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Over the last two years, four different Bill Hicks shows have been released on DVD in North America. Of the four, Revelations, filmed in late 1992 at London's Dominion Theater, is the last chronologically, recorded mere months before he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, which ultimately killed him at the age of 32.At the time he was tragically struck down, Hicks was at his creative peak. A thinking comedian, more Voltaire than Carrot Top, his act challenged his audience's beliefs about politics, religion, sex and popular culture. Add to that a decade spent working hostile audiences in bad comedy clubs, which polished his stand-up comedy skills and made him extremely comfortable in front of any sort of crowd imaginable.After a decade spent in obscurity in his native USA, he had become a popular and respected performer in the UK, which he toured regularly after 1991. The British crowds welcomed Hicks' topical humor, and it is in this context that he recorded Revelations in November 1992.Hicks' material, although heavily based on current events of the early 90's, has aged gracefully. Revelations was filmed only days after Bill Clinton's election and Hicks is obviously thrilled to see the end of twelve years of fundamentalist conservatism. He also goes back to the first Gulf War (the source of some of his greatest material), the LA Riots and the JFK assassination. He also attacks what he sees as case examples of the lousy state of American culture, such as American Gladiators or Basic Instinct, and the marketing machine behind them.Despite often leaning towards misanthropy, Bill Hicks' message remained optimistic and positive. His parting words ('It's Just A Ride') remains one of his best and most oft-quoted allegories, describing as a poet would his view of the meaning of life.Altogether, Revelations is Bill Hicks at the peak of his powers as a comic/poet/philosopher/goatboy. It is the most compelling proof on film as to why, twelve years after his untimely death, his star is still rising.
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