The King of Comedy, which flopped at the box office, is actually a gem waiting to be rediscovered. Like A Face in the Crowd (a not-so-distant cousin to this film), Network, and The Truman Show, its target is show business--specifically the burning desire to become famous or be near the famous, no matter what. Robert De Niro plays the emotionally unstable, horrendously untalented Rupert Pupkin, a wannabe Vegas-style comedian. His fantasies are egged-on by Marsha, a talk-show groupie (brilliantly played by Sandra Bernhard) who hatches a devious, sure-to-backfire plan.... Jerry Lewis is terrific in the straight role as the Johnny Carson-like talk-show host Jerry Langford. De Niro's performance as the obsessive Pupkin is among his finest (which is saying a lot) and he never tries to make the character likable in any way. Because there's no hero and no-one to root for, and because at times the film insists we get a little too close and personal with Pupkin, some will be put off. Yet it's one of Scorsese's most original and fascinating films, giving viewers much to consider on the subject of celebrity. Its inevitable climax is clever and quietly horrific. --Christopher J Jarmick [show more]
In a long and much-praised career, Martin Scorsese has become synonymous with a handful of his established masterpieces: Taxi Driver, Goodfellas, Raging Bull, Casino. But he's also had quite a few less-known films that are nevertheless masterpieces in their own right. The King of Comedy is one such film, anchored by a powerhouse Robert DeNiro performance and a story that skewers the show-biz industry and the fakeness of celebrity. DeNiro plays Rupert Pupkin, a wannabe comedian who's obsessed with Jerry Lewis (who plays himself). Pupkin spends his nights in his room on a replica of the Lewis show's set, recording his own material into a tape recorder. But when it comes to trying to get noticed, he's utterly without luck -- Lewis ignores and delays him. Finally, the frustrated Pupkin plots to kidnap Lewis with the help of a crazed stalker (Sarah Bernhardt) in order to force Lewis to give him a slot on TV. The film submerges the audience into Pupkin's crazed mind, to the extent that the hilarious finale, which finally allows the audience an objective look at Pupkin from outside, comes as a complete and satisfying shock. This is a brilliant film, both darkly funny and disturbing, constantly teetering on the edge of total insanity. It's time to expand the canon of Scorsese's accepted masterpieces, and this is definitely the place to start.
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Please note this is a region 2 DVD and will require a region 2 (Europe) or region Free DVD Player in order to play. A joke writer who has never performed anywhere except his mother's basement, Rupert Pupkin (Robert De Niro) dreams of appearing on the 'The Jerry Langford Show' hosted by the king of late night talk shows, Jerry Langford (Jerry Lewis). After relentlessly hounding both Jerry and the show's talent bookers to no avail, he kidnaps the talk show host with the help of his accomplice Masha (Sandra Bernhard) who herself is infatuated with Jerry. Together they hold him hostage in exchange for Pupkin being given a guest spot on the show... Actors Robert De Niro, Jerry Lewis, Diahnne Abbott, Sandra Bernhard & Ed Herlihy Director Martin Scorsese Certificate PG Year 1983 Screen Widescreen 16:9 Anamorphic Languages English - Dolby Digital (2.0) Mono Subtitles Danish ; Finnish ; Norwegian ; Swedish ; English for the hearing impaired Duration 1 hour and 38 minutes (approx) Region Region 2 - Will only play on European Region 2 or multi-region DVD players.
Robert De Niro and Jerry Lewis star in this comedy drama directed by Martin Scorsese. The film follows Rupert Pupkin (De Niro), a man obsessed with becoming a famous comedian by performing his stand-up routine on his idol Jerry Langford (Lewis)'s talk show. After having his requests to perform on the show dismissed by Jerry, Rupert becomes even more determined to get his big break. With his behaviour becoming increasingly erratic, Rupert enlists the help of his deranged friend Masha (Sandra Bernhard) and comes up with a plan to kidnap Jerry in order to get what he wants.
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