Tag Archives: stand-up comedy

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The Bootleg Files: Woody Allen

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BOOTLEG FILES 853: “Woody Allen” (1965 British television special).

LAST SEEN: On YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: Not yet.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: A performance rights clearance issue.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Not likely.

On February 10, 1965, British television audiences who tuned into ITV had their first look at Woody Allen, who starred in an eponymous one-off television special. Most viewers that night probably thought “Woody Who?” – he was unknown in Britain and his fame in his own country was mostly limited to occasional appearances on television talk shows and in clubs that featured up-and-coming stand-up comics.
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The Films of Richard Pryor: A Second Look

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Richard Pryor is widely regarded as the greatest stand-up comic, yet his film output was erratic and he often showed himself to be a better dramatic actor than a movie funnyman. On this episode of “The Online Movie Show,” ArmchairCinema.com’s Jerry Dean Roberts discusses Pryor’s strange but often invigorating film career.

The episode can be heard here.

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Lenny Bruce On Film

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Lenny Bruce had a profound impact on modern comedy, but he was a somewhat elusive figure when it came appearances in film and television. On this episode of “The Online Movie Show,” film historian Paul Scrabo discusses Bruce’s work as a 20th Century Fox screenwriter, his writing and acting in the under-the-radar “Dream Follies” and “Dance Hall Racket,” and the censorship problems that limited his screen time and, ultimately, fueled his early death.

The episode can be heard here.

“The Online Movie Show” is produced at the Platinum Wolfe Studios.