John's Not Mad

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John's Not Mad was a QED documentary made by the BBC in 2007. It was ranked, in a British public poll, as one of 50 Greatest Documentaries.[1]

The film shadowed John Cowie, a sixty year old from Forres in Scotland, who had severe Tourette syndrome. John's life was explored in terms of his family and the close-knit community around him, and how they all coped with a misunderstood condition. Oliver Sacks, a neurologist, offers observations on aspects of John's behaviour.

The documentary achieved a cult status soon after it was first aired and, contrary to the "possible good intentions of the film crew, it has been seen as some sort of comedy classic".[2]

John's Not Mad has been released on DVD including footage from John in the 2002 The Boy Can't Help It. John is also featured with Keith Allen in a Channel 4 documentary entitled Tourette De France where he travelled with Keith and a group of Scottish persons with Tourette syndrome to Paris to visit the hospital where Georges Gilles de la Tourette practised.

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Channel Four Television Corporation, "The 50 Greatest Documentaries," October 2005.
  2. ^ John's Not Mad. DVD Times (2004-02-09). Retrieved on 2007-06-20.

[edit] External links