prakswal
Half the man is just sleaze and smut, but the other half is very noble and admirable," says legendary filmmaker Milos Forman. This biography about the famous pornography magnate spans 25 years, and follows the rise of the man who started as an operator in a striptease joint, and ended up as the publisher of the controversial pornographic magazine Hustler."The People vs. Larry Flynt" tells the true story of a man who challenged the borderline of public taste, and whose trial started a raging debate with defenders of morality about the First Amendment.A brave, spectacularly entertaining - and unexpectedly stirring - account of Flynt's life that asks us to regard the publisher of Hustler magazine as an invaluable champion of our freedoms. You may not like what he does, but are you prepared to give up his right to do it?Excerpt from "Movies that Moved with Prakash Silwal https://www.facebook.com/ektafilmsnp/
rorschach_dc
This is a great film that portrays the United States Government's attack on free speech rights, in the form of it's attempts in prosecuting Mr. Larry Flynt, publisher of Hustler Magazine. Obviously Mr. Flynt is not someone most people would admire, and the film doesn't attempt to portray him as an angel by any means. What the film does portray is that the First Amendment of the United States Constitution was put in place to preserve our natural rights of freedom of speech. Any speech - as Ron Paul has stated, "The First Amendment was not put in place to protect our rights to talk about the weather." Mr. Flynt was jailed for publishing a magazine the government found to be indecent. Fortunately, for the preservation of Americans' rights, Mr. Flynt fought for his rights. When speech such as Larry Flynt's is protected, all of our speech is protected.Milos Forman does an outstanding job of direction, and Woody Harreson's performance was definitely worthy of it's Oscar nomination. Courtney Love is excellent as well, although you have to wonder how much of her performance was "acting", and how much was just Courtney Love being Courtney Love. Ed Norton as per usual puts in a stellar performance, playing Larry Flynt's abused lawyer. This film has consistently been in my top 10 favorites list not only for it's message, but it's entertainment value as well. It receives my highest possible recommendation.
lakewoodmatt67
"The People Vs. Larry Flynt" is a film that might make you angry, or it may make you glad that we, as Americans, have the most cherished right any person could ask for: The freedom to voice an opinion or an idea, regardless of how unpopular or unappealing it may be. So it is with the true story of Larry Flynt, notorious publisher of the porn magazine "Hustler". It is essential to know that at no time does "People vs. Larry Flynt" try to depict it's title character as a saint, or a hero, or even someone you'd take to a family picnic. Flynt, by his own admission, acknowledges that he, and his magazine and it's content is the most provocative and blatant of it's kind in the field of pornographic material. But even more importantly is Flynt's assertion that if the First Amendment can protect someone like him, then it can protect each and every one of us who call ourselves Americans and our citizens' rights, for which countless men have fought and died to preserve. (Just for the record, I myself don't particularly care for pornographic material, but that's MY choice. I do not want nor will I abide any federal, state or local government invading MY life, telling me what I CAN or CANNOT partake of. If you want to talk about obscenity, I put it to you, dear reader, that the most obscene act a government can perform is to control the thoughts and words and ideas of it's own people. To do so is to hearken back to the days of Hitler, and other "thought police" who attempted to regulate free speech and independent thought. OK, rant over.) As to the film itself, the easiest way to describe it is that this is a top notch biographical story, filled with five star performances all around. Woody Harrelson, playing Flynt, does perhaps some of his greatest film work. Ed Norton, who plays Flynt's attorney, turns in yet another stellar job, and Courtney Love, who plays Flynt's wife, dazzles us by displaying, ironically enough, most of the same qualities that actually made her infamous in her own personal life. In the context of this film, however, those negatives of Love are exactly what was needed to recreate this character. The story, in a nutshell, southern Ohio club owner Larry Flynt gets the bright idea to base a magazine off of the type of entertainment he provides at his clubs. The magazine becomes a sensation, but also a perpetual target of moralistic crusaders who believe that material such as that produced by Flynt has no place anywhere in society; at least, in their eyes at any rate. And there is the conflict which drives this movie. Obscenity vs. Free Speech. Director Milos Forman gives us both sides of this argument throughout the film, but drives home the point that "American freedom" includes allowing others to voice opinions or present concepts that, while offensive and repulsive to some, are still just as worthy of protection as any other American's right to say what he or she feels. We follow Larry and his contemporaries through the rags to riches journey, and the ensuing attacks upon it by those who sternly disagree based on their own personal tastes. And "personal taste" is subjective, and therefore cannot be regulated to only one viewpoint. Late in the film, Flynt's case is brought before no less then the Supreme Court, stemming from an earlier court battle with evangelist Jerry Falwell. The ensuing decision from the High Court, which I'll leave for you to see for yourself, defines the very nature of the prospect of freedom of speech, and more importantly, the most rudimentary of basic civil rights as we know them in the United States. Whether you like or hate Larry Flynt, Hustler Magazine, or pornography of any kind is irrelevant. What one must accept if they wish to abide by our constitution, is the inalienable right of every man and woman to be free individuals in terms of their opinions, expressions and thoughts. To do otherwise is a slap in the face to every person who has ever fought for the American way."The People Vs. Larry Flynt" is a magnificent tale of not just one man's fight for the freedom of speech, but the entire thought process of how strongly we wish to continue to be a free country.Watch it, and be glad you're an American with rights.
