Like a cross between TWIN PEAKS and THE GRAPES OF WRATH, HBO's acclaimed television drama CARNIVALE sets an allegorical fable about the mythic battle between good and evil against the surreal backdrop of a Depression-era traveling circus. Having lost both his farm and his mother to the 1930s Dust Bowl, prison escapee Ben Hawkins (Nick Stahl, IN THE BEDROOM) 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 his sister, Iris (Amy Madigan), take on increasingly sinister overtones and hint at an eventual confrontation between himself and young Hawkins through the mysterious figure of former circus showman and WWI veteran Henry Scudder (John Savage).
As the main story arc builds to its apocalyptic showdown, the series takes dramatic detours into the daily lives of the carnival denizens. Lorded over by the unseen "Management" and a dwarf named Samson (TWIN PEAKS' Michael J. Anderson), the ragtag collection of sideshow freaks includes the blind soothsayer, Lodz (Patrick Bauchau); the bearded lady, Lila (Debra Christofferson); the snake charmer, Ruthie (Adrienne Barbeau); the troubled fortuneteller, Sophie (Clea DuVall); her catatonic mother, Apollonia (Diane Salinger); the 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 pimp-like 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 (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.
DVD Features:
Region 1
Digi-Pack
6-Disc Set
Anamorphic Widescreen
Audio:
Dolby Digital 5.1 - English
Dolby Stereo 2.0 - English
Dolby Stereo 2.0 - French
Dolby Stereo 2.0 - Spanish
Dolby Surround - English
Dolby Surround - French
Dolby Surround - Spanish
Additional Release Material:
Additional Footage - 1. Museum of TV and Radio Seminar
Audio Commentary - 1. Rodrigo Garcia - Director
Bonus Feature - 1. MILFAY (Original Pilot Episode)
Making-of
Trailers
Interactive Features:
Scene Access
Interactive Menus
Interactive Game 1. Tarot Card Game
Distributor Notes: 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.
A sweeping epic that is both challenging and highly accessible, this one-hour HBO drama series focuses on the primordial conflict of good vs. evil, as played out against a pair of vivid and unusual backdrops: a traveling carnival working the American Dustbowl circuit, and an evangelical ministry in California.
Source: Warner Home Video
Creator
Daniel Knauf: Creator/Executive Producer - CARNIVALE
Review 1:
"[The] writers are assured, relishing the chance to explore nuances without the usual TV fear."
Source: Entertainment Weekly
p.72 12/10/2004
Review 2:
"Bearded ladies, Siamese twins and ghost towns heighten the already creepy atmosphere."
Source: Uncut
p.138 03/01/2005
Review 3:
"The leisurely, sometimes languid pace shows the same confidence as the impeccable compositions and relishably ambiguous performances?"
Source: Sight and Sound
p.85 04/01/2005
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