7.4 | / 10 |
Users | 2.5 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 2.8 |
The movie opens with Eddie as a young boy, entertaining and eventually shocking his family with some decidedly nasty jokes. What follows is 90 minutes of some of the harshest and strongest stand-up you'll ever see. Filmed in 1987 at the Felt Forum in New York City, Eddie Murphy Raw stands as one of the finest comedy concert films ever made.Eddie covers his favourite topics - sex, money and women. He uses his mouth as a comedic weapon, and his skills as an impersonator are equally as impressive. Eddie’s takes on Richard Pryor and Bill Cosby are hilarious, with some of his best material revolving around his own family.
Starring: Eddie Murphy, Tatyana Ali, J.D. Hall, Samuel L. Jackson, Kim WayansComedy | 100% |
Dark humor | 17% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
English
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 0.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Eddie Murphy was an icon of the 1980s, standing apart from the crowded field as both one of the top movie stars of the decade and one of the most beloved comedians of the time. While he is certainly best known for his roles in films like Beverly Hills Cop, 48 Hrs, and Coming to America: his biggest hits from his 80s heyday (we'll forgive and forget more recent duds, and curiously more family-friendly fare, like The Adventures of Pluto Nash and The Haunted Mansion). Yet even in that string of hit after hit, Murphy's stand-up comedy was also of note. Eddie Murphy: Raw is the high point of his stand-up comedy, a theatrically released 1987 film that cemented Murphy's viability as a top performer of his time. The film is crude, no doubt about it, and certainly not for sensitive ears. Yet Murphy rolls with the coarse language and humorous dynamics that see him hit on everything from sex to celebrity, often within the same sentence.
The arrival.
Eddie Murphy: Raw looks fairly good, all things considered, on Blu-ray. The 1080p image shows the fundamentals of its filmic lineage by presenting a good, if not slightly clumpy, grain structure throughout the film. It's plenty clear, though to be sure the dark stage limits many opportunities for definition beyond Murphy and his attire. Clarity is always good and color balance in the comedy segments (read: most of the movie) is fine, even if the background shadows teeter on crush. Still, the blacks are nice and deep and the spotlight on Murphy allows for good juxtaposition that pulls the focus to him for the whole of the film. The blue and black outfit offers deep enough color reproduction, while skin tones appear natural. The prologue at family Thanksgiving gathering offers pleasing filmic characteristic and more ample opportunity to soak in the era-specific clothing and home furnishings. Grain is consistent here, too, clarity is solid, and colors are a little soft but nicely balanced. There are no serious print issues or encode flaws of which to speak. This may not be the highest quality Blu-ray in existence, but most fans and videophiles should be pleased enough with the look and feel of this vintage, shot-on-film, stand-up comedy motion picture.
Paramount releases Eddie Murphy: Raw to Blu-ray with a very good DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 lossless soundtrack. While some fans will be itching for a more modern (read: more channels) mix, the 2.0 track is unquestionably and undeniably stout, offering exceptional definition to, and prodigious volume of, the opening title music and some of the frenzied components accompanying it. The music is a highlight for its vigorous offering and exceptional front-end stretch. While it might lack the absolute elegance of the finest recordings, its vitality and effort are hard to top. There is good separation between the channels and very wide push; there's none of this stunted sound or fear of stretch that too many 2.0 tracks share in common. The crowd applause and a few examples of assembled crowd din outside the show are healthy and impactful with, again, satisfyingly wide front stretch. Of course, the main element here is Murphy's speech, which plays with excellent clarity no matter how he adjusts his voice. The speech is always clear and refined with an impressively grounded front-center imaging stability.
This Blu-ray release of Eddie Murphy: Raw contains no supplemental content. The main menu screen only offers options for "Play" and "Subtitles." No DVD or digital copies are included with purchase. This release does not ship with a slipcover. It's just about as bare bones as they come.
Eddie Murphy: Raw remains one of the preeminent standup comedy shows of the past few decades. Murphy's jokes are no doubt crude and in 2024 is absolutely guaranteed to offend many who hear the jokes with modernly attuned ears and see the show with more contemporarily lensed eyes, but those offended can rest assured that the show was hard-hitting -- indeed very raw -- even in 1987 when the film first aired. Love it or hate it, there is no questioning that Raw is a modern comedy classic that is sure to bedazzle, and maybe even bewilder, all these decades later. Paramount's Bu-ray is unfortunately featureless (and just about as bare-bones as a Blu-ray comes), but the video and audio presentations are rock-solid. This is a definite buy for fans.
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