Join Amazon Prime and ship Two-Day for free and Overnight for $3.99. Already a member? Sign in.

 

or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
 
More Buying Choices
55 used & new from $7.25

Have one to sell? Sell yours here

or

Get a $3.00 Amazon.com Gift Card
 
   
Bill Hicks Live - Satirist, Social Critic, Stand-Up Comedian
 
See larger image and other views
 

Bill Hicks Live - Satirist, Social Critic, Stand-Up Comedian

Starring: Bill Hicks Rating: Unrated Format: DVD
4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (57 customer reviews)

List Price: $19.95
Price: $14.99 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details
You Save: $4.96 (25%)
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.

Want it delivered Tuesday, July 14? Choose One-Day Shipping at checkout. Details
35 new from $8.41 19 used from $7.25 1 collectible from $25.99
More Puppets Please
Fall in love with this "America's Got Talent" winner and his hilarious cast of characters. "Terry Fator: Live from Las Vegas" is now available for pre-order on DVD and Blu-ray.

Special Offers and Product Promotions


Frequently Bought Together

Bill Hicks Live - Satirist, Social Critic, Stand-Up Comedian + Bill Hicks - Sane Man + Rant in E-Minor
Price For All Three: $49.96

Show availability and shipping details

  • This item: Bill Hicks Live - Satirist, Social Critic, Stand-Up Comedian DVD ~ Bill Hicks

    In Stock.
    Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
    Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details

  • Bill Hicks - Sane Man DVD ~ Bill Hicks (II)

    In Stock.
    Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
    Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details

  • Rant in E-Minor ~ Bill Hicks

    In Stock.
    Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
    Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details


What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

Bill Hicks Live - Satirist, Social Critic, Stand-Up Comedian
89% buy the item featured on this page:
Bill Hicks Live - Satirist, Social Critic, Stand-Up Comedian 4.4 out of 5 stars (57)
$14.99
Rant in E-Minor
3% buy
Rant in E-Minor 4.8 out of 5 stars (91)
$16.98
Love All the People: The Essential Bill Hicks
3% buy
Love All the People: The Essential Bill Hicks 4.5 out of 5 stars (2)
$11.53
Bill Hicks - Sane Man
3% buy
Bill Hicks - Sane Man 4.6 out of 5 stars (19)
$17.99

Product Details

  • Actors: Bill Hicks
  • Format: Color, DVD, NTSC
  • Language: English (Unknown)
  • Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  • Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
  • Number of discs: 1
  • Rating: Unrated
  • Studio: Rykodisc
  • DVD Release Date: October 26, 2004
  • Run Time: 210 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (57 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: B0004Z33FK
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #12,844 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Bill Hicks's scathing, fearless standup comedy is on full display in Satirist, Social Critic, Stand-Up Comedian, the first official DVD release containing the late performer's work. Hicks, who died in 1994 at age 32, may not have been a total original; he's often compared to Lenny Bruce, as well as Sam Kinison and others, and he was hardly the first comic to talk about sex, drugs, politics, and religion, even if Hicks's takes on these matters are usually strikingly fresh. But there's simply no denying the unabashed, in-your-face power of these three early '90s performances, one each from Chicago, Montreal (entitled Relentless, this show originally aired on HBO), and London. Hicks is profane, to say the least, but never crude for its own sake, and certainly not stupid (we're not talking Andrew Dice Clay here). His humor is abrasive, passionate, shameless, provocative--calling non-smokers "obnoxious, self-righteous slugs" is one of his milder observations--and it's delivered in riveting, almost preacher-like fashion, with a strong physical element. And anyone who doubts his impact, both during and after his short, turbulent life, need only watch "It's Just a Ride," the 40-minute documentary accompanying the three live shows, in which both family and famous (Jay Leno and David Letterman among them) comment on him and work. In the end, you realize that since his death, no comic has come along who can touch Bill Hicks. --Sam Graham

Product Description
BILL HICKS - ON DVD AT LAST!

Bill Hicks Live is the first official DVD release from the legendary and beloved comedian.

Since Bill died in 1993, his work has reached a new audience and he has become a powerful cult figure. For these fans who never had the opportunity to see Bill in person, this DVD will be a revelation. The DVD captures Bill at his very best, with three of his legendary filmed performances:

"One Night Stand" from the Old Vic Theatre in Chicago (approx 30 minutes)

"Revelations" from the Dominion Theatre in London (approx 65 minutes)

"Relentless", Bill’s breakout performance at the Montreal Comedy Festival (approx 70 minutes)

The DVD focuses on his incredible live act, with Hicks hilariously assaulting the stage and the audience with a non-stop cornucopia of insights into our twisted world; the government, the military, the police, religion, smoking, pornography, drugs and of course, for those of you who are getting antsy, a couple of dick jokes.

As a bonus, the documentary "Just A Ride" surveys Bill’s remarkable career with insights from his peers; including Brett Butler, Eddie Izzard, Richard Jeni, Jay Leno, David Letterman and Thea Vidale. (approx 45 minutes)

Total running time: approx 3.5 hours of pure, unadulterated Hicks.


Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Rant in E-Minor

Rant in E-Minor

~ Bill Hicks
4.8 out of 5 stars (91)  $16.98
Arizona Bay

Arizona Bay

~ Bill Hicks
4.3 out of 5 stars (32)  $16.98
Dangerous

Dangerous

~ Bill Hicks
4.9 out of 5 stars (22)  $16.98
Relentless

Relentless

~ Bill Hicks
5.0 out of 5 stars (28)  $16.98
Love All the People: The Essential Bill Hicks

Love All the People: The Essential Bill Hicks

by Bill Hicks
4.5 out of 5 stars (2)  $11.53
Explore similar items

Tags Customers Associate with This Product

 (What's this?)
Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
Check the boxes next to the tags you consider relevant or enter your own tags in the field below.
(3)

Your tags: Add your first tag
 
Help others find this product — tag it for Amazon search
No one has tagged this product for Amazon search yet. Why not be the first to suggest a search for which it should appear?

 

Customer Reviews

57 Reviews
5 star:
 (42)
4 star:
 (5)
3 star:
 (3)
2 star:
 (6)
1 star:
 (1)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.4 out of 5 stars (57 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
37 of 40 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars His status as a legend is SECURED, November 14, 2004
As one who worked in comedy clubs for years and saw hundreds and hundreds of so-called comedians, I can assert that only a handful of comics make a lasting impression.

Hicks was one of those. Though I only got to see him onstage for one week's worth of shows in 1987, his body of work thankfully became more commercially available over the next decade.

Hicks is one of the rare comics with a point of view that both skewers and embraces Mankind. He loved his country and his fellow man, and that gave him license to stab and poke at their flaws. He championed THOUGHT as the means to combat Mediocrity and the Sheep Mentality.

This DVD is a sufficient look into his mastery of his craft and his unflinching control over his audience. Sometimes his control of the audience was mixed with disdain towards them, too. But it was closer to "tough love" than animosity or condescension.

Not everyone will recognize Bill's brilliance and not everyone will "get" the humor. Actually, the brighter you are the more likely you will appreciate Bill Hicks.

Buy this DVD and be elevated to a higher understanding of how the interactive medium of stand-up can be used as a persuasive pulpit not for bullying or mass entertainment but for communal introspection and self-examination.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
42 of 51 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars The true successor to Lenny Bruce..., October 5, 2004
...but, unfortunately, he never was allowed to reach the peak of his success due to cowardly television and recording executives, and, again like Bruce, due to being a victim and slave to his own excesses--before I go on, I do not own a copy of this DVD, but before any of the usual suspects gets on your high horses to castigate me for reviewing a DVD I've never seen, I correct all of you in advance by answering, that yes, I have seen all this material before--the HBO special, I saw--duh!--on HBO and was one of his few attempts at commercial success as the material is watered-down but no less hilarious, just not as risky and compelling--and the rest I saw on two different PAL format VHS tapes I purchased in the Amsterdam airport gift shop--one was the same Relentless show and that one is later than the HBO special but earlier than the Revelations show--the Relentless show is one of the most funny but haunting comedy sets I have ever seen--Hicks performs all of the material on a dark stage only lit by a spotlight--this is the show that most of the Hicks fans out there will recognize their favorite bits from--the Revelations and the documentary was on the other of the VHS tapes I bought and was called "Totally Bill Hicks"--the Revelations show was haunting, but in a different way--the stage is garishly lit and he is introduced by blaring rock and roll, reminiscent of a Sam Kinison show--but by the middle of the set, Hicks is obviously SKYhigh, and by letting his true demons and inner self out, he skirts all the way to the edge of the abyss, just to pirouette and come back just enough to finish the show--all in all, I have to have this DVD just because upon my return to the US, I had the tapes transferred to NTSC format and they lost a lot of quality, but for the first time viewer or even some Hicks fans, seeing him live for the first time on these discs will be a shocking experience that you didn't or wouldn't get from the CDs--straight arrows, get ready for the drug humor, Republicans, get ready for the Bush-bashing, prudes, get ready for the porn jokes and racists, get ready for the OJ riots as seen from a white man's eyes--I say Hicks is the true successor to Bruce and not Richard Pryor as Hicks was brutal in his political satire and that's what kept him in the end from his exposure to a wider audience, wheras Pryor was more of a successor to Redd Foxx for the race and sex humor--your David Crosses, Janeane Garafalos and all the other (who I call) grunge humorists? That's right--with no Bill Hicks, they'd be doing airplane and 7-11 jokes like all the rest--David Letterman, shame on you for letting this brave and talented man down and shame on you, dear reader, if you don't spend the paltry sum required to see a true comedic genius in action--don't let him slip away in the pages of the cult performer like Bruce--highly recommended!
Comment Comment (1) | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars "was i wrong? i wasn't, was i?", October 5, 2004
By anotherspaceboy (oh, bite me, it's fun.) - See all my reviews
sick of the lies all politicians spew?

tired of having every aspect of your life turned into a commodity to be bought or sold by a corporation?

don't understand how cigarettes and drugs are the devil but alcohol is the fountain of youth?

what i'm asking is : do you want the truth? truth you know, truth you can feel in your bones, truth like when you were a kid truth?

just buy this dvd. even if you've heard it all before, you have to see it like this.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Better performances are out there
I'm a big Bill Hicks fan who thinks the man was a genius. That said I tend to like his political satire and philosophical rantings over his more bawdy sexual humor. Read more
Published 18 days ago by Dan K.

