Product Description

Art Carney shines in this poignant drama about an aging widower's determined search for a better life. Harry (Carney), who lives in New York with his pet cat, Tonto, is having a rough time of it. Not only does he keep getting mugged, but the huge wrecking ball outside his window is about to demolish his apartment. So Harry bids farewell to the city and sets out for life in the suburbs with his son's family. But son Burt is too stuffy and his wife is too bossy. When a stay with Harry's single daughter doesn't work out either, man and cat head West in a second-hand car, meeting bizarre characters along the way. Finally they reach L.A., where Harry moves in with his other son Eddie (Larry Hagman). But by now Harry's realized he likes being on the road and hasn't yet had his fill of adventure. Highlighted by Carney's outstanding performance. This moving story lights up the screen with a wit and wisdom that is rare and beautiful.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #18316 in DVD
• Released on: 2005-09-06
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, Spanish
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 115 minutes

Amazon.com
In 1974, the Oscar nominees for Best Actor included Jack Nicholson (Chinatown), Al Pacino (Godfather Part II), and Dustin Hoffman (Lenny). And the winner? Art Carney for this Paul Mazursky comedy about a retired schoolteacher evicted from his apartment to make way for urban redevelopment. So he takes his cat, Tonto, and heads cross-country to live with one of his children. But the trip is an eventful one, involving encounters with an assortment of friends and strangers. Carney is a game and canny old pro and he helps this film rise above its occasionally sentimental excesses; the result is consistently entertaining. But honestly--the Oscar over Nicholson, Pacino, and Hoffman? You be the judge. --Marshall Fine

Customer Reviews

This gem of a film should be on DVD!!
Evicted (literally carried) from his New York apartment, Harry Coombes (Carney) and Tonto, his cat, undergo a series of encounters that move them slowly, inevitably west. Harry stays briefly with each of his three children, and reinforced by casting choices, we feel that we're moving backward in time, eldest to youngest. Harry, too, seems to move backward in time. Through a series of other encounters - an Indian healer, a young girl running away from home, and others - Harry sheds his past, piece by piece, and moves toward an open future in which anything might happen.

There are memorable character portraits by Ellen Burstyn, Larry Hagman, Arthur Hunnicutt, Chief Dan George, and others. And of course Harry, whose acceptance of loss and refusal to indulge in sentimentality or self-pity show us it is possible to age with dignity and suppleness. This is a gem of a movie, from a time when Hollywood was not afraid to tell real stories about real people.

Would someone, PLEASE, release this on DVD!? Forget the special features, forget the cast & crew bios, the filmographies, the frills and trills. Just remaster this and put a good, clean copy on DVD. It's too good a movie to lose to tape rot!

Harry and Tonto DVD - Get It For Posterity
A truly magnificent film that is forgotten, even though it displays independence, sentimentality, masterful acting and pure entertainment. If for no other reason, you need to get the DVD version to hear Paul Mazursky's commentary version of the film. It is fascinating to learn the details that went into making this classic! The one criticism is that Mazursky makes a couple of references to "Art Carney being only 59 when the
movie was made." Since the movie was shot in the fall of 1973, Art was actually only 54 at that time, and he plays Harry at
age 72 perfectly. With all apologies to Jack Nicholson, Al
Pacino, Dustin Hoffman and Albert Finney, their work in 1974 cannot compare to Art Carney's Oscar-winning performance. You owe it to yourself to purchase this film!

Wonderful film
This is a great film, and yes I believe that Carney deserved to win the Oscar for his performance. This movie was at times very sentimental--but who cares. Art Carney gives a great perfomance as an elderly man on an odyssey, seemingly leaving the past behind and forging toward a new beginning. The plot is plain and simple but it is the simplistic nature of the plot that gives the film its magic. I love it and feel that it is a wonderful and touching film.