An important movie for anyone who cares about the United States, especially those who care about the preservation of our civil liberties. "Larry Flynt: The Right to Be Left Alone" does an excellent job of showing that the man is much more than the grand pooh-bah of American porn. As Flynt points out, the U.S. Constitution gives him the right to be offensive.
Personally, I don't care for any of the Hustler product line, whether we're talking magazines, photographs, videos or whatever. I do have a begrudging respect for some of the socio-political cartoons, because they tell the bald truth to the charlatans and extremists who so richly deserve a serving of comeuppance.
For me, the visual arts (sculpture, painting, serious photography and film-making) are much more rewarding means of expressing the eros pulsating through humanity. The arts are also much better at drawing on the aquifer of spirituality from which most eros springs. And in a truly free society, the arts have every right and even an obligation to portray this aspect of human existence.
The odd thing is, even in supposedly free nations, freedom of expression and freedom of the arts are bullied, hounded and censored by those who harbor a totalitarian, fascist or pharisaical impulse. There's always a good measure of sophistry involved and some great-sounding, concocted pretext for trampling our hard-won freedoms to a pulp: "protecting the children"; "preserving decency"; "respect for law and order." Sounds so noble; doesn't it? But listen closely, and you will hear the guardians of purity pulling up the plungers on three syringes as they draw up the sodium thiopental, pancuronium bromide and potassium chloride into the syringe barrels, and you will hear your precious Constitutional freedoms struggling to spit out the gag and bust the straps on the gurney. This is where porn-hound Larry Flynt comes into the picture as critically important.
Why is Flynt important? In effect, he is the guard dog defending every American's freedom of expression. In pivotal moments in U.S. history, he has been the only American with enough moral fiber to: 1) Fight for the freedom of the press to accurately cover what's taking place on the battlefield during wartime; 2) Expose deliberate fabrications and lies concocted by the U.S. Department of Defense in a major news story; and 3) Challenge and prevail over a law which would have made it a jail-able offense to create drawings or illustrations based on pure fantasy (talk about protecting all of us from the would-be thought police!). By being such a bulldog, he protects all of our freedoms. You can get the particulars from this interesting film (the outtakes are important too).
As a believer in Jesus and a supporter of what is best in the Christian spiritual message, I found it disappointing that the movie kind of glossed over his religious conversion and his later falling away from this experience. It would have been valuable to see this aspect of his life covered in more depth. On the whole, this movie is an excellent portrayal of a crude, patriotic and feisty American who possesses an authentic love for his country and a deep love of freedom. Be aware this film does contain some sexually oriented nudity.
Personally, I don't care for any of the Hustler product line, whether we're talking magazines, photographs, videos or whatever. I do have a begrudging respect for some of the socio-political cartoons, because they tell the bald truth to the charlatans and extremists who so richly deserve a serving of comeuppance.
For me, the visual arts (sculpture, painting, serious photography and film-making) are much more rewarding means of expressing the eros pulsating through humanity. The arts are also much better at drawing on the aquifer of spirituality from which most eros springs. And in a truly free society, the arts have every right and even an obligation to portray this aspect of human existence.
The odd thing is, even in supposedly free nations, freedom of expression and freedom of the arts are bullied, hounded and censored by those who harbor a totalitarian, fascist or pharisaical impulse. There's always a good measure of sophistry involved and some great-sounding, concocted pretext for trampling our hard-won freedoms to a pulp: "protecting the children"; "preserving decency"; "respect for law and order." Sounds so noble; doesn't it? But listen closely, and you will hear the guardians of purity pulling up the plungers on three syringes as they draw up the sodium thiopental, pancuronium bromide and potassium chloride into the syringe barrels, and you will hear your precious Constitutional freedoms struggling to spit out the gag and bust the straps on the gurney. This is where porn-hound Larry Flynt comes into the picture as critically important.
Why is Flynt important? In effect, he is the guard dog defending every American's freedom of expression. In pivotal moments in U.S. history, he has been the only American with enough moral fiber to: 1) Fight for the freedom of the press to accurately cover what's taking place on the battlefield during wartime; 2) Expose deliberate fabrications and lies concocted by the U.S. Department of Defense in a major news story; and 3) Challenge and prevail over a law which would have made it a jail-able offense to create drawings or illustrations based on pure fantasy (talk about protecting all of us from the would-be thought police!). By being such a bulldog, he protects all of our freedoms. You can get the particulars from this interesting film (the outtakes are important too).
As a believer in Jesus and a supporter of what is best in the Christian spiritual message, I found it disappointing that the movie kind of glossed over his religious conversion and his later falling away from this experience. It would have been valuable to see this aspect of his life covered in more depth. On the whole, this movie is an excellent portrayal of a crude, patriotic and feisty American who possesses an authentic love for his country and a deep love of freedom. Be aware this film does contain some sexually oriented nudity.