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The King of Comedy (18-Feb-1983)

Director: Martin Scorsese

Writer: Paul D. Zimmerman

Keywords: Comedy, Kidnapping, New York

[watch trailer]

NameOccupationBirthDeathKnown for
Sandra Bernhard
Comic
6-Jun-1955   The King of Comedy
Victor Borge
Pianist
3-Jan-1909 23-Dec-2000 Comedic pianist
Joyce Brothers
Psychologist
20-Sep-1927 13-May-2013 Pop psychologist
Frederick De Cordova
Film/TV Producer
27-Oct-1910 15-Sep-2001 Producer of The Tonight Show
Robert De Niro
Actor
17-Aug-1943   The Godfather: Part II
Shelley Hack
Actor
6-Jul-1947   Replacement Charlie's Angel for 1 season
Mick Jones
Musician
26-Jun-1955   The Clash
Jerry Lewis
Comic
16-Mar-1926 20-Aug-2017 Muscular Dystrophy Association
Tony Randall
Actor
26-Feb-1920 18-May-2004 Felix Unger in The Odd Couple
Martin Scorsese
Film Director
17-Nov-1942   Taxi Driver
Joe Strummer
Musician
21-Aug-1952 22-Dec-2002 Lead singer of The Clash

REVIEWS

Review by Anonymous (posted on 6-Apr-2009)

Very good flick, though not the Greatest Of All Time as rated by the other reviewer; who left out one attribute though. The film (original version, though cut from the later video release) featured the music of The Pretenders, including their magnificent hit "Back On The Chain Gang" (of course featuring the great vocals of Chrissie Hynde).


Review by anonymous (posted on 24-Aug-2006)

I saw this film many years ago in my local cinema in Dublin, Ireland and as I was watching it, I quickly realized that I was seeing something very special and something that I knew then would last a lifetime in my memory. A quarter of a century later and I get to write a review of my favorite film of all time. I feel so privileged! No film comes close. None! This is a classic to beat all classics. It's not a comedy in the true sense of the word, or in any sense of the word for that matter, yet has a million laughs. A million! And so many dark moments too in equal measure. I don't believe it was ever intended to be a comedy though. There is to much dark matter for that, but I may be corrected on that. This film was about a couple of obsessive fans obsessed with Jerry Langford (Lewis) that went too far to far. De Niro and Lewis are truly amazing in this film. Jerry Lewis is a true star as we all know and a wonderful actor to boot. I loved the way he played the straight part, Gerry Langford with such ease and professionalism. Jerry being a great comedian anyway and having the immense talent to play such a serious role too, I'm totally in awe of him and love him for it too. De Niro is De Niro at his best and portrays Pupkin as any stalker or possessive should be portrayed. At the time I saw the film, I felt that the only weakness the film had in my opinion was the role of Sandra Bernhard(Masha). I liked the Masha part, she was integral to the film, but I didn't like Sandra Bernhard herself. I felt that her acting just wasn't up to the mark of the others and felt at the time that she was a real weak-link in an otherwise sensational and flawless film. Today my thoughts and feelings are somewhat different. Twenty years after my first viewing of this gem, looking back now, I can categorically state that this film had no discernable weaknesses whatsoever. Sandra was actually brilliant - being stupid, I just couldn't see that then. Now I can and I'm happy now that I can see the brilliance in Sandra as I always could in Lewis and De Niro. There are so many amazing scenes in King of Comedy that it is not so much difficult, but absolutely impossible to single out any one particular or individual scene. If there is one that stands out for me, it’s the one when Sandra is kissing Jerry when he is all bandaged up and Gerry asks her to remove the bandages and when she does, Gerry just gives her a slap and sends her flying and the follow-on scene when Gerry looks in the window of a shop selling TV’s and sees Rupert doing his act and the look on Gerry’s face tells it all. This is the look of a beaten man. This is the look of a man with no future. This is a look of defeat! This to me was truly amazing acting of the highest degree and scripting and cinematography and lighting and directing and everything else that goes with making such a great film. I guess you can tell just what I think of this film. I loved it then and I love it now. I am so privileged to have seen this film first time round and so fortunate that sometimes great films such as “the King of Comedy” actually get made in Hollywood. Thank God for De Niro; Lewis; Scorsese and Zimmerman.. Vinny Styles Dublin, Ireland


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