The Lenny Bruce Performance Film
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Movie Reviews of The Lenny Bruce Performance Film
Movie Review: Lenny Bruce In Action
Summary: 4 Stars
For any Lenny Bruce fan, this film is absolutely essential. It is the only time in his all-too-brief career that Lenny's nightclub act was filmed from begining to end.
This is Lenny at the end of his life. It is August of 1965 and he has less than a year to live. The effects of four years of unrelenting persecution and personal self destruction are painfully evedent. He's not the Lenny of 1959: The hyper-energetic, brilliant young comic who burst apon the national consciousness with two riotous appearances on the Steve Allen Show. By the summer of 1965 it is obvious to even the most casual of viewers that Lenny Bruce is a broken, dying man.
And yet, even in this tragic condition, he is still screamingly funny. Some people have criticized his obsession with the American legal system during this period as ponderous and rambling. But when viewed within the context of historical hindsight and a knowledge of his own personal saga, Lenny's observations are fresh and eye opening.
A writer from Newsweek once refered to Lenny Bruce as "a sad, sick, self destructive genius of a dirty time". This film is an important document that records what it was that made him so unique.
Tom Degan
Goshen, NY
tomdegan@frontiernet.net
Movie Review: Worth it for less.
Summary: 3 Stars
TCM has it at their site for 12.99. Worth that much only for "Thank You Masked Man"Movie Review: A Historical Document
Summary: 3 Stars
The sound and picture quality of the tape make it difficult to keep up with Lenny's rapid-fire delivery. I took from this movie a sense of Lenny's style and mannerisms, but had difficulty feeling "part of the audience." To be sure, Lenny's brilliance and desperation are on full display, but the routine is less comedic and more a polemical declaration of free speech. I rather think that How to Talk Dirty and Influence People gave me a much clearer view of Mr. Bruce's philosophies, insights, and style than did seeing him on this tape.Movie Review: O.K.
Summary: 2 Stars
As a die-hard fan of Lenny who was born after his death, I must warn those that in this he strictly just goes over his court problems and doesn't do routines or bits.Movie Review: Don't miss the Big Finish!
Summary: 5 Stars
The best reason for buying this live concert video has been tucked away after the credits: "Thank You Mask Man" is director Jeff Hale's seven-minute animation of the voice track from one of Lenny's nightclub gigs. [Among classic cartoons, this one is right up there with "Bambi Meets Godzilla" (ASIN 6300229386).] In "The Essential Lenny Bruce" (ASIN 0333136160), our hero reflects on the significance of a masked man who avoids gratitude:I always wonder about the anonymous giver. Cause the anonymous giver truly is the egomaniac: "I'm so GOOD--I'm not going to tell ANYbody." That's sick, man. I'm going to leave you with this, that the only anonymous giver is the guy that knocks up your daughter.