---
product_id: 4236351
title: "King Of Comedy The"
price: "328 kr"
currency: NOK
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 13
url: https://www.desertcart.no/products/4236351-king-of-comedy
store_origin: NO
region: Norway
---

# King Of Comedy The

**Price:** 328 kr
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- **What is this?** King Of Comedy The
- **How much does it cost?** 328 kr with free shipping
- **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship
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## Description

Aspiring comic Rupert Pupkin wants to achieve success in showbiz, by resorting to stalking his idol, a late night talk show host who craves his own privacy. Starring Robert DeNiro, Sandra Bernhard and Jerry Lewis. Special features includes: Making-of featurette; Deleted scenes; Behind-the-scenes footage; Still gallery; Theatrical trailer.

Review: squirm... (plus comments on the Blu-ray) - I almost didn't buy the Blu-ray, because of negative comments about a poor transfer. The transfer is supposedly from the camera negative, and often looks it, as in the first scene with Rupert and Rita. The blacks are deep, the colors rich, and the sharpness and detail exemplary. (I sometime wonder what equipment some viewers own.) You can buy the Blu-ray without fear. "The King of Comedy" is the complementary "bookend" of another Scorsese masterpiece, "Taxi Driver", with Robert DeNiro playing asocial, near-psychotic fame-obsessed characters in both. Both films play strongly against audience expectation -- "King" even more than "Taxi". In "The King of Comedy", DeNiro's character, Rupert Pupkin -- a seemingly untalented standup-comic wannabe -- is played for very black non-laughs. Rupert is so cut off from normal social interaction that he's unable to make any progress towards becoming the "king of comedy" he knows he's destined to be. When an encounter with his late-night idol Jerry Langford (Jerry Lewis) finally opens the possibility of appearing on television, he completely blows the chance, throwing him into the anguish that provokes increasingly demented assaults on his idol. On your first viewing -- and likely your third and tenth -- you'll be so violently embarrassed by Pupkin's self-destructive behavior that your toes will spastically curl down -- and stay there. You'll squirm so much you'll think you've mutated into a graboid. Rumor has it the actors //themselves// were so embarrassed that scenes which should have taken hours to film took //days//. This acute discomfort explains the film's box-office failure (not to mention its "sitting in the can" for a year) -- the average viewer isn't interested in a protagonist devoid of any sympathetic or redeeming characteristics -- until the end. The ending wholly upsets our expectations. Though we've been lead to believe Rupert lacks any mirth-provoking skills, he shows himself quite able to get an audience to laugh. His routine might not be brilliant, but he's no less funny than most comedians guesting on late-night talk shows. Significantly, Pupkin's routine isn't a series of jokes, but a more or less literal recitation of his miserable childhood. What the audience finds funny is actually Rupert's personal tragedy. We finally understand why he's so screwed up. (I emphatically disagree with Roger Ebert that the film has no "payoff" and the ending is "cynical and unsatisfying". But then, Ebert had trouble with unconventional comedies.) Though "Taxi Driver" and "The King of Comedy" are fundamentally similar, the latter inverts two important elements of the former... >> Despite its gritty look, "Taxi Driver" is fundamentally romantic, while "King of Comedy" treats the material in a semi-documentary style. Scorsese never "tells" us how we're supposed to react to the characters. >> We're initially annoyed (to say the least!) by Rupert Pupkin, then ultimately sympathize with him. Travis Bickle is at first the sympathetic loner, until we realize he's a psycho -- underscored (pun intended) by Bernard Herrmann's re-use of the three-note "mad house" theme at the end. Which brings us to the films' use of music. The "Taxi Driver" score came from the greatest film composer yet to have set pen to paper, while "King of Comedy" has //no// score. Why? Bernard Herrmann felt music was needed to make an emotional connection between the screen and the audience. This ain't necessarily so -- you can fully convey the most-profound emotions in a scoreless film (eg, "The Execution of Private Slovick"). Music's ability to enhance emotion is //so// strong it can override the director's intentions. This is probably why Hitchcock initially told Herrmann //not// to score Janet Leigh's shower. Without music, the scene is indescribably brutal. With Herrmann's music, its Expressionistic elements are raised to the Nth power. Is it any wonder Hitchcock was thrilled and let the music stand? Scorsese must have recognized this, and realized that any musical "comment" on Rupert Pupkin's behavior would only soften and sentimentalize the audience's reaction to him. When Pupkin makes an utter fool of himself, the audience has to experience it directly -- gurgling bassoons can't be telling the viewer they're not supposed to take it seriously. Similarly, when we finally begin to understand Rupert at the end, Scorsese doesn't want to sentimentalize the moment. If you have any lingering doubts about seeing "The King of Comedy", there's //one thing// in it (ignoring even DeNiro's incredibly perfect "should have won an Oscar" performance -- he //is// Rupert Pupkin) that fully justifies a viewing: After kidnapping Langford, Pupkin and Masha tie him to a chair, then duct-tape his mouth. The sight of "Mr. Greasy-Hair No-Talent" himself, Jerry Lewis, with his mouth taped shut (Oh, joy! Oh, rapture!), is worth the price of admission, many, many times over. If all of Martin Scorsese's work were destroyed, except for this one scene, it would be enough to sanctify his art as a movie maker. I grovel at Scorsese's feet, for (at least symbolically) putting the French toast of intellectuals in his place. It's doubly pleasing, because Lewis's turn as Langford is, consciously or not, strikingly self-satirizing. He was the //only// actor for the role. If you have Microsoft Cinemania, look up the Ebert and Kael reviews. Ebert's shows why he is one of the finest critics around -- whether or not you agree with him, you come away with a better understanding of a film. (It's also worthwhile reading Ebert's review of "Taxi Driver" to see how much of what he says about that film can be applied to "The King of Comedy.") Kael's review shows that the only insight she has into anything is her own self-serving attitude. There was never a "serious" movie critic who brought //less// -- intellectually or emotionally -- to the reviewing process than Pauline Kael (qv, her review of "2001"). Is "The King of Comedy" a truly great film? I don't know. But it //is// a terrific piece of totally uncompromising film making. Anyone who claims to love movies should see it.
Review: One of Scorsese's best films......... - While remaining one of Scorsese's least appreciated films, it is nevertheless one of his best, full of brilliant insight and dark humor. Robert DeNiro (in a fascinating, chilling performance) portrays Rupert Pupkin, a deluded loser who dreams of being a stand-up comic. In order to realize his dream, Pupkin solicits the aid of his wacked-out friend (played by Sandra Bernhard) in a scheme to kidnap the host of a popular talk-show (played by the smarmy Jerry Lewis). The film works so well because Pupkin is clearly untalented (bordering on the offensive in how unfunny he really is) and there is no possible way to identify or sympathize with his plight. He is obnoxious, myopic, and quite possibly insane, yet Scorsese forces us to acknowledge how common his "sort" is in our fame-obsessed culture. Every scene hits the right note; every performance is dead-on; and each development plausible despite the absurd premise. Still, the stroke of genius remains the final sequence; sufficiently ambiguous to allow for two vastly different, yet equally powerful, endings. Depending on which one we choose, it is either an indictment of our culture or a further exploration of Pupkin's madness. Both work and Scorsese trusts the audience enough to come to its own conclusion. Overall, a great film that remains unjustifiably ignored.

