Eddie Murphy Delirious

(aka 'Delirious')

Directed by Bruce Gowers
USA 1983

Richard Pryor was Eddie Murphy's (and many others) standup comedy icon and his, 1 hour 10 minute, Delirious performed at Constitution Hall in Washington DC in 1983 ranks as good as some of Pryor's best ever work. Murphy delivered, debatably, one of the most memorable standup routines in comedy history. It is extremely foul-mouthed, very explicit and offensive to many (he uses the word "f-word" 230 times) but his impressions - Elvis, Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, Mr. T or James Brown to name a few - and his commend of the audience with his confidence and charisma are unforgettable to those who have had the opportunity to have seen it. Delirious assisted launching Murphy's career at the time of both Trading Places (1983) and 48 Hrs. (1982) by helping escalate him into super-stardom with Beverly Hills Cop (1984) which went on to cover its estimated 15 million dollar budget in its first weekend of release and, with rentals, grossed somewhere over 300 million. Delirious is a little dated - giving it a nostalgic appeal - but is all the richer for being saved for posterity on DVD. Certainly something that is very adult in nature but has immense repeat viewing value. It is about as 'funny' as 'funny' can be.

Gary W. Tooze

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DVD Review: Anchor Bay - Region 2 - NTSC

DVD Box Cover		CLICK to order from:
Distribution	Anchor Bay - Region 2 - NTSC
	Also available in a Region 1, NTSC edition:
Runtime	1:08:48
Video	1.33:1 Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 8.7 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate:
Audio	English (Dolby Digital 2.0), English (Dolby Digital 5.1) , English (DTS)
Subtitles	English (hoh), None
Features	Release Information: Studio: Anchor Bay Ent. UK Aspect Ratio: Original Aspect Ratio 1.33:1 Edition Details: • 2 deleted scenes (about 4:00) • Exclusive Brand New Eddie Murphy Interview (34:24) DVD Release Date: March 26th, 2007 Keep Case Chapters: 12

Comments:

Firstly my screener copy is definitely region 2 and NTSC but I suspect the one issued to the public in the UK will be PAL (also region 2). This appears to be exactly the same as the edition released in North America with menus and extras being the same. It will probably be an unconverted port.

The image is not exceptional but I recall weakness even in the VHS tape we watched many years ago. It appears that the source for this particular performance was inherently weak. The 1:33 transfer is interlaced, but is reproduced with the same inferiorities - softness most probably present in the master. This will look best via a CRT (cathode ray tube) system. We are given audio options of 2.0 track as well as bumped 5.1 and DTS. There are optional English subtitles.

There are some extras - 2 brief 'additional scenes' entitled 'Buckwheat Request' and 'Cursing Through Can't Fight' - they last about 4 minutes in total. There is also a very good 35 minute interview with Eddie Murphy by Byron Allen. He talked about how he started standup at 15 years old and his admiration for Richard Pryor. He also relates some of the specifics of the routine - his worst and best set ever.

Overall I'd say be prepared that the image quality is not what you might hope for but the content remains as funny as you might remember. This is great to have on DVD to bring out when you are in the mood without or with friends who may share the ribald humor.

Gary W. Tooze

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