Under the Radar DVD of the Week: 'Back From Hell: A Tribute to Sam Kinison'
This week, the oddest DVD to appear on release lists is:
“Back From Hell: A Tribute to Sam Kinison”
Sam Kinison was an ordained Pentecostal minister who brought a fiery religious fervor to his irreverent career as a stand-up comic. That his intense, primal-scream brand of comedy influenced a whole generation of stand-up colleagues is made abundantly clear in “Back From Hell: A Tribute to Sam Kinison,” due out on DVD Tuesday.
Before his death in an automobile accident in 1992, Kinison had blazed new comic territory with a take-no-prisoners act that delivered screaming rants and stinging barbs aimed at such sensitive topics as marriage, religion, homosexuality, AIDS and more. He was rabidly and politically incorrect before it was fashionable, and for that he was a polarizing figure who invited comparisons to politically outspoken comedy rebels such as Lenny Bruce and Dick Gregory.
“Back From Hell: A Tribute to Sam Kinison” is drawn from a Comedy Central broadcast that featured some of the biggest names in comedy discussing Kinison’s life, career and influence on the stand-up world. Among those paying tribute are Chris Rock, Denis Leary, Norm MacDonald, George Lopez, Lewis Black, Kathy Griffin, Richard Belzer, Ice-T, Lenny Clarke and Jay Leno.
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