This film - obviously made on a shoestring budget - is artful and touching. It starts rather slowly - Bruce's appearance on the Steve Allen Show is noteworthy in that what was cutting-edge back then is now rather stale. But the material too controversial for broadcast - and which here we have only in audio - like, for instance, his bit on reuniting with his wife, is as fresh and funny and honest as Richard Pryor at his best.
Watch Nat Hentoff puff nervously on his cigarette as he interviews a sadly broken Bruce near the end of Bruce's life. Do a slow burn while you watch the police descend on Bruce's house after the overdose that killed him. That's Bruce's body there on the bathroom floor - the authorities, guardians of morality when arresting Bruce innumerable times, allowed his death scene to be filmed. And be angry at fate. If Lenny had been born five, ten, years later ... well, rent this video and decide for yourself.
Watch Nat Hentoff puff nervously on his cigarette as he interviews a sadly broken Bruce near the end of Bruce's life. Do a slow burn while you watch the police descend on Bruce's house after the overdose that killed him. That's Bruce's body there on the bathroom floor - the authorities, guardians of morality when arresting Bruce innumerable times, allowed his death scene to be filmed. And be angry at fate. If Lenny had been born five, ten, years later ... well, rent this video and decide for yourself.
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