Sick: The Life and Death of Bob Flanagan, Supermasochist

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Sick: The Life and Death of Bob Flanagan, Supermasochist

1997

1h 30m

Documentary

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Popcornmeter

92%

Tomatometer

26 Reviews

88%

Popcornmeter

1,000+ Ratings

This documentary chronicles the life and art of Bob Flanagan, who was diagnosed with the disease cystic fibrosis. Director Kirby Dick examines how Flanagan began routinely maiming his own body to deal with and overcome the acute physical pain he felt every day. Flanagan's self-torturing habits are the basis for his avant-garde live performances, which are featured prominently in the film. Dick also explores Flanagan's unusual romance with a dominatrix.

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Emanuel Levy

Variety

This bold, intense, and uncompromising expose of S&M takes audiences to places thay have not been before; in moments, it's tough to watch but quite rewarding at the end.

Rated: A-

Feb 7, 2007

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Eric Henderson

Slant Magazine

The title alone of Kirby Dick's alleged documentary Sick: The Life and Death of Bob Flanagan, Supermasochist practically screams: "This is not your standard biopic!"

Rated: 3/4

Sep 14, 2003

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Kevin Thomas

Los Angeles Times

Flanagan and Rose prove to be an exceptionally creative and intelligent couple who were able to turn their obsessions into art, albeit of a highly specialized kind and involving at times an overwhelmingly brutal exhibitionism.

Rated: 4/5

Feb 14, 2001

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Betsy Sherman

The Improper Bostonian

This intense and darkly rollicking documentary portrait of a troubled artist is in the heartwarming tradition of Crumb.

Rated: 3.5/4

Aug 6, 2024

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Vadim Rizov

Filmmaker Magazine

A tough-minded profile of a complicated personality.

Jan 24, 2023

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Rob Gonsalves

Rob's Movie Vault

One of the most unlikely inspirational films ever made.

Rated: A

May 27, 2006

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Audience Member

Loved this movie, right around the time "The Jim Rose Circus" was coming through Toronto, I saw this amazing movie of Bob Flanagan living on forever.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/21/23

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Audience Member

This film was beautiful and endearing.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/19/23

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Audience Member

Wowza, I stumbled across this film in the library and didn't really know what to expect. I have a pretty strong stomach so I wasn't really phased by the graphic s&m stuff that would probably cause most people to turn off the dvd kinda fascinated me. One of the most intense movies I've ever seen...the end is so heartbreaking.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/23/23

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Audience Member

By far one of the most disturbing and uplifting movies I have ever seen. Not for the faint of heart however, as the title suggests, there is some very masochistic things taking place in the world, some of which is captured on film in this documentary. For those who love documentaries as much as I do, and can handle seeing things that would make an average person sick, this is a must see. Truly inspiring.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/20/23

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Audience Member

An extremely interesting (if hard to watch) documentary about a man's struggle to survive a battle against a disease that many people claimed that it was lost. Using S&M (not the average kind, but the type of S&M that makes you wonder why the hell anyone would do that) to control his pain, art shows, poetry and humor, Bob Flanagan managed to make a very succesful career that shows how powerful he was, even if the odds were completely against him. You see footage of his acts (Again, this stuff is REALLY hard to watch), his relationship with his wife, parents, brothers, friends and even fans. It's also complemented due to the fantastic direction by Kirby Dick. It's a fascinating experience but it's not for the prudish or squeamish.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

01/18/23

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Audience Member

One of the hardest to watch films you'll ever see and also one of the best

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/30/23

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Kirby Dick

Director

Kirby Dick

Producer

Jonathan Dayton

Cinematographer

Kirby Dick

Cinematographer

Sheree Rose

Cinematographer

Kirby Dick

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Synopsis

This documentary chronicles the life and art of Bob Flanagan, who was diagnosed with the disease cystic fibrosis. Director Kirby Dick examines how Flanagan began routinely maiming his own body to deal with and overcome the acute physical pain he felt every day. Flanagan's self-torturing habits are the basis for his avant-garde live performances, which are featured prominently in the film. Dick also explores Flanagan's unusual romance with a dominatrix.

Director: Kirby Dick
Producer: Kirby Dick
Production Co: The Norton Family Foundation, Art Matters Inc.
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Feb 19, 2013
Box Office (Gross USA): $201.3K
Runtime: 1h 30m
Sound Mix: Stereo

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