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Features: DVD
Stars Robert De Niro, Jerry Lewis and Sandra Bernhard light up the screen in this unforgettable film by Martin Scorsese. A funny thing happens to talk show host Jerry Langford (Lewis) on his way to the studio...kidnapped by stand-up comedian Rupert Pupkin (De Niro) and his wacky sidekick (Bernhard). Langford is forced to give Pupkin a shot at the big time by allowing Pupkin to perform his routine on Langford's show. What unfolds is an incredibly funny and poignant story about the darker side of comedy.
"Controlled, hard-hitting performances..." VideoHound's Golden Movie Retriever
"...knock-out perfromances by De Niro and Lewis." Leonard Maltin's Movie & Video Guide
Editor's Note
Martin Scorsese's THE KING OF COMEDY is a brutally funny depiction of the dangers of celebrity fandom. Robert De Niro plays the ridiculously inept Rupert Pupkin, an aspiring comic who idolizes talk-show host Jerry Langford (Jerry Lewis). Still living at home with his mother, Rupert spends his days trying to arrange a meeting with his hero. When he isn't doing that, he's at home talking to cardboard cutouts in his makeshift television studio. After Rupert convinces Rita (Diahnne Abbot), a pretty bartender, that Langford has invited them to his house outside the city, the reality of the situation makes itself painfully apparent upon arriving at the star's front door. Trouble is, Rupert's too delusional to take the hint. He eventually hatches a plan with an equally obsessed fan, Masha (a scene-stealing Sandra Bernhard), to kidnap Langford in exchange for a chance to let him deliver his routine on the air. De Niro and Lewis deliver scorching performances that are at once tragic and hysterical, making for an unsettling yet highly stimulating viewing experience. Paul D. Zimmerman's script takes the time to truly crawl inside the mind of a lunatic, exposing celebrity worship as the ludicrous problem that it is. THE KING OF COMEDY stands firmly as one of Scorsese's most terrifying films.
Plot Summary
A savage critique of celebrity fanaticism gone off the deep end, THE KING OF COMEDY is a truly unsettling portrait of a delusional man who becomes infatuated with a talk-show host. When he realizes that his hero wants nothing to do with him, he kidnaps him in one final attempt to make it on the air. Hysterical and biting, Martin Scorsese's film contains unforgettable performances from Robert De Niro, Jerry Lewis, and Sandra Bernhard.
| Features | Scene Access | | Still Gallery | | Audio: English Stereo; English, French, Spanish Mono | | Subtitles: English, Spanish | | Interactive Menus | | Widescreen Version | | "Making Of..." Featurette | | Theatrical Trailer And TV Spot |
| Technical Info
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Release Information
| | Studio: Foxvideo |
| Release Date: 10/3/2006 |
| Running Time: 105 minutes |
| Original Release Date: 1982 | | Catalog ID: 2003894 | | UPC: 00024543038948 | | Number of Discs: 1 |
Audio & Video
| | Original Language: English | | Available Audio Tracks: English [CC], English, French Dubbed, Spanish Dubbed | | Available Subtitles: English, Spanish | | Video: Color |
Aspect Ratio | | 1.85:1 |
| Cast & Crew
| Awards |
British Academy Awards (1984) |  | Paul D. Zimmerman, Winner, Best Original Screenplay | | | Robert De Niro, Nominee, Best Actor | | | Martin Scorsese, Nominee, Best Director | | | Thelma Schoonmaker, Nominee, Best Editing | | | Jerry Lewis, Nominee, Best Supporting Actor | |
Cannes Film Festival (1984) | | | Martin Scorsese, Nominee, Golden Palm |
| Memorable Quotes| "You're the director!"----Tony Randall, playing himself, to the director of the talk show, played by Martin Scorsese |
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| | Professional Reviews | Premiere
"...Ahead of its time....[Watching De Niro] is an entertainment in and of itself..." 11/01/1994 pp.119-20New York Times
"...A total surprise and completely satisfying. Yet it's also bristly, sometimes manic to the edge of lunacy and, along the way, terrifying..." 02/18/1983 p.C10 New York Times
Included in The New York Times "10 BEST FILMS OF 1983" 12/25/1983 p.II:15 Variety
"...DeNiro turns in another virtuoso performance for Scorsese....Diahnne Abbott is excellent..." 02/09/1983 USA Today
"...[A] modern-day classic..." 12/20/2002 p.10E Sight and Sound
"[R]arely less than riveting....Scorsese never lets the tone topple into farce, refraining from stylistic fireworks to let the performances command the spotlight." 08/01/2004 p.75 |
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