Lenny / Bojangles

Lenny Bruce was a complex, tortured man who had the gift and the curse to see the ugly reality that underpins our society and our most cherished beliefs. And he had the unique gift to show us the hypocrisy and craziness of life through his comedy and searing insight. Dustin Hoffman recreates Lenny Bruce here for us to see and lays bare the pain, suffering, remorse, embarrassment and degradation of this man in the context of his unique and iconic performances and relationship with his wife, a voluptuous drug addict and stripper (flawlessly and memorably portrayed by the beautiful and intelligent Valerie Perrine).I won't kid you, this movie, like Bruce's life, starts out funny and fun and ends in self-destruction and death. It is hard to watch as Bruce spirals to oblivion. You can't help but want to reach out and somehow convince him to slow down, take stock, and regain the sanity and perspective that had to be at the core of his being. But as Hoffman so admirably shows, Lenny could not be saved. His furious focus on what is just and his refusal to compromise in any way resulted in personal and financial ruin and ultimately lead him to the gates of hell.This is a sad story, masterfully and painfully recreated by the incomparable Dustin Hoffman. There is some inspiration here, but it is buried deep. This is a movie that should be seen if only as an exercise in self-reflection, but it is not a subject for easy or comfortable viewing or entertainment. I highly recommend this movie as a means to attempt to understand the life and death of the gifted and damned Lenny Bruce and to appreciate the artistic dedication and talents of Hoffman and Perrine.

Bill and Leonard had nothing in common except night clubs. Dustin Hoffman is a fine actor but doesn't come near Lenny's lucid voice. And even icily stark black-and-white cinematography has trouble finding an appreciative audience.Still, this Bob Fosse film is remarkable cinema, despite losing all six of its Oscar nominations. Fosse even referred to it his remake of Citizen Kane, stealing as it does that film's pivotal series of interviews to piece the story together. Valerie Perrine stands up to Hoffman's as the sad story of free speech leads to the tragic ending; she won Best Actress at Cannes and two critic awards for perhaps her career-best performance.I was unaware of the second film, and found Mr. Hines' performance respectful in depicting the legendary song-and-dance man in whom he found inspiration, though the film seems to have made numerous concessions to its low budget.The price is right, both films have their rewards. As Lenny said so many times, "Let the buyer beware."

I love this movie well written, good acting.

lenny as directed by fosse turns out to be s small classic of mid 70s American film making - the black/ white photography just right for the sleazy night clubs & strip joints lenny bruce came up in. not really a biopic of bruce but more of a chronicle of the courtship and marriage of bruce to his stripper muse - honey bruce- she played by the very ripe- and then over ripe Valerie perrine- the drifting into hard drugs and sexual experimentation of the 1960s is rather graphic for a mainstream Hollywood production of its period- Hoffman , slightly miscast works very hard to make bruce an endearing scapegoat of his time- film is slightly dated in our permissive society of today- but very much worth a watch or two- the second half of the bill mr. bojangles is of no interest .

The item arrived safe & secure. I am really satisfied with my purchase!!!!

I ordered this movie two days ago and as always I came home to find my order in my in a timely manner, love amazon!! I have wanted to watch this movie for awhile and I'm so glad I finally bought it. Dustin Hoffman is a wonderful actor and this performance was his greatest in my opinion, Movie quality was good and the bonus feature was a treat.

Lumping these two movies together to review is sort of unfair - "Lenny" sucked and "Bojangles" was terrific, which is why I gave it 3 stars overall. "Bojangles" made it worth the purchase.

i bought this dvd for lenny which did enjoy very much. mr. bojangles was quite a bonus for me as i did not know much about him and enjoyed learning

I don't know why these 2 movies are together on one DVD, but I'm a Gregory Hines fan and it was worth it to see his interpretation of Bill Robinson. I never liked Lenny Bruce and didn't even bother watching that movie.

Great combo. Wouldn't have found or seen "Bojangles" otherwise, but it was a worthwhile movie.

Excellent two-some at a bargain price !!

ok