One of the most notorious, beloved and requested releases finally comes to DVD.
Forget Star Wars. Forget Indiana Jones. The DVD I've been waiting for is Eddie Murphy's legendary concert from 1983, Delirious. In the near-decade since DVD first hit the mainstream, most of the requested DVDs (including those aforementioned trilogies above) have hit shelves and been added to fans' collections. But Delirious, which has achieved almost mythic status at this point (the out of print video had been going for up to $200 on Ebay), has remained entirely unavailable in any format for more than a decade. Was it because it was too over-the-top and offensive? Was it deemed inappropriate for Murphy's career considering his family-friendly status of modern times? There are conflicting reports, but the laughs will now drown out those discussions because... IT. IS. HERE!
The ice cream man, G.I. Joe, Mr. T, Gooly goo goo, "Now that's a fire!" and on and on and on... Some of the greatest, most fondly remembered and horribly imitated comedy bits of the past two decades are finally available for all to enjoy. For those who haven't seen Delirious, go out and buy this disc immediately. Don't rent it, because it will become a staple party video of your collection.
If you are easily offended, well, you might as well stop reading this now. If you best know Eddie Murphy as that sweet-natured funnyman from movies like Dr. Doolittle, Haunted Mansion and Shrek, you'll be in for a bit of a wake up call. Eddie Murphy used to be rude, crude and wonderfully offensive. Bill Cosby himself even once told Murphy that his act was too crude (some might remember Murphy's reference to this in Raw).
I first saw Delirious as a kid and I couldn't get enough. I watched it over and over, partially because it was so hysterical and partially because it was sooo dirty that it was kind of forbidden territory for a kid my age. This wasn't just language, this was subject matter you couldn't talk about.
Delirious is a masterpiece of comedy that stands the test of time as, for my money, the greatest stand up show ever committed to film. Murphy himself will cite some of Richard Pryor's or Bill Cosby's performances as influences that he considers superior, but I still say Delirious is the best. I can appreciate the others, but nothing has ever made me laugh harder than Murphy's spot on impressions of Ralph Kramden, Ricky Ricardo, Mr. T, Michael Jackson and Elvis Presley; his tales of childhood innocence racing to the ice cream man, bathing with his brothers playing G.I. Joe and family cookouts.
Delirious is finally on DVD and I couldn't be happier. Now, I've got to go watch it again.
ReelzChannel Rating: 
What's on the disc:
Most of us are just happy to see this movie on DVD, but there are a few good extras:
First are two deleted scenes from the show running under five minutes. They are funny, but not really on par with the rest of the show.
The biggest feature is a lengthy (I think it runs about 35 minutes) recent interview with Murphy conducted by Byron Allen. Although Byron Allen may not be the most probing, investigative journalist out there, the interview is interesting for the fact that it is entirely focused on the early portion of Murphy's career and his thoughts on Delirious.
Murphy is considered a bit of a recluse these days. He doesn't do a lot of press in general and almost never discusses this X-rated portion of his career. When an uncensored historical book on Saturday Night Live entitled "Live From New York" was released in 2003, only Murphy and Dennis Miller declined to be interviewed. As a fan of Murphy's earlier work who has been hoping for years to see him one day return to the adult movie world, I'm glad to hear his thoughts on this time period. He was great in Dreamgirls (proving that he has some real acting talent) and it would be nice if he took this chance to move forward into a new phase of his career. Looking at his upcoming movie slate, that probably doesn't appear too likely.
Murphy does at least tell Allen that he might return to the stage one day for another stand-up show. It would be really interesting to see which Eddie Murphy showed up. You've just gotta believe that that somewhere deep inside today's family-safe Eddie Murphy, that dirty-as-hell kid that made us laugh so hard is just busting to run free once again. We'll see.