King of Comedy

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King of Comedy ★★★ 1982 (PG)

An unhinged would-be comedian haunts and eventually kidnaps a massively popular Johnny Carson-type TV personality. A cold, cynical farce devised by Scorsese seemingly in reaction to John Hinckley's obsession with his film “Taxi Driver.” Controlled, hard-hitting performances, especially by De Niro and Lewis. 101m/C VHS, DVD . Robert De Niro, Jerry Lewis, Sandra Bernhard, Tony Randall, Diahnne Abbott, Shelley Hack, Liza Minnelli; D: Martin Scorsese; W: Paul Zimmerman; C: Fred Schuler; M: Robbie Robertson. British Acad. ‘83: Orig. Screenplay; Natl. Soc. Film Critics ‘83: Support. Actress (Bernhard).