A tormented jazz musician finds himself lost in an enigmatic story involving murder, surveillance, gangsters, doppelgängers, and an impossible transformation inside a prison cell.
A documentary film about the Afro-American Woodstock concert held in Los Angeles seven years after the Watts riots. Director Mel Stuart mixes footage from the concert with footage of the living conditions in the current-day Watts neighborhood.
A murder takes place in the shop of David Lyons, a deaf man who fails to hear the gunshot being fired. Outside, blind man Wally Karue hears the shot, but cannot see the perpetrator. Both are arrested, but escape to form an unlikely partnership. Being chased by both the law AND the original killers, can the pair work together to outwit them all?
Monty Brewster, an aging minor-league baseball player, stands to inherit $300 million if he can successfully spend $30 million in 30 days without anything to show for it, and without telling anyone what he's up to... A task that's a lot harder than it sounds!
One of comedian Richard Pryor's later stand-up performances. As foul-mouthed as ever, Pryor touches on most of the same topics as in his previous live shows. Filmed at the Saenger Theatre in New Orleans.
Richard Pryor's stand-up act includes his frank discussion about his freebasing addiction, as well as the infamous night on June 9, 1980 that he caught on fire.
A somewhat daffy book editor on a rail trip from Los Angeles to Chicago thinks that he sees a murdered man thrown from the train. When he can find no one who will believe him, he starts doing some investigating of his own. But all that accomplishes is to get the killer after him.
Richard Pryor delivers monologues on race, sex, family and his favorite target—himself, live at the Terrace Theatre in Long Beach, California.
After ex-con Joe Braxton violates his probation, he is given a second chance. All he has to do is drive a group of special kids across the country.
New Yorkers Skip Donahue and Harry Monroe have no jobs and no prospects, so they decide to flee the city and find work elsewhere, landing jobs wearing woodpecker costumes to promote the opening of a bank. When their feathery costumes are stolen and used in a bank robbery, they no longer have to worry about employment — they're sent to prison.
Chronicles the rise and fall of legendary blues singer Billie Holiday, beginning with her traumatic youth. The story depicts her early attempts at a singing career and her eventual rise to stardom, as well as her difficult relationship with Louis McKay, her boyfriend and manager. Casting a shadow over even Holiday's brightest moments is the vocalist's severe drug addiction, which threatens to end both her career and her life.
George has been in a mental hospital for 3 years and is finally ready to go out into the real world again. Eddie Dash, a dedicated con-man, is supposed to keep him out of trouble, but when people begin to recognise George as a missing millionaire, Eddie wants to take advantage of the situation.
Orange picker Leroy Jones inadvertently becomes a union leader and is forced out of town, leaving behind his sex-obsessed father, Rufus, and timid spouse, Annie Mae. He heads for Los Angeles, where he falls for union organizer Vanetta. Annie Mae seeks solace from local preacher Lenox Thomas, who eventually impregnates her. When Leroy catches wind, he heads home for a showdown with Lenox.
Eddie is a con artist. When he's framed and comes before a judge, he hopes to get off the hook by claiming insanity—but instead ends up in a hospital for a mental assessment. That night, a storm causes a power failure and, in the ensuing chaos, Eddie is mistaken for a doctor and suddenly finds himself in charge of the hospital.
A racist officer is put in charge of an all-black squad of troops charged with the mission of blowing up an important hydro-dam in Nazi Germany. Their failure would delay the Allies' advance into Germany, thus prolonging the war.
On one of his bratty son Eric's annual visits, the plutocrat U.S. Bates takes him to his department store and offers him anything in it as a gift. Eric chooses a black janitor who has made him laugh with his antics. At first the man suffers many indignities as Eric's "toy", but gradually teaches the lonely boy what it is like to have and to be a friend.
Dorothy Gale, a shy kindergarten teacher, is swept away to the magic land of Oz where she embarks on a quest to return home.
