screen captures from the feature film
The King of Comedy, 1983
2023 is the 40th anniversary of the Martin Scorsese film The King of Comedy. Released in 1983, the film was a satire that touched on themes regarding American media culture and the then growing cult of celebrity worship - a subject that has become more and more significant and prevalent nowadays. The film was about aspiring stand-up comic Rupert Pupkin (Robert De Niro) who would do anything to gain instant fame - even stalk his idol successful comedian and talk show host, Jerry Langford (Jerry Lewis) - in order to impress his love interest Rita Keane (Diahnne Abbott). When he couldn't get past Langford's smooth production exec Cathy Long (Shelley Hack) for a guest spot on Langford's talk show, he teams up with a fellow stalker, the mentally unstable Masha (Sandra Bernhard), and kidnaps the talk show host. In exchange for Langford's freedom, he demands a guest spot from the show's production team and gets it. After his guest spot, he is arrested and incarcerated for what he had done. But upon his release, Rupert ironically gets a book deal and a show of his own.
screen captures from the feature film
The King of Comedy, 1983
Although the film was well-received by critics, with the entire cast delivering great performances (Shelley turned out one of her finest performances in this film), it wasn't quite the box office draw at the time of its initial release. But in subsequent years, it had slowly gained a following - especially now that people have realized that the plot of the film isn't quite as far-fetched. Some have even ranked it among Scorsese's finest pictures. It ranks at #10 on the American Film's list of the "Best Films of the 1980s" and at #87 on Empire magazine's "The 500 Greatest Movies of All Time." It is also included in the film reference book 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die by Steven Jay Schneider and has made it into "The New York Times Guide to the Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made." It is currently available on DVD and Blu-ray.
screen captures from the feature film
The King of Comedy, 1983
Shelley Hack said that she read for both Scorsese and De Niro, then went home and waited. After four months, her agent called and said she got the part. "I had a feeling I would get it," Shelley said, "Even so, it was a nervous time. It was obviously such an important break for me - getting it would make people look at me differently." She thought working with Scorsese and De Niro was an exhilarating experience. "Bobby (De Niro) plays a stand-up comic in the picture and he's extraordinary." Shelley recounts, "The first day on the set, I was standing talking to Marty (Scorsese) and everyone was laughing. I didn't know why until Marty said to me, 'Aren't you going to say hello to Bobby?' And there he was beside me. I just hadn't recognized him. He looks entirely different in the picture." The Rupert Pupkin character was quite a departure from the characters De Niro had played prior.
