MovieChat Forums > Lenny (1975) Discussion > Is there a conscious effort to keep peop...

Is there a conscious effort to keep people from seeing 'Lenny'?

posted 11 years ago by fudgenuts101
11 replies | jump to latest

Bob Fosse had a brief career as a director, but a long and respected career in Hollywood. Of his 5 directorial efforts, all of them were nominated for Academy Awards, and Lenny itself was nominated for a multitude of awards, including best picture. Lenny Bruce was arguably the best comedian, (or most important) of the last century, and Dustin Hoffman is arguably one of the most important actors. Critics universally have praised lenny, (it holds the coveted 100% on Rotten Tomatoes). So why is this completely unavailable? The DVD is out of print, Netflix doesn't carry it, and iTunes doesn't show it ever existed.

What's up??

[–] edlitz36 11 years ago

Here is a link to the film:

http://www.putlocker.com/file/6CC624E069051327#

You're welcome.

Religion should be made fun of. If I believed that stuff, I'd keep it to myself. -Larry David

[–] 11 years ago

[deleted]

[–] jockey-1 11 years ago

Bad is an understatement: this was terrible. Everyone involved should be ashamed of themselves, from the actors who sat mute in the club as he shouted racial slurs at them to the actors playing cops in the club pretending there was anything to smile about in the hackneyed routine.

Not funny and boring.

[–] film-collector 11 years ago

Yeah? But you procured for Ron Paul in 2012 so what do YOU know???

[–] jockey-1 11 years ago

Just to keep from having to pointlessly engage, dear future reader -- this was film-collector's comment on the Grease (1978) board thread titled "was Kenickie a virgin":

"HE WAS UNTIL HIS FINGER BROKE THROUGH THE TOILET PAPER!!!"

[–] MrSiegal 11 years ago

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_4?url=search-alias%3Dmovies-t v&field-keywords=lenny&sprefix=LENN%2Cmovies-tv%2C182

How do the angels get to sleep when the Devil leaves his porch light on?

[–] ghull88 11 years ago

I just saw the film on cinemax. But, your point is well taken.

[–] ericbxxxxx 9 years ago

I just watched it on iTunes . . . but it's 2015 now.

[–] dungeonstudio 7 years ago

I tend to agree with you fudgenuts101. I'm surprised how many Region 2 versions are available today. But no 40th Anniversary release, or Criterion issue. This is such a classic movie on how Lenny Bruce challenged 'free speech'. Opening the flood gates for George Carlin, Richard Pryor, Eddie Murphy, etc. Whether one thinks Lenny or any of the following comedians were funny or not really isn't the issue. It's how would we feel if at the end of Eddie Murphy's 'Delirious' he got arrested and charged? Howard Stern put in jail and fined $5 Million for saying one too many jokes about lesbians? Seth Meyers taken off the air by President Trump? The scary fact is, that can STILL exist in America to this day. Let the kids watch a Rodney Dangerfield movie, but to catch a glimpse of Janet Jackson's boob during a Super Bowl game...? Punish her! Punish the station! Look down on anyone who doesn't think it's a BIG deal! Subversive perverts out to corrupt innocent children and soil the American tradition of scantily clad cheerleaders shaking their pom-poms to millions of beer swilling armchair jocks wishing they could be under that pyramid somehow. But a flash of tit after the ditty 'By The End Of This Song I'll Have Your Clothes Off' - NO ONE was ready for THAT! So are we ready for 'Lenny' now at least...? Barely, unless one's European.

[–] Mr. Bug 7 years ago

Available on Blu Ray now.

[–] johncg25 7 years ago

Because it wasn't very good. (I was wondering the same thing until I saw it.)

Basically its a flawed film, that might have been OK in 1974, but it has NOT aged well at all, and looks horrendous today. The documentary as narrative style just makes no sense and doesn't add to the film, it just makes it more disjointed and the myriad pointless shots of blank empty faces, awkward camera movements, and random looking shooting style probably induced by the drug use of the day...all add nothing to the film, but in fact make it very disjointed and barely watchable.

Its a shame, because when it is actually acting as a narrative film, and when Dustin Hoffman is on screen...its often good to great. With a few great moments here and there. But if they had actually taken the time to properly make and shoot a film, and tell a proper story...it could have been a great film that could stand the test of time. Instead..it feels like a bad high school film project, shot by someone who was high or drunk and put no thought into what he was shooting. The quality of cinematography is borderline terrible and a 16 year old kid today, could do a better job.

Film should be re-made I think...as this was a mess. (I still don't know what made the guy tick, it never really delved into his psyche, or revealed his character fully..instead it just showed a lot of him performing and occasionally talking to his gf/wife. ) Did he have trouble growing up ? Were the drugs messing him up ? What is it that made him act out exactly ? The film never addresses any of that, and again...just ends up looking stupid with disjointed almost unwatchable documentary/narrative/70's drug scene/hodgepodge of strange/bad filmmaking without ever really getting to the heart of the matter. Disappointed 7/10 and I fell asleep two different times trying to watch it it was so disjointed and poorly done for todays standards. Therefore...that is why it is not shown..no one would want to watch it as...its pretty bad in most technical areas, which makes it almost unwatchable and it has aged very poorly.