Customer Reviews

The Richard Pryor Collection (Which Way is Up?/ Brewster`s Millions/ Car Wash/ Bustin` Loose)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As you may know, comedian Richard Pryor passed away in December of 2005 following a massive heart attack. The award winning funnyman had also been suffering from Multiple Sclerosis. On February 7th, Universal released a four movie collection titled The Richard Pryor 4-Movie Collection. Universal re-released Bustin' Loose on DVD last year as part of their Soul Cinema collection, so I was a bit curious as to why this film was being released on DVD again.

The Richard Pryor 4 Movie Collection features the following films-Which Way Is Up, Brewster's Millions, Car Wash, and Bustin' Loose. This is a good collection of Pryor's funnier films. The bad thing about this collection is the bare bones treatment. There is no booklet, there are no new bonus features (as a matter of fact there are no bonus features at all), and there aren't even four discs. The movies are packaged on dual sided discs with two movies on each side of one disc. Each film is presented in anamorphic widescreen (1.85:1).

As for the movies, you may have seen them before on DVD. Which Way Is Up? was released on DVD in the past but has been out of print for awhile. This was one of Pryor's funniest vehicles. In this film he plays three different characters. Many critics have said that Eddie Murphy was inspired by this film because in later films Coming To America, and The Nutty Professor he juggled multiple roles. In this film Pryor stars as three different characters. Pryor stars as Leroy the orange picker, Leroy's father, and he stars as the minister who sexed up Leroy's wife while he was away working. Leroy himself also falls in love with another woman and finds himself juggling relationships.

Car Wash is a classic film with a host of guest stars. Pryor wasn't the star of Car Wash despite his name usually getting top billing in cover art. It's an ensemble film about people working at a popular car wash. Antonio Fargas (Starsky & Hutch), Bill Duke (Menace 2 Society) and George Carlin (Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure) co-star in the film.

Bustin' Loose ushered in a new era of Richard Pryor films. This ushered in the family friendly Richard Pryor (although there is still strong language in the film). Richard Pryor stars in this film as a man on parole with the threat of going back to jail held over his head. He doesn't have much time but he has to transport Cicely Tyson and a group of rag tag youths across the country.

Brewster's Millions is a very popular Pryor film although it's considered a dud by many. In this film Pryor has inherited a lot of money, but to get the money has to spend $30 million dollars in thirty days. There is a catch. He can't purchase anything large like a house. It's a fun film and John Candy co-stars.

The set just comes across as cheap when you look at other movie collections that Universal has released in the past year. The Alfred Hitchcock Collection, and special editions of To Kill a Mockingbird, The Sting and The Deer Hunter seem so precious, unique, and effort filled. This set just seems thrown together. If you already own these films on DVD, keep your single disc sets. This collection is so bare bones it deserves to be in the bargain basket. What else is tragic about this movie collection is once again no bonus features. This is at least the third incarnation of Car Wash on DVD. So many of the people involved in the film are still alive and working in the industry. It would be great to get some kind of commentary or bonus featurette for this film one day. Also, since Richard has passed, it would have been nice if they held up this set's release to include some kind of tribute to Richard.

The bottom line is if you already own these films keep your single discs. If you don't own these films, this is a reasonable way to purchase all of the films.

This is my favorite movie. It is hilarious. This is a real gut buster. I reccomend this movie to everybody to watch.

If you like Richard Pryor, you'll love this DVD. Pryor plays three different characters in "Which Way is Up" and every character is a riot! His interaction with the children in "Bustin' Loose will have you in stitches! The only reason this doesn't get five stars is because of "Brewster's Millions", which I did not find quite as funny as the other three movies. Three great and one decent Richard Pryor movies all on one DVD---you can't beat it for the price.

I love this product and the service was great, it came in a timely fashion

Though I could not (and still cannot) get this DVD to play in my DVD player of choice, when I did have the opportunity to set it up in another room it was pure enjoyment. Richard Pryor was born to make laughs.

Any fan of Richard Pryor would love adding this DVD set to their collection.

The cool thing about this DVD set is, they don't take up the space of 4 individual DVDs. You get 4 movies on 1 DVD. A great space saver for travelers.

I love Richard Pryor, he was a great comedian! This is a wonderful collection of four of some of his funniest films, that I'll enjoy for years to come! I compared prices on a couple of other sites, and found Amazon to have the best price.

I am very happy with my purchase. Amazon delivers all the movies I have search for months. I purchase used and they play just as well as new.

Great Price! Great Laughs! From a great Comedian! What an additon to any DVD collection!!

Richard Pryor was and always will be the funniest comedian I've had the pleasure of watching. Excellent movies and ones that I've watched repeatedly. His brilliance lives on in his work.