George Carlin: It's Bad for Ya!
Original HBO airdate: March 1, 2008
Written by and starring George Carlin
Director: Rocco Urbisci
Available at Amazon.
George Carlin's fourteenth and final HBO special focuses a lot on death (this show debuted less than four months before Carlin's death), and how the living still deal with it, particularly the belief in the afterlife and whether the deceased either go "up there", or "down there". It is more than a little disconcerting, not just because Carlin passed on shortly after this performance, but quite honestly, he looks bad. While his mind still seems to be as sharp as ever, and his performance suffers very slightly at times, George looks much older than his age at the time, seventy, and he definitely looks like he's in poor health.
Most of the material is fairly grim, but it doesn't come across as willfully dark as previous specials did. Carlin seems a little more subdued, and the stage set, which is a warm, inviting den, takes the edge off of any of the more "questionable" (for a lack of better terms).
The DVD also included two extras: a 2007 interview that Carlin did for the Archive of American Television called "Too Hip for the Room", as well as his appearance from 1968 or 1969 on The Jackie Gleason Show, where a clean shaven, red-haired, and suit wearing George telling mainly clean jokes for close to ten minutes. That last one alone is very interesting, if only to compare how much Carlin evolved over the next forty years.
Recommended DVD.
Showing posts with label george carlin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label george carlin. Show all posts
Monday, June 22, 2009
George Carlin: Jammin' in New York
George Carlin: Jammin' in New York.
Original HBO airdate: March 11, 1992.
Written by and starring George Carlin
Director: Rocco Urbisci
Available at Amazon.
George Carlin returns to his hometown just a year or so after the end of the first Persian Gulf War, which he kicks off this program with a lengthy monologue about said war, along with the realization that war is just a game played between sexually inadequate politicians using weapons to compensate for their shortcomings. Also on the agenda: bizarre human behavior that we all seem to exhibit, the inanity of airline announcements, environmental issues, and a Carlin favorite, a long rant about human inequality using golf courses as the primary sign of the haves being much better than the have nots. What's Carlin's suggestion? Give the golf courses to the homeless.
This is probably Carlin's best HBO special, and he himself said it was his personal favorite performance. Highly recommended.
Original HBO airdate: March 11, 1992.
Written by and starring George Carlin
Director: Rocco Urbisci
Available at Amazon.
George Carlin returns to his hometown just a year or so after the end of the first Persian Gulf War, which he kicks off this program with a lengthy monologue about said war, along with the realization that war is just a game played between sexually inadequate politicians using weapons to compensate for their shortcomings. Also on the agenda: bizarre human behavior that we all seem to exhibit, the inanity of airline announcements, environmental issues, and a Carlin favorite, a long rant about human inequality using golf courses as the primary sign of the haves being much better than the have nots. What's Carlin's suggestion? Give the golf courses to the homeless.
This is probably Carlin's best HBO special, and he himself said it was his personal favorite performance. Highly recommended.
George Carlin: Doin' it Again
George Carlin: Doin' it Again.
Original HBO airdate: March 23, 1990.
Written by and starring George Carlin
Director: Rocco Urbisci
Available from Amazon.
For those unaware, this HBO special was released to CD under the title Parental Advisory: Explicit Lyrics with a different running order. This was the last George Carlin special on HBO that wasn't edited or rearranged when it was released on compact disc.
George Carlin returned to the stage in New Brunswick, New Jersey in early 1990 to attack political correctness as well as the "soft language" that had been, in his view, overtaking the English language. For instance, in the old days, a World War I veteran was considered "shellshocked", but now, he is simply suffering from PTSD. Carlin speculates that had the phrase shellshock not fallen out of, some of the more traumatized veterans could very well have received the help they desperately needed at the time. Carlin also discusses feminism, which somehow transforms into a fairly uncomfortable routine where he claims that rape can be funny, and it depends on how one phrases the joke.
Other highlights are Carlin's stories about his old dog Tippy (he brings out his then-current pet at the end of the show), as well as discussing things you never see, things you never hear, or things you don't want to hear.
This is a recommended performance, as well as the first signs of the "angry old man" stage persona that Carlin started developing during the 1990s, although he's nowhere near as pissed off or nihilistic as he got over the course of the decade, reaching its inevitable conclusion during his 2005 special, Life is Worth Losing.
Original HBO airdate: March 23, 1990.
Written by and starring George Carlin
Director: Rocco Urbisci
Available from Amazon.
For those unaware, this HBO special was released to CD under the title Parental Advisory: Explicit Lyrics with a different running order. This was the last George Carlin special on HBO that wasn't edited or rearranged when it was released on compact disc.
George Carlin returned to the stage in New Brunswick, New Jersey in early 1990 to attack political correctness as well as the "soft language" that had been, in his view, overtaking the English language. For instance, in the old days, a World War I veteran was considered "shellshocked", but now, he is simply suffering from PTSD. Carlin speculates that had the phrase shellshock not fallen out of, some of the more traumatized veterans could very well have received the help they desperately needed at the time. Carlin also discusses feminism, which somehow transforms into a fairly uncomfortable routine where he claims that rape can be funny, and it depends on how one phrases the joke.
