|
By PAUL BRENNER
When Martin Scorsese's "The King of Comedy" was finally released in 1983 (it was completed in
1981), the film was a resounding flop, but since then it has grown to become something of a minor Scorsese masterpiece.
Until this DVD release by 20th Century Fox Home Video, "The King of Comedy" was consigned to the netherworld of lousy
transfers, but now, for the first time, it is presented in excellent condition in its original anamorphic widescreen
ration of 1.85:1.
Along with Woody Allen's "Zelig" and Stephen Sondheim's "Assassins," "The King of Comedy" skewers the cult of celebrity
with a tart uneasiness. But where "Zelig" was ultimately soft-hearted and Sondheim's musical revue an incendiary think
piece, "The King of Comedy" bravely tunnels into the underbelly of celebrity bottom-feeders. De Niro's Rupert Pupkin is
even more single-minded in his mad obsessions than Travis Bickle -- the discomfort and humiliations Pupkin undergoes and
dispensesthrough the course of the film is truly irritating and disturbing. Scorsese doesn't shy away from Pukin's
irrational desire for instant fame, which may have accounted for the film's initial alienating failure. Along with the
rich Jewish princess Masha (the wolf-like Sandra Bernhard), Pupkin conspires to kidnap talk show host Jerry Langford
(Jerry Lewis, in a masterly performance of pained stability) in order to perform a comedy routine on Jerry's late night
talk show. The bankruptcy of Pupkin's life and desires are illustrated in the increasingly bizarre fantasy sequences
that pepper the film (during one sequence, Lewis begs De Niro to take over his show for six weeks and De Niro responds,
"Don't ask me to take over the show for six weeks -- I can't even take over my life for six weeks"). Ironically, with
the recent crazed disgorgement of reality programming ("Survivor," "Joe Millionaire," "Celebrity Mole" etc. ad nasauem)
and their wild popularity, we have all become Rupert Pupkins with "The King of Comedy" becoming more of an
anthropological case study than the satiric cultural warning cry that is seemed a scant ten years ago. Rupert Pupkin's
declaration, "It's better to be king for a night than schmuck for a lifetime" now sends chills up the spine.
The DVD offers several special features -- a twenty-minute "Making of . . ." documentary, two deleted scenes with Jerry
Lewis, a trailer and a TV spot, and a short still gallery. The audio track is available in English Stereo, English Mono,
French Mon, and Spanish Mono. Subtitles are in English and Spanish. |
