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American The Bill Hicks Story, the groundbreaking documentary about the cult U.S. comedian, premiered at SXSW and hit 27 major international festivals. Since its theatrical run in April, it has been in the top ten on iTunes and among Rotten Tomatoes' highest reviewed films of the year.
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Seventeen years after his death, Bill Hicks is widely
recognized as one of the greatest American stand-ups of the modern era. His uncompromising comedy challenged the injustices of life head on, but met with controversy and resistance in the U.S., so it was instead on the international stage where he found fame. In 1993, on the verge of finally breaking through to the mainstream American audience, Bill was diagnosed with terminal cancer. However, his timeless material lived on. Now, taking documentary film to a new level by combining many unseen performances with mind-blowing digital animation, American creatively illustrates Bill's remarkable story and legacy -- inspiring... outrageous... and funny as hell.
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Click here for the film's Facebook page
American's world premiere was at the London Film Festival in October 2009. It also screened in the UK at the Sheffield DocFest in November and the Glasgow Film Festival in February. American's official North American debut was at SXSW in Austin, Texas in March, followed by a screening in April at the Dallas International Film Festival, where it was awarded with the MPS Studios Texas Filmmaker Award. Also in April, the film debuted in Ireland at the Belfast Film Festival and screened at Independent Film Festival Boston and WorldFest in Houston. In early May, it was shown at the HotDocs festival in Montreal. On May 14, it began regular bookings in UK and Ireland cinemas and quickly became one of the most successful documentaries in the past couple of years. In June, it screened at the Little Rock Film Festival and won the Oxford American Best Southern Film competition, and also screened at the Seattle International Film Festival. In July, it played the Just For Laughs Festival in Toronto, debuted in Australia at the Revelation Perth International Film Festival and began screenings in the multi-city New Zealand International Film Festival. In September, it opened and won "Best Documentary" at the Downtown Film Festival Los Angeles, played at the Sydney Underground Film Festival, and was nominated for the Grierson 2010 British Documenatary Awards in the category of "Most Entertaining Documentary", then debuted in New York City as part of the Friar's Club Comedy Film Festival. In October, it played at the Edmonton Int'l Film Festival, San Francisco IndieFest and New Orleans Film Festival. It screened for over two weeks in Adelaide and was shown in other cities through the end of December. The film made numerous "Best of 2010" lists, both as best documentary and best film, and was named Best Documentary at the June 2011 Bologna Biografia Festival (the first international event entirely devoted to biographies and life stories).
Also Available on UK Home Video
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“an immersive, inventive delve into the life of a stand-up visionary.” – Empire
“hysterically funny and deeply moving tribute to a true American outlaw.” – Daily Mirror
“a triumph of style and content…a fitting reminder of what Hicks accomplished
in his short life, and what the brevity of that life cost the rest of us.” – Uncut
“This inventively constructed, dynamically executed documentary will make you laugh a lot, but more importantly, it’ll make you wanna get off your arse and DO SOMETHING.” – Bizarre
“Hilarious and moving, its greatest triumph is in giving us a profound sense
of just what his death robbed us of” – Glasgow Evening News
“lovingly assembled…this intimate tribute is highly watchable”
One of the ‘Films You MUST See This Summer’ – Total Film
“A total must-see” – Love Film
“Absolute perfection.” – Loaded
“American: The Bill Hicks Story is gonna blast the ignorance out of UK cinemas this summer. Certainly our most anticipated movie of the year” – Maxim
“Visually, the movie’s fantastic…informative and completely absorbing.
A fascinating and incredibly entertaining movie.” – Ain’t It Cool News
“Bill Hick’s finally gets his shot at the cinema. Insightful, hilarious, and ultimately moving…
it somehow makes you admire him even more.” – Shortlist
“The groundbreaking comedian gets a step closer to immortality with
American The Bill Hicks Story…the film has a compelling intimacy.” – The Hollywood Reporter
“Comic Bill Hicks posthumously rocks Austin – he still inspires awe.” – Wired
“The film gets as close to Hicks the man as we can hope for, and he emerges as
an even more courageous, visionary figure as a result.” – Sight & Sound
“Likely to be the pre-eminent documentary of 2010” – Clash Magazine
CONTENTS LIST
DISC 1: Main Feature, American: The Bill Hicks Story ¤¤
Extended Interviews, Part 1 ¤¤ Featurettes: Austin Panel at SXSW;
Dominion Tour
DISC 2: Extended Interviews Part 2 ¤¤ Featurettes: • Festivals in UK & USA with the Hicks
• Hicks at Abbey Road Studios, remastering Bill’s music tracks
• Kevin shoots his film in LA
• 15th Anniversary tribute
• Comedy School
• David Johndrow’s photography
• Dwight in London
• Making of Arizona Bay
• The Ranch ¤¤ Deleted, Early and Alternate Scenes: • The older kids
• Bill calls Dwight
• Dangerfields
• Early Bill & Dwight recording
• Ninja Bachelor Party
• STRESS
• The goal of comedy
• tragic love lives • Houston House
• Mary & Jim watch Bill
• Flying to New York
• Writing jokes • Last ranch trip
• Teenage rebellion
• Wimberly ¤¤ Rare Clips: • Annex–Girls
• Annex–Eating
• Annex–Scary Movies
• Annex–Mom comes to town
• Funny Bone–UFO
• Indianapolis 1–Dad’s a goober
• Indianapolis 2–Jews killed my Lord
• Outlaws Get Religion–Jesus is pissed
• Outlaws Get Religion–School rivalry
• Sacramento–Housekeeping!
• Sane Man–Bill, you don’t fit in
• Sane Man–Non-smokers
• Spellbinders–In hospital
• West Palm Beach–Childbirth
• West Palm Beach–Did God make a mistake? • Bill & Dwight–Bat & ball
• Bill at Waco
• Ninja Bachelor Party trailer ¤¤ Bill Audio Journal Clips: • Bill lonely in LA (1981)
• Bill leaves New York for LA (1992)
- CLICK HERE FOR CLIPS FROM THE DOCUMENTARY'S OFFICIAL YOUTUBE PAGE -
