The film was shot at the Terrace Theater in Long Beach, California[1] on December 10, 1978. It was produced and distributed independently, and was the first full-length feature movie consisting of only stand-up comedy.[4] The double album Wanted: Live in Concert was recorded at other dates during the same tour, and features much of the same material included in the film.[citation needed]
In her review of Richard Pryor Live in Concert, Pauline Kael commented, "Probably the greatest of all recorded-performance films. Pryor had characters and voices bursting out of him .... Watching this mysteriously original physical comedian you can't account for his gift and everything he does seems to be for the first time."[6]Eddie Murphy has called it "the single greatest stand-up performance ever captured on film."[7]
In 2021, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".[8]
