Lenny [Blu-ray]

Director Bob Fosse (CABARET) brings his characteristically scathing commentary on the entertainment biz to this biopic about the controversial comedian Lenny Bruce. Bruce's career was brought to a dramatic halt just years before this film was made, when he was found dead of a drug overdose on the bathroom floor of his home. He was 40 years old.Lenny's sexual and narcotic misdemeanors are graphically portrayed. The film is shot in black-and-white, and the story of Bruce's life is told in flashback interviews with prominent figures from his life. Valerie Perrine's performance as the stripper Bruce married garnered her an Academy Award nomination (in addition to five others for the film in 1975). Dustin Hoffman transformed himself into an erratic anti-hero to play Bruce, giving a multi-faceted, riveting performance that truly depicts the demise of a legend. LENNY was Fosse's first and only non-musical film, and its innovation rivals the best of those works.