The People vs. Larry Flynt (1996)

The story of a controversial pornography publisher and how he became a defender of free speech.

Director:

Milos Forman

Writers:

Scott Alexander, Larry Karaszewski

Stars:

Woody Harrelson, Courtney Love, Edward Norton

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 22 wins & 33 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Woody Harrelson	...	Larry Flynt
Courtney Love	...	Althea Leasure Flynt
Edward Norton	...	Alan Isaacman
Brett Harrelson	...	Jimmy Flynt
Donna Hanover	...	Ruth Carter Stapleton
James Cromwell	...	Charles Keating
Crispin Glover	...	Arlo
Vincent Schiavelli	...	Chester
Miles Chapin	...	Miles
James Carville	...	Simon Leis
Richard Paul	...	Reverend Jerry Falwell
Burt Neuborne	...	Roy Grutman
Jan Tríska	...	The Assassin
Cody Block	...	10-Year-Old Larry
Ryan Post	...	8-Year-Old Jimmy

Storyline

Larry Flynt is the hedonistically obnoxious, but indomitable, publisher of Hustler magazine. The film recounts his struggle to make an honest living publishing his porn magazine and how it changes into a battle to protect the freedom of speech for all people.

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Plot Keywords:

hustler magazine | lawyer | female nudity | female frontal nudity | magazine | 

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Taglines:

You may not like what he does, but are you prepared to give up his right to do it?

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Genres:

Biography | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong sexual material, nudity, language and drug use

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 January 1997 (USA)

Also Known As:

Larry Flynt

Filming Locations:

USA

Box Office

Budget:

$36,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$607,652, 29 December 1996, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$20,191,312, 27 April 1997

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation,Filmhaus,Illusion Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

129 min

Sound Mix:

SDDS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Director Milos Forman was adamant in stating that while he felt that pornography is degrading to women, he wanted to make the movie because he saw Larry Flynt as a defender of his constitutional rights first, and a pervert second.

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Goofs

When Larry finds Althea in the bathtub, he pulls her out of the water by the throat. For the rest of the scene you can see her swallow and sometimes wince in pain, even though she's dead.

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Quotes

Isaacman: [Closing statement in the Cincinnati Court] I can exercise my right and not buy Hustler Magazine I like that I have that right I care about it and you should care about it too because we live in a free country we say that a lot but sometimes I think we forget what that really means so listen to it again " we live in a free country" and that is a powerful idea that is a magnificent way to live but there is a price for that freedom which is sometimes we have to tolerate things we don't necessarily...

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Connections

Referenced in The Mick: The Snitch (2017)

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Soundtracks

A Satisfied Mind
Written by Red Hayes & Jack Rhodes
Performed by Porter Wagoner
Courtesy of The RCA Records Label of BMG Entertainment

User Reviews

Edward Norton Is the True Star of This Biopic

Two-time Academy Award winning director Milos Forman ("One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," "Amadeus") won his third nomination for directing this biopic about the infamous creator of "Hustler" magazine.

Woody Harrelson, also Oscar nominated, plays Flynt while rocker turned actress Courtney Love plays the long-suffering wife that apparently every biopic must have. Love received a ton of attention for this film, and most people expected her to be recognized by the Academy, but she was one of two singers turned actresses that year (Madonna being the other for "Evita") to receive tremendous awards buzz and then come up empty handed on nomination morning.

Though Harrelson and Love received all the attention, it's the then-fairly-unknown Edward Norton who steals this show as Flynt's committed attorney.

Grade: B