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Outlaw Comic: The Censoring of Bill Hicks

  • TV Movie
  • 2003
  • 1h 14m
IMDb RATING
7.8/10
142
YOUR RATING
Outlaw Comic: The Censoring of Bill Hicks (2003)
BiographyComedyDocumentaryDrama

A biographical documentary on the late great comedian Bill Hicks and his career; in particular the censorship by David Letterman that scarred it.A biographical documentary on the late great comedian Bill Hicks and his career; in particular the censorship by David Letterman that scarred it.A biographical documentary on the late great comedian Bill Hicks and his career; in particular the censorship by David Letterman that scarred it.

  • Director
    • Andy Schatzberg
  • Writers
    • Abigail McCarthy
    • Andy Schatzberg
  • Stars
    • Bill Hicks
    • Janeane Garofalo
    • Clive Anderson
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    7.8/10
    142
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Andy Schatzberg
    • Writers
      • Abigail McCarthy
      • Andy Schatzberg
    • Stars
      • Bill Hicks
      • Janeane Garofalo
      • Clive Anderson
    • 3User reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Photos

    Top Cast9

    Edit
    Bill Hicks
    Bill Hicks
    • Self
    • (archive footage)
    Janeane Garofalo
    Janeane Garofalo
    • Self - Host
    Clive Anderson
    Clive Anderson
    • Self
    • (archive footage)
    Charles Chaplin
    Charles Chaplin
    • Self
    • (archive footage)
    Biff Henderson
    • Self
    • (archive footage)
    Sam Kinison
    Sam Kinison
    • Self
    • (archive footage)
    Robert Morton
    Robert Morton
    • Self
    • (archive footage)
    Nancy Reagan
    Nancy Reagan
    • Self
    • (archive footage)
    Ronald Reagan
    Ronald Reagan
    • Self
    • (archive footage)
    • Director
      • Andy Schatzberg
    • Writers
      • Abigail McCarthy
      • Andy Schatzberg
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews3

    7.8142
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    Featured reviews

    dogpound_dogsofwar

    That is so true!

    I agree. If they we're going to tackle Bill Hicks, why didn't they go hog wild?! Shock value, especially pertaining to everything Bill said, is necessary! Any attempt to censor, much less divert away from his opinions concerning taboo topics (abortion, government, religion and sex, to name a few), hinders the chance of the viewer wanting to dig deeper into this visionary! Overall, the documentary was done well. But Trio should have stayed true to the theme.
    justinc79

    Good documentary, though presented in a hypocritical format

    I must say, this documentary was very well made. It featured footage of the late, great Bill Hicks I had never seen before and told details of his life I had never known about. In fact, there's only one problem about the documentary: it was presented on basic cable.

    Trio! aired this during their "Uncensored Comedy" month. The really great thing is, get this, everything aired during the month was completely edited. Do you realize how hypocritical it is to release a documentary on why it was wrong to censor a genius like Bill Hicks, only to censor him once again post-mortem? Comedy Central has gotten away with airing severely offensive material, such as South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut, without any problems. If Trio was planning on censoring this, they should have never claimed it was uncensored.

    The best example of this occurs during the end credit. Footage of Hicks flipping off the crowd is shown with his middle fingers obscured by large bars reading "CENSORED", while Trio's UNCENSORED Comedy month logo gleams in the lower right corner.

    Great idea, great documentary, but full of bad choices of editing. Maybe in the future, a truly uncensored version of this documentary will be seen.

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    Drama

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

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    • Trivia
      Based on the life and work of Bill Hicks, just as It's Just a Ride (1994), Totally Bill Hicks (1998) and Bill Hicks: Reflections (2015).
    • Connections
      Edited from Late Night with David Letterman (1982)
    • Soundtracks
      Hunting Bears
      Written by Colin Greenwood, Jonny Greenwood, Ed O'Brien, Phil Selway and Thom Yorke

      Performed by Radiohead

      Courtesy of Capital/EMI Records

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    Details

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    • Release date
      • June 15, 2003 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Filming locations
      • New York City, New York, USA
    • Production company
      • Big Shoe Production Company
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

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    • Runtime
      • 1h 14m(74 min)
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Stereo

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