There are few comedians who can achieve such a wide audience as Richard Pryor. His comedic talents have been imitated by white and black alike and his style will forever be solidified. Here, Comedy Central pays tribute to the man, the myth and the legend,
Richard Pryor: I Ain't Dead Yet, #*%$#@!! 'Uncensored' (2004)
Directors: Billy Grundfest
Producers: Sue Wolf, Mark Kranz and Jennifer Lee Pryor
Writers: N/A
Features: * Deleted Interviews * Comedy Central Previews * Comedy Central Quickies
Characters:
Richard Pryor
Dave Chappelle
Denis Leary
Chris Rock
Jon Stewart
Wanda Sykes
Genre: Documentary
Review:
There are few comedians who can achieve such a wide audience as Richard Pryor. His comedic talents have been imitated by white and black alike and his style will forever be solidified.
Yes, it's true, Richard Pryor is not dead yet. Suffering from Multiple Sclerosis, Pryor is now weak and fragile. He's no longer the rough and tough comedian fans have grown to love and adore. Silently, he's stepped out of the media spotlight a few years ago, but his comedy lives on.
"I Ain’t Dead Yet", is a retrospective tribute to the man who made the ‘N’ word a household phrase among his fans. Featuring several comedians including Robin Williams, Dave Chappelle, Steve Harvey, Jon Stewart and Wanda Sykes, this tribute feels like an ‘E’ Hollywood special.
Each comedian talks about why they fell in love with Pryor’s work and how he has inspired them. His foul language, his characters, his stories, his legacy—all are discussed here in great detail over the forty minute running time.
While it’s usually customary to produce a documentary after a star has passed, it’s refreshing to see a tribute documentary made about an actor before they’ve passed. Unfortunately, Pryor is absent from the feature and he is sorely missed though his current wife (the 7th!), discusses the truth behind who Pryor really was.
Pryor was a man who talked about reality. He was unafraid of his skin color and he did his best to show the world that blacks and white aren’t much different—that color was only skin deep. He wasn’t afraid to offend people with his sometimes vulgar routine and he wasn’t afraid to tell you how it really is. In other words, Richard Pryor taught us about truth.
"I Ain’t Dead Yet" isn’t a perfect documentary. It’s not quite long enough and without any new footage of Pryor, it’s feels a little off-putting. The documentary does succeed, though, in providing fans with a wealth trivia about a comedian who deserves our deepest admiration. We have to thank Comedy Central for keeping this man’s brilliant legacy alive.
Video:
Presented in full screen, "Dead Yet" is a standard Digital Video to DVD transfer. The picture quality is vibrant and rich with color. A great television presentation overall. I would have liked to see the show matted in anamorphic widescreen, but I guess that wasn’t in the cards.
Audio:
Nothing special here. "Dead Yet" is presented in Dolby Digital 2.0 surround. The dialogue is crisp. Everything you’d expect from a TV special.
English captions are available. Unfortunately, no subtitles are included.
Extras:
"I Ain't Dead Yet" is presented in it's uncut and uncensored glory. There's not one single "bleep" here.
First up, we are treated to nearly 30 minutes of additional 'uncut and uncensored interviews'. Viewable through a ‘play all’ feature, there are six scenes in total. More or less, a series of deleted scenes, various comedians’ trade tales about a man they respect so much. If you loved the tribute, you’ll love this.
Next up, is an assortment of ‘Comedy Central Quickies’. These short five minute segments are taken from several of Comedy Central’s most popular shows, some of which are already on DVD. They include: "Reno 911", "Crank Yankers", "South Park" and "Chappelle’s Show".
Finally, at the beginning of the disc, and accessible through the main menu, we can view several 'previews for upcoming Comedy Central titles' including: "South Park Season Five", "Crank Yankers", "The Hebrew Hammer", "Ren and Stimpy".
Final Thoughts:
Not matter how you look at it, Richard Pryor is a legend, and while he’s not dead yet, his disease has made him silent, hiding in the shadows. It will be a dark day when he passes. Richard Pryor was and still is, a man who is not afraid to challenge the race barrier and his legacy will be remembered for ages to come. While Pryor may be absent from this documentary, his comedy shall forever shine through reminding us that he will never die.
*Film Scorecard*
As entertainment: * * * 1/2
As a film: * * *
Overall: * * *
*DVD Scorecard*
Video: 8
Audio: 6
Extras: 5.5
Overall: 7
Unrated
* List Price: $19.99
* Available on DVD November 16th 2004.
rlshaffer@dvdfuture.com
----R. L. Shaffer