For me, the world of cinema has many types of films. There are bad movies, tons of them, horrendous ones, tons of them too, good movies, and movies that become part of the collection of basic cinema classics. And these essential films don’t necessarily have to be good; they’re different things. For me, movies that entertain me again and again, even after I’ve seen them more than 20 times, are basic classics. It’s that simple. I don’t mind if it’s low-budget; the important thing is that I can rely on it when I need it.
Today I’m going to remember one of these classics, the unforgettable See No Evil, Hear No Evil. You might remember it, as it’s one of the many films that comedians Richard Pryor and Gene Wilder made together. Their story was hilarious, and although at the time it was considered one of the worst films starring the duo, I always loved it.
The Movie
In the film, Richard Pryor plays Wally Karue, a blind man desperately looking for work. Gene Wilder, meanwhile, plays Dave Lyons, a deaf man who owns a store. The two characters meet in Lyons’ store, where he eventually hires Karue. Shortly after, as the deaf man leaves the scene, a man appears and hides a very valuable coin. A femme fatale then appears, searching for the coin and killing the person who had hidden it.
The pair are unaware of this, but Wally hears a gunshot. Shortly after, the duo finds the body on the floor and is arrested. They soon escape and encounter the killers, who are trying to recover the coin. From there, a series of incredible adventures begin in which their limited skills must be combined to escape alive.
The film has some truly brilliant moments. When the pair are arrested and Dave is taken into the police station, we have a brilliant scene. All of them play on the protagonists’ deafness and blindness, which combined are truly extraordinary. But the chemistry between the two actors also plays a notable role. Not to mention that among the supporting cast is a young Kevin Spacey, playing one of the story’s villains.
The Cast
The director was Arthur Miller, who had previously worked with the comedy couple on Chicago Express, another comedy worth mentioning. The director’s last film was Pucked (from the National Lampoon series) with Bon Jovi, David Faustino, and Cary Elwes. Gene Wilder passed away on August 29, 2016, but before that, we’d seen him in several episodes of Will & Grace playing Mr. Stein. And Richard Pryor, as we’ve already mentioned, died in 2005 of a heart attack.
Although Pryor had a rather difficult life in his later years, battling multiple sclerosis and making it clear through his website that he could still fight, the truth is that both left behind an enormous legacy. In addition to his numerous stand-up CDs, Pryor also published several books, live recordings of his performances, and dozens of films. He has influenced most of today’s comedians. For his part, Gene Wilder also wrote his memoirs in an interesting book titled Kiss Me Like A Stranger: My Search for Love and Art.
Last Words
With films like See No Evil, Hear No Evil we can appreciate the excellent work of the two lead actors, who were, for a long time, the kings of comedy. Their great acting efforts yielded great results, and to achieve this, Pryor and Dave attended schools for the blind and deaf to learn and study their behavior. This can be seen throughout the film in Pryor’s face, which is convincing without ever breaking character. Classic!
