Life of Pryor: The Richard Pryor Story (2006)

In the seventies Richard Pryor was making guidelines for stand up comedy (and much more), that many will look up-to to this present day. He knew how to tell a joke, no matter how "hot" the topic was (the hotter, the better in fact) and to still get the maximum laugh effect, combined with a "point taken" effect in the mind of the viewer. He loved provocation, because of the opportunity to talk (through humor) about subjects that needed to be talked, and never just for a cheap shock or a simple laugh.

Offcourse, most of the really great comedians, didn't become great, because of the comfy life they enjoyed.

This BBC documentary tells the story, through voices and memories of closest Pryor's friends and family, about talent, rise to fame, but foremost about the man himself. The story is told in the way Pryor did his routine: with honesty and sincerity from all the participants even when it comes to the painful moments (there's a lot of them). No dark or light subject in his life is left untold. Author of this film is an obvious fan of the man and does his job with passion of a fan. This is probably the best documentary on the subject of Pryor's life, personality and major work and is another proud gem in the BBC's crown of documentary and biopic films.

If you like Richard Pryor, but don't no much about him, this is your meeting card. If you only heard about this comic and want to know what's the big deal, you owe to yourself to see this great documentary, about a real person with all his good and bad sides.

The film is somewhat short with length under an hour.

10/10