The life story of Richard Pryor (1940-2005), the legendary performer and iconic social satirist who transcended racial and social barriers with his honest, irreverent and biting humor.
Harvey and Zoey, two tourists in Israel, discover an ancient scroll about Herschel, the man who was almost Moses. Herschel receives the command from God to free his people from slavery, but Moses keeps getting all the credit.
'Sugar' Ray is the owner of an illegal casino and must contend with the pressure of vicious gangsters and corrupt police who want to see him go out of business. In the world of organised crime and police corruption in the 1920s, any dastardly trick is fair.
Aiming to defeat the Man of Steel, wealthy executive Ross Webster hires bumbling but brilliant Gus Gorman to develop synthetic kryptonite, which yields some unexpected psychological effects. Between rekindling romance with his high school sweetheart and saving himself, Superman must contend with a powerful supercomputer.
The misadventures of four groups of guests at the Beverly Hills Hotel.
This documentary praises comedian Richard Pryor by showing fragments of various shows Pryor made and having famous comedians talk about the importance and greatness of Pryor. Different themes are reviewed this way. Among others, they are the use of the word nigger, the way Pryor talked about racism, the fact Pryor talked openly about his own faults on-stage and the fact he didn't mince matters.
Mel Brooks: Make a Noise journeys through Brooks’ early years in the creative beginnings of live television — with Sid Caesar on Your Show of Shows — to the film genres he so successfully satirized in Young Frankenstein, Blazing Saddles, High Anxiety, and Spaceballs — to the groundbreaking Broadway musical version of his first film, The Producers. The documentary also delves into his professional and personal ups and downs — his childhood, his first wife and subsequent 41-year marriage to Anne Bancroft — capturing a never-before-heard sense of reflection and confession.
The true life story of Wendell Scott, the first black stock car racing driver to win an upper-tier NASCAR race.
Arlo accepts what seems to him to be a dream promotion to Idaho. He soon discovers, however, that moving has its own share of problems.
Top baseball pitcher Bingo Long is fed up with how his Negro League team owner treats him, so he forms his own lineup, recruiting big-hitting Leon Carter and Charlie Snow, who dreams of playing in the majors. Boycotted by black teams, Long's outfit play minor league white teams, earning more attention as entertainers than as players. However, their success wins them a chance to play again in the Negro League, this time as equals.
Two blue-collar buddies search the underworld for a winning lottery ticket lost in a nightclub holdup.
Sid Caesar is a bumbling gopher to a mob boss who must recover a fortune in cash stowed in the suit of a corpse.
A recently-released convict becomes the most powerful pimp in Oakland, but tragedy ensues when his activities draw the ire of two corrupt cops and the crime lord he once worked for.
Musician Max Frost lends his backing to a Senate candidate who wants to give 18-year-olds the right to vote, but he takes things a step further than expected. Inspired by their hero's words, Max's fans pressure their leaders into extending the vote to citizens as young as 15. Max and his followers capitalize on their might by bringing new issues to the fore, but, drunk on power, they soon take generational warfare to terrible extremes.
Fed up with mistreatment at the hands of both management and union brass, and coupled with financial hardships on each man's end, three auto assembly line workers hatch a plan to rob a safe at union headquarters.
A Vietnam vet returns home from a prisoner of war camp and is greeted as a hero, but is quickly forgotten and soon discovers how tough survival is in his own country.
A rock band is invented by the government as a cover to find hostages in a remote castle in Albania held by communist enemies of the USA.
Although Jo Jo Dancer has achieved success as a stand-up comedian, he hasn't found happiness. After receiving severe burns in a narcotics-related incident, Jo Jo remains in a coma, and, while in this state, he looks back on his life. Drifting off into memories of his troubled childhood, Jo Jo revisits his youth, recalling his eventual rise to fame and the decadence that followed. As he considers his existence, he must decide if he wants to go on living or not.