## Technical Specifications

| Specification | Value |
|---------------|-------|
| Contributor | Arnon Milchan, Diahnne Abbott, Edgar J. Scherick, Frederick de Cordova, Jerry Lewis, Kim Chan, Margo Winkler, Martin Scorsese, Robert De Niro, Sandra Bernhard, Shelley Hack, Tony Randall Contributor Arnon Milchan, Diahnne Abbott, Edgar J. Scherick, Frederick de Cordova, Jerry Lewis, Kim Chan, Margo Winkler, Martin Scorsese, Robert De Niro, Sandra Bernhard, Shelley Hack, Tony Randall See more |
| Customer Reviews | 4.5 out of 5 stars 1,555 Reviews |
| Format | Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC, Widescreen |
| Genre | Comedy |
| Language | English |
| Runtime | 1 hour and 49 minutes |

## Product Details

- **Format:** Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC, Widescreen
- **Genre:** Comedy
- **Language:** English
- **Runtime:** 1 hour and 49 minutes

## Images

![King Of Comedy The - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61YOIWdmt3L.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ squirm... (plus comments on the Blu-ray)
*by W***K on September 5, 2005*

I almost didn't buy the Blu-ray, because of negative comments about a poor transfer. The transfer is supposedly from the camera negative, and often looks it, as in the first scene with Rupert and Rita. The blacks are deep, the colors rich, and the sharpness and detail exemplary. (I sometime wonder what equipment some viewers own.) You can buy the Blu-ray without fear. "The King of Comedy" is the complementary "bookend" of another Scorsese masterpiece, "Taxi Driver", with Robert DeNiro playing asocial, near-psychotic fame-obsessed characters in both. Both films play strongly against audience expectation -- "King" even more than "Taxi". In "The King of Comedy", DeNiro's character, Rupert Pupkin -- a seemingly untalented standup-comic wannabe -- is played for very black non-laughs. Rupert is so cut off from normal social interaction that he's unable to make any progress towards becoming the "king of comedy" he knows he's destined to be. When an encounter with his late-night idol Jerry Langford (Jerry Lewis) finally opens the possibility of appearing on television, he completely blows the chance, throwing him into the anguish that provokes increasingly demented assaults on his idol. On your first viewing -- and likely your third and tenth -- you'll be so violently embarrassed by Pupkin's self-destructive behavior that your toes will spastically curl down -- and stay there. You'll squirm so much you'll think you've mutated into a graboid. Rumor has it the actors //themselves// were so embarrassed that scenes which should have taken hours to film took //days//. This acute discomfort explains the film's box-office failure (not to mention its "sitting in the can" for a year) -- the average viewer isn't interested in a protagonist devoid of any sympathetic or redeeming characteristics -- until the end. The ending wholly upsets our expectations. Though we've been lead to believe Rupert lacks any mirth-provoking skills, he shows himself quite able to get an audience to laugh. His routine might not be brilliant, but he's no less funny than most comedians guesting on late-night talk shows. Significantly, Pupkin's routine isn't a series of jokes, but a more or less literal recitation of his miserable childhood. What the audience finds funny is actually Rupert's personal tragedy. We finally understand why he's so screwed up. (I emphatically disagree with Roger Ebert that the film has no "payoff" and the ending is "cynical and unsatisfying". But then, Ebert had trouble with unconventional comedies.) Though "Taxi Driver" and "The King of Comedy" are fundamentally similar, the latter inverts two important elements of the former... >> Despite its gritty look, "Taxi Driver" is fundamentally romantic, while "King of Comedy" treats the material in a semi-documentary style. Scorsese never "tells" us how we're supposed to react to the characters. >> We're initially annoyed (to say the least!) by Rupert Pupkin, then ultimately sympathize with him. Travis Bickle is at first the sympathetic loner, until we realize he's a psycho -- underscored (pun intended) by Bernard Herrmann's re-use of the three-note "mad house" theme at the end. Which brings us to the films' use of music. The "Taxi Driver" score came from the greatest film composer yet to have set pen to paper, while "King of Comedy" has //no// score. Why? Bernard Herrmann felt music