The King of Comedy (1982)

After critical and box office failure on release in the States, ‘King Of Comedy’ came to Europe in 1982 where it was to be embraced as an instant success with Palme d’Or nomination and BAFTA in hand. Martin Scorsese reteamed with his muse/best buddy De Niro, throws him into his native New York as Robert Pupkin; a loser, desperate to be a TV star. Not content with dreaming, he stalks late night chat-show host Jerry Langford, played by Jerry Lewis. Pupkin is an unstable, unpredictable member of urban society, and as his obsession deepens, situations worsen for the publicity shy Langford. This was a black comedy before there were any black comedies; the main reason American audiences missed it first time around. Scorsese movies in the previous years had shocked US audiences to critical acclaim so didn’t expect the psychology of ‘King Of Comedy’. Meanwhile Europe welcomed the juxtaposition of humour and toned down violence. Essentially it is ‘Taxi Driver’ with a waterpistol. Jerry Lewis’s performance as chat-show king Langford is the stand out, almost matching De Niro’s self-pitied, awkward-figured role. Dark, as Scorsese’s vision of people obsessed with celebrity in a metropolitan decay, there are moments of light, exampled with Pupkin under his mothers basement, acting the chat-show host to cardboard cut outs, reminiscent of an adult teddy bears picnic. It may not have streets as mean as other Scorsese work, or characters with the rage of La Motta, but it sure packs a punch. A heavyweight in its own division, an understood mix-up of genres, The King Of Comedy still fights for recognition. Joe E - Movie Politics

Worlds away from the bravura flash of other DeNiro-Scorsese collaborations, this underrated, claustrophobic, chilling satire is particularly prescient of today's celebrity-fixated society. A modern classic. Channel 4 Film

Much understood by critics in 1983, this is one of the most incisive (and scary) movies about the desperate desire to achieve fame in American society, increasingly dominated by shallow pop culture; De Niro, Jerry Lewis and Sandra Bernhard are terrific. Emanuel Levy - EmanuelLevy.Com