Other highlights are Carlin's stories about his old dog Tippy (he brings out his then-current pet at the end of the show), as well as discussing things you never see, things you never hear, or things you don't want to hear.
This is a recommended performance, as well as the first signs of the "angry old man" stage persona that Carlin started developing during the 1990s, although he's nowhere near as pissed off or nihilistic as he got over the course of the decade, reaching its inevitable conclusion during his 2005 special, Life is Worth Losing.
George Carlin: Personal Favorites
George Carlin: Personal Favorites.
Original HBO airdate: circa 1996.
Written by and starring George Carlin
Director: Rocco Urbisci
Available from Amazon.
Sixty minutes of more of George Carlin's more notable onstage routines from his past HBO specials, with a lot of material recycled from George's Best Stuff, leaving only half a DVD of stuff you perhaps haven't seen before if you chose to watch the other disc first.
Here's what you can't find on the first DVD I reviewed earlier today:
Carnegie Hall, 1982: Hitler
Los Angeles, 1986: Hello Goodbye
Carnegie Hall, 1982: Dirty Words
Los Angeles, 1986: Earrings
Los Angeles, 1977: Kids
Carnegie Hall, 1982: Odds & Ends
Union City, NJ, 1988: We Like War
Los Angeles, 1986: It's Not a Sport
Pick one or the other if you're faced with a choice of this DVD, or George's Best Stuff, but not both. Slightly recommended otherwise.
Original HBO airdate: circa 1996.
Written by and starring George Carlin
Director: Rocco Urbisci
Available from Amazon.
Sixty minutes of more of George Carlin's more notable onstage routines from his past HBO specials, with a lot of material recycled from George's Best Stuff, leaving only half a DVD of stuff you perhaps haven't seen before if you chose to watch the other disc first.
Here's what you can't find on the first DVD I reviewed earlier today:
Carnegie Hall, 1982: Hitler
Los Angeles, 1986: Hello Goodbye
Carnegie Hall, 1982: Dirty Words
Los Angeles, 1986: Earrings
Los Angeles, 1977: Kids
Carnegie Hall, 1982: Odds & Ends
Union City, NJ, 1988: We Like War
Los Angeles, 1986: It's Not a Sport
Pick one or the other if you're faced with a choice of this DVD, or George's Best Stuff, but not both. Slightly recommended otherwise.
George's Best Stuff
George Carlin: George's Best Stuff.
Available from Amazon.
Written by and starring George Carlin
Director: Rocco Urbisci
87 minutes of George Carlin's best known routines from his HBO specials dating from 1977 through 1990.
Phoenix, 1978: Seven Words
Comic Relief, 1986: Stuff
Los Angeles, 1977: Hot Water Heater
New Jersey, 1990: Baseball & Football
Phoenix, 1978: Al Sleet
Carnegie Hall, 1982: Dogs and Cats
Los Angeles, 1977: Vitamins
Phoenix, 1978, Seven Words (continued)
Los Angeles, 1977: Dog Incident
Carnegie Hall, 1921: Have a Nice Day
Los Angeles, 1986: Losing Things
Los Angeles, 1977: Bread
Phoenix, 1978: Seven Words (continued)
Los Angeles, 1977: Walking
Carnegie Hall, 1982: Fussy Eater
Los Angeles, 1977: Monopoly
Union City, NJ, 1988: Driving
This was the period where Carlin was evolving from the counterculture icon (or as I like to call it, the world's oldest hippie) to the "angry old man" phase of his career that started in the early '90s, and we see elements of both over the course of the DVD.
This is an ideal introduction to George Carlin, although it probably could've been a whole lot better, as a lot of great comedy was left off. Recommended.
Available from Amazon.
Written by and starring George Carlin
Director: Rocco Urbisci
87 minutes of George Carlin's best known routines from his HBO specials dating from 1977 through 1990.
Phoenix, 1978: Seven Words
Comic Relief, 1986: Stuff
Los Angeles, 1977: Hot Water Heater
New Jersey, 1990: Baseball & Football
Phoenix, 1978: Al Sleet
Carnegie Hall, 1982: Dogs and Cats
Los Angeles, 1977: Vitamins
Phoenix, 1978, Seven Words (continued)
Los Angeles, 1977: Dog Incident
Carnegie Hall, 1921: Have a Nice Day
Los Angeles, 1986: Losing Things
Los Angeles, 1977: Bread
Phoenix, 1978: Seven Words (continued)
Los Angeles, 1977: Walking
Carnegie Hall, 1982: Fussy Eater
Los Angeles, 1977: Monopoly
Union City, NJ, 1988: Driving
This was the period where Carlin was evolving from the counterculture icon (or as I like to call it, the world's oldest hippie) to the "angry old man" phase of his career that started in the early '90s, and we see elements of both over the course of the DVD.
This is an ideal introduction to George Carlin, although it probably could've been a whole lot better, as a lot of great comedy was left off. Recommended.
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