There’s a curious relationship at work in Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor. The former is sensitive, gentle and excitable with a broiling undercurrent of demented anger under the surface, ready to hurl itself out at the slightest provocation. The latter is coarse, rude and panicky, with a veneer of affable anger on the surface that floats away swiftly in the first moments of confrontation.

It’s good cop, bad cop one minute and bad cop, good cop the next. The two are always on opposite ends of their comedic chain, one being straight man, one being wild eyed renegade and then instantly switching back again. It’s incredible. It’s like a good marriage, where only one partner may be insane at any given moment. Pryor and Wilder worked together in many films, with the headline vehicle of this set, the hilarious Stir Crazy being perhaps their most popular and most widely recognised. The other two films in See No Evil, Hear No Evil and Another You are also worthy inclusions that well fill out the three film set.

One thing I think we can all be sure of is there aren’t likely to be any more films from this incredible double act. Fans of the duo’s amazing chemistry and innate ability to understand each other will enjoy this set as a well constructed eternal testimony to their genius.

The Sony DVD Center continue to produce amazing quality DVDs from older film stock and this set is certainly no exception. Beautifully delivered with amazing clarity (given Stir Crazy is 23 years old) and very clean sound make all three of these productions look as good, if not better, than they ever have.

The audio quality of the DVDs are exemplary with every humourous aside, every quip and every vulgar insult coming at us the way the maker intended (and then some). Gene Wilder’s occasional bursts of song are all beautifully delivered as are Richard Pryor’s angry deliveries, belligerent abuses or barely heard prayers. In fact, the sound is so impressive, I picked up some lines I’d only heard on video years ago and could never quite make out, so I even got something new from these DVDs.

As to extras, unfortunately we don’t get a lot. An audio commentary from the pair or at least a director would have been awesome. Some recent interviews or reflections would have solidly cast this set in bronze, but we must make do with the limited trailers, making of and several filmographies and talent profiles we do get. While these are appreciated, the repeat of the trailer for See No Evil is a bit insulting. However, the three films are all Wilder and Pryor doing what they do best, which is making us laugh, and so hopefully the strength of these classics will stand alone.

And so, as a remaining testament to the Wilder/Pryor genius, this set is pretty good as far as sets go. Another film in there like Silver Streak would have made it a guaranteed best seller, as would a commentary or a recent featurette. However, the films are why we love them and as such, they do have the strength to stand alone and be acknowledged.

This is by far the most fun box set I’ve had to review to date and if they were all this funny and touching, I’d be a happy reviewer. If you’re a fan, you don’t need me to tell you how great they are and if you’re unfamiliar with the duo, you could do a lot worse than use these three films as your introduction. So I guess I’m recommending this box set.

Enjoy!