was needed to make an emotional connection between the screen and the audience. This ain't necessarily so -- you can fully convey the most-profound emotions in a scoreless film (eg, "The Execution of Private Slovick"). Music's ability to enhance emotion is //so// strong it can override the director's intentions. This is probably why Hitchcock initially told Herrmann //not// to score Janet Leigh's shower. Without music, the scene is indescribably brutal. With Herrmann's music, its Expressionistic elements are raised to the Nth power. Is it any wonder Hitchcock was thrilled and let the music stand? Scorsese must have recognized this, and realized that any musical "comment" on Rupert Pupkin's behavior would only soften and sentimentalize the audience's reaction to him. When Pupkin makes an utter fool of himself, the audience has to experience it directly -- gurgling bassoons can't be telling the viewer they're not supposed to take it seriously. Similarly, when we finally begin to understand Rupert at the end, Scorsese doesn't want to sentimentalize the moment. If you have any lingering doubts about seeing "The King of Comedy", there's //one thing// in it (ignoring even DeNiro's incredibly perfect "should have won an Oscar" performance -- he //is// Rupert Pupkin) that fully justifies a viewing: After kidnapping Langford, Pupkin and Masha tie him to a chair, then duct-tape his mouth. The sight of "Mr. Greasy-Hair No-Talent" himself, Jerry Lewis, with his mouth taped shut (Oh, joy! Oh, rapture!), is worth the price of admission, many, many times over. If all of Martin Scorsese's work were destroyed, except for this one scene, it would be enough to sanctify his art as a movie maker. I grovel at Scorsese's feet, for (at least symbolically) putting the French toast of intellectuals in his place. It's doubly pleasing, because Lewis's turn as Langford is, consciously or not, strikingly self-satirizing. He was the //only// actor for the role. If you have Microsoft Cinemania, look up the Ebert and Kael reviews. Ebert's shows why he is one of the finest critics around -- whether or not you agree with him, you come away with a better understanding of a film. (It's also worthwhile reading Ebert's review of "Taxi Driver" to see how much of what he says about that film can be applied to "The King of Comedy.") Kael's review shows that the only insight she has into anything is her own self-serving attitude. There was never a "serious" movie critic who brought //less// -- intellectually or emotionally -- to the reviewing process than Pauline Kael (qv, her review of "2001"). Is "The King of Comedy" a truly great film? I don't know. But it //is// a terrific piece of totally uncompromising film making. Anyone who claims to love movies should see it.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ One of Scorsese's best films.........
*by B***6 on June 21, 2000*

While remaining one of Scorsese's least appreciated films, it is nevertheless one of his best, full of brilliant insight and dark humor. Robert DeNiro (in a fascinating, chilling performance) portrays Rupert Pupkin, a deluded loser who dreams of being a stand-up comic. In order to realize his dream, Pupkin solicits the aid of his wacked-out friend (played by Sandra Bernhard) in a scheme to kidnap the host of a popular talk-show (played by the smarmy Jerry Lewis). The film works so well because Pupkin is clearly untalented (bordering on the offensive in how unfunny he really is) and there is no possible way to identify or sympathize with his plight. He is obnoxious, myopic, and quite possibly insane, yet Scorsese forces us to acknowledge how common his "sort" is in our fame-obsessed culture. Every scene hits the right note; every performance is dead-on; and each development plausible despite the absurd premise. Still, the stroke of genius remains the final sequence; sufficiently ambiguous to allow for two vastly different, yet equally powerful, endings. Depending on which one we choose, it is either an indictment of our culture or a further exploration of Pupkin's madness. Both work and Scorsese trusts the audience enough to come to its own conclusion. Overall, a great film that remains unjustifiably ignored.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Insanity is funny
*by D***D on July 31, 2026*

Insanely funny

## Frequently Bought Together

- King Of Comedy The [DVD]
- New York, New York (Special Edition)

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