Rating: 
Summary: FUNNIEST SHOW EVER SEEN!!!!
Review: Richard Pryor is without a shadow of a doubt...THE FUNNIEST MAN that has ever walked this earth...I admire all the other comedians that came before him and the comedians of this generation....but noONE has ever been as funny as Richard Pryor...he can make ANTHING funny...he can just put on a face and you roll on the floor in hysterical laughter...if you aint got this DVD...(...) go get it...you WILL NOT be dissappointed...also in this DVD set is the Richard Pryor roast which I found very funny...especially when Richard Pryor cameback to everything everybody had said about him...it was hilirious...GET THIS DVD...Also, check out Sanford and Son Season 1 and 2 and 3 and check out my boy Dave Chapelle... These are guarenteed to leave laughing for days....GET THEM TODAY!!!
Rating: 
Summary: Tension and release ...
Review: Richard Pryor ready for prime time? I would say the answer is yes and no after watching these three DVDs that cover all four of 1977's THE RICHARD PRYOR SHOW series, THE RICHARD PRYOR SPECIAL? that preceeded the series (which aired earlier that year), plus various outtakes and other unreleased footage. The special is a classic comedy hour, with the likes of the Idi Amin Dada segment, the appearance by the Pips sans Gladys Knight, and a priceless skit with Richard and Maya Angelou which perfectly symbolizes how Pryor's approach to comedy may have had a wild, profane surface, but look underneath and you find wry insight and emotive depth that is missing from most of those comics whom he influenced. A rainbow-coalition-like segment with kids singing a Stevie Wonder classic was unique in its era, as was the "Harlem Sweeties" clip featuring a variety of women of color ... six years prior to Vanessa Williams becoming the first black Miss America. As for the series, things got off on the wrong foot when Pryor's classic "nude" opening segment to the first show was a no-go (it is seen here). Pryor spent much of the four shows getting skit-ready versions of certain aspects of his standup act past censors. No cussing, but pushing the prime time envelope nonetheless. Frankly, a few skits don't work i.m.o. (Mojo The Healer, the Black Death heavy metal music skit), but more often than not the segments are funny and stand the test of time very well (40th president, for one). The supporting cast are seen in spots, but if you are a fan of Robin Williams for one, you may be disappointed by how little he is seen on camera. Among the extras are a lengthy, definitely not ready for prime time monologue (mostly Pryor as Mudbone), filmed before a small studio audience (the content is similar to his concert films). Then watch the unedited 40+ minute no-holds-barred Roast including Pryor and the cast members and compare it to the severely abridged footage on the fourth show to see what cutting-and-pasting had to be done to find comments appropriate for a network tv show (in fact, Pryor's comments are entirely missing from the broadcast, for obvious reasons). There's a fair amount of political incorrectness in the material presented here (particularly in the non-broadcasted footage), controversial by today's standards as well as 1977's. If you can handle that, plus the fact that some segments work better than others, you will find that this DVD set may not present Pryor at his all-time best, but there's enough of his comic genius on display to make this an important historical document that at times maintains an edge even by contemporary standards.
Rating:
Summary: Too Much For the 70's
Review: Richard was titled, at that time, the best comic ever. What a lot of folks didn't realize, was Richard was waaay before his time. The extras shown on the three DVDs, prove how no one could harness greatness! Not even a big network. But thanks for trying. Richard's appearance on network TV did help expose his face to more of the world.
Get some of your 70's high school buddies, beer (smile) and a chair and enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: "BTAM: the Back To Africa Movement!"
Review: This box set of the four hour-long shows and its NBC special predecessor is extremely funny! I'm only 21 years old, but thanks to my parents keeping old Richard Pryor albums around for me to listen to (which are funny as ALL Hell), I'm able to understand and hysterically laugh at all the jokes from the then mid-70's topics that the sketches are based on. The funniest ones are the Rich Televangelist, the 40th President, ... and the Pips, Star Wars Bar and many others. What I really loved about this set is the special features which include a full Richard Roast from Paul Mooney and the cast members and a 40 minute uncensored stand-up set featuring his famed Mudbone character. Anybody who loves Richard Pryor stand-up, or his mid-late 70's film roles will love this box set. If you like Chappelle's Show or In Living Color (both of which I highly recommend) This show is where they all learned from. It was truly ahead of its time. It is really worth it.
Rating: 
Summary: OK, but not Pryor's best
Review: This is a tough one. Say Richard Pryor's name and "70s network television," and you'll have a reason why this series lasted only four episodes. But censorship wasn't the only problem this show had. Pryor repeatedly tried to parlay his phenomenally successful stand-up career into mainstream success, but his efforts usually resulted in crappy movies that did his talents no justice (anyone want to remember "The Toy?"). This show -- which Pryor said he personally cancelled -- is better than those, with some funny skits, like The Pips performing "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" and "Midnight Train to Georgia" without Gladys Knight, or Pryor and a youthful Marsha Warfield doing an achingly funny pantomine in a restaurant. Many skits, however, are overly long and hinge on the audience finding humor in things like a black samurai. Other skits are heavy-handed dramatic pieces so jarring it feels like the show is slapping you for laughing at previous skits. "What, you think that's funny? Public intoxication is not funny! Here, Maya Angelou will show you!" Pryor assembled a talented ensemble -- Robin Williams is prominent, and Tim Reid and Sandra Bernhard also show up -- but Pryor is the center of show, and the other actors generally act as his straight men. Film of the actors improvising screams for Pryor and Williams to play off each other: The footage, unfortunately, doesn't show that pairing. All the characters are Pryor's, and the supporting troupe never really got a chance to spread their wings. It wouldn't be fair to call this a failed program: "The Richard Pryor" was strangled in the cradle before it had a chance to develop a natural flow. As it stands, it's an interesting curiosity, which, given time, might have become something memorable.
