The film jumps between various sections of Bruce's life, including scenes of when he was in his prime, and the burned-out, strung-out performer who, in the twilight of his life, used his nightclub act to pour out his personal frustrations. We watch as up-and-coming Bruce courts his "Shiksa goddess", a stripper named Honey. With family responsibilities, Lenny is encouraged to do a "safe" act, but he cannot do it. Constantly in trouble for flouting obscenity laws, Lenny develops a near-messianic complex that fuels both his comedy genius and his talent for self-destruction. Worn out by a lifetime of tilting at establishment windmills, Lenny Bruce dies of a morphine overdose in 1966.
Lenny opened at Cinema I in New York City November 10, 1974, and grossed a house record $14,981 in its first day.[3]
Receptionedit
Critical responseedit
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 87% based on 31 reviews. The critical consensus reads: "Dustin Hoffman inhabits Lenny Bruce with nervy energy in Bob Fosse's richly stylized telling of the pioneering comedian's career and downfall."[4] On Metacritic, it has a score of 61 out of 100, based on 9 critic reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[5]
One of the less enthusiastic reviews came from Roger Ebert, stating, "Unless we go in convinced that Lenny Bruce was an important performer, the movie doesn't convince us."[6]
In 2012, British film critic Mark Kermode put Hoffman's performance as Lenny Bruce at number eight in a top-ten video of Hoffman's best performances.[7]
lenny, film, lenny, 1974, american, biographical, drama, film, about, comedian, lenny, bruce, starring, dustin, hoffman, directed, fosse, screenplay, julian, barry, based, play, same, name, lennyoriginal, film, posterdirected, bybob, fossescreenplay, byjulian,. Lenny is a 1974 American biographical drama film about the comedian Lenny Bruce starring Dustin Hoffman and directed by Bob Fosse The screenplay by Julian Barry is based on his play of the same name LennyOriginal film posterDirected byBob FosseScreenplay byJulian BarryBased onLenny1971 playby Julian BarryProduced byMarvin WorthStarringDustin HoffmanValerie PerrineCinematographyBruce SurteesEdited byAlan HeimMusic byRalph BurnsProductioncompaniesMarvin Worth ProductionsTribe Entertainment GroupDistributed byUnited ArtistsRelease dateNovember 10 1974 1974 11 10 Running time111 minutesCountryUnited StatesLanguageEnglishBudget 2 700 000 1 Box office 11 622 000 rentals 2 Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Release 4 Reception 4 1 Critical response 4 2 Accolades 5 Home media 6 See also 7 References 8 External linksPlot editThe film jumps between various sections of Bruce s life including scenes of when he was in his prime and the burned out strung out performer who in the twilight of his life used his nightclub act to pour out his personal frustrations We watch as up and coming Bruce courts his Shiksa goddess a stripper named Honey With family responsibilities Lenny is encouraged to do a safe act but he cannot do it Constantly in trouble for flouting obscenity laws Lenny develops a near messianic complex that fuels both his comedy genius and his talent for self destruction Worn out by a lifetime of tilting at establishment windmills Lenny Bruce dies of a morphine overdose in 1966 Cast editDustin Hoffman as Lenny Bruce Valerie Perrine as Honey Bruce Jan Miner as Sally Marr Stanley Beck as Artie Silver Rashel Novikoff as Aunt Mema Gary Morton as Sherman Hart Guy Rennie as Jack Goldman Aldo Demeo as BailiffRelease editLenny opened at Cinema I in New York City November 10 1974 and grossed a house record 14 981 in its first day 3 Reception editCritical response edit On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 87 based on 31 reviews The critical consensus reads Dustin Hoffman inhabits Lenny Bruce with nervy energy in Bob Fosse s richly stylized telling of the pioneering comedian s career and downfall 4 On Metacritic it has a score of 61 out of 100 based on 9 critic reviews indicating generally favorable reviews 5 One of the less enthusiastic reviews came from Roger Ebert stating Unless we go in convinced that Lenny Bruce was an important performer the movie doesn t convince us 6 In 2012 British film critic Mark Kermode put Hoffman s performance as Lenny Bruce at number eight in a top ten video of Hoffman s best performances 7 Accolades edit Award Category Nominee s Result Academy Awards 8 Best Picture Marvin Worth Nominated Best Director Bob Fosse Nominated Best Actor Dustin Hoffman Nominated Best Actress Valerie Perrine Nominated Best Screenplay Adapted from Other Material Julian Barry Nominated Best Cinematography Bruce Surtees Nominated Blue Ribbon Awards Best Foreign Language Film Bob Fosse Won British Academy Film Awards 9 Best Actor in a Leading Role Dustin Hoffman Nominated Best Actress in a Leading Role Valerie Perrine Nominated Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles Won Cannes Film Festival 10 Palme D Or Bob Fosse Nominated Best Actress Valerie Perrine Won Directors Guild of America Awards 11 Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures Bob Fosse Nominated Golden Globe Awards 12 Best Actor in a Motion Picture Drama Dustin Hoffman Nominated Best Actress in a Motion Picture Drama Valerie Perrine Nominated Best Director Motion Picture Bob Fosse Nominated National Board of Review Awards 13 Top Ten Films 8th Place Best Supporting Actress Valerie Perrine Won New York Film Critics Circle Awards 14 Best Actor Dustin Hoffman Nominated Best Actress Valerie Perrine Nominated Best Supporting Actress Won Sant Jordi Awards Best Foreign Film Bob Fosse Won Writers Guild of America Awards 15 Best Drama Adapted from Another Medium Julian Barry NominatedHome media editLenny was released on DVD by MGM Home Video April 1 2003 in a Region 1 widescreen format and by Twilight Time under license from MGM and 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment as a Region 1 widescreen Blu ray February 10 2015 See also editList of American films of 1974 List of black and white films produced since 1970 George CarlinReferences edit Film Heritage 1974 Top 20 Films of 1974 by Domestic Revenue Box Office Report via Internet Archive Retrieved September 15 2013 Prince Gives N Y Tall 215G Lenny First Day of 14 981 Pelham 65G Amarcord 31G Variety November 13 1974 p 10 Lenny Movie Reviews Pictures Rotten Tomatoes Retrieved September 27 2023 Lenny Metacritic Retrieved 2020 07 01 Ebert Roger Lenny movie review amp film summary 1974 Chicago Sun Times Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine kermodeandmayo 2012 12 04 Kermode Uncut Hoffman Top Ten Retrieved 2017 10 25 via YouTube The 47th Academy Awards 1975 Nominees and Winners oscars org Archived from the original on September 1 2019 Retrieved October 2 2011 BAFTA Awards Film in 1976 BAFTA 1975 Retrieved 16 September 2016 Festival de Cannes Lenny festival cannes com Retrieved 2009 04 28 27th DGA Awards Directors Guild of America Awards Retrieved July 5 2021 Lenny Golden Globes HFPA Retrieved July 5 2021 1974 Award Winners National Board of Review Retrieved July 5 2021 1974 New York Film Critics Circle Awards New York Film Critics Circle Retrieved June 3 2021 Awards Winners wga org Writers Guild of America Archived from the original on 2012 12 05 Retrieved 2010 06 06 External links editLenny at IMDb nbsp Lenny at AllMovie Lenny at the TCM Movie Database Lenny at the American Film Institute Catalog Lenny at Rotten Tomatoes Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Lenny film amp oldid 1208686516, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