5.0 out of 5 stars Memories of one of Bill's high school teachers
I can't resist recording here that I was twice Bill Hick's high school teacher: For freshman algebra and for senior English. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Ole Blue-Haired Lady

3.0 out of 5 stars Not bad if you have to have some Hicks on DVD
First off, I am a newcomer to Bill Hicks, having just discovered him earlier this year. That being said, my familiarity with his work prior to purchasing this DVD was relatively... Read more
Published 6 months ago by eddog56

5.0 out of 5 stars Its Bill Hicks...of course its good
Its about time this stuff was available. Great purchase!

Everyone should buy this...
Published 7 months ago by Jason A. Kilgore

5.0 out of 5 stars Comic Spiritualist or Spiritual Comic
If you really listen to what Bill Hicks is saying, it goes way deeper than just trying to be funny. Anything he did is worth seeing and having. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Elliot Malach

2.0 out of 5 stars Ditto: Repetitive
1. Watered down Sane Man 2. Shorter, alternate take on #1 in Chicago. 3. Relentless: New Material in England; all you'll be buying the dvd for. Read more
Published 13 months ago by Alaric

2.0 out of 5 stars Funny - but repititious
While DVD is lengthy, the material from show to show is the same. Of the 3 hours, only about and hour of it is different material, but atleast that hour is pretty funny.
Published 14 months ago by Kathy Evans

5.0 out of 5 stars A Prodigy at the Top of His Game
From his early high school days when he snuck out of the house to slay the crowds at Houston comedy clubs to his premature death Bill Hicks redefined insightful topical humor... Read more
Published 14 months ago by F. Asbury

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must See
The death of Bill Hicks was a profound loss to comedy. This DVD is a must see for any fan of stand up. Read more
Published 15 months ago by Jon T. Norwood

5.0 out of 5 stars This is the Ultimate Hicks DVD
This DVD has all of Hicks's Video footage. Why bother with anything else.

I'm not going to even say great bill is because ... you Know! Read more
Published 15 months ago by D. J. Lofthouse

Only search this product's reviews



Customer Discussions

 Beta (What's this?)
New! See all customer communities, and bookmark your communities to keep track of them.
This product's forum (1 discussion)
  Discussion Replies Latest Post
Bill Hicks Live - Satirist, Social Critic, Stand-Up Comedian DVD 0 1 month ago
See all discussions...  
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
  [Cancel]


Active discussions in related forums
  Discussion Replies Latest Post
Mr. Fatfingers 3017 15 minutes ago
Is it time to pull the plug on "The Simpsons"? 3 43 minutes ago
the No-Topic thread 701 2 hours ago
the big lebowski - favorite line 15 4 hours ago
TV Series Report 36 6 hours ago
How can anyone like "True Blood"? 7 7 hours ago
My Cousin Vinny 1 8 hours ago
Fudge 12 15 hours ago
   


Product Information from the Amapedia Community

Beta (What's this?)



Look for Similar Items by Category


Tanaka Landscaping Power Tools

Shop for Tanaka products at Amazon.com

Tanaka provides commercial-grade blowers, trimmers, accessories, and other landscaping equipment for the homeowner.

Shop all Tanaka

 

Might You Need a Miter Saw?

Shop for miter saws at Amazon.com
Find the miter saw to fit all your trim-cutting needs at Amazon.com. Our multibrand miter saw selection is huge, with prices to match any budget.

All miter saws

 

Say, "Oof Da!"

Carlson Cod Liver Oil
Carlson Norwegian Cod Liver Oil is a great source of omega-3 fatty acids, DHA, and EPA. Customers rave about the lemon flavor, too!

Buy now

 

Hitachi Power Tools

Shop for Hitachi tools
Hitachi carries a large line of professional-grade tools for residential and commercial construction, tradesman, and do-it-yourselfers.

Shop for Hitachi tools

 

 

Feedback

If you need help or have a question for Customer Service, contact us.
 Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
Is there any other feedback you would like to provide?

Your comments can help make our site better for everyone.


Where's My Stuff?

Shipping & Returns

Need Help?

Your Recent History

  (What's this?)
You have no recently viewed items or searches.

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.

Look to the right column to find helpful suggestions for your shopping session.

Continue shopping: Top Sellers
Paranoia
Paranoia by Joseph Finder
Glenn Beck's Common Sense
Finger Lickin' Fifteen
Finger Lickin' Fifteen by Janet Evanovich
My Soul to Lose
My Soul to Lose by Rachel Vincent

Conditions of Use | Privacy Notice © 1996-2009, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates