A passionate yet unsuccessful comedian stalks and kidnaps his idol to take the spotlight for himself.A passionate yet unsuccessful comedian stalks and kidnaps his idol to take the spotlight for himself.A passionate yet unsuccessful comedian stalks and kidnaps his idol to take the spotlight for himself.
- Won 1 BAFTA Award
- 3 wins & 8 nominations total
Chuck Low
- Man in Chinese Restaurant
- (as Chuck L. Low)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
What Scorsese Film Ranks Highest on IMDb?
What Scorsese Film Ranks Highest on IMDb?
Cinema legend Martin Scorsese has directed some of the most acclaimed films of all time. See how IMDb users rank all of his feature films as director.
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaMartin Scorsese has said that he thought Robert De Niro's best performance under his direction was in this film.
- GoofsThe TV sets in the store display window near the end, where Jerry Langford angrily watches the end of Rupert Pupkin's TV appearance, are all tuned to channel 3. There is no TV station in New York City on channel 3 (two major stations, WCBS and WNBC, are on channels 2 and 4 respectively). However, channel 3 was (and is) commonly used for connecting video devices such as home computers and videotape recorders to TV sets. The film crew most likely rigged a videotape player to the TVs to mimic a network broadcast, thus requiring them to be tuned to channel 3--a small detail that most audience members wouldn't have noticed.
- Quotes
Rupert Pupkin: Better to be king for a night than schmuck for a lifetime.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Saturday Night Live: Jerry Lewis/Loverboy (1983)
- SoundtracksJerry Langford Theme
Written, arranged and performed by Bob James
Featured review
The Big Break...
Rupert Pupkin (Robert De Niro) is, in his own mind, the greatest undiscovered comic of his generation. He knows that he's destined for stand-up superstardom. All he really needs is a chance to display his vast talent on TV.
Enter mega- talk show host, Jerry Langford (Jerry Lewis), who will see Pupkin's mastery of comedy one way or another. Whether he likes it or not. Even if extreme measures must be taken.
How could Rupert's plan possibly fail?
THE KING OF COMEDY is Director Martin Scorsese's wonderfully dark jab at the insanity of celebrity culture. Watching it unfold is both frightening and hysterically funny. De Niro's Pupkin is perfectly pitiful, as is Masha (Sandra Bernhard), his equally unbalanced cohort.
Mr. Lewis is remarkably restrained in his noteworthy role. He comes across as pissed, flabbergasted, and terrified by turns. If you only know him as a cinematic buffoon, then you need to see him here.
This movie is a crackpot masterpiece...
Enter mega- talk show host, Jerry Langford (Jerry Lewis), who will see Pupkin's mastery of comedy one way or another. Whether he likes it or not. Even if extreme measures must be taken.
How could Rupert's plan possibly fail?
THE KING OF COMEDY is Director Martin Scorsese's wonderfully dark jab at the insanity of celebrity culture. Watching it unfold is both frightening and hysterically funny. De Niro's Pupkin is perfectly pitiful, as is Masha (Sandra Bernhard), his equally unbalanced cohort.
Mr. Lewis is remarkably restrained in his noteworthy role. He comes across as pissed, flabbergasted, and terrified by turns. If you only know him as a cinematic buffoon, then you need to see him here.
This movie is a crackpot masterpiece...
- azathothpwiggins
- Apr 9, 2022
- Permalink
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- King of Comedy
- Filming locations
- Paramount Building - 1501 Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA(Jerry Langford's offices)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $20,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $2,536,242
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $137,624
- Feb 21, 1983
- Gross worldwide
- $2,537,298
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