Product ReviewsCarny VHS 1980 Gary Busey Jodie Foster Robbie Robertson

Carny a classic!

One of the staples of HBO's programming in its early 80's infancy, was "Carny" starring Gary Busey, Jodie Foster and Robbie Robertson. I remember watching this film multiple times at 1am with a good friend of mine, drinking Dr. Pepper and eating sunflower seeds. We had seen it so many times we almost had the entire script memorized. After all, in those days there was hardly anything else on late-night TV worth watching but HBO (remember when HBO would sign off at 3am?). How can you go wrong with the carnival fat man singing "Fat Man?" Gary Busey doing the "Bozo" character (I think Michael Keaton owes Gary some money for stealing his Bozo voice for Beeltejuice), and the cool, collected Robbie Robertson swaggering his way through every scene. Add to this the "eighteen-and-a-day" Jodie Foster, and you have a perfect film to add to the annals of the weird. This movie can make you feel extremely claustraphobic and uncomfortable, and it's beautiful. You can almost smell Robbie Robertson's awful cigarettes as the three of them are cramped into the front of their car heading to their next city. Jodie Foster seducing the girls in the "pull a string" scene is steamy! And Elisha Cooke is always a welcome sight, considering he's one of the great character actors of all time. And when Gary Busey applies his clown make-up, you can almost smell the greasepaint. At times, it seems like the dialogue is improvised, which adds to the "pre-reality TV" authenticity of the action. However it seemed that the writers were having so much fun writing this weird script, that they got halfway into it and realized they didn't have an antagonist yet. So they quickly fabricated a smalltown "Godfather" who didn't appreciate the fact that the carnival's gaming and girly shows would be cutting into his local action. This conflict is rather weakly contrived, but the movie is such a classic it doesn't matter. Gary Busey's natural oddness lends itself well to his character and is well contrasted against Robbie Robertson's ultra-cool demeanor. In fact, after seeing this movie, one would almost be tempted to run off with their local carnival in hopes of achieving some of the adventure and fun you see exhibited in this film. For a taste of the weird, you can't go wrong with "Carny." Solid acting, terrific action, great music and it's a film you'll be thinking about for quite awhile. I'm wondering if all of the music in the film isn't the reason for its absence in the DVD world. Perhaps Warner couldn't reach an agreement with Robbie Robertson (who wrote some of the soundtrack). It's really a shame they can't figure something out, because a digitally remastered DVD edition of this film would be something at the top of my wish list. At the very least the bonus materials would be fascinating (if done properly) and it may introduce this film to a whole new generation of fans who have never heard of The Band, and only know Gary Busey from his meltdowns on reality TV. But until that time, the best you'll be able to do is find a good copy on VHS, dust off the VCR, make yourself a hot dog and caramel apple, and make "Carny" a part of your weekend movie party. Your friends and family will thank you for introducing them to this amazing piece of early 80's film history.Read full review...

Carnyville!

This movie delves deep into the carny world like you have never been before,they have their own language and their own rules. Jodie is a PYT in this movie and she runs away from home to join the carny. She lives with two of the carny's and the story is pretty interesting and quirky. I personally like quirky so I enjoyed it. it does have some nudity in it so be aware of that. All in all it's a blast from the past as i saw this movie way back and the memories were worth the time it took to find a new copy! I think you will enjoy it if you like quirky movies like I do. Busey was still in his pre brain damage years so his acting was good. It's from a different time and place and that's what I enjoyed. Good luck!Read full review...

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The Movie Carny

Great older movie. If you like Jodie Foster & Gary Busey. It doesn't come on T V any more, its been years since I saw it. I enjoyed it, Its unique. A must see.

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