Product Details

• Actors: Woody Harrelson, Courtney Love, Edward Norton, Brett Harrelson, Donna Hanover
• Directors: Milos Forman
• Writers: Larry Karaszewski, Scott Alexander
• Producers: George Linardos, Janet Yang, Michael Hausman, Oliver Stone, Scott Ferguson
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Sony Pictures
• VHS Release Date: January 6, 1998
• Run Time: 129 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (64 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 0800187814
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #184,014 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Leave it to Czech director Milos Forman (One Flew Over to Cuckoo's Nest) to make the most entertaining and offbeat celebration of the American Constitution that the movies have ever given us. You think the First Amendment was designed to protect you from offensive speech? Think again. The real glory of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights--as brought to life in this splendidly quirky and alternately reverent and irreverent comedy--is that it ensures everyone's freedom by protecting a whole range of expression, from the banal to the outrageous. Scripted by the writers of Ed Wood (another affectionately twisted biography of a disreputably eccentric entertainment figure), The People vs. Larry Flynt applies a similar sort of exaggerated and telescoped editorial-cartoon sensibility to the wild life and times of Hustler skin-magazine publisher Larry Flynt. It's the great (and fictionalized-but-true) American story of how smut-peddler Flynt--the poor man's redneck Hugh Hefner--ended up appealing a libel case (brought by televangelist Jerry Falwell) to the Supreme Court and winning a major legal victory that affects us all. Terrific performances by Woody Harrelson as Flynt, grunge-star-turned-glamour-puss Courtney Love as his wife Althea, and Edward Norton as their lawyer (a composite character). --Jim Emerson

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Try watching a little more objectively..., October 24, 1999

By 

J. Conroy (Minneapolis, MN United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The People Vs. Larry Flynt (DVD)

It's sad to discover that *some* people (who have posted reviews here) have overlooked the merits of this film... and focused only on Larry Flynt as a man. Well, listen up... a movie is not WHAT it's about, but HOW it's about it!

Don't complain about the actions of Mr. Flynt in the movie... after all, he (Flynt) overlooked the production... he really did those things. Perhaps Milos Forman should've CHANGED the events somehow? No!

This film is essentially a sad love story. Nevermind the politics and Ammendement speeches... what we have here is a destructive relationship in the vein of Sid Viscious and Nancy Spungen. It is masterfully directed, beautiful to look at, and deeply engrossing.

Whatever your feelings about Flynt, remember that he did play an important role in our era. Think he's a horrible person? You probably won't get an argument from him, as this film demonstrates.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great movie finally gets solid bonus material, May 10, 2003

By 

Bobak Haeri (California/Minnesota) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The People vs. Larry Flynt (Special Edition) (DVD)

"The People vs. Larry Flynt" has long languished in a no-frill, barebone widescreen edition. Now Columbia has finally released a Special Edition that includes bonus material that fans of the film can appreciate: two full-length commentary tracks (both free of the excessive "back-patting" that other commentary tracks devolve into), a pair of interesting deleted scenes (though they are very brief, they include commentary), and some other bells and whistles.

The featurettes deserve a special kudos as they're actually quite good, not the normal fluff studios usually put in DVDs. Both were produced in 2003 for the Special Edition and allow the interviewees to reflect on the entire production and theatrical life of the movie and the backlash it recieved from the Left. The interviewees include Foreman, Flynt, Harrelson, the producers, screenwriters, and as a commendable surprise, Rev. Jerry Falwell himself. The featurette on Larry Flynt's life (narrated by Dennis Hopper) gives a brief synopsis of Flynt's entire life -filling in areas that the movie did not cover (like his service in the Army and Navy) and putting the events of the movie in actual chronological order -making it interesting to compare to how the movie interprets the truth.

As for the movie itself, I would recommend that you rent a movie before buying a more expensive "special edition." I personally enjoyed it a lot when it was theaters. Milos Forman's style is very visual, and he's able to keep his subject at enough distance to allow the audience to make up their own minds about him. Harrelson's performance is top notch (he recieved an Oscar nomination) and the rest of the cast definitely fits the bill. It stands alongside Forman's Amadeus and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Just be forewarned, it is quite graphic -so if sexual situations bother you, it may not be something you'll enjoy.

As a final note, the DVD is actually contained within a jacket (the stripes you can see in the picture), when you pull the DVD case from the jacket you get to see the original "People vs. Larry Flynt" film poster that wasn't released due to it's parody of religion, sex, and patriotism -a good synopsis of the film indeed.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars GREAT!, November 26, 2005

By 

VD2400 (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The People Vs. Larry Flynt (DVD)

I love this movie, and I recommend this movie to anyone that does not like Larry Flynt-it has the potential to change your opinion. This movie was tongue in cheek, and it was tragic. This wonderfully directed and acted movie will show people that Larry Flynt may not be the most moral person (in some people's minds), but it shows that he has fought for every American's rights.
Courtney Love blew me away as Larry Flynt's late wife. Every movie I've seen with her, she proves that she has a talent, and this movie let her shine with her acting ability.