Richard Pryor: Live & Smokin' is the first stand-up act of Richard Pryor to be filmed out of the four that were released in total. This film was filmed in 1971 but not released until 1985, on VHS. This was the first stand-up act that Pryor did before he hit the mainstream audience. With only 48 minutes of footage, it is the shortest of Pryor's stand-up routines.
In the late 1950s, a fresh, unconventional style of standup comedy emerged in sharp contrast to the standard "Take my wife, please" approach. It tackled such previously taboo subjects as sex, religion, drugs, and politics, and ushered in an avant-garde era of comedy that was decidedly more cerebral, satirical, and improvisational than before. Here are many of the maverick comedians who took those big risks years ago and paved the way for today’s current crop of outrageous, in-your-face comics. Many of these rare television performances have not been seen in 30 or 40 years. Carl Reiner & Mel Brooks (1966) Jackie Mason (1961) Bob Newhart (1966) Shelly Berman (1966) Bill Cosby (1965) Jonathan Winters (1961) Smothers Brothers (1974) Steve Martin (1977) Rowan & Martin (1964) Lily Tomlin (1975) George Carlin (1967 & 1975) Richard Pryor (1967 & 1974) Andy Kaufman (1977) Hendra & Ullett (1966) Billy Crystal (1976) Jay Leno (1978) David Letterman (1979)
For fans of comedy, Sam Kinison needs no introduction. His scathing comedy tackled tough topics no other comedian dared to touch. Fed up and disenfranchised with his career as a Pentacostal preacher, Sam left the ministry to try his hand at comedy. Almost immediately, and thanks in part to the foresight of Rodney Dangerfield who showcased Sam on an HBO special, his piercing scream, extreme humor and irreverent take on life attracted attention. Containing rare, early footage of Sam preaching and performing stand up at the world famous Comedy Store, the Award Winning "Why Did We Laugh" tells the story of a comedic genius who touched a deeper chord in people than most entertainers. Sadly, Sam was taken from us far too early, yet leaving us with a lasting and unique legacy.
A federal agent whose daughter dies of a heroin overdose is determined to destroy the drug ring that supplied her. He recruits various people whose lives have been torn apart by the drug trade and trains them. Then they all leave for France to track down and destroy the ring.
A naive monk, named Brother Ambrose, is sent by the abbot on a mission to raise $5,000 in order to save their monastery from closing. He goes to Hollywood where he encounters a number of eccentric characters.
A jazz musician falls in love with a comatose woman at a carny sideshow and takes her to his mansion to join his cabinet of sexual curiosities.
In this comedy special, Jon Stewart, John Mulaney, Chelsea Handler and Dave Chappelle honor George Carlin, Joan Rivers, Robin Williams and Richard Pryor.
"Betye Saar: Drifting Toward Twilight" covers renowned American artist Betye Saar’s large-scale work “Drifting Toward Twilight”— commissioned by The Huntington Library, Art Museum, & Botanical Gardens — a site-specific installation that features a 17-foot-long vintage wooden canoe and found objects, including birdcages, antlers, and natural materials harvested by Saar from The Huntington’s grounds. This film renders a portrait of Betye's process at 96 while also reflecting on her life, career, and memories of Pasadena.
A documentary juxtaposing the events of the 20th century with the commentary of stand-up comedians.
Richard Pryor's impact on the craft of comedy and today's top comics is legendary and unrivaled. This program surveys the profound and enduring influence of one of the greatest American comics of all time.
The Muppets gather to watch their newly-finished big-budget rich-and-famous feature film: a talent agent persuades Kermit the Frog to leave the swamp to pursue a career in Hollywood. On his way there, he meets a bear, a pig, a whatever (his future muppet crew), and some special celebrity guest stars, while being chased by the desperate owner of a frog-leg restaurant!
This loving tribute to Gene Wilder celebrates his life and legacy as the comic genius behind an extraordinary string of film roles, from his first collaboration with Mel Brooks in 'The Producers', to the enigmatic title role in the original 'Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory', to his inspired on-screen partnership with Richard Pryor in movies like 'Silver Streak'.
