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The King of Comedy is a feature film made in 1981 starring Robert De Niro and Jerry Lewis, and directed by Martin Scorsese. It was released in Iceland on December 19, 1982 and subsequently, on February 18, 1983 in the United States by 20th Century Fox.
rt Pupkin (Robert De Niro), a stage-door autograph hound, is an aspiring stand-up comic with obsessive ambition far in excess of any actual talent. A chance meeting with Jerry Langford (Jerry Lewis), a famous comedian and talk show host, leads Rupert to believe that his "big break" has finally come.
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Quotations
Nobody knows Rupert Pupkin, but after 11:30 tonight no one will ever forget him.
to Rita, about Marilyn Monroe She wasn't a great actress but she had a real gift for comedy. She died tragically, you know, alone, like so many of the world's most beautiful women. I'm going to see that doesn't happen to you, Rita.
It's no laughing matter.
Encyclopedia
The King of Comedy is a feature film made in 1981 starring Robert De Niro and Jerry Lewis, and directed by Martin Scorsese. It was released in Iceland on December 19, 1982 and subsequently, on February 18, 1983 in the United States by 20th Century Fox.
Synopsis
Rupert Pupkin (Robert De Niro), a stage-door autograph hound, is an aspiring stand-up comic with obsessive ambition far in excess of any actual talent. A chance meeting with Jerry Langford (Jerry Lewis), a famous comedian and talk show host, leads Rupert to believe that his "big break" has finally come. His attempts to get a place on the show are continually rebuffed by Langford's staff and, finally, by Langford himself. Along the way, Rupert indulges in elaborate and obsessive fantasies where he and Langford are colleagues and friends.
When the straight approach does not work, Rupert hatches a kidnapping plot with the help of Masha (Sandra Bernhard), a stalker familiar with Langford's movements. As ransom, Rupert demands that the kidnapping be kept secret, that he be given the opening spot on that evening's Jerry Langford Show (guest hosted by Tony Randall), and that the show be broadcast in normal fashion. The network brass, lawyers, and the FBI agree, with the understanding that Langford will be released once the show airs nationally. Between the taping of the show and the national broadcast, Masha has her "dream date" with Langford, who is duct-taped to a chair in her parents' Manhattan townhouse.
Rupert's stand-up routine is well received. He closes by confessing to the audience that he kidnapped Jerry Langford in order to break into show business. The studio audience laughs, thinking that it's a part of his act. Rupert responds by saying, "Tomorrow you'll know I wasn't kidding and you'll all think I'm crazy. But I figure it this way: better to be king for a night, than schmuck for a lifetime."
The movie closes with a news report of Rupert's release from prison, set to a montage of storefronts stocking his "long awaited" autobiography, King For A Night. The report informs that Rupert still considers Jerry Langford his mentor and friend, and that he and his agent are currently weighing several "attractive offers."
The final scene shows Rupert taking the stage for an apparent TV special with a live audience and an announcer enthusiastically introducing and praising him.
Production
After Raging Bull was completed, Martin Scorsese was keen to do a pet project of his, The Last Temptation of Christ and wanted his star, Robert De Niro to play the role of Jesus Christ. De Niro was not interested and became determined that their next collaboration should be a comedy. Known as The King of Comedy, he had purchased the rights of a script from the film critic, Paul D. Zimmermann. Scorsese pondered whether or not he could face filming another film, particularly if a writer's strike by Directors Guild of America was about to start. Getting in touch with producer, Arnon Milchan through Scorsese's agent, Harry Ulfand, Milchan knew he could make the film away from Hollywood interference by filming entirely on location in New York, deal with a smaller budget and deliver on time with the involvement of a smaller film company.
In the biography/overview of his work, Scorsese on Scorsese, Scorsese had high praise for Jerry Lewis, stating that during their first conversation before shooting, Lewis was extremely professional and had assured him prior to shooting that there would be no ego clashes or difficulties on Lewis' end. Scorsese also stated that he felt Lewis' performance in the film was vastly underrated and deserved more acclaim.
According to an interview with Lewis in the February 7, 1983 edition of People Magazine, he claimed that Scorsese and DeNiro employed method acting tricks, including making a slew of anti-Semitic epithets against Lewis, during the filming in order to "pump up Lewis' anger" Lewis described making the film as a pleasurable experience and noted that he got along well with both Scorsese and DeNiro. Lewis said that before the making of the film he was invited to collaborate on certain aspects of the script dealing with celebrity life. His suggested ending of Rupert Pupkin killing Jerry, however, was turned down by them. As a result, Lewis felt that the film, while good, did not have a "finish". Martin Scorsese stated in the interview filmed for the DVD release of the film that Lewis suggested the brief scene of the film where Jerry Langford is accosted by an old lady for autographs and she, upon Langford's polite stiffle, suddenly screams out "You should get cancer!" This was based on a real-life incident that had happened to Lewis. Scorsese also stated that Lewis directed the actress playing the old lady in order to get the timing right.
