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[speculawyer]

I haven't seen it but I'm very interested and will see it. Not in my area yet but I guess I can stream it online. Bill Hicks was an underappreciated cultural/political comedian that tragically died early due to cancer. A real comedian's comedian. Apparently the movie covers the Letterman incident and Letterman's heart-felt apology.

http://www.americanthemovie.com/

79% Fresh at RottenTomatoes: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/american-the-bill-hicks-story/



Available on many on-demand video sites:
http://www.americanthemovie.com/?page_id=1267


The promo site's blurb:

Three years in the making, AMERICAN: The Bill Hicks Story brings the tale of one of modern culture’s most iconic heroes to the big screen.

Much more than a comedian, Bill Hicks was and still is an inspiration to millions. His timeless comedy tackled the contradictions of America and modern life head on. But his unique gift was to tease apart the essence of religion, the dangers of unbridled government power and the double standards inherent in much of modern society, using nothing but his hilarious ideas and the uncompromising observational style that continues to resonate with successive generations.

Like many who have a strong sense of their place in history, Hicks left a large unseen legacy; his collection of video recordings and hundreds of photographs and these became the starting point for this feature-length animated documentary.

But why animation? Bill Hicks’ complex story had never been adequately told and this demanded pushing documentary storytelling in a new direction to boldly recreate the key unseen scenes of Bill’s life and, for the first time fully reveal the worlds that shaped his character and his comedy. Real locations, such as the bedroom window he snuck out of to perform with comedy partner Dwight Slade, the dark alleys of Houston where he nearly met his end, and the spellbinding theatre auditoriums where he played his most famous concerts; are all meticulously recreated in stunning three dimensional photorealism to provide a fresh new sense of the challenges the lone comedian faces and a real sense of what his journey was like.

Bill’s story is told by the 10 people who knew him best; his family and closest friends who recount the twists & turns of his life with a freshness that hasn’t faded in 15 years. From Kevin Booth, Bill’s talented lifelong friend to the Outlaw Comics who introduced Bill into their heady world of drugs & alcohol, to photographer David Johndrow who perceptively captures some of the most revelatory moments of Bill’s life, each speaker is a compelling narrator who still carries a piece of Bill with them and, woven together, they bring a palpable sense of Bill’s presence to the screen.

Their story provides the platform for Bill’s own voice and for the first time, his 17 years of material are combined in a powerful chronology with his offstage journey. With each of his routines now bedded in the context of his life, a fascinating insight into the growth and development of an artist is revealed, as Bill’s early character work found first a comedic aim and then a truly powerful voice when he beat addiction to enthrall and challenge audiences, often touring 300 nights a year.

Recreating Bill’s story has been a journey all of it’s own; traveling all across America to record extensive new interviews, watching hundreds of performances and developing the animation technique over thousands of hours to fully realize the cinematic vision required. With a little help and a few orbits of the sun, these raw materials – video clips, photographs & personal recollections – have now been put together to recreate a full sense of Bill’s life, ambitions and achievements and a lasting testament as to why he will remain one of the enduring cultural cornerstones of our age.

 

[backflip10019]

I hear Dennis Leary is working on a sequel.

 

[SnakeXs]

About fucking time.

I really wish I had something to say about him that hasn't been said before in a manner far more eloquent than I'd possibly be able to portray.

I hear Dennis Leary is working on a sequel.

Aaaaand we're done here. :lol

 

[Sapiens]

I hear Dennis Leary is working on a sequel.

First reply. Brilliant. A true fan.

 

[Gamer98]

I hear Dennis Leary is working on a sequel.

Got damn.

 

[Phantast2k]

I hear Dennis Leary is working on a sequel.

We'd be done, if you said remake instead of sequel

/also: gonna watch this one for sure.

 

[speculawyer]

I hear Dennis Leary is working on a sequel.

