Controversial, inspiring, and determined, Bill Hicks was a stand-up comedian with a message. He was born in Georgia and raised in Texas but didn’t solidify his style until he made his way to New York and California. Hicks’s stand-up routines challenged many aspects of modern society, from consumerism to religion, and he routinely found himself struggling against censorship, most famously when David Letterman cut an entire segment from his show in 1993. Hicks’s life was as turbulent as his humor, confronting him with addictions, experimentation, and opportunities until he finally succumbed to cancer at the age of 32 in 1994.
Bill Hicks’s legacy lives on through his devoted fans and the numerous musicians, comedians, and other artists his work inspired. In 2009, Matt Harlock and Paul Thomas paid tribute to Hicks with their documentary film American: The Bill Hicks Story, which showed at the 2010 South by Southwest festival and garnered numerous awards from other festivals. The film combines archive footage with perspectives from the people who knew Hicks best to assemble a unique view of the comedian, his work, and his life. In addition to showcasing Hicks through the words of his friends and family, American also presents some unusual visuals with cut-and-paste animation layered into still photos from Hicks’s life.
BBC released American: The Bill Hicks Story this month on Blu-ray and DVD, presenting a huge array of bonus features that are must-haves for any Hicks fans. Among the special features comprising more than five hours of additional footage are:
- 30 minutes of rare clips from Bill Hicks’s career
- 3 hours of extended interviews
- Bill’s personal audio journals
- Trailers and audience reactions
- Deleted scenes
- 9 featurettes, including: Bill’s Family Visits Abbey Road, Dominion Theatre Tour, 15th Anniversary Tribute, Q&A Panel in Austin, Comedy School, Dwight in London, Festivals with the Hicks, The Ranch, and The Making of Arizona Bay
