BOB FOSSE – MORE SMOKE PLEASE: LENNY (1974) – Toronto Theatrical Premiere Of New Restoration!

BOB FOSSE – MORE SMOKE PLEASE

On Sundays in August, the Revue Cinema and curator Alicia Fletcher celebrate the originator of jazz hands, the godfather of Razzle Dazzle–the multi-hyphenate genius who rose from the ranks of seedy burlesque houses to Hollywood and Oscar heavyweight, the incomparable Bob Fosse. A vaudevillian, choreographer, actor, director, consummate womanizer, and prolific EGOT-tour-de-force, his contributions to dance, Broadway and film are immeasurable. A Footlights Svengali, Fosse and his productions were as notorious as they were celebrated. As a master of erotica, the director channeled the charged environment he was raised within–touring America’s burlesque circuit as a child performer in the ‘30s–into resurrecting and refining the big spectacle musical for the New Hollywood era. With his patented “isolated moves,” Fosse’s contributions as a choreographer and director are fabled–so celebrate his upcoming centenary on the big screen with 35mm and recent restorations, only at the Revue Cinema! 

For his follow-up to Oscar juggernaut CABARET, Bob Fosse continued his descent into darkness and depravity with the film that nearly killed him–1974’s LENNY. A gritty, non-linear, docustyle biopic about mid-century edgelord and First Amendment martyr, Lenny Bruce, LENNY documents the acerbic, controversial stand-up acts that became the gold standard for critical satire in comedy and the self-destruction that led to the comedian’s untimely death.  

With Bruce portrayed by Dustin Hoffman and Valerie Perrine as Bruce’s “Shady Lady,” stripper-turned wife Honey, LENNY interweaves recreations of Bruce’s most iconic moments of on-stage satire with the real-life events that served as inspiration. This on-screen self-destruction of the morphine-addicted Bruce was mirrored behind-the-scenes, as Fosse attempted an impossible drug-fueled schedule of editing this film, directing Broadway’s Pippin, and prepping the staging of Chicago. After two near-fatal heart attacks and open-heart surgery, Fosse continued his Oscar run, earning nominations for Hoffman and Perrine, as well as Best Director. But more importantly, Fosse would channel this volatility into the autobiographical ALL THAT JAZZ five years later. (ALICIA FLETCHER) 

Part of the Bob Fosse – More Smoke Please series!

Cast/Crew Info
Director: Bob Fosse | Cast: Dustin Hoffman, Valerie Perrine, Jan Miner, Frankie Man, Rashel Novikoff