For the benefit of those missing the joke:

Allegations of plagiarism
For many years, Leary had been friends with fellow comedian Bill Hicks. When Leary's comedy album No Cure for Cancer was released, many people believed Leary had stolen Hicks' act and material. The friendship ended abruptly as a result.[20] Hicks once famously told an interviewer: "I have a scoop for you. I stole his [Leary's] act. I camouflaged it with punchlines, and to really throw people off, I did it before he did".[21]

At least three stand-up comedians have gone on the record stating they believe Leary stole Hicks' material, comedic persona and attitude.[20][22][23][24] One similar routine was about the band Judas Priest, during which Hicks says "I don’t think we lost a cancer cure."

During a 2003 roast of Denis Leary, comedian Lenny Clarke, a friend of Leary's, said there was a carton of cigarettes backstage from Bill Hicks with the message, "Wish I had gotten these to you sooner." This joke was cut from the final broadcast.[25]

The feud is also mentioned in Cynthia True's biography American Scream: The Bill Hicks Story:

Leary was in Montreal to host the "Nasty Show," at Club Soda, and Colleen was coordinating the talent so she was standing backstage when she heard Leary doing material that sounded incredibly similar to old Hicks riffs, including his perennial Jim Fixx joke: ("Keith Richards outlived Jim Fixx, the runner and health nut dude. The plot thickens."). When Leary came offstage, Colleen, more stunned than angry, said, "Hey, you know that's Bill Hicks' material! Do you know that's his material?" Leary stood there, stared at her without saying a word and briskly left the dressing room.[26]​

She reportedly said, upon hearing a tape of Leary's album No Cure for Cancer, "Bill was furious. All these years, aside from the occasional jibe, he had pretty much shrugged off Leary's lifting. Comedians borrowed, stole stuff and even bought bits from one another. Milton Berle and Robin Williams were famous for it. This was different. Leary had, practically line for line, taken huge chunks of Bill's act and recorded it."[26]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denis_Leary#Allegations_of_plagiarism

 

[The Lamonster]

Just introduced my girlfriend to Bill Hicks. She is a fan now.

 

[Expendable.]

My reviewer quite liked it. I'm sorry to say I've never heard of him before this doc, will have to see it when I can.

 

[Sir Hamish]

I heard he is great but all my idiot stoner benefit-thieving friends think he is the best thing ever which puts me off a wee bit :\

 

[speculawyer]

I heard he is great but all my idiot stoner benefit-thieving friends think he is the best thing ever which puts me off a wee bit :\

Don't let their views shape your owns. Watch some of Bills material and judge for yourself. At the least, he'll entertain or outrage you.

 

[SmZA]

I heard he is great but all my idiot stoner benefit-thieving friends think he is the best thing ever which puts me off a wee bit :\

Yeah, I have a hangup about this too. Sometimes when I go out I think about what pubs were like in the nineties when smoking was going to be banned and how outraged those people got, and how often their arguments would include an unfunny paraphrase of a Bill Hicks routine. I never ever hear those arguments now (it's amazing how quick and painless the transition was) and going out is so much more pleasant. It's funny the dude was held up as an anti-corporate rebel when he spent his entire career being an unpaid spokesperson for Philip Morris. He also would go off on these long rants about things that are completely ridiculous in hindsight (eg. JFK, Waco conspiracy theories).

I expect to get piled on for these comments. But when he was good, he was better than 99% of comedians working today.

 

[sphagnum]

I've always liked the faux conspiracy theory that Bill Hicks is Alex Jones.

 

[Drewsky]

I hear Dennis Leary is working on a sequel.

Did Dennis Leary steal his material or something?

 

[adamsappel]

I once saw his comedy album "Rant in E Minor" shelved in the Classical section of Best Buy.

 

[SnakeXs]

Did Dennis Leary steal his material or something?

Less than 10 posts up, man.

 

[legacyzero]

"Hairy-bobb'in-man-ass"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrcT4-jN2cA

LOL <3 Bill Hicks.

 

[Drewsky]

Less than 10 posts up, man.

Woops, I'm off here lately. Sorry.

 

[Combichristoffersen]

I need to see this. I really hope they included the 'free bird' incident, I really love his pitch-black, venomous and misanthropic tirade against all of humanity.

