The People vs. Larry Flynt (1996)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Milos Forman

Writers (WGA):

Scott Alexander (written by) &
Larry Karaszewski (written by)

Release Date:

25 December 1996 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama

Tagline:

You may not like what he does, but are you prepared to give up his right to do it?

Plot:

A partially idealized film of the controversial pornography publisher and how he became a defender of free speech for all people.

Plot Keywords:

Magazine | Hustler Magazine | Hustler | Pornography | Courtroom

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 20 wins & 9 nominations

Cast

Woody Harrelson	...	Larry Flynt
Courtney Love	...	Althea Leasure Flynt
Edward Norton	...	Alan Isaacman
Brett Harrelson	...	Jimmy Flynt
Donna Hanover	...	Ruth Carter Stapleton
James Cromwell	...	Charles Keating
Crispin Glover	...	Arlo
Vincent Schiavelli	...	Chester
Miles Chapin	...	Miles
James Carville	...	Simon Leis
Richard Paul	...	Reverend Jerry Falwell
Burt Neuborne	...	Roy Grutman
Jan Triska	...	The Assassin
Cody Block	...	10-Year-Old Larry
Ryan Post	...	8-Year-Old Jimmy

Also Known As:

Larry Flynt (Canada: French title)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong sexual material, nudity, language and drug use.

Runtime:

129 min

Country:

Canada | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | Dolby SR

Certification:

Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:R (Manitoba) | Iceland:16 | Argentina:16 | South Korea:18 | Philippines:R-18 | USA:R (certificate # 34339) | France:U | Australia:MA | Austria:12 | Chile:18 | Finland:K-16 | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:III | Italy:VM14 | Netherlands:16 | Peru:18 | Portugal:M/16 | Singapore:R(A) (cut) | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18

Filming Locations:

Abandoned train station, Memphis, Tennessee, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

Larry Flynt originally wanted Ashley Judd to play Althea.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: In the opening scene in 1953, the boys are paid with $1 bills with the words "In God We Trust" printed on the back. The bills in 1953 did not have that phrase, which was added to the bills much later.

Quotes:

Larry Flynt: You don't want to quit me, I'm your dream client: I'm the most fun, I'm rich, and I'm always in trouble.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "High Chaparall: (#2.8)" (2004)

Soundtrack:

Selections from 'Stabat Mater'

Important character, important movie

"The People Versus Larry Flynt" is an important movie, one that affects all of us and our first amendment rights. It's about a guy we all know, a sometimes-loathsome individual devoid of morals, who fights the system and wins a victory for the human spirit.

This movie is honest, and its portrayal of Flynt is not to make us like him. He runs a strip joint. He has sex with the dancers. He likes his moonshine. He is a mockery of the court system. He dislikes organized religion. Yet through this all is a character who went to bat for the American public and, in an odd way, comes out as a patriot.

Woody Harrelson is solid as Flynt, but Courtney Love steals the show as a crazy dancer who ends up marrying him. She plays the role with the right amount of craziness to make their wild relationship seem very believable.

It's questionable whether or not Flynt is a hero. Nobody asked Flynt to protect our rights, from the local courts to the Supreme Court. But the bill of rights affects every single one of us, and the next time you're thinking about that, it'll be hard to think that Flynt didn't have a hand in protecting that right.

This movie is easily one of the five best movies I've seen in the last five years.