- Actors: Robert De Niro, Jerry Lewis, Diahnne Abbott, Sandra Bernhard, Shelley Hack
- Directors: Martin Scorsese
- Writers: Paul D. Zimmerman
- Producers: Arnon Milchan, Robert F. Colesberry, Robert Greenhut
- Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, Widescreen, NTSC
- Language: English, French
- Subtitles: English, Spanish
- Region: (US and Canada This DVD will probably NOT be viewable in other countries. Read more about DVD formats.)
- Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
- Number of discs: 1
- MPAA Rating:
- Studio: Fox Video
- Release Date: Feb 3 2004
- Run Time: 109 minutes
- Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (62 customer reviews)
- ASIN: B00006RCNV
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #18,754 in DVD (See Top 100 in DVD)
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Product Description
Amazon.com essential video
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
Description
Martin Scorsese's The King Of Comedy is a funny depiction of the dangers of celebrity fandom. Robert De Niro plays the ridiculously inept Rupert Rupkin, 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 carboard 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 (Sandra Berhard), to kidnap Langford in exchange for a chance to let him deliver his routine on the air.
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of DeNiro's best roles,
This review is from: The King Of Comedy (DVD)
This scathing comedy about fame, television and hangers on to both is one of the best film roles Robert DeNiro has taken on. It is easily his best comic role, as he plays a schlemiel that finds a way -- an illegal way -- to worm his way onto network television to give a 5-minute monologue on a late night talk show. What is most telling in this film are the final mintues that document his fame after he goes to jail for kidnapping a talk show host. Few films have so accurately, and cynically, portrayed the world wide news media thirst for fame as these 10 minutes. If your cable system does not get WGN-TV from Chicago, which regularly schedules this movie, you may never have seen it. If so, it is worth your time and trouble. This is a funny, bitter and cyncial look at how fame warps people's minds, including little people, famous people and the media outlets that contribute to creation of fame.
4.0 out of 5 stars
SHOWBIZ FROM THE LUNATIC FRINGES (ON A GREAT DVD!),
By
This review is from: The King Of Comedy (DVD)
Martin Scorsese's brilliant satire about a wannabe standup/schmuck played with deliberate humorlessness by De Niro, who suffers from delusions of grandeur, determined to meet his hero Jerry Lewis in a performance played with shocking bravura. The film is timeless in its depiction of the twin themes of celebrity stalking with its masochistic need to be discovered by the world on one hand, and the perils of stardom on the other. The perfect comic execution could easily have been the inspiration for several of recent thinkpieces -- "Election", "Fight Club", "The Truman Show", "One Hour Photo" etc. A word for the DVD. It is brilliantly put together with detailed interviews with Scorcese, Bernhart, De Niro etc, plus some funny cameos by Jerry Lewis himself, and a funny handy-cam outtake or two while shooting Lewis on the streets of NY. A very worthy purchase, not just a rental!
5.0 out of 5 stars
Greatest Film Ever - "I wouldn't lie to you Rupe!",
By Carl Market "Carl Market" (Hollywood, CA United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The King Of Comedy (DVD)
How often do you see a film for the first time in which you get so embarrased for the star you want to press stop every 15 minutes! Once you've made it past the first viewing, you're gunna really enjoy watching this one over and over again - it gets better everytime! I've never laughed so hard watching a movie in my entire life!! It's totally original and nothing can compare to it. Thank you for making this Marty and thank you Bobby for talking him into doing it!
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