Rating:
Summary: OK, but not Pryor's best
Review: This is a tough one. Say Richard Pryor's name and "70s network television," and you'll have a reason why this series lasted only four episodes. But censorship wasn't the only problem this show had. Pryor repeatedly tried to parlay his phenomenally successful stand-up career into mainstream success, but his efforts usually resulted in crappy movies that did his talents no justice (anyone want to remember "The Toy?"). This show -- which Pryor said he personally cancelled -- is better than those, with some funny skits, like The Pips performing "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" and "Midnight Train to Georgia" without Gladys Knight, or Pryor and a youthful Marsha Warfield doing an achingly funny pantomine in a restaurant. Many skits, however, are overly long and hinge on the audience finding humor in things like a black samurai. Other skits are heavy-handed dramatic pieces so jarring it feels like the show is slapping you for laughing at previous skits. "What, you think that's funny? Public intoxication is not funny! Here, Maya Angelou will show you!" Pryor assembled a talented ensemble -- Robin Williams is prominent, and Tim Reid and Sandra Bernhard also show up -- but Pryor is the center of show, and the other actors generally act as his straight men. Film of the actors improvising screams for Pryor and Williams to play off each other: The footage, unfortunately, doesn't show that pairing. All the characters are Pryor's, and the supporting troupe never really got a chance to spread their wings. It wouldn't be fair to call this a failed program: "The Richard Pryor" was strangled in the cradle before it had a chance to develop a natural flow. As it stands, it's an interesting curiosity, which, given time, might have become something memorable.
Rating:
Summary: OK, but not Pryor's best
Review: This is a tough one. Say Richard Pryor's name and "70s network television," and you'll have a reason why this series lasted only four episodes. But censorship wasn't the only problem this show had. Pryor repeatedly tried to parlay his phenomenally successful stand-up career into mainstream success, but his efforts usually resulted in crappy movies that did his talents no justice (anyone want to remember "The Toy?"). This show -- which Pryor said he personally cancelled -- is better than those, with some funny skits, like The Pips performing "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" and "Midnight Train to Georgia" without Gladys Knight, or Pryor and a youthful Marsha Warfield doing an achingly funny pantomine in a restaurant. Many skits, however, are overly long and hinge on the audience finding humor in things like a black samurai. Other skits are heavy-handed dramatic pieces so jarring it feels like the show is slapping you for laughing at previous skits. "What, you think that's funny? Public intoxication is not funny! Here, Maya Angelou will show you!" Pryor assembled a talented ensemble -- Robin Williams is prominent, and Tim Reid and Sandra Bernhard also show up -- but Pryor is the center of show, and the other actors generally act as his straight men. Film of the actors improvising screams for Pryor and Williams to play off each other: The footage, unfortunately, doesn't show that pairing. All the characters are Pryor's, and the supporting troupe never really got a chance to spread their wings. It wouldn't be fair to call this a failed program: "The Richard Pryor" was strangled in the cradle before it had a chance to develop a natural flow. As it stands, it's an interesting curiosity, which, given time, might have become something memorable.
Rating: 
Summary: Legendary?
Review: This show is considered legendary??! After viewing these DVD's It's hard to believe that censorship was the reason that this series only lasted 4 episodes...it's more likely the plug was pulled by NBC and/ or Pryor because the show was pretty awful. There are maybe 35 skits over the 4 shows, and maybe 3 of them are worth watching. By show #4 I stopped watching because there was no hope that anything would be funny. The 2 or 3 that are funny ("the 40th President" especially) are hilarious...classic...exactly what you're hoping this series will be like...but when the show starts to go downhill it stays there and never recovers. The Richard Pryor Special which preceeded the TV series by a year is slighlty better, but that's not saying much...it's still nowhere near as funny as Pryor at his best...the TV series is lame even by Saturday Night Live at it's lamest standards..d the "social commentary" bits are heartfelt but embarrassing. The entire Tv series was just misguided. The extra features are the best things...the unedited roast where Pryor talks like he would in his act, some of the Q&A segment...and that's about it. A Real disapointment. Evidently there was no way for Richard Pryor to adopt his stand up personl to a TV series and make it work. If you're expecting anything as funny as Pryor's appearance on SNL in the 70's...especially the "Job Interview" bit...forget it. I'm giving this 2 stars because there is at least a lot of stuff on the 3 discs...approx 5 hours worth, and you get maybe 45 minutes of worthwhile material...which would be good if this was a single DVD, but overall these 3 DVD's are very disapointing.
| 
