Lenny (Blu-ray)

Director Bob Fosse’s nervy, freewheeling showbiz drama tells the real-life story of taboo-shattering comedian Lenny Bruce, the counterculture prophet whose unfiltered style opened up new frontiers in self-expression. Dustin Hoffman brings a live-wire intensity to his portrayal of the motormouthed Bruce as he goes from small-time strip-club emcee to free-speech lightning rod, while Valerie Perrine lends the film its soul with her deeply affecting performance as his wife, Honey, an innocent lost on the dark side of bohemia. A complex portrayal of one iconoclast by another, Fosse’s film makes deft use of stark monochrome photography and kinetic editing to vividly capture Bruce’s smoky, seedy backstage world. BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES • New 4K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack • Audio commentary from 2015 featuring film historians Nick Redman and Julie Kirgo • Archival interview with actors Dustin Hoffman and Valerie Perrine • Interview with editor Alan Heim • Trailer • English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing • PLUS: An essay by critic Mark Harris and a 1975 interview with director Bob Fosse