series' highly addictive first season.

Customer Reviews

An antidote for modern TV
Carnivale, part depression-era drama, part paranormal mystery and all told at a pace that will drive some mad with frustration. In these modern times of fast cut, action orientated tv where you are rarely given time to breathe or think (just as well in the cases of some modern genre shows) along came Carnivale. This is a story that will not be rushed, building up towards an epic battle between the forces of good and evil. This isn't your 2-3 apocalypses per season as in Buffy or Angel, this is one for the whole series. The look of the show is unique in terms of it's colour and stark landscapes and the DVD picture is clear and crisp. Such episodes as Black Blizzard will throw you into the storm with the cast. Some will be frustrated that the two "main" characters never meet, or that the first season closes with no real answers given but I found this to be refreshing and bold storytelling for a mainstream network to be behind. Even as the pace slows in the midsection the characters are believable and the relationships between them are as important, if not more, than the main plot arc. This is one of those plot devices almost lost in modern sci-fi television and to remind you all it is called "character development". This story is dark and disturbing too with some imagery that many will find disturbing and sickening, no bones about. Dead children and paedophilia feature in the first half alone and while not graphic it is still going to upset some viewers. But stick with it. This show deserves to be given time to tell the story properly and I am looking forward to the second season.

A Mesmerising Epic
I watched the first season with my partner and we were mesmerised from the start. The tension builds from the first scene right to the very last, 12 episodes later, with tremendous acting, characterisation and story-line. We knew that Ben, the lead character, was special in some way and boy, is he special, but he's not the only one with strange powers. Of course, we had to get hold of the second series and watched all 12 episodes, night after night. How sad are we? We're only sad that there is no more! Come on HBO, you have got to commission a third series!
Absolutely brilliant. There's nothing else like it on the box.

stunning, creepy, haunting
Carnivale is truly a one-of-a-kind gem. Disturbing and sublime in equal measures.
The first season is a little slow, but the visual style, top-notch acting and building sense of mystery and suspense will keep you hanging in till the end. You'll be desperate to get your hands on season two.

Nick Stahl and Clancy Brown head a cast that excels from the first scene and give the kind of subtle and real performances you'd expect from a HBO show. And the look of the show, from the landscape, the costumes, the sets, and of course the carnival itself, is absolutely breath-taking.

This is one of the best and most original American programmes of recent years.
And, after all that gushing, I have to say, I think season 2 is ten times better!