As others have said, this is the best stand-up performance ever recorded. It sounds like an exaggeration, but it's not. Pryor is a comedic genius, and you can see his influence in every comedian since. He sets the standard. His facial expressions, acting abilities, delivery, etc., are all top-notch, and he can make even mundane topics such as walking through the woods pee-your-pants hilarious (in fact, he spends a long time talking about the woods, which is a bit puzzling, but hey, it's funny). He also covers completely unrelated topics such as dogs, drugs, family life, boxing, and sex... all the while being hysterically funny. The guy is amazing, and I recommend this to anyone who enjoys stand-up comedy.

A concert film of standup comedian Richard Pryor, recorded live at the Terrace Theatre in Long Beach, California.

There are some artists who are so original, fearless and groundbreaking that they inspire and influence almost every other artist in their field who comes after them. This is how I think of Richard Pryor - the comedian's comedian. This concert showcases him at the top of his game with an electrifying performance; a nonstop riff on sex, families, racism, drugs, the police, death, pets, boxing and the great outdoors. Pryor pours everything he has into it, whether it be recreating a heart attack onstage, demonstrating the correct method for falling over when knocked out, delivering the most perfectly timed gag about a hunting rifle, or an amazing moment where he becomes a child lying about a breakage which I absolutely guarantee will have tears streaming down your cheeks. As with all great comedy, the writing and artistry behind this is seamless and invisible, almost as if Pryor just strolled on and made it all up. It's impossible to see how he moves from one topic to the next or to watch him perform for even a minute without being swept up in his rap. The man was simply a genius. The film itself epitomises his daring; nobody had ever released a major theatrical feature of a standup comedy performance before and no movie studio wanted it. Instead it was released independently, was a smash hit and went on to become one of the most successful comedy videotapes of all time. Followed by two more concert films (made by Columbia) - Live On The Sunset Strip in 1982 and Here And Now in 1983. Pryor had many problems in his life, but there is no denying the natural talent with which he clawed himself up from nothing into a trailblazing comedy superstar who influenced everybody from Eddie Murphy to Eddie Izzard. Witness that talent with this fantastic time capsule of his comic brilliance.

This was the first time a stand-up comedian was filmed doing his act, and most people predicted that it would fail. Bill Sargent had the idea of filming Pryor's act, but since most of the industry thought it would flop, they had trouble getting anyone to distribute it, so a few mavericks in the industry distributed it themselves. It was cheap to make, all the profits would be gravy, and the men who made it believed that people would respond to Richard Pryor's act. Video was just coming out and would soon be a force, and Pryor was at the top of his game, and the gamble paid off. Now we take for granted watching stand-up comedy on TV and everywhere else, but at the time bringing a comedy routine to the big screen, especially one as raunchy as Pryor's, was considered a huge risk.

But Pryor is on fire in front of his audience. He's honest and raw, and doesn't pull any punches. And because of that you'll laugh so hard your gut will bust. But when you watch this film it is of interest to realize that at the time it was filmed there was no "Def Comedy Jam." There was no Bill Cosby "Himself." That all came after this. Richard Pryor and a few daring producers brought this genre to life with this one act, and had it not been so incredibly good, it might not have become the money making and entertaining part of the industry that it is today.

When you watch this you can know you're watching the first and the best.