Lenny Bruce: Swear to Tell the Truth (1998)

User Rating:

8.3/10   

Director:

Robert B. Weide

Writer:

Robert B. Weide (writer)

Release Date:

21 October 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Documentary | Biography

Tagline:

In 1948, Lenny Bruce was just another comic who couldn't get arrested. By 1961, all that would change.

Plot Keywords:

Actor | Comedian | Character Name In Title

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Robert De Niro	...	Himself / Narrator (voice)
Steve Allen	...	Himself
Honey Bruce Friedman	...	Herself
Kitty Bruce	...	Herself
Lenny Bruce	...	Himself (archive footage)
JoJo D'Amore	...	Himself
John Dolan	...	Himself
Martin Garbus	...	Himself
Jackie Gayle	...	Himself
Nat Hentoff	...	Himself
Paul Krassner	...	Himself
Richard Kuh	...	Himself
Sally Marr	...	Herself
Frankie Ray	...	Himself
Maynard Sloate	...	Himself

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White | Color

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Company:

HBO Documentary

Trivia:

This Oscar-nominated documentary was 12 years in the making.

Movie Connections:

Features The Leather Jacket (1955)

Soundtrack:

Busted

Excellent account of the man's career and the issues surrounding him.

It mat be a cliche to call documentaries like this "fascinating" and "informative" but this one is. Rather than simply hearing a bunch of people tell you how funny, insightful and human Lenny Bruce was, you can judge for yourself from the extensive film clips shown here, ones you are unlikely to have seen anywhere else.

One of the big revelations here is how well-rounded a talent Bruce was. He was not just a one (sick)-joke performer, as archive footage of some of his early TV appearances show. Another clip has him singing a song of his own composition, "All Alone," worked into material concerning his breakup with his beloved wife Honey. She, Bruce's mother Sally Marr, and other friends contribute many colorful reminiscences. Yet another bit of footage has Bruce holding a sidewalk news conference naming names of those who suggested that he could bribe a judge in one of his many obscenity trials. You would swear this amazing scene couldn't possibly have been an impromptu session, yet it was.

The talk of Bruce and freedom of speech is not just a lot of liberal breastbeating; what happened to him was a disgrace. That he was prosecuted so many times for obscenity is the true outrage here. The documentary might go a little easy on his drug use but that really isn't what the man was all about anyway. Watch this film and find out.