Richard Pryor

  • Sidney J. Furie – Lady Sings the Blues [+ Commentary] (1972)

    1971-1980DramaMusicalSidney J. FurieUSA

    Lady Sings the Blues, like many enjoyable biopics, has little to do with presenting fact and everything to do with presenting the essence of a life. It has been both rightly and unfairly reviled by passionate fans of Holiday’s music as being highly fictionalized—and so it is, just as Amadeus, Funny Girl, and St. Louis Blues also use seeds of fact to grow fanciful tales of their respective subjects’ lives. It is also true that Diana Ross has little in common with Billie Holiday; their singing styles are markedly different, and Ross is far too slender and beautiful to believably imitate Holiday; to her credit, she does not try.Read More »

  • Michael Schultz – Car Wash [+Extras] (1976)

    1971-1980ComedyMichael SchultzUSA

    Quote:
    It’s just a typical day in the lives of the employees, customers, and passersby of a Los Angeles car wash. There’s a would-be robbery…an assembly line of the weirdest, baddest, shadiest characters you’ve ever met, and lots of ’70s music to pass the hours till quitting time. Featuring outrageously hilarious performances by George Carlin, Professor Irwin Corey, the Pointer Sisters, and Richard Pryor as Daddy Rich–a flamboyant reverend who preaches the goodness of the dollar–Car Wash is a timeless classic celebrating an era devoted to living life in the fast lane.Read More »

  • Paul Schrader – Blue Collar (1978)

    1971-1980CrimeDramaPaul SchraderUSA

    Quote:
    Paul Schrader’s directorial debut examines the trials of Detroit autoworkers living at the mercy of a heartless corporation and a corrupt union. Surviving from paycheck to paycheck, Checker Cab assembly linemen Zeke (Richard Pryor), Jerry (Harvey Keitel), and Smokey (Yaphet Kotto) scrape by and take pleasure in a few rounds of beer or bowling (and occasional illicit amusements). But when their money troubles pile up, Jerry and Smokey join Zeke in a desperate plan to steal cash from their local union office. Along with a piddling $600, they unexpectedly swipe evidence of union corruption.Read More »

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