Richard Pryor: Live on the Sunset Strip is now available for audiences to bring home and watch the stand-up comedy film on 4K Ultra HD. The film was previously included in the 2021 collection, The Ultimate Richard Pryor Collection: Uncensored.
At the time of the film’s 1982 release, it became the highest-grossing concert film with about $36.3 million at the box office. The record would not last into the 1990s because Eddie Murphy came around and became very popular at the box office. Eddie Murphy Raw blasted the previous record away, taking in just over $50 million in 1987.
Pryor is often in the top five for any rankings of the best stand-up comedians in American history. Case in point: He is the first recipient of the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. There will never be another Richard Pryor. And now, fans can watch one of his concert films in 4K UHD. It is being presented in Dolby Vision and remastered from the original camera negative.
The release also comes with a digital copy.
Synopsis:
If Richard Pryor were accused of being the funniest man in America, this film of his incredible stage act would be Exhibit A. It is proof beyond the shadow of a doubt! Shot live at the Hollywood Palladium, the film captures all the excitement, lunacy and electric force of a Pryor performance. And though he’s the only star of this hilarious show, he’s never alone on stage. With him is his amazing array of characterizations as he talks about his trip to Africa in search of his roots, his early days playing one-night gigs in Mafia-owned clubs and strip joints, and numerous other outrageous topics. Finally, he talks about Pryor on Fire—a recounting of the accident which nearly took his life—an episode he relates with wit and a touch of poignancy. You’ll laugh like you’ve never laughed before!
Bonus Feature
- Theatrical Trailer
DIRECTOR: Joe Layton
WRITER: Richard Pryor
Columbia Pictures released Richard Pryor: Live on the Sunset Strip in theaters on March 12, 1982.
Please subscribe to Dugout Dirt and Solzy on Buttondown.