DVD Review - Bill Hicks: Sane Man

Classic patriotic truth-telling comedy performance FINALLY on DVD!

The historic first-ever full-length stand-up comedy performance that was ever filmed of the truth-telling patriotic comedian BILL HICKS is now available on DVD, and it's about time!


For those readers who have never heard of the late Bill Hicks, this DVD entitled SANE MAN is something that each and every one of you need to experience. A comedian, whose meteoric talent was right up there with Richard Pryor, Bill Hicks was a man who could mix humor with the hard realities of a world ruled by Corporate overlords and their Satanic minions, and leave his audience with many serious things to think about, as they left the comedy club, after seeing his act.

SANE MAN was filmed at THE LAFF STOP in Austin, Texas USA on July 14, 1989 --- and it was the first time ever that Hicks' act was caught in its' full-length glory. One might wonder how timely was the subject matter, being that this performance was filmed more than sixteen years ago. However, as a twist of fate and the forward march of the globalist agenda would have it, the material throughout this entire DVD remains just as prescient as it was on the very night it was filmed.

The Sagittarian energy that Bill Hicks possessed helped him to find his destiny as a comedic truth-teller, taking things many orders of magnitude ahead of the brave waters Lenny Bruce navigated in the early 1960's. In fact, much of what Hicks spoke of in his act have been subsequently proven to be correct by those of us who perform research into the many reasons why this world is being manipulated from far behind the veil of secret societies and groups that you and I would never be asked to join.

Released on DVD on December 6, 2005, the SANE MAN DVD is a nearly four hour magnum opus of funnier-than-hell jokes, self-evident truths, and the boistrous and sometimes nervous laughter from the audience. The DVD contains BOTH of the original VHS edit of Hicks' stand-up and a newly expanded version, which adds the rest of the performance that Hicks gave that night. The DVD contains 59 minutes of extras and backstage footage, as well as a full thirty-three minutes of audio excerpts from his entire Rykodisc back catalog, which was obviously added to interest newer fans of Hicks' comedy AND truth-telling.

A special thank you is also in order to Sacred Cow Productions:

Thank you for keeping the dream alive! To SANE MAN producers Kevin Booth and David Johndrow, thank you for knowing you had a diamond in the rough. And finally, to Bill Hicks himself; thank you for making people THINK whenever your material was before them; and also, for waking people up to the stark realities that confront us, and for making them smile for a moment of infinity, laughing to themselves that they will make it through these tough times that lay immediately ahead.

Hicks' stand-up ranged from talk about the music business, and how BAD music has gotten. My oh my, what would he have thought of the putridity that is out there in 2005, which is much, much worse than his most-hated and reviled mentions of pop music; Debbie Gibson, Tiffany, George Michael, and Barry Manilow.

When speaking about Debbie Gibson for example, Hicks referred to her as a "little mall creature," and he further opines that "Debbie Gibson had the number one album. Doesn't this make your blood curdle? Is it me? Am I over-reactive? Who's buying this shit? Is there that much babysitting money being passed around right now?" Then, Hicks gets right to the heart of the matter concerning Ms. Gibson; "You've got no titties, you look like John-Boy [from the 1970's TV show The Waltons], and your music SUCKS. Shut up and go back to the mall that spawned you!" Hicks then gives Keith Richards as an example of music that was written under the influence of drugs --- excellent music that was written under the influence --- as he hums the familiar riff from Satisfaction --- one of Richards' best-ever compositions.

'Nuff said on that subject!

In continuing his diatribe against the AmeriKan orgy of consumerism, Hicks claimed that it was all a "CIA plot to make you think malls are good. But Bill, malls ARE good. Malls allow us to shop 365 days a year at 72 degrees. That MUST be good. We are HAPPY CONSUMERS!"

When talking about advertising and marketing, Hicks exhorts the members of the audience who work in the field to KILL THEMSELVES. What is interesting is that both Jordan Maxwell and Michael Tsarion have since spoken at length about the globalist's hidden symbolism that can be found in advertising, corporate logos, and marketing campaigns. This was a theme that he would later explore to great effect on ARIZONA BAY, which is arguably his best album --- his comedic DARK SIDE OF THE MOON --- as Hicks himself referred to the 1997 posthumous release that was prepared before his untimely death in February 1994.

