Lenny (1974)

Filthy-mouthed, heroin-addicted sociopath Lenny Bruce is not the kind of heroic biographical subject that draws crowds, but Bob Fosse’s tight direction and Dustin Hoffman’s mesmerising central performance as the self-destructive comic make Lenny a controversial film worth serious study.

Drug addiction, continual arrests for obscenity, and a desperate struggle to open the world’s eyes to the ugliness of life through comedy led to a tragic downfall.

Hoffman manages the miracle of making you see a thoroughly unpleasant creep in a new light.

Not for the squeamish.

Lenny Bruce
Dustin Hoffman
Honey Bruce
Valerie Perrine
Sally Marr
Jan Miner
Artie Silver
Stanley Beck
Sherman Hart
Gary Morton
Aunt Mema
Rashel Novikoff
Jack Goldstein
Guy Rennie

Director
Bob Fosse