Set up and wrongfully accused, two best friends will be sent to prison for a crime they didn't commit. However, no prison cell could keep them locked in.
A minor league baseball player has to spend thirty million dollars in thirty days, in order to inherit three hundred million dollars. However, he's not allowed to tell anyone about the deal.
George has been in a mental hospital for three 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 ... See full summary »
Joe Braxton is an ex-con who has been given a second chance to freedom after violating his probation. He has been hired by a school teacher named Vivian Perry to repair and drive an old ... See full summary »
Directors:
Oz Scott,
Michael Schultz
Stars:
Richard Pryor,
Cicely Tyson,
Angel Ramirez Jr.
Completely innocent man, Michael Jordon, is drawn into a web of government secrets when a girl carrying a mysterious package gets into a taxi with him. When she's later murdered, Michael becomes the chief suspect and goes on the run.
A neurotic baker travels to Hollywood to attend a talent search for an actor to rival the great Valentino. Although not an actor, through blind luck he succeeds, to a certain degree.
Con man Kevin Lennihan, framed in a jewel smuggling, tries for an insanity plea, and is sent to a hospital for review, where he is confused for a doctor and takes over the hospital when a major storm hits.
Director:
Michael Apted
Stars:
Richard Pryor,
Rachel Ticotin,
Rubén Blades
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.
Skip and Harry are framed for a bank robbery and end up in a western prison. The two eastern boys are having difficulty adjusting to the new life until the warden finds that Skip has a natural talent for riding broncos with the inter-prison rodeo coming up.Written by
John Vogel <jlvogel@comcast.net>
Blade changes position before/after the bull chases Harry. He is standing next to the gate before the bull is released, but in front of the number 3 on the next gate after the bull is released. See more »
Quotes
[first lines]
Skip Donahue:
Who needs Hollywood? I hear they're really nuts out there.
[singing]
Skip Donahue:
Give me a town like old New York, With lots of trees and clean fresh air, I need a place where love is everywhere, They say I'm Crazy, just a little bit out of whack...
See more »
Alternate Versions
A piece of music in the scene where Skip and Harry make their getaway and notice Len and Meredith coming towards them was heard on the theatrical and video version, but not the 1999 DVD. It's restored on the Blu-Ray by Image Entertainment. See more »
Stir Crazy is directed by Sidney Poitier and written by Bruce Jay Friedman. It stars Gene Wilder, Richard Pryor, Miguel Angel Suarez, Georg Stanford Brown, JoBeth Williams and Erland Van Lidth. Plot has Pryor and Wilder as two care free New York buddies who after getting fired from their jobs decide to make their way to Hollywood in search of better fortunes. However, after taking up a gig as promotional woodpeckers for a bank's advertisement drive, they find themselves framed for robbing the bank and sentenced to 125 years each in prison ..
The second pairing of Wilder and Pryor proves to be the best of their output on film. With their chemistry skin tight, film is full of laughs until a big slow down for the last third when the inevitable attempt at a prison break out occurs. Poitier's direction isn't up to anything other than correctly letting his two lead stars strut their stuff. But along with writer Friedman, he has to be accountable for letting the comedy dry up as the film chooses tension over humour which undoubtedly doesn't sit at all right. Still, the first hour is a joy ride, particularly once the guys land in prison, here the comedy reaches its peak and the contrast of the two characters played by Wilder and Pryor really mines the set-up for all is worth. Wilder is oblivious to the hazards of prison life, Pryor is street savvy and fully aware of the perils around every brick walled corner.
Naturally there's a hope on the horizon, which here comes in the form of Rodeo skills, this too brings the laughs, as does the number of prison characters that join in the plot. Notably Van Lidth's monstrous, and monstrously funny, Grossberger. Yes it's a roll call of prison stereotypes, from the top where the morally dubious Warden (Barry Corbin) sits, down to the cons where gays, bullies and gate happy loonies reside. With that, some of it now seems twee and badly out of date. So much so it's a film that is unlikely to garner a new and appreciative audience. However, those who were enamoured and found themselves laughing heartily with it back in the early 80s, should find that like myself, it holds up real well. Kind of like an old friend you call on when you need a pick me up. Hardly a superior comedy classic, then, but a film that rewards its fans on each subsequent revisit. 7/10
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Stir Crazy is directed by Sidney Poitier and written by Bruce Jay Friedman. It stars Gene Wilder, Richard Pryor, Miguel Angel Suarez, Georg Stanford Brown, JoBeth Williams and Erland Van Lidth. Plot has Pryor and Wilder as two care free New York buddies who after getting fired from their jobs decide to make their way to Hollywood in search of better fortunes. However, after taking up a gig as promotional woodpeckers for a bank's advertisement drive, they find themselves framed for robbing the bank and sentenced to 125 years each in prison ..
The second pairing of Wilder and Pryor proves to be the best of their output on film. With their chemistry skin tight, film is full of laughs until a big slow down for the last third when the inevitable attempt at a prison break out occurs. Poitier's direction isn't up to anything other than correctly letting his two lead stars strut their stuff. But along with writer Friedman, he has to be accountable for letting the comedy dry up as the film chooses tension over humour which undoubtedly doesn't sit at all right. Still, the first hour is a joy ride, particularly once the guys land in prison, here the comedy reaches its peak and the contrast of the two characters played by Wilder and Pryor really mines the set-up for all is worth. Wilder is oblivious to the hazards of prison life, Pryor is street savvy and fully aware of the perils around every brick walled corner.
Naturally there's a hope on the horizon, which here comes in the form of Rodeo skills, this too brings the laughs, as does the number of prison characters that join in the plot. Notably Van Lidth's monstrous, and monstrously funny, Grossberger. Yes it's a roll call of prison stereotypes, from the top where the morally dubious Warden (Barry Corbin) sits, down to the cons where gays, bullies and gate happy loonies reside. With that, some of it now seems twee and badly out of date. So much so it's a film that is unlikely to garner a new and appreciative audience. However, those who were enamoured and found themselves laughing heartily with it back in the early 80s, should find that like myself, it holds up real well. Kind of like an old friend you call on when you need a pick me up. Hardly a superior comedy classic, then, but a film that rewards its fans on each subsequent revisit. 7/10