The People vs. Larry Flynt (7/8) Movie CLIP - The Supreme Court (1996) HD

CLIP DESCRIPTION:
Alan (Edward Norton) presents the case of free speech and libelous speech to the justices of the Supreme Court.

FILM DESCRIPTION:
"If the First Amendment will protect a scumbag like me, then it'll protect all of you -- 'cause I'm the worst," declares Hustler Magazine publisher Larry Flynt (as played by Woody Harrelson) in the midst of one of his many court cases. Milos Forman's film follows Flynt from his childhood in Kentucky, where he made extra money for his dirt-poor family by selling the moonshine his father brewed, into adulthood as he manages a strip club in Cincinnati. While the club does middling business, the experience changes Flynt's life in two ways: he meets Althea (Courtney Love), an exotic dancer who becomes the love of his life, and he gets the bright idea of starting a magazine to promote the club. Marketed as a crasser, less pretentious alternative to Playboy or Penthouse, Hustler becomes a huge success after Flynt runs a photo series of Jacqueline Onassis sunbathing nude. However, while plenty of people are buying Hustler, there are also plenty of people who don't care for it, including Charles Keating (James Cromwell), leader of a watchdog group called Citizens For Decent Literature. Keating spearheads the first of many legal attacks on the magazine, one of which reaches the Supreme Court as Alan Isaacman (Edward Norton), Flynt's lawyer, debates the finer legal points of bad taste with the justices of the highest court in the land. Meanwhile, Flynt makes a fortune, loses the use of his legs after an attack by a sniper, embraces and than abandons Christianity, and eventually loses Althea, who succumbs to AIDS after a long addiction to drugs. Woody Harrelson's brother Brett Harrelson is well cast as Larry Flynt's brother Jimmy; Larry Flynt appears briefly as a judge who hands down a judgment against Larry Flynt.

CREDITS:
TM & © Sony (1996)
Cast: James Cromwell, Charles M. Crump, Jim Grimshaw, Woody Harrelson, Rand Hopkins, Edward Norton, Richard Paul, James Smith
Director: Milos Forman
Producers: George Linardos, Oliver Stone, Janet Yang, Scott Ferguson, Michael Hausman
Screenwriters: Scott Alexander, Larry Karaszewski

WHO ARE WE?
The MOVIECLIPS channel is the largest collection of licensed movie clips on the web. Here you will find unforgettable moments, scenes and lines from all your favorite films. Made by movie fans, for movie fans.

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR MOVIE CHANNELS:

HIT US UP:

[NiVi]

Norton is sublime! In character, he speaks in front of the court like the whole thing wasn't scripted, as authentic as a documentary!

[doraluffy]

Lawyer (This movie) vs Criminal (Primal Fear). How can he played such a contrast role in the same year? And he can looks like teenager in other movie and a mature adult in this. What a magic! O.o

[Sunburn]

This is a fairly realistic recreation of the actual litigation except for a couple of points, most notably Edward Norton's hand gestures. When lawyers address a court, the hands stay firmly placed on the podium and very little movement occurs; the reason for this is you don't want to distract the Justices from the content of your argument; you want them to focus on your words not your hands.

[peglegjoe]

Funny, this is exactly where we ended up after 30 years. Right back at the beginning.

[gdub]

one of the best scenes in the movie....Ed Norton is so frikn good here as he is giving the Supreme Court justices a very clear and concise explanation about free speech..and how its pretty much the backbone and definition of the "The people vs. Larry Flynt" case...whats cool also in this scene is ..Ed Norton is givin those ol' stuffy justices an excellent refresher course..Free Speech 101...and it def looks like all those justices ears are WIDE open too...

[callseba]

remembering this scene in honor of the staff at Charlie Hebdo...

[nox]

One of the best films of the 90s. Period. And Arguably the best Woody Harrelson performance!

[alexanderherzen]

"really all it does is allow us to punish unpopular speech and...and this country is founded at least in part on the firm belief that unpopular speech is absolutely vital to the health of our nation." - Edward Norton, "The People Vs. Larry Flint"
"Liberty is to faction what air is to fire, an aliment without which it instantly expires." - James Madison, "The Federalist #10"

[TK__]

These are two concepts I hold in my head when arguing against cancel culture.

"It's a matter of taste not law ... It's useless to argue about taste and even more useless to litigate it."

Emotional distress is the easiest thing in the world to claim and impossible to refute and that's what makes it a meaningless standard. Really what it does, is allow us to punish unpopular speech

[squall]

I actually have used this case as a college report & got an A :)

[JayG]

Mispeaks, editor leaves it in.
GENIUS !

[KOHF]

Wow, some of those actors look EXACTLY like the Justices did in real life - especially Scalia and O'Connor.

[donalddiamond]

Some people should listen to this even today.

[americopedroni]

They don't make movies with this message any longer, that would encourage too many people to think

[soundautomatic]

Saw this in the theater and still remember how kick butt I thought Ed Norton was

[HaiLe-epqw]

at 0:45, the girl towards the right winks at Larry Flynt. Why?

[MatthewAGilbert]

"At the heart of the First Amendment is the recognition of the fundamental importance of the free flow of ideas and opinions on matters of public interest and concern. The freedom to speak one's mind is not only an aspect of individual liberty – and thus a good unto itself – but also is essential to the common quest for truth and the vitality of society as a whole. We have therefore been particularly vigilant to ensure that individual expressions of ideas remain free from governmentally imposed sanctions."

[archibaldthearcher]

"and this country is founded at least in part on the firm belief that unpopular speech is absolutely vital to the health of our nation."


Yup, freedom of speech is so important its the first thing they remembered to add :D

[delrey]

This movie was surprisingly very good. The performances of Woody Harrelson, Edward Norton and Courtney Love were also very good.

[constitutionlover]

We are still leading asses to Washington! Thank you Larry Flynt for pursuing this lawsuit! And Alan Isaacman for such a brilliant speech!!