Believe: The Eddie Izzard Story

Eddie Izzard is an interesting character and I have for sometime respected the way he has not taken the easy route trodden by many comedians once they make a name for themselves.

I don’t know of any other comedian that would take a show to France and attempt to do the whole show in French!  And this followed his decision to ‘come out’ as a transvestite just as his career was about to get off the ground in the early 1990’s, brave or foolish?  After ten years of trying to ‘make it’ it would have been deemed foolish, had his career not taken off!

Furthermore, with so many comedians known more for their television panel show appearances than they are as stand-up comedians, apart from the odd appearance on Have I Got News For You, Eddie Izzard has not ended up making easy money hosting a comedy panel show though I’m sure the offers have come his way.  Instead he turned his hand to becoming a serious actor and has since received praise from critics and fellow actors alike for playing serious characters in such diverse films as Ocean’s Twelve & Ocean’s Thirteen, The Aristocrats, Velvet Goldmine, The Chronicles of Narnia, Across The Universe, Valkyrie and more.

Whether you are a big fan or not, Believe: The Eddie Izzard Story is a very interesting, insightful and warm documentary from filmmaker and former girlfriend Sarah Townsend.  Izzard’s story is told as he recounts his childhood, education and his time spent learning how to fine tune his act from a Covent Garden street performer to manager and compere of the renowned Raging Bull Comedy Club in London to his first big break as a young stand-up comedian to emerge in the early 1990’s.

Home movies and early video footage are interspersed with interviews with his father and friends as Eddie narrates his own story.  Born in Yemen, the family moved to Northern Ireland when he was 12 months old to avoid political unrest.  He has fond early childhood memories of Northern Ireland where he remembers his first recollections of dressing up in his mother’s clothes and wearing her make-up.  But the family moved to south Wales following his mother being diagnosed with cancer.  She died soon after when Eddie was just eight years old and he and his older brother were sent to boarding school.  The family settled in Eastbourne and then later Bexhill on the east Sussex coast.

His life story is merged with backstage and live footage from ‘workshop’ gigs where Izzard is trying to build up enough new material for his forthcoming Sexie tour.  This followed a three year break from stand-up comedy when he was accused of fraud and cheating his fans by using the same jokes from a previous tour.  Complaints were made and aired on BBC TV’s Watchdog from a couple who had paid for tickets on a new UK tour only to hear some jokes from the previous tour.  Izzard used the break from comedy to re-launch his career as a serious actor but it is clear from the documentary the accusations left a deep scar.

Included in this very fascinating documentary are interviews with the likes of George Clooney and fellow comedian-turned-actor Robin Williams.  In the film, Izzard is very candid and comes across as a very genuine, intelligent and hard-working individual who will continue to keep pushing himself forward.  He reveals a possible reason for this at the very end of the film, but I won’t spoil it.

Believe: The Eddie Izzard Story is 103 minutes long.  The DVD is priced £19.99 and includes the following extras: Teddy Theatre (Deleted Titles), The Photograph (Deleted Scene), Vince Henderson Interview, “WWII: The Sequel” Promos, The Amazing Captain Keano, Wolves Sketch, The Eddie & Rob Street Show.

Win a copy of Believe: The Eddie Izzard Story DVD in our free competition.

Believe: The Eddie Izzard Story

Believe: The Eddie Izzard Story is a fast-paced 103-minute documentary that blends side-splitting clips from Eddie Izzard’s Dressed to Kill and Sexie live stand-up comedy concerts with candid moments backstage as Izzard brainstorms his latest act from scratch.

This unique insight into this much loved comedian’s life.

Buzzin Media Free Comedy Competition

PLEASE NOTE: THIS COMPETITION IS NOW CLOSED

Enter our free competition for a chance to win a copy of  Believe: The Eddie Izzard Story DVD all you need to do is answer the following question:

Which of the following is not the name of an Eddie Izzard show?

a.    License To Kill
b.    Dressed To Kill
c.    Sexie

Send your entries to comps@buzzinmedia.co.uk with “Eddie Izzard DVD” in the subject line with your answer and your full address and contact telephone number.

This Buzzin Media Competition ends on 21st December, 2010. The editor will randomly choose 3 winners.

The editor’s choice is final.

Believe: The Eddie Izzard Story is available on DVD priced £19.99 and is also be available for download via iTunes.

Eddie Izzard Stripped DVD

One of Britian’s favourite comedians Eddie Izzard has just released a new live DVD from his recent UK tour.  Stripped was recorded in London at the Lyric Theatre.

The Stripped tour broke box office records, selling out a five-week residency in London’s West End in less than 48 hours with tickets alledgedly exchanging hands for thousands of pounds.

The UK tour came hot on the heels of an American sell-out tour, which played across 34 US cities – including three packed-out nights at New York’s legendary Radio City Music Hall.

Stripped Live sees Eddie Izzard in his free flow stand-up mode, appearing to perform without a precise script as he ad-lib’s his way through the history of the world and mankind with reference points from Wikipedia.

The Stripped tour continues throughout the UK and Europe so if you haven’t got tickets then this DVD is the next best thing.

Eddie Izzard has been hailed as one of the foremost stand-ups of his generation. He takes ideas and situations and extrapolates them into bizarre, absurd and surreal comic narratives. Since his first stage appearance on London’s West End in 1993 there have been a succession of sell-outs and critically acclaimed international tours. Eddie’s musings have earned him countless awards including two Emmy’s.

Eddie recently took a few weeks off and ran 1200 miles around the UK for Sport Relief – that’s a staggering 43 marathons in 51 days!

Eddie Izzard Stripped DVD was released on Monday 23rd November.