Richard Pryor’s iconic 1982 stand-up special, Richard Pryor: Live on the Sunset Strip makes its way to 4K for the first time on disc and digital from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. I was way too young to have watched Pryor’s R-rated comedy when this special was originally released, so I checked it out for the first time on this release. Other than a brief reference to Reagan taking office, this is something that feels timeless and just as relevant today. Stand-Up comedy is something than can be very subjective—things that some find funny, others may not—but I think that many will enjoy Pryor’s performance and find some humor in it.
Right as Pryor takes the stage, it’s clear this is going to be an R-rated special, as he starts off the set talking about F**king—from the time he had sex with a Playboy bunny, to accidentally discovering masturbation at the age of 10, to getting married, women and relationships. The conversation then veers into the topic of filming a movie at a prison, the scary prisoners he met there, and stealing things as a kid. He then delves into the topics of racism, the N-word and how he doesn’t even like to use it himself anymore, and his visit to Africa, which somehow ends on the topic of animals at the zoo. Then Pryor shares some fun stories about working at a mafia-owned club and some of the things he saw and conversations he overheard there. This is interrupted by someone calling out from the audience, requesting that Pryor do his Mudbone routine, to which the comedian reluctantly agrees to do for the final time. After this, things get personal as Pryor talks about the elephant in the room and the thing everyone came to hear about—his drug addiction, and setting himself on fire while freebasing. Pryor then closes things about by talking about his time at the hospital, and how Jim Brown helped him through this lowest point in his life.
Many comedy specials these days feel very sanitized and PC, or like the comedian is trying to push some political agenda. It’s great to go back and watch older specials like this one that were made before comedians weren’t allow to be funny. These days everyone is so worried about offending someone or being canceled, but Pryor just feels open and honest throughout this special, saying whatever is on his mind, but never getting political about it. He gets into the topic of racism and the N-word but it never feels divisive or instigating. he’s sharing his personal experiences in a way that keeps things lighthearted. These days, these are hot-button topics, that are often geared towards dividing, blaming and guilting folks, but Pryor has a refreshing attitude of unity. While he does constantly drop into a hilarious “white guy” voice during this routine, it never feels like it’s coming from a place of malice or that he’s trying to make fun of anyone, just get some laughs.
I lost a little interest during the Mudbone segment, which felt a bit like fan service for the die-hard fans of that character. I wasn’t familiar with this character at all, so this part of the routine didn’t really connect with me. However, things really pick up in the final act as Pryor gets very personal and open with the story of his addition, accident and recovery, but he tells this in such a way that still has the audience (and me) laughing out loud, using metaphors like how he always had to have his “milk and cookies” before bed, and somehow dunking that cookie into the milk caused an explosion. He closes the special with a heartfelt thanks to the audience.
What I found really impressive about this special is the way that Pryor seamlessly flows from one topic to the next, in a way that feels so natural that you don’t even notice it at first. I also enjoyed the way he covers some sensitive topics but never in a way that feels like it’s just to incite, divide or shock the audience—which is often the case with comedy performers these days.
Sony’s new 4K release of Richard Pryor: Live on the Sunset Strip is presented in 4K resolution with Dolby Vision, scanned from the original camera negative. The result looks quite clean and solid throughout. The film is primarily just footage of Pryor performing on stage in his red suit, with some cutaways to the audience. The colors look great, and the darkness of the stage never drowns out Pryor. Overall, the level of detail looks great, with some of the camera angles providing a slightly softer but still excellent picture. The mono soundtrack is sufficient to capture the routine clearly, but doesn’t have the more immersive feel of the audience you get on a more modern comedy special. Occasionally I could hear some odd scratching noise in the mix—I couldn’t figure out if this was just Pryor breathing heavily into the mic, or due to the microphone cord being dragged across the floor, or something else.
The 4K release includes just a single 4K disc placed in a standard 4K keepcase and covered with a cardboard slipcover. An insert provides redemption instructions for a 4K Movies Anywhere-compatible digital copy. Unfortunately, the disc is a bit barebones when it comes to bonus material, with just the film’s 30-second trailer included. The disc offers a scene selection menu, but all 16 of the thumbnails look pretty much identical and are just numbered, which isn’t really useful—it would have been nice if they were labeled by topic.
What’s Included:
Film: (1:21:13)
- 2160p / Widescreen 1.85:1
- Dolby Vision / HDR10
- Audio: English Mono DTS-HD MA
- Subtitles: English, Spanish
- 4K Digital Copy, redeemable via Movies Anywhere or Vudu
- Trailer (:32)
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4K UHD:
Digital (Limited time offer):
Extras:
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4K Disc:
Final Thoughts:
Richard Pryor Live on the Sunset Strip is an entertaining comedy special that holds up quite well over 40 years later, still feeling quite relevant and topical today. Sony’s 4k presentation is pretty solid, but the disc doesn’t include any bonus material besides the film’s trailer. Pryor fans will likely want to add this to their collection. The release is also worth a look for anyone looking for a fun comedy special.
