Lenny Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.5

Lenny Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov July 11, 2026

Bob Fosse's "Lenny" (1974) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the release include recent program with editor Alan Heim; archival audio commentary by critics Nick Redman and Julie Kirgo; vintage trailer; and more. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

Stay with me. I will tell you a few truths tonight.

Editor Alan Heim reveals that Bob Fosse was not thrilled with Dustin Hoffman’s portrayal of Lenny Bruce. Apparently, Fosse thought Hoffman wanted to be liked, and before the rolling camera, it often looked like he was "begging" the audience to do precisely that. So, Heim cut and rearranged various material to make Hoffman appear less likeable.

Hoffman's character is not a flawless replica of Bruce, and this is an indisputable fact. However, it is also an indisputable fact that, as played by Hoffman, Bruce is absolutely impossible to like, on and off the stage. He is extremely easy to dislike, and for a variety of different reasons.

In a series of flashbacks, Bruce is seen melting the heart of his future wife, Honey (Valerie Perrine), a busty striptease dancer, and then, at crucial moments of their relationship, either taking advantage of her naivety or abandoning her when she needed his help the most. Because Honey had started taking drugs, Bruce had a convenient excuse for the way he treated her — Honey’s addiction was the source of every single one of her problems. However, by the time the couple moved to Southern California, Honey had already figured out exactly what her real role was in their relationship and could no longer take it. Instead of helping Honey get over her addiction, Bruce divorced her, and she quickly ended up in prison for narcotics possession. Bruce, also a regular drug user, then won a highly publicized custody battle for their daughter, Kitty.

The one flashback that makes Bruce look intolerably bad appears a bit earlier, before he and Honey pack up their bags and leave Pittsburgh. The two miraculously survive a severe car crash, and Honey, very badly injured, ends up in a local hospital. Bruce, having suffered only a few minor bruises, then begins an affair with the young nurse who looks after Honey. The affair is entirely made up, but Fosse did not object to having it in his film. Ironically, it is very easy to defend its existence in the film because it feels as if it were taken straight out of Bruce’s book of stage tricks, which routinely featured outrageous embellishments and lies to help his audience grasp an issue he reportedly cared about.

The final third of Fosse’s film is the most problematic. It features material that attempts to reshape Bruce into a trailblazing agent provocateur, a misunderstood cultural icon who perished while defending freedom of speech. The truth about Bruce is not completely ignored there, but it is definitely tweaked in some very particular ways.

While battling the legal system and a serious mental disorder, the real Bruce had evolved into a hardcore drug addict. He was broke. Because he was seen as an extremely high-risk performer who could cost club owners their licenses, no one was willing to hire him. He had reached the bottom of the abyss where all hardcore drug addicts eventually end and accidentally overdosed on morphine at his home in Hollywood Hills.

Fosse’s film has some funny moments. However, it is seriously depressing. While shamelessly stretching the truth, it depicts the slow self-destruction of a rather delusional man who had assumed that his profanity-laced stage act was good enough to earn him a fortune and make him too famous to fail.

Lenny Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Lenny arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.

The following text appears inside the booklet provided with this release:

"This new 4K restoration was created from the original 35mm camera negative. The original monaural soundtrack was remastered from the 35mm magnetic track.

Mastering supervisors: Lee Kline, Giles Sherwood.
Colorist: James Slattery/Company 3, London.
Image restoration: Prasad Corporation, Burbank, CA.
Audio restoration: The Criterion Collection."

The new 4K restoration of Lenny is also available on 4K Blu-ray in this combo pack release. I viewed it in its entirety on 4K Blu-ray and later spent time with its presentation on the Blu-ray.

I have nothing but great things to say about the new 4K restoration and its presentations on 4K Blu-ray and Blu-ray. Both releases offer outstanding, very healthy, very attractive presentations of the film. On my system, I could see only a very small difference in the dynamic range of the visuals. In some areas, the native 4K presentation produces slightly sharper close-ups, but the discrepancy is small, and I think that the 1080P presentation excels in the exact same way. Also, because of the strength of the 4K restoration, the density levels of all visuals look identical in native 4K and 1080p. The grayscale is fantastic. All blacks, grays, and white appear very healthy and, as our screencaptures reveal, are exceptional well balanced. There are no traces of any problematic digital corrections. Image stability is excellent. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Lenny Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this release: English LPCM 1.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

I viewed Lenny in its entirety on 4K Blu-ray. Later, I spent time with its presentation on the Blu-ray. The comments below are from our review of the combo pack release.

The lossless track is very healthy. Some of the club footage has bits with music that create minor excitement, but the original soundtrack does not produce any memorable dynamic contrasts. The dialogue is always clear, sharp, and easy to follow. While viewing Lenny, I did not encounter any encoding issues to report in our review.

Lenny Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Alan Heim - in this recent program, editor Alan Heim reveals how he met Bob Fosse and discusses their work on Lenny. There are some particularly interesting comments about Dustin Hoffman's performance, which Fosse apparently thought was less-than-ideal. The program was produced in 2023. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles. (23 min).

• Dustin Hoffman and Valerie Perrine - presented here is an episode from the French television program Pour le cinema. featuring excerpts of interviews with Dustin Hoffman and Valerie Perrine discussing their contributions to Lenny. The episode was broadcast on June 22, 1975. In French, with English subtitles. (7 min).

• Commentary - this archival audio commentary was recorded by critics Nick Redman and Julie Kirgo in 2015.

• Trailer - presented here is a trailer for Lenny. In English, with optional English subtitled. (3 min).

• Booklet - an illustrated booklet featuring an essay by critic Mark Harris and a 1975 interview with director Bob Fosse, as well as technical credits.

Lenny Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

They say that all stand-up comedians share the same fate. They are either booted off the stage when they get too old or forced out of the business because their sets keep flopping. Lenny Bruce's end, however, was unusually sad. He hurt and abandoned some of the people who loved him the most, and then self-destructed with a drug addiction that easily could have been avoided. Some of Bruce's biggest fans have argued that he was a trailblazing agent provocateur, a misunderstood cultural icon. However, Bruce's story provides plenty of evidence that he was simply very good at creating scandals, some of which earned him lifelong enemies. Criterion's Blu-ray release presents an outstanding new 4K restoration of Lenny, together with a very interesting recent program featuring editor Alan Heim. RECOMMENDED.