IMDb RATING
7.5/10
2.6K
YOUR RATING
The Amazon Original Series draws from unprecedented access to more than 17,000 hours of footage and over 2,600 scrapbooks from Hefner's personal archives, chronicling the life of an American... Read allThe Amazon Original Series draws from unprecedented access to more than 17,000 hours of footage and over 2,600 scrapbooks from Hefner's personal archives, chronicling the life of an American icon and the history of the brand he created.The Amazon Original Series draws from unprecedented access to more than 17,000 hours of footage and over 2,600 scrapbooks from Hefner's personal archives, chronicling the life of an American icon and the history of the brand he created.
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Summary
Reviewers say 'American Playboy: The Hugh Hefner Story' offers an insightful look into the Playboy empire through interviews with celebrities who posed for the magazine. They discuss motivations, experiences at Playboy parties, and family reactions. Celebrities share how posing affected their careers and personal interactions with Hugh Hefner. The documentary highlights the cultural impact of Playboy and the personal considerations behind their decisions, providing a comprehensive view of the brand's influence.
Featured reviews
A very interesting tale
I got bored one night and was looking through Amazon Prime when I found this. I thought it was going to be a straight-on documentary, but it mixes actual interviews with Hefner and others, and dramatizations of the events in Playboy history. If you want to know the history of how one man created an empire, this will entertain and inform you.
Excellent!
This is exceptional! Without a doubt, one of the most captivating "documentaries" I've seen.
It splices original footage of Hugh, relevant people from the time, interviews with celebrities and significant historical events in with an acted story to really bring the story to life
And WHAT a story! High wasn't just an incredibly successful man, he pushed for all sorts of societal changes, most notably civil rights (!!) in the 60s, and was a marketing and brand genius.
The Playboy bunny costume was the first licensed uniform ever and the Bunny logo is said to be one of the most iconic of all time.
Find this and watch it!
You're welcome 🐰
It splices original footage of Hugh, relevant people from the time, interviews with celebrities and significant historical events in with an acted story to really bring the story to life
And WHAT a story! High wasn't just an incredibly successful man, he pushed for all sorts of societal changes, most notably civil rights (!!) in the 60s, and was a marketing and brand genius.
The Playboy bunny costume was the first licensed uniform ever and the Bunny logo is said to be one of the most iconic of all time.
Find this and watch it!
You're welcome 🐰
Well Made
Playboy is that iconic brand that has always remained in my mind synonymous with porn. I have never read the magazine nor was it ever available at my home, I only had exposure to the brand through the internet and that too very rarely. So, I was surprised to find such an inspiring story of the life of Huge Hefner. I have to say that this series/documentary was an eye opener and well made, not revolutionary but still intriguing. Worth a watch just to understand the cultural impact playboy has had on society.
Captivating story about a visionary and innovative entrepreneur
After I started watching this documentary I realized that I've had the completely wrong perception of Playboy my whole life, i.e. if I'm to believe everything depicted in this documentary. I've only browsed through Playboy magazine a few times in my life, and I never read any of the articles in it ;-) Though I've always been fascinated by the life of Hugh Hefner, though from a purely sexual perspective. After watching the first 4 episodes of this series though, I'm even more fascinated and impressed by this man as I had no idea he was such a visionary and innovative entrepreneur and that he had such a nag for surrounding himself with talented people. Further, the documentary gives the distinct impression that he was anti-establishment, an equal opportunity employer, had an open door policy, was a great boss, was surprisingly respectful of women (even though at the same time he was obviously exploiting them too), was color blind and, even though indirectly and possibly unintended, he supported for the civil rights of blacks by ignoring the fact that the southern states didn't want to air his Playboy Penthouse TV show because he had a lot of black entertainers on this show. It's almost too good to be true. And as mentioned I have only seen 4 episodes so far, but I kind of doubt the tone is going to sway again Hefner. Lastly, I liked the acting and the occasional switching back to real Hefner footage.
Juicy
I highly recommend this. Very intriguing story. I don't think Hugh was a drug trafficker or user but I would have loved to been a fly on the wall at all of his parties. I want to watch it again.
Did you know
- TriviaMatt Whelan (plays Hef) is 6'4" but Hugh Hefner was only 5'9"
Details
- Runtime
- 42m
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 16:9 HD
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