Casting
Scorsese's first choice for the talk show host, Jerry Langford was Johnny Carson. Carson refused the role claiming "you know that one take is enough for me". The entire rat pack were also considered - most specifically Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin - before a decision was made to select Jerry Lewis.
Principal Photography
The film began shooting in New York on June 1, 1981 to avoid clashing with a forthcoming writer's strike.
Distribution
The film was first released in Iceland, to celebrate a new cinema there being the best in the Nordic countries. It was released in the United States two months later. The King of Comedy was the first film to open the 1983 Cannes Film Festival. Although the film was given enough praise from critics, it bombed in the US. De Niro has said that the film "...maybe wasn't so well received because it gave off an aurora of something that people didn't want to look at or know".
Pauline Kael of The New York Times was one of the critics who praised the film, calling the character of Rupert Pupkin as "Jake LaMotta without fists". She also goes on to say that "De Niro in disguise denies his characters a soul. De Niro's 'bravura' acting in Mean Streets, Taxi Driver and New York, New York collapsed into 'anti-acting' after he started turning himself into repugnant flesh eggies of soulless characters.....Pupkin is a nothing". Scorsese says that "people were confused with the King of Comedy and saw Bob as some sort of manniquin". Although they both worked so hard close to the "edge" that there would be a break until Goodfellas in 1990. Scorsese himself has said that De Niro's role as Rupert Pupkin is his favorite of all their collaborations.
Debate about ending
Film scholar David Bordwell, writing in Film Viewer's Guide, has mentioned the (un)reality of the ending as a topic for debate. A number of scenes in the film -- Rupert and Jerry in the restaurant, Jerry meeting Rupert after having listened to his tape and calling him a genius, Rupert getting married "live" on Jerry's show -- exist solely in Rupert's deluded imagination, and Bordwell suggests that viewers may want to contemplate if the end sequence is just another fantasy.
In his commentary on the Criterion DVD of Black Narcissus, Scorsese stated that Michael Powell's films influenced The King of Comedy in its conception of fantasy. Scorsese said that Powell always treated the fantasy as no different
than reality, made the fantasy as realistic as possible. In the same commentary, Scorsese stated that Rupert Pupkin's character was one who was never able to differentiate between his fantasies and his reality, being incapable to separate either. Scorsese sought to achieve the same with this film to the point that, in his words, the "fantasy is more real than reality".
Cameos
- Scorsese has a cameo as "Man in Van." He later appears as the Jerry Langford show director, assuring Tony Randall that his cue cards are funny.
- Scorsese's mother plays Pupkin's (unseen) mother.
- Real life film and television producers Edgar Scherick and Frederick de Cordova have cameo roles as a network president and producer of the Langford show, respectively.
- A gang of punks is seen on a street corner in the film. Billed in the credits as "Street Scum", they are played by Mick Jones, Joe Strummer, and Paul Simonon of The Clash, actor-singer Ellen Foley ("Paradise by the Dashboard Light", Night Court), Don Letts, Kosmo Vinyl, and Pearl Harbor. At the time, Foley was Mick Jones' girlfriend - she even sang "Hitsville UK" on the Clash album Sandinista!. Letts and Mick Jones were original members of the rock group Big Audio Dynamite. New Wave singer Pearl Harbor was married to Simonon at the time. Her group, The Explosions, were a popular local San Francisco band in the early 1980s.
- Tony Randall as emergency guest host of the Jerry Langford Show
- Victor Borge and Dr. Joyce Brothers as guests on the Jerry Langford Show
- Lou Brown and Ed Herlihy as band leader and announcer, respectively, of the Jerry Langford Show
Critic's Lists
- Halliwells Top 1000 #180
- 1001 Movies You Must See Before you Die
- Jonathan Rosenbaum : 1000 Essential Films
- The New York Times Guide to the Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made
- Total Film Presents The 100 Greatest Movies Of All Time #85
- Empire's 500 greatest films (no. 87)
Cultural References
In the 2007 film I Think I Love My Wife, the firm that Chris Rock's character works at is called Pupkin & Langford after Lewis and DeNiro's characters. In addition, an episode of Family Guy has a reference to the scene with Jerry tied up, and Sandra Bernhard, removes her clothes and says that they will be having good old fashioned all American fun.
On the PBS television show Between the Lions, Rupertpupkin was suggested as a possible name for Rumplestiltskin.
DVD release
Bibliography
External links
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