Product Details

• Actors: Richard Pryor, Gene Cross, Julie Hampton, Jesse Jackson
• Directors: Joe Layton
• Writers: Richard Pryor, Paul Mooney
• Producers: Richard Pryor
• Format: Color, NTSC
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Sony Pictures
• VHS Release Date: June 4, 1996
• Run Time: 82 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (34 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6303451446
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #284,653 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Taken together, Richard Pryor's concert films, the essential Live in Concert, the virtuoso Live on the Sunset Strip, and even the lesser Here and Now, provide a more incisive autobiographical portrait of the groundbreaking comedian than the fictionalized Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling. In Sunset Strip, Pryor relates two life-changing experiences. The first is his trip to "the motherland," Africa. As funny as is the routine in which Pryor gives voice to a couple of cheetahs poised to prey on unsuspecting gazelles, he brings the audience up short with a moving revelation that leads him to forswear ever again calling another black person the "N-word." The second, of course, is his near-fatal freebasing accident, which Pryor at first jokingly passes off as an accident involving milk and cookies. Then, he takes the audience step by harrowing step through his growing cocaine addiction (abetted by his untrustworthy pipe which speaks to him in reassuring tones), alienation from friends, including the formidable Jim Brown ("Whatcha gonna do?"), the explosion that resulted in third-degree burns over the upper half of his body, and finally, the agonizing rehab. It is even more unflinching and savagely funny than his Live in Concert routine about his heart attack. Other memorable bits include his experiences as a 19-year-old stand-up comedian working at a Mafia-owned club, a monologue from one of his signature characters, Mudbone, and his visit to a penitentiary while filming Stir Crazy. Sunset Strip captures Pryor's triumphant return to the stage. He is a survivor, unbowed, winning this round over the demons that plagued him throughout his career. --Donald Liebenson

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars So Funny You'll Need the Pause Button, October 2, 2002

By 

Samurai - See all my reviews

This review is from: Richard Pryor: Live on the Sunset Strip (DVD)

I first saw this film with a friend and we were both laughing so hard we constantly had to stop the film just to recover. Richard Pryor is absolutely one of the funniest and most honest human beings who ever lived. As far as I'm concerned the only comedian who has even come close is Bernie Mac. But Bernie is tame compared to the full throttle antics of Pryor.

Pryor approaches the show knowing the audience has read a lot about his troubled personal life so he comes out and point blank explains everything. From how he ran down the block after setting himself on fire accidentally, to his troubled marriage, to his trip to Africa and how it changed him.

There's a lot of F-bombs (surprise) so you probably don't want to watch this movie in mixed company. If you're sensitive to "white people are so funny" routines then you should probably get a life. But if you wanna hear about how even the African hares intimidated Pryor ("I ain't never seen a rabbit look at me like that before") or how the lions wanted to eat him and his camera, then this is a movie that will have you laughing so hysterically you'll probably pee in your pants.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pryors finest hour, April 14, 2005

By 

Joe Clay - See all my reviews

This review is from: Richard Pryor: Live on the Sunset Strip (DVD)

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.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not my favorite..., May 26, 2003

By 

J. Hudson "Jonibug" (Yucca Valley, California United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Richard Pryor: Live on the Sunset Strip (DVD)

This to me at least can't compare to Richard Pryor live. It's funny...Richard Pryor is a comic genius...but, the jokes didn't keep me rolling as much as Live in Concert.