The People vs. Larry Flynt (1996)

The story of controversial pornography publisher Larry Flynt, 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 | female nudity | female frontal nudity | 1st amendment | naked woman | 

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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

Did You Know?

Trivia

When Milos Forman was interviewed on Charlie Rose (1991) to promote this movie, he said that he felt that this was his best film.

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Goofs

In the opening scene in 1953, the boys are paid with $1 bills with the words "In God We Trust" printed on the back. The bills in 1953 did not have that phrase, which was added to the bills much later.

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Quotes

Larry Flynt: I run the Hustler strip clubs I'm sure you've heard of them?
Old Printer: No.
Larry Flynt: That's why I need a newsletter I figure we'd run eight ten pages per issue.
Old Printer: With nothing but nudity pictures?
Larry Flynt: Yeah, on nice smooth paper like this
[Points to a sample picture on the wall]
Larry Flynt: .
Old Printer: That's called "slick".
Larry Flynt: Slick yeah.
Old Printer: But I could get into trouble printing these.
[...]

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Connections

Spoofed in The People vs. Alan Winston (1998)

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Soundtracks

Tannhauser Overture
Written by Richard Wagner (uncredited)
Performed by New York Philharmonic
Conducted by Pierre Boulez
Courtesy of Sony Classical
By Arrangement with Sony Music Licensing

User Reviews

best ensemble cast in years

it is unfortunate that when one thinks of the movie 'people vs. larry flynt' the first person to come to mind is courtney love. not that she does an less then stellar job, rather by focusing solely on her, the rest of the richly deserving cast are overlooked. woody harrelson is genius as larry flynt. despite my liberal leanings, before seeing this movie i had made peace with the fact the flynt was a scum, but i would support him on the basis of free speech. after seeing this movie i was able to gain insight into the parts of his character which make him whole person. instead of seeing what Christian-right zealots, or bleeding heart liberals, tried to force upon me, i saw the entire man and all he brought with him. granted this was shown primarily thru scenes written and directed by milos forman, however, it is harrelson who brings them to life and convinces me of their sincerity.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 January 1997 (USA)

Also Known As:

The People vs. Larry Flynt

Filming Locations:

USA

Box Office

Budget:

$36,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$523,295, 29 December 1996

Gross USA:

$20,300,385

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$20,300,385

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures, Filmhaus, Illusion Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

130 min

Sound Mix:

SDDS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1