Lenny Bruce: Swear to Tell the Truth

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Movie
Original title Lenny Bruce: Swear to Tell the Truth
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1998
length 100 minutes
Rod
Director Robert B. Willow
script Robert B. Willow
production Sheila Nevins
Anthony Radziwill
Robert B. Weide
music Spring Aspers
Grant Maxwell
Tony Pipitone
camera Biff Bracht
cut Geof Bartz
Claire Scanlon
Robert B. Weide
occupation
  • Sally Marr: herself
    (mother of Lenny Bruce)
  • Honey Bruce-Friedman: ss
    (Bruce's ex-wife)
  • Kitty Bruce: ss (Bruce's daughter)
  • Martin Garbus: ss
  • Paul Krassner: ss
  • Nat Hentoff : ss
  • Steve Allen : ss
  • Maynard Sloate: ss
  • Jojo D'Amoro: ss
  • John Dolan: ss
  • Howard Solomon: ss
  • Richard Kuh: ss
  • Jackie Gayle: ss
  • Lotus vine: ss
  • Lenny Bruce : ss
  • Robert De Niro : ss and narrator

Lenny Bruce: Swear to Tell the Truth (dt. Swear to tell the truth ) is the title of a 1998 produced US documentary by Robert B. Weide , which deals with the comedian Lenny Bruce is concerned. The film was nominated for an Oscar .

Lenny Bruce (1961)

action

The film features rarely seen footage of Lenny Bruce on and off stage. Weide was also able to dig up some of the artist's appearances that had never been seen in the media. There are also interviews with the comedian himself, his ex-wife Honey Bruce-Friedman, his mother Sally Marr, his daughter Kitty and other family members and friends, but also with lawyers and public prosecutors who fought him. His jokes, which often hit the belt, are not left out, nor are his responses to religious hypocrisy, sexual obsessions, racism and drugs, and the absurdity of the American cultural landscape. In this context he also remarked: "If you disgust something on the human body, complain to the manufacturer!" Lenny Bruce's problems with the police and justice and the charges against him for profanity are also discussed. His numerous performance bans and his sad death are also discussed.

Robert De Niro acts as the narrator in the film.

Production and Background

It is a film from the Whyaduck Productions HBO documentaries. The film took more than 13 years to produce before it aired on HBO on October 21, 1998. Weide said he became interested in stand-up comedy while he was in high school and that he was attracted to Bob Fosse's 1974 film Lenny, starring Dustin Hoffman as Lenny Bruce. Even then he began to deal with Bruce. A chapter was also dedicated to Lenny Bruce in his HBO special The Great Standups . At the time, he had to get approval from the then 77-year-old Sally Marr, Bruce's mother. Both quickly became friends. After making a film about the comedian turned out to be more difficult than expected, Weide put part of his income from his feature film Shadow of Guilt ( Mother Night ) into the film about Lenny Bruce.

Original jazz recordings by Miles Davis , Dexter Gordon , Charlie Parker , Chet Baker , Ray Charles and others can be heard in the film, which made exploitation on video or DVD difficult because of existing rights.

Awards / nominations

  • 1999 : Oscar nomination in the category “Best Documentary (Long Form)” for Robert B. Weide and his documentary Lenny Bruce: Swear to Tell the Truth . The Oscar went to Ken Lipper and James Moll and the film The Last Days .
  • 1999 Primetime Emmy Winner for Outstanding Achievement in Non-Fiction Programming - Picture Editing Geof Bartz and Robert B. Weide; nominated in the Outstanding Non-Fiction Special category for Robert B. Weide as producer, director and screenwriter, Anthony Radziwill as supervising producer and Sheila Nevins as executive producer.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Lenny Bruce: Swear to Tell the Truth duckpros.com. Retrieved January 27, 2015.