As a kid it seemed Richard Pryor was everywhere. I’d turn on my TV, and see him on channel 4 in Silver Streak or Brewster’s Millions turn on Comedy Central and see some old Pryor routine in the middle of the night. The man was a legend, and by the 90’s that legend was firmly established. Time Life who put together some of, if not the greatest DVD compilations going have just released The Ultimate Richard Pryor Collection. This collection is THIRTEEN DISCS of pure Pryor broken out into 3 sections.

The first volume contains all 4 of his concert films, which are sheet unadulterated brilliance. These contain Here and Now, Live and Smokin’, Live on the Sunset Strip, and Live in Concert, plus interviews are much more. The second volume contains a slew of TV episodes featuring Pryor including 3 episodes of the Tonight Show, 4 on Merv Griffin, 5 of his own show, plus tributes and documentaries and an intense amount of more Pryor. The set is rounded off with a documentary called I am Pryor.

I’ll admit I did not have the time to go through all 13 discs, but skipping through the set was a true delight. So much familiar here. This set brought the laughs, and the nostalgia to a time in comedy that feels all to recent, and also far gone. As an A/V focused site I will say the visuals are presented 480p SD in 1:33:1 transfers and look solid for what they are. I assume the TV footage cannot be improved upon from what is here, so this is probably the best you will ever see the contents as such this comes RECOMMENDED.