In the fourth installment of the Zeitgeist series, director Peter Joseph explorers the fundamental incompatibility of our economy and the culture it has created with our future survival as a species, while posing solutions based on system’s science and cybernetics.
Two incompetent Western outlaws engineer several failed crimes, including a botched stagecoach holdup. Fred Williamson, a tough-guy perennial in blaxploitation movies, does a rare comedy turn as a blundering patsy to Richard Pryor's slick con man.
Richard Pryor wanders around the NBC Studio, encountering various eccentrics. Meanwhile, the Reverend James L. White, the Ugandan dictator Idi Amin Dada and others are taping their own segments.
Celebrating Sammy Davis Jr 's 60th anniversary in show business, including musical,comic and dancing performers.
A collection of subversive comedy sketches and routines relating to the peace movement.
This documentary treats movie fans to a behind-the-scenes look at the making of Superman III, a more comical take on the superhero story in which the Man of Steel takes on a supercomputer and its bumbling programmer. Included are interviews with the cast and crew who share their experiences from making the film, as well as disscuss the efforts that went into it.
A compilation film of stand up performances and comedy routines featuring some of the biggest stars in the early years of television. This film was directed by Sandy Olivieri. Here is a partial list of the performers who appeared in the film Bob Newhart, Mort Sahl, Jack Benny, Lenny Bruce, Johnny Carson, George Carlin, et al.
This oddball counterculture comedy/drama follows Zalman King through a series of kooky misadventures while he searches for his life's purpose in New York City.
A white man goes on trial for having raped a black woman.
This rapturous documentary steps into the dynamic world of queer stand-up and examines the powerful cultural influence it has had on social change in America. The film combines rare archival materials, stand-up performances, and interviews with a show-stopping lineup to present a definitive history of queer comedy.
Attorney Michael Cannon leaves his Boston law firm to become director of the Neighborhood Law Office, where he guides three law students on a case involving two visiting musicians accused of robbing and beating up a cab driver. TV-pilot that was an ABC Movie of the Week in October of 1969 and then became a TV-series as part of the 1970-71 season.
Co-curated by Jenni Olson and the late Black gay activist Karl Knapper, this entertaining showcase of vintage movie trailers traces the evolution of African American cinema through its most crucial period, 1952-1976. Filled with insights on race and social dynamics, this fascinating compendium of coming attractions explores an extensive range of stylistic approaches—Blaxploitation, Comedy, Music Bio, Plantation Drama and more—offering an outrageous joyride through motion picture history. Beyond mere camp, these marvelously condensed gems crystallize a range of African American identities and personalities, tracking the meteoric careers of Sidney Poitier, James Earl Jones, Billy Dee Williams, Richard Pryor, Pam Grier and others through their bold performances in movies both hugely popular and practically forgotten. Afro Promo provides a compact glimpse at the representation of African Americans through twenty-five dynamic years of American cinema history.
Using a 35mm strip of motion picture slug featuring the recently deceased American comedian Richard Pryor, this extended Rorschach assault on the eyes moves out of a flickering chaos created by incompatible film gauges into a punchline involving historically incompatible racial stereotypes.
Television special taped before a live studio audience at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium in Pasadena, California on March 25, 1983, and broadcast on NBC on May 16. Highlights include Michael Jackson's performance of "Billie Jean", a Temptations/Four Tops "battle of the bands", Marvin Gaye's inspired speech about black music history and his memorable performance of "What's Going On", and a Jackson 5 reunion. This performance is noted for Michael Jackson debuting his signature moonwalk.
Mike Epps, Richard Pryor Jr. and others recount the culture-defining influence of Richard Pryor - one of America's most brilliant, iconic comic minds.
