It's safe to say that without Richard Pryor there would be no Chris Rock or Dave Chappelle-comedians who mine a lot of the same territory that Pryor had already covered in the 1970s. I was never a big fan of his feature films. They always seemed to keep Pryor's brand of comedy reigned in. His stand-up comedy was where it was at: pure, undiluted Pryor. This new DVD set captures two of his live concert films, Live on the Sunset Strip and Here and Now and present two fascinating snapshots of the man at different points in his career and life.
His material carries on in the proud, taboo-smashing tradition of Lenny Bruce. Pryor talks about things that aren't supposed to be discussed in public: masturbating, religion, and politics in a frank and very funny way. He also employs the same kind of hipster-speak shtick as Bruce but updated for the late `70s and early `80s. Pryor also has the same improvisational quality, able to react to a spontaneous comment from the audience without losing his cool.
With a biopic in the works (it should be interesting to see how it compares to his semi-autobiographical movie, Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life is Calling) there will no doubt be renewed interest in Pryor and his work. These two films document two specific points in his life and show the man in his prime. They also reinforce how influential he was on the contemporary comedians who idolize him.
There is a long sequence where Pryor plays two roles: one of a wino and one of a junkie. It starts off very funny, but then Pryor gets deep into the psyches of these damaged people, and it is heartbreaking. The piece turns into a brilliant piece of theater. Yes, there are more misses than hits in this 1971 performance, but there is no mistaking what a genius Pryor is. More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Richard Pryor Director(s): Michael Blum DVD Release Date: Released the 27 November 2001 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Richard Pryor has influenced scores and scores of comedians and theres a good reason why....because hes one of the greats!!! This show which was filmed in Vegas is truly his finest hour. Taped after his infamous freebasing incident, he touches on his cocaine addiction....and as brutal as it was he makes it funny. Also, he talks about gangsters he used to work with and them telling murder stories!! No comedian would dare touch on things like this, and to make these things funny takes TALENT. Of which Pryor has an abundance of.
So if you want a revealing, awe inspiring, provacative and funny comedy show, this is it. Pryors finest hour, the show of himself. More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Richard Pryor Director(s): Joe Layton DVD Release Date: Released the 11 January 2000 Usually ships in 24 hours
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As you have gethered by now, this is not a complete Richard Pryor stand-up show. I Ain't Dead Yet, originally aired on Comedy Central, is a tribute/biography/documentary of the legendary comedian, showcasing clips of his various acts shuffled in with interviews and opinions from Steve Harvey, Jamie Foxx, Chris Rock, Jon Stewart, Dave Chappelle, Denis Leary, Whoppi Goldberg, and Robin Williams among others. The program itself, which is less than 45 minutes long and is here in all in uncensored glory, is worth a look for fans of Pryor who didn't see it when it originally aired, but the DVD features are scant, and considering the price of the DVD, this is a rip-off. All in all, worth a look for fans of Pryor, but for all others, this is worth avoiding. More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Richard Pryor DVD Release Date: Released the 16 November 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Watching Pryor go from imitating a drinking deer to a woman debating about going in the woods gives just a hint of the comedic genius of the man. Crude, foul, and real, this is the first and best of his concert films. Pryor does dead-on impersonations of the respective races, cussing, trying to act tough, getting kicked in personal spots. But it's his imagination that elevates him to a different level. He gives his impressions of what animals think, from his own animals (a monkey, a Doberman) to police dogs, and it seems so exact, so prescient. Not to mention the fact that he is self-deprecating in the extreme, and has as much fun skewering himself as any other subject. Still vibrant, still funny. --Keith SimantonMore Info about this DVD Actor(s): Richard Pryor Director(s): Jeff Margolis DVD Release Date: Released the 25 August 1998 Usually ships in 6 to 8 days
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The audacious concert film Eddie Murphy Raw rubbed some people the wrong way upon its release in 1987, but there's no denying that between Murphy's more insensitive bits about women and gay men is some of his most inspired material. While the young comedian indulges an unattractive homophobia and rants about the sexual manipulativeness of all females, he makes up for it with an amazing story about being chided by Bill Cosby for obscene humor and does a great impression of Mr. T falling under the spell of a Jedi mind trick. The best stuff comes deep into the show, particularly a long tale of being pressured into a fight at a club, resulting in a phone call to Murphy's drunk father, the latter in the middle of a verbal attack on his wife. The scene is genuinely horrifying and funny,... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Eddie Murphy Director(s): Robert Townsend DVD Release Date: Released the 07 September 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
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