Sick: The Life and Death of Bob Flanagan, Supermasochist on DVD [read more]
Ooyah
On 5 November the BFI will release the fully uncut and uncensored version of Sick: The Life and Death of Bob Flanagan, Supermasochist (1997) directed by Kirby Dick on DVD for the first time.
Bob Flanagan was an American performance artist, stand-up comic, poet and lifelong sufferer from cystic fibrosis. He was also a masochist who found that his S&M experiences helped him manage the pain of his illness. He met his perfect dominatrix partner in Sheree Rose, and married her in 1982 while she hung him upside down from the ceiling.
Kirby Dick’s internationally acclaimed, award-winning documentary follows Flanagan through the last years of his life. Originally, three-and-a-half minutes were cut from ‘two scenes showing strong sadomasochistic activity… which,’ according to the BBFC, ‘would be highly dangerous if copied’. After a recent resubmission to the Board, these cuts have since been reinstated.
Sick is a deeply moving, often hilarious, profile of a unique artist, giving an insight into Flanagan’s warmth, courage and, especially, his sense of humour. This release also contains a host of extensive special features. Click on the link above to see the original theatrical trailer.
