(In Memory of the Kings of Comedy in Dick Gregory (1932-2017) and Jerry Lewis (1926-2017))
Directed by Martin Scorsese and written by Paul D. Zimmerman, The King of Comedy is the story of a stand-up comedian trying to get his big break as he decides to kidnap a late-night talk show host to do so. The film is a study of obsession for celebrity as well as the need to be famous as it explore many of the ideas of fame and what some will do to become famous. Starring Robert de Niro, Jerry Lewis, Sandra Bernhard, Diahnne Abbott, Shelley Hack, and Tony Randall as himself. The King of Comedy is a witty and whimsical film from Martin Scorsese.
The film follows a wannabe standup comedian who is trying to get the attention of a renowned late-night TV talk-show host to appear in his show and become his friend only for things to not go his way where he and another fan kidnap the man. It’s a film that explores a man’s obsession to be famous and what he’s willing to do to achieve that as he loses touch with reality and becomes very invasive towards the life of this talk-show host. Paul D. Zimmerman’s screenplay follows the character of Rupert Pupkin (Robert de Niro) as a guy that really thinks he has what it takes to be a successful stand-up comedian. Pupkin also wants to impress his girlfriend Rita (Diahnne Abbott) who isn’t convinced he would succeed as he would meet the talk-show host Jerry Langford (Jerry Lewis) by saving him from a deranged fan during the film’s opening sequence as Rupert thinks he has a chance to get his foot in the door.
Pupkin is a very offbeat character as someone who is definitely living a fantasy life as he imagines a conversation he would have Langford at a restaurant while Pupkin is in his room imagining this conversation. It adds to how deranged he is as a person where he would continuously try to meet Langford again by sending him an audition tape to be on the show. Yet, Langford is aware of how far Pupkin is willing to be on the show as there’s a moment in the second act where Pupkin goes too far leading to the third act where Pupkin turns to the deranged fan Masha (Sandra Bernhard) for help in the kidnapping plot. It’s the moment where it showcases Pupkin’s own craziness but he still wants to be nice and friendly to Langford though Langford knows what he has to do as the people working on his show scramble on what to do as it lead to what could be Pupkin’s big moment.
Martin Scorsese’s direction is quite straightforward in terms of the compositions and not delving too much into style. Shot entirely on location in New York City, Scorsese would use some wide shots for a few scenes including a look into Pupkin’s room in his family home as well as a few scenes in some of the exteriors of the city. Yet, Scorsese would maintain something that is a bit more intimate and to the point where he would use some hand-held cameras for some scenes including a long tracking shot for a chase scene of sorts where Pupkin tries to find Langford in the latter’s office. Still, much of Scorsese’s direction has this element of fantasy vs. reality as the scenes where Pupkin is in his room doing his routine or his imaginary conversation with Langford just add something that is dream-like and filled with dazzling visuals in comparison to the element of reality that Pupkin is facing.
Especially in the third act where Scorsese would infuse bits of style in the scenes where Langford has been kidnapped as Masha would try to seduce him as it’s darkly comic in what she’s trying to do. The presentation of Langford’s TV show is definitely presented in that TV format as it would include everything Pupkin imagine it would be as it would climax into the moment he would get his chance to make America laugh. The film’s ending is ambiguous as it relates to that air of fantasy vs. reality where it never really reveals what is really happening as it all plays into the idea of fame. Overall, Scorsese creates a compelling and satirical film about a comedian trying to become famous by kidnapping a late-night TV talk show host.
Cinematographer Fred Schuler does excellent work with the film’s cinematography from the usage of lights for many of the exterior scenes at night as well as some of the scenes in the TV studio and at the home of Masha with its candle lights for her dinner with Langford. Editor Thelma Schoonmaker does brilliant work with the editing in playing up to some of the film’s humor with its stylistic jump-cuts and some montage cutting that add to the blur of fantasy vs. reality. Production designer Boris Leven, with set decorators George De Titta Sr. and Daniel Robert plus art directors Lawrence Miller and Edward Pisoni, does amazing work with the look of Pupkin’s room at the home he lives with his mother as well as the look of the TV studio set and the interiors of Masha’s home and Langford’s home.
Costume designer Richard Bruno does fantastic work with the costumes from the stylish suits that Pupkin wears as well as some of the clothes that Masha wears. Sound editor Frank E. Warner does superb work with the sound from the way many of the exteriors of New York City is presented to the sparse moments at the homes of some of the characters. Music producer Robbie Robertson creates a terrific soundtrack that feature some cheesy TV music scores from Bob James while the soundtrack features a mixture of music from the Pretenders, Talking Heads, B.B. King, Van Morrison, David Sanborn, Rickie Lee Jones, Ric Ocasek, Ray Charles, and a cut by Robertson himself.
The casting by Cis Corman is wonderful as it feature several cameo appearances from singer Ellen Foley and three members of the British punk band in the Clash as street punks at Times Square, Cathy Scorsese as a young woman wanting Langford’s autograph, Charles Scorsese and Marik Mardin as two men at a bar, Catherine Scorsese as the voice of Pupkin’s mother, Lou Brown as the talk show band leader, Ed Herlihy as the announcer, Martin Scorsese as the TV director, Kim Chan as Langford’s butler, Margo Winkler as the receptionist at Langford’s office building, Frederick de Cordova as Langford’s producer, Edgar Scherick as the network president