In fact, among the links in the SOURCES section at the very end of this DVD review, is a link to Michael Tsarion's lecture on the subversive use of sacred symbolism in the media. I would encourage everyone reading these words to check out this lecture, which is extremely interesting and very revealing in how the public is being manipulated by those who wish to sell toothpaste and other products of dubious value.

SANE MAN also marks the performance of many smaller bits that would later go on to becoming signature pieces from his stand-up act. One of these is known as GREAT TIMES ON DRUGS. This was one of the bits that pointed out in startling clarity, the hypocracy inherent in the manner in which the DRUG WAR and drug use is portrayed in the globalist-controlled mass media. Hicks spoke of the apocryphal and mythical news story about the moron who took LSD and then, believing he could fly, jumped off a tall building. Hicks' response to this was chillingly simple; "If he thought he could fly, why didn't he take-off from the ground, and check it out first?

And Hicks pulled no punches:

"Oops, there's one less moron in the world, too bad."

Even when talking about tragedy, Hicks skewers his subjects with his razor-sharp wit:

"Jimi Hendrix died in a pool of his own vomit. Do you know how much you have to puke to fill a pool?!"

Just with a pun like this, the comedy fan should realize that Hicks was someone very special, indeed.

Some of the bits cannot be discussed in a family-oriented forum such as this, simply because some of these bits were truly ADULT in their nature. The bit about working in a shoe store, helping women try on their new shoes, is but one example of this. Funny, yes, but nevertheless, a bit too raunchy for younger ears. The same goes for his discussion of the activities that would immediately follow the cure for AIDS, which would see people literally copulating in the streets.

Who else would have the BALLS to say something like this?!

The true genius that was Bill Hicks is found within the statement where he said that he did all of his best writing on stage. He had such a free-form stream-of-consciousness way about his delivery, that he was clearly one of the true geniuses of comedy. And, he did it all without ever telling a single joke about how bad the food was on airplanes, or any of the obvious observations that went on to plague former greats of comedy like Jay Leno, and . . . well, Jay Leno!

If comedy is your thing, or perhaps you are looking for a way to wake up someone in your life, I wholeheartedly recommend anything by Bill Hicks, including the wonderfully thought-provoking SANE MAN, a historically important stand-up set that was recorded before the release of his first comedy record.

Kentroversy Rating: ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ (out of five)


Sources:

The following sources were used in the creation of this Kentroversy Paper . . .

Bill Hicks - Official Website

Bill Hicks - Rykodisc Catalog

Sacred Cow Productions - Comedy Multimedia Page

Sacred Cow Productions - Sane Man DVD Order Page

Rykodisc - Sane Man DVD Page

Austin Chronicle - Requiem For A Sane Man (March 12, 2004)

Stylus Magazine - The Last Sane Man (April 26, 2004)

Maybe Logic Academy - Maybe Quarterly Interview: Kevin Booth Talks About Bill Hicks (Spring Equinox 2005)

Michael Tsarion - The Subversive Use of
Sacred Symbolism in the Media

The Konformist - The Silence of Bill Hicks (December 2000)

NOTE: The COMPLETE unedited letter from Bill Hicks to New Yorker critic John Lahr (January 1994), as well as the article on Bill Hicks that was published in the New Yorker (November 1993) can BOTH be found in the book "BILL HICKS - Love All The People: Letters, Lyrics, Routines," which was published in 2004 by Soft Skull Press, a book publisher known for their steadfast committment to the truth:

Bill Hicks - Love All The People: Letters Lyrics, Routines (Amazon.com Order Page)

Finally, here is where you can purchase Kevin Booth's excellent memoir of his life-long friend and spiritual brother, which is entitled BILL HICKS: AGENT OF EVOLUTION --- I highly recommend this book:

Kevin Booth - Bill Hicks: Agent of Evolution (Amazon.com Order Page)