Larry Flynt - Die nackte Wahrheit

THE PEOPLE VS. LARRY FLYNT (1996) **** Woody Harrelson, Courtney Love, Edward Norton, James Carville, James Cromwell, Richard Paul, Crispin Glover, Vincent Schiavelli, Miles Chapin, Brett Harrelson, Donna Hanover, Norm MacDonald. Superb biographical account of smut publisher Larry Flynt (portrayed by Best Actor nominee Harrelson in arguably the role of his career) whose bouts with the courts regarding libel, pornography and ultimately first amendment rights to the freedom of speech are captured like a tempest in a teacup that depicts the rise and near fall of Flynt (who was paralyzed in an assassination attempt) and the uncomparable love affair with his doomed yet dedicated wife, bisexual, drug-addicted and tragically AIDS afflicted wife Althea Leasure (Love in a toweringly brilliant turn at acting that deserves all the recognition she mustered) who stood by her man as she withered away. Funny, insightful, important and some masterful filmmaking overall thanks largely to the cleverly constructed screenplay by Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski ("Ed Wood"), costumes by Theodore Pistek and Arianne Phillips, and all too believeable production design by Patricia von Brandenstein. And yes that is real-life Flynt as one of the judges passing sentence and yes it is real-life brother Brett of Woody playing siblings. Kudos to Best Director nominee Milos Forman (who was sorely passed over in the Best Picture nomination as well as practically getting shut out come to mention it) for pulling off a difficult hat trick: making scum respectable.

Woody does here what he always does...he steals the show.

The story the movie tells is a good one and it does a great job of creating debate about free speech.

However this movie lives and dies on the performance of Woody.

One of the most underrated actors off all time :)

Before watching this movie, I had nearly no idea who Larry Flynt was. I read a quick summary a few minutes before watching it, but I hardly knew any specific details. After watching it, I know exactly who he is, and what he stands for. He stands for freedom of speech. Some might call him a pervert. Others call him a patriot. I believe he is the latter. While I don't know the exact story of Larry Flynt from any other sources than this movie, I don't know if it's completely accurate. The plot is great, for a biographic piece, the acting is superb, by most actors, especially the three main characters. Most of the cinematography fits the movie perfectly. The only thing that bothered me a little, was there was relatively little information about why Larry Flynt did what he did, believed what he believed so strongly. I sympathized with his character in several scenes, but I never fully understood him. The director should have had at least a few more emotional scenes with Larry, to explain his actions better. Overall, a very good drama. Recommendable to most fans of the genre, as long as they can stand what the movie shows them. If you have an open mind, you're not too easily offended and you're into autobiographical dramas, this is a good film to watch. 8/10

Oscar Winning Milos Forman's The People Vs. Larry Flynt is a fascinating (if not too trashy) look at how without the first amendment, people like Flynt would not exist. We see an expose on the man, myth and legend of master porno publisher Larry Flynt (played to damn close perfection by Oscar nominated Woody Harrelson) who releases Hustler (in my opinion the best porno mag ever, but that's just me) and gets severe backlash from censors, church people and just people in general. But, we see his struggle to fight back at any cost (even his legs) to send a message- just because you don't like doesn't mean you can't let me publish what I want. Forman directs this pumped drama with 5-star performances from Harrelson, Love (as the tragedy queen girlfriend) and Especially Norton (as the suffering yet compelling lawyer). Never ashamed and always On the edge, this film has a place not only in film history, but in Hustler magazine's also. The real Flynt appears as a Cinncinatti judge and Norm MacDonald appears as a reporter. A+

it is unfortunate that when one thinks of the movie 'people vs. larry flynt' the first person to come to mind is courtney love. not that she does an less then stellar job, rather by focusing solely on her, the rest of the richly deserving cast are overlooked. woody harrelson is genius as larry flynt. despite my liberal leanings, before seeing this movie i had made peace with the fact the flynt was a scum, but i would support him on the basis of free speech. after seeing this movie i was able to gain insight into the parts of his character which make him whole person. instead of seeing what Christian-right zealots, or bleeding heart liberals, tried to force upon me, i saw the entire man and all he brought with him. granted this was shown primarily thru scenes written and directed by milos forman, however, it is harrelson who brings them to life and convinces me of their sincerity.