American: The Bill Hicks Story

“Good evening, my name is Bill Hicks. I’ve been on the road now doing comedy 12 years, so, uh, bear with me while I plaster on a fake smile and plow through this shit one more time. … I’m kinda tired of traveling, kinda tired of doing comedy, kinda tired of staring out at your blank faces looking back at me, wanting me to fill your empty lives with humor you couldn’t possibly think of yourselves”.

Bill Hicks may not be the most recognisable name on the stand-up comedy circuit, but when the Texas-born comedian died of pancreatic cancer the age of 32 in 1994, he left behind him an unfinished career and a string of baffled rednecks in the Deep South. Decrying everything from modern music, to religion and the conservative elements of politics –  while simultaneously praising the joys of smoking and taking drugs – Hicks usually held nothing back. It wasn’t until late in his career that he was ‘discovered’, particularly in the UK, and it is only since his untimely death that legions of fans have sprung up all over the world as they discover his comedy for the first time. Compared with the earlier Lenny Bruce, and sometimes described as “Chomsky with dick jokes”, his prematurely-shortened career continues to be influential to this day.

Hicks’ life was previously chronicled in It’s Just a Ride: A Tribute to Bill Hicks (available on DVD as part of the Totally Bill Hicks compilation), but British debut filmmaker Matt Harlock and documentarian Paul Thomas attempt something a little bit different with American: The Bill Hicks Story. Speaking with the ’10 people who knew Bill best’, the film uses still photographs and animation (in a similar way to the recent Allen Ginsberg docu-drama HOWL), along with interviews of Hicks’ family, friends and peers, and of course, vintage footage of his stand-up performances. While this animated technique may be off-putting at first, especially for those expecting a more traditional ‘talking heads’ documentary, it achieves a level of intimacy not seen in previous filmed portraits.

Of course, it doesn’t tell the whole story. Being told by the people who knew Bill best has the drawback of not covering every dark aspect of his life, although none of them pull punches when it comes to his failings. The audience is never fully introduced to Goat Boy, the uninhibited alter-ego that fascinated Hicks in his later years and was a creature of pure id (“Tie me to your headboard. Throw your legs over my shoulders, let me roll you like a feed bag.”). His pieces on abortion are strangely glossed over, and we get only the slightest hint about his outrage on the first Gulf War. Yet to truly understand Hicks, one must see his stand-up performances. Although Hicks is not around to speak for himself, we are lucky to have so many of his performances committed to CD and video. From the amazing early archival footage, through his first big break of Sane Man and the mighty Revelations (where he reached rock god status), we get a sense of what made Hicks special. His material still resonates today, partly because the issues he dealt with – flag burning, government lies, war in the Gulf, the collective apathy of the masses – could easily be ripped from the headlines and sadly still apply today. Up until recently, we didn’t even have to change the name of the President he was ranting about.

To go deeper, fans will need to look to Cynthia True’s heartbreaking American Scream: The Bill Hicks Story or Bill Hicks: Agent of Evolution, the tome by his lifelong friend Kevin Booth (and director of American Drug War: The Last White Hope). However, it does serve as an excellent and timely gateway into the world of Hicks. Sixteen years after his death, Hicks remains as angry and as relevant to modern audiences as he did back in his prime. As the representative of the filmmakers reminded us at the Sydney premiere as part of the Sydney Underground Film Festival, Hicks was always more popular in Australia and the UK than he was in his home territory. Fans will find that American: The Bill Hicks Story covers most of the main reasons we love Hicks, and new fans will find this a great primer before dipping their toes into the waters of Dangerous or the essential Arizona Bay. Weeks, perhaps years, of indecision in various parliaments around the world have left most citizens apathetic to government deception and actions that are not in the best interests of the people that elected them. This film reminds us why we should always maintain the rage.

Overall rating: ★★★★

American: The Bill Hicks Story is released in the UK on DVD 27 October 2010, boasting over 5 hours of bonus features. Madman Entertainment will be distributing this in Australia, with a local release date TBA.

Portions of this review originally appeared in our review for Bill Hicks – Sane Man back in 2006.

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Scorsese double: Mean Streets and The Last Waltz

Brisbane’s Tribal Theatre, one of the city’s newest cinemas in one of its oldest venues, has crafted a unique niche in the local screen scene since opening at the old Dendy George Street location back in March. Screening cult favourites (including Casablanca, The Shining, Eraserhead, Pulp Fiction, Spirited Away, Pan’s Labyrinth, and Across The Universe thus far), second-run hits (such as Animal Kingdom, Crazy Heart, Paranormal Activity, and The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus) and first-release independent features (with Exit Through The Gift Shop a breakout smash, and Savages Crossing, The Horseman, The Most Dangerous Man in America and The Human Centipede also showing to date), it has piqued the interest of Brisbane’s avid film buffs, drawing in modest crowds of movie aficionados thanks to a revolving line-up of new and old classics alike. Extending the trend with a Martin Scorsese double featuring 1973’s Mean Streets and 1978’s The Last Waltz, the new Brisbane institution continues to impress, offering fans of the director the rare chance to view two of Scorsese’s masterful early works as they were meant to be seen.

Universally recognised as the film that put Scorsese on the map – as well as the first post-film school production entirely of his own design after playing director for hire on Boxcar Bertha, Mean Streets is a powerhouse breakthrough feature that not only trumpeted the arrival of its helmer and his signature style, but also launched the careers of Harvey Keitel and Robert De Niro as well. Following the small-time criminal exploits of fledgling mafioso Charlie (Keitel) and his wildcard childhood friend Johnny Boy (De Niro), it charts the development of two kids from the streets headed in separate directions, but forever linked by their sins despite their own attempts at penance. A gritty, immediate and compelling film that chronicles the New York of Scorsese’s youth, it was praised for being startling original at the time – and still remains a breath of fresh air almost forty years later. Foreshadowing not only the hits of his career to come (Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, Goodfellas and The Departed being the obvious standouts) but also a new wave of crime cinema in tandem with Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather and The Conversation, Sidney Lumet’s Serpico and Dog Day Afternoon, Roman Polanski’s Chinatown and William Friedkin’s The French Connection, Mean Streets is Scorsese in vintage, visceral and vehement form, with the chance to view it on the big screen a bona fide treat.

In contrast, The Last Waltz embraces one of Scorsese’s other obsessions – music. His first forray into the concert film genre but by no means his last (with The Rolling Stones-centred Shine A Light following in 2008, and 2005’s No Direction Home: Bob Dylan and the upcoming Living in the Material World: George Harrison also indulging the filmmaker’s love of the medium), it documents the final concert by Canadian icons The Band. Produced by singer, songwriter and founding guitarist Robbie Robertson, and featuring interview clips with him and his band mates throughout, it truly is a celebration of their music rather than an exploration of the history of the group, with guest artists including Eric Clapton, Neil Diamond, Bob Dylan, Emmylou Harris, Ronnie Hawkins, Dr. John, Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison, Ringo Starr, Muddy Waters, Ronnie Wood and Neil Young gracing the stage as The Band bid their farewells to the touring life. Filmed in 1976 at the Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco, it earns its place as one of the greatest rock films of all time, with Scorsese’s canny documentary skills (as further demonstrated in his deconstruction of American and Italian cinema in A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese Through American Movies and My Voyage to Italy respectively) enticing new and old fans of The Band alike to partake in a poignant and personal opus about an act, a tour, and a gig that captured the spirit of a generation.

Tribal Theatre’s Martin Scorsese double runs until September 8, 2010.

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