Richard Pryor… Here and Now 4K Review (Sony)

Richard Pryor… Here and Now is a 1983 comedy stand up special written, performed, and directed by Richard Pryor (See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Stir Crazy, Another You, Brewster’s Millions, Superman III, The Toy, Blue Collar, Silver Streak, The Mack, Harlem Nights, Some Kind of Hero, and Car Wash). It was executive produced by Jim Brown (The Running Man, Any Given Sunday, He Got Game, Mars Attacks!, Original Gangstas, I’m Gonna Git You Sucka, Slaughter franchise, and The Dirty Dozen). It grossed $16,156,776 worldwide at the box office. The legendary Richard Pryor (Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling, Lost Highway, Mad Dog Time, Critical Condition, Pryor’s Place, Bustin’ Loose, and Which Way Is Up?) still in his prime gets live in New Orleans. He does some of his most innovative material for the very first time here in concert with an unpredictable audience. The comedian takes charge on stage with an electrifying style and an unequaled genius when it comes to humor!!!! I previously covered the amazing Richard Pryor: Live on the Sunset Strip and this is an excellent follow up to that classic live comedy feature. This was the 3rd stand up event released on home video from him. Richard Pryor flexes his improv skills with a feisty live crowd in New Orleans. He plays on the entire audience and he quickly reacts to their wild comments during his hilarious performance. This just works in favor during the whole thing. He doesn’t hesitate to say whatever comes to his mind and Pryor has never been politically correct with his over the top routine. There’s no one sharper or as witty as Pryor when it comes to stand up. This filmed in 83 and most of this material would never be repeated these days because people are way too sensitive these days. He bluntly shares his personal experiences and he doesn’t care about making jokes out of his real life. He is known for all of drug issues over the years but he’s cleaned up for around 7 months since then while doing Here and Now. He tells some funny honest stories delivered with some killer punch lines to close them out. It’s nothing but uncensored and raw truth from the king of laughs. He discusses racism, drugs, sexual encounters, getting crabs, relationships, marriages, dealing with the Mob, meeting the president, and his overall experience in Africa. His impersonations are spot on and this particular show wasn’t easy at all for it’s interaction with others. Lots of hecklers and people trying to get the best of him but they can’t compete with Richard Pryor on the mic. He’s the reason that comedy changed and his influence is still over all the place. Personally, he’s my favorite comedian and he’s one of the few that actually makes me laugh out loud non stop during these performances. Here and Now is beyond entertaining and it’s so much fun because it always feels completely organic. It still holds up and it has great replay value to it. This is a must watch, STRONGLY RECOMMENDED!!!! Let’s discuss this high definition presentation from Sony Pictures! This 2160p (1.85:1) transfer with Dolby Vision and HDR10 is a brand new 4K restoration from the original camera negative. Personally, I’ve never expected a comedy stand up special to get UHD treatment like this for home video. Richard Pryor… Here and Now looks impressive in 4K and it’s a major improvement when it comes to the sharp picture quality. It’s last home video release in the states was 24 years ago on DVD so this was a nice surprise. It’s awesome to see something like this get upgraded. It has very colorful cinematography and it’s a well shot show especially for the early 80’s. It has an English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track on the disc. The audio is definitely an improvement from the past releases. All of the jokes are crystal clear, the laughs are elevated, and the music has a huge boost to it when it shows up. It has English SDH, French, and Spanish subtitles. There’s no extras on the UHD. It comes with a slipcover and a digital code. It’s available everywhere right now including MovieZyng.com, CHECK IT OUT!!!!