“WINTER, 1973. Late afternoon: the entr'acte between dusk and darkness, when the people who conduct their business in the street -- numbers runners in gray chesterfields, out-of-work barmaids playing the dozens, adolescents cultivating their cigarette jones and lust, small-time hustlers selling ‘authentic’ gold wristwatches that are platinum bright---look for a place to roost and to drink in the day's sin. Young black guy, looks like the comedian Richard Pryor, walks into one of his hangouts, Opal's Silver Spoon Café. A greasy dive with a R & B jukebox, it could be in Detroit or in New York, could be anywhere. Opal's has a proprietor -- Opal, a young and wise black woman, who looks like the comedian Lily Tomlin -- and a little bell over the door that goes tink-a-link, announcing all the handouts and gimmes who come to sit at Opal's counter and talk about how needy their respective asses are.” — Hilton Als
Donna Bon Viant (Belaine) is a college student, who has to complete an assignment on the 14th century for her African American literature class. She chooses to base her writings on The Three Musketeers, a famous novel by Alexandre Dumas, père. Donna begins to read the novel and falls asleep in the process. She dreams a zany dream involving the adventures of "The Three Muscatels". The adventures include a number of people in Donna's life including students in her class, members of her family, and an alcoholic she met earlier in the day named Russell (Pryor).
A two-hour television special on the life of Richard Pryor featuring interviews by those close to him, focusing on his contributions to standup comedy.
TV special starring Lily Tomlin
With his boss in the madhouse, a mobster is temporary boss of the criminal empire just as vicious rivals threaten the control of the empire.
This documentary attempts to go beyond the sensationalized media coverage and the stereotypes to examine several key conflicts from the point of view of both Black and Jewish activists.
This day-in-the-life cult comedy focuses on a group of friends working at Sully Boyar's Car Wash in the Los Angeles ghetto. The team meets dozens of eccentric customers -- including a smooth-talking preacher, a wacky cab driver and an ex-convict -- while cracking politically incorrect jokes to a constant soundtrack of disco and funk. Some of the workers find romance as the day moves along, but most are just happy to get through another shift.
An exploration of the history of the word throughout its inception to present day. Woven into the narrative are poetry, music, and commentary from celebrities about their personal experiences with the word and their viewpoints. Each perspective is unique, as is each experience... some are much more comfortable with the word than others.
A chronicle of the 1975 International Press Conclave hosted by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer over two days in May 1975.
Sesame Street celebrated its 10th anniversary in the spring of 1979 with a half-hour PBS special hosted by James Earl Jones titled A Walking Tour of Sesame Street. The special aired on individual PBS stations at various times between March and May 1979. (Muppet Wiki)
Flip Wilson's stand-up special.
The story of how the radical Huey P. Newton developed the Black Panther Party based on his 10-point program for social reform.
From Disturbing Discoveries to Astonishing Arressts, and Tragic Endings. In this tv-special, E! countdowns the greatest moments in the entertainment industry that shocked the American Public.
Called “quite possible the most intuitively funny woman alive” by the New York Times television critic Jack Gould, this in-depth documentary will feature unprecedented access to Rivers’ own archives including newly unearthed home videos and hundreds of hours of previously unheard comedy recordings and audio tapes as well as interviews with her family, including her daughter Melissa, and her closest confidantes.
In 1975, as America faced social and political upheaval, filmmakers turned chaos into art.
Those who knew iconic funnyman John Candy best share his story, in their own words, through never-before-seen archival footage, imagery, and interviews.
From his Saturday Night Live beginnings to a string of classic comedies, Chevy Chase has always had huge comedic range. He is also a complex and contradictory human being. Featuring revealing interviews with those closest to him, this documentary digs into the talent, flaws, and humanity that shaped an icon.
A thoughtful and humorous navigation of personal conversations on mental health, through the lens of a group therapy session led by some of today's funniest comedians and comic performers.
Saturday Night Live (1975) began as an experimental sketch comedy show, and became an American institution. Five decades later, special guests and some of the original cast members unite with the current cast to celebrate.