Heidi Fleiss: Hollywood Madam (TV 1995)

A documentary crew from the BBC arrives in L.A. intent on interviewing Heidi Fleiss, a year after her arrest for running a brothel but before her trial. Several months elapse before the ... See full summary »

Director:

Nick Broomfield

Stars:

Nick Broomfield, Madam Alex, Corinne Bohrer

Cast

Credited cast:
Nick Broomfield	...	Narrator
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Madam Alex	...	Herself
Corinne Bohrer	...	Actor
Mike Brambles	...	Himself
Cookie	...	Himself (voice)
Elisa Fleiss	...	Herself
Heidi Fleiss	...	Herself
Jason Fleiss	...	Himself
Jesse Fleiss	...	Himself
Kim Fleiss	...	Herself
Paul Fleiss	...	Himself
Shannon Fleiss	...	Herself
Gabby	...	Herself
Daryl Gates	...	Himself (Los Angeles Chief of Police)
Ron Jeremy	...	Himself

Storyline

A documentary crew from the BBC arrives in L.A. intent on interviewing Heidi Fleiss, a year after her arrest for running a brothel but before her trial. Several months elapse before the interview, so the crew searches for anyone who'll talk about the young woman. Two people have a lot to say to the camera: a retired madam named Alex for whom Fleiss once worked and Fleiss's one-time boyfriend, Ivan Nagy, who introduced her to Alex. Alex and Nagy don't like each other, so the crew shuttles between them with "she said" and "he said." When they finally interview Fleiss, they spend their time reciting what Alex and Nagy have had to say and asking her reaction.

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Plot Keywords:

prostitution | narration | character name in title

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Genres:

Documentary | Biography

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Details

Official Sites:

Nick Broomfield

Country:

UK Germany USA Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 February 1996 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), Cinemax Reel Life

Technical Specs

Runtime:

106 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Quotes

Ivan Nagy: If you believe anything they said you are, they made a fool of you. You're a fool. They flattered you, they told you how cute you are. How sexy you are. Right? There you go. So you think you're hot stuff. You're a cool dude, you're happening! "Hey, Hollywood! Heidi thinks I'm cool, I'm sexy!" You're a rube. She thinks you're a fucking idiot. You're an idiot. You're not in the club.

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Connections

References Lolita (1962)

User Reviews

Fascinating stuff.

Broomfield takes a look at Hollywood decadence, not just the world of porn here. This documentary should be viewed by anyone who still has naive notions about Tinseltown i.e. what really goes on behind the scenes.

Heidi Fleiss is interesting, I suppose, with her boundless naivety (while fancying herself a sly vixen) and greed, but it's really her Hungarian pimp/porn-master/sex-partner and other lesser-known seedy individuals (like the fat old madam who hates both the Hungarian and Fleiss) who catch one's full attention here. These people make Ron Jeremy look utterly dull by comparison (yes, he's in this, too - no surprise there). Even a forgotten Peter Sellers daughter makes one or two appearances, letting us see what happens to some of the offspring that aren't as lucky as David Arquette or Anjelina Jolie. The mad relationships between various inidviduals here almost make for a sort of soap-opera: there is treason, bickering, back-stabbing and all that other stuff. Wonderful.

It's just a pity that the movie was made before Fleiss hooked up with Tom Sizemore. Having him scream into the camera would have been fun.

Not a minute of this film is dull.