The BFI is today giving full details. famous A PRYOR COMMITMENT – a major retrospective showing the career of RICHARD PRYOR, arguably the most famous stand-up comedian of all time.
Takes place around BFI Southbank the end September 1st – October 5th, the season is programmed by Nellie Killian, and was first presented in 2013 at BAMcinématek, New York.
As an idol for generations of comedians from both sides of the Atlantic, like Pryors filmed comedy specials RICHARD PRYOR: LIVE IN CONCERT (Jeff Margolis, 1979), RICHARD PRYOR: LIVE ON THE SUNSET STRIP (Joe Layton, 1982) and his own directorial work RICHARD PRYOR … HERE AND NOW (1983) live on as evidence of his mastery.
His ability to seamlessly combine broad character work, keen observations from his perspective as a black man in America, and naked revelations about his troubled childhood and addiction struggles have secured him a place in the pantheon of true comedy legends.
Pryor’s fame took him from the stand-up stage to Hollywood, where he starred in 1970s black Hollywood classics, arthouse films, and everything in between.
In addition to its live specials, the season also includes screenings of films such as LADY SINGS THE BLUES (Sidney J. Furie, 1972), CAR WASH (Michael Schultz, 1976), SILVER STRIPE (Arthur Hiller, 1976), BLUE COLLAR (Paul Schrader, 1978) STIRM CRAZY (Sidney Poitier, 1980), BREWSTER MILLIONS (Walter Hill, 1985) and JO JO DANCER, YOUR LIFE IS CALLING (Richard Pryor, 1986).
The season starts with a contextual event RICHARD PRYOR: A COMEDY on September 1; Presented in collaboration with We Are Parable, this richly illustrated panel discussion will explore Pryor’s memorable stand-up moments and film roles, and reflect on how he used his personal experiences as inspiration for his comedic work.
BFI AFRICAN ODYSSES will also give a special lecture, THE BLACK STORY OF COMEDY on September 10 – this interactive session presented by Tony Warner (Black History Walks / Chair of the African Odysseys Steering Committee) will assemble a visual tapestry of the best historical comedies from popular and lesser-known black comics from the 1960s to the present day.
Over 40 years after RICHARD PRYOR: LIVE IN CONCERT, Pryor remains both indispensable and inimitable, and this season will give audiences the opportunity to experience this legendary artist on the big screen.
FILM SCREENING IN ‘A PRYOR ENGAGEMENT’:
- Richard Pryor plays Billie Holidays confidante and associate in LADY SINGS THE BLUES (Sidney J Furie, 1972), Motown Production biopic of the troubled genius with Diana Ross; This was a personal film for Pryor, who had his own high-profile struggles with addiction.
- Zalman King plays in SOME CALL IT LOVING (James B. Harris, 1973), a riff on Sleeping Beauty that plays a man who is sexually possessed by a comatose woman. Pryor appears as a bleak drunk, one of the few characters outside of King’s macabre mansion.
- One of the definitive concert films WATTSTAX (Mel Stuart, 1973) Pryor leads the audience through a cavalcade of iconic performances by artists such as Isaac Hayes, The Staple Singers, Rufus Thomas and many others.
- Pryor took notes LIGHTNING SADDLES (1974) with director Mel Brooks and was originally supposed to star in it, but unfortunately it was not insurable at the time of filming. One of Brooks’ most vicious parodies features a corrupt Old West politician who hires Black Bart as Rock Ridge’s first black sheriff to wreak havoc and make way for the city’s destruction.
- Pryor joins an all-star cast at Charm at Motown Productions THE BINGO LONG TRIP ALL-STARS & MOTOR KINGS (John Badham, 1976) plays in the waning days of the racially segregated baseball league; Pryor plays Carlos Nevada, a player who is working on his Spanish hoping to pass and get a spot in the all-white major league.
- An ice-cold classic of the 1970s, CAR WASH (Michael Schultz, 1976) shows a day in the life of Los Angeles’ DeLuxe Car Wash. Kind of a musical, powered by the wall-to-wall sounds of the fictional KGYS radio, the film bounces around a large cast of employees and customers, including Pryor’s Daddy Rich, an evangelist for the almighty dollar in a massive gold limo.
- Get on a train from Los Angeles to Chicago SILVER STRIPE (Arthur Hiller, 1976) marks Pryor’s first collaboration with frequent co-star Gene Wilder. Mixing romance, comedy, capers and action on a budget, the film forms the template for a generation of cross-genre buddy films, with the chemistry of Wilder and Pryor creating the gold standard.
- In WHICH WAY IS UP? (Michael Schultz, 1977) Pryor plays the fruit picker Leroy Jones (and Jones’ father and a stubborn reverend), who becomes an unusual hero for his colleagues when he juggles with his wife and a new love.
- Pryor plays alongside Harvey Keitel and Yaphet Kotto in Paul Schrader’s directorial debut. BLUE COLLAR (1978), a burning portrait of American working life. Fed up with almost every aspect of their job, the three friends come up with a plan to rob their union office for a quick score, but soon become overwhelmed when the safe contains a lot more than they expected.
- One of the greatest stand-up performances ever filmed, Pryor’s first concert film RICHARD PRYOR: LIVE IN CONCERT (Jeff Margolis, 1979) offers a perfect introduction to his unique genius.
- In their biggest hit STIRM CRAZY (Sidney Poitier, 1980), Pryor and Wilder team up to play an actor-writer duo who are jailed for a crime they did not commit. Directed by Sidney Poitier, Pryor and Wilder are given a free hand and bang, bouncing throughout the film as they survive their new prison life and plan their escape.
- Based on a story idea by Pryor, BUSTIN ‘LOSE (Oz Scott, 1981) has him fired on all cylinders as an ex-inmate who gets back on his feet and drives a busload of orphans from Philadelphia to Seattle. Cicely Tyson anchors the insane journey west as a teacher with a heart of gold and an object of Pryor’s affection.
- Returning to the stage after setting himself on fire while freebasing cocaine, Pryor somehow outdoes himself RICHARD PRYOR: LIVE ON THE SUNSET STRIP (Joe Layton, 1982), oscillating between some of his favorite riffs and characters and a denominational mode, while exposing many of his demons, from his relationships with women to his battle against addiction.
- Pryor’s first directorial work and his last major stand-up film RICHARD PRYOR … HERE AND NOW (Richard Pryor, 1983) proudly finds him sober and relaxed than his usual wired audience field.
- Walter Hill is directing this manic comedy BREWSTER’S MILLIONS (Walter Hill, 1985) about a minor league baseball player who will inherit an incredible fortune, but only if he can spend $ 30 million in 30 days. Brewster keeps developing ever more sophisticated and mysterious ways of spending money, only to find out again and again how hard it is to lose money when you have it.
- Pryor wrote, directed and starred in JO JO DANCER, YOUR LIFE IS CALLING (1986) about a worker comic who grew up in a brothel just to become one of the most respected entertainers of his generation. Sticking to the details of his own life, Pryor produced an amazingly personal film, one of the unsung masterpieces of autobiographical cinema.
- In his final role, Pryor plays a small part in David Lynch’s The Mysterious ABANDONED MOTORWAY (David Lynch, 1997). As a fascinating, experimental introduction to Lynch’s filmography, the film revolves around a saxophonist who is tormented by the murder of his wife and the mysterious figures who seem to follow him everywhere.
Sales dates: Tickets for the season are now available to BFI members and will be on sale to the general public on August 5th.