 

[demon]

Will definitely watch. Thanks for the heads up.

Freddie Mercury and Bill Hicks. Two people I wish I could go back in time and see perform.

 

[UrokeJoe]

Will definitely watch. Thanks for the heads up.

Freddie Mercury and Bill Hicks. Two people I wish I could go back in time and see perform.

I'd rather wish they were still around, but yeah I hear you.

 

[Manji Silk Boss]

"It's just one ride in the big carnival... so don't be afraid." Dude was amazing. The first i ever heard of him was off of Aenima - third eye ... always chuckled and loved that little bit at the beginning then found out his entire act was more of the same pure gold.

Great performer.

 

[oracrest]

It's a great doc, and puts a lot of focus on the Houston crew that he started doing stand-up with.

It also has some good early footage of his younger stand-up days.

 

[wenis]

I hear Dennis Leary is working on a sequel.

I'll keep an eye out for this one. He's one of my top 5 comedians of all time and someone I go to for inspiration for my own material. Can't get enough of this man.

 

[Sir Hamish]

Yeah, I have a hangup about this too. Sometimes when I go out I think about what pubs were like in the nineties when smoking was going to be banned and how outraged those people got, and how often their arguments would include an unfunny paraphrase of a Bill Hicks routine. I never ever hear those arguments now (it's amazing how quick and painless the transition was) and going out is so much more pleasant. It's funny the dude was held up as an anti-corporate rebel when he spent his entire career being an unpaid spokesperson for Philip Morris. He also would go off on these long rants about things that are completely ridiculous in hindsight (eg. JFK, Waco conspiracy theories).

I expect to get piled on for these comments. But when he was good, he was better than 99% of comedians working today.

Yeah its stuff like that which turns me off. I really should give him a shot at some point, I'm just really sick of having bill hicks thrown in my face everytime some waster wants to justify their annoying parasitic existence

Case and point: told some fanny I was a marketing student. Cue some big rant about how marketing is bad and how bill hicks told marketers to go kill themselves and how that's awesome. How did he know bill hicks said this? He read it in a bill hicks book and saw it on a bill hicks dvd, which he saw advertised and was thus marketing. He couldn't get his head around that one

 

[MrPing1000]

Did it just come out in the USA?

I have it on Blu-Ray.

 

[José Mourinho]

Bill Hicks... Is not as funny as everybody makes out.

 

[demon]

Case and point: told some fanny I was a marketing student. Cue some big rant about how marketing is bad and how bill hicks told marketers to go kill themselves and how that's awesome. How did he know bill hicks said this? He read it in a bill hicks book and saw it on a bill hicks dvd, which he saw advertised and was thus marketing. He couldn't get his head around that one

Or he saw it on youtube?

 

[Massive Nights]

This documentary is fucking awful, I had to turn it off, the animated sequences were far too cheese-ball.

 

[AlexMogil]

I still miss the guy. Everyone wants George Carlin's opinion on today's news. Nope. Bill would be my prophet.

 

[CrocMother]

I find a lot of people who don't like him but can't really articulate why are biased against the South.

 

[lexi]

'Hey buddy. We're Christians and we don't like what you said.'
'Then forgive me.'

The man was brilliant, he had his faults (conspiracy theories and was a little bit of a misogynist) but when he was on he was on.

 

[Buckethead]

Solid documentary. Kinda gets cut off when it gets going though.

 

[IrishNinja]

wasnt there one a little while back, or am i remember it wrong? i know there was a book, and the DVD i got with a collection of his comedy acts. a few albums i'd found online were basically bootlegs of some of his UK shows: mostly golden, but shit audio quality.

either way, looking forward to checking this out, thanks OP. and yeah, lost a lotta respect for Leary when i learned of this years back, too...doesn't hurt that his stand-up has been shitty for years now, too. At least he's got Rescue Me.

 

[oracrest]

Bill Hicks... Is not as funny as everybody makes out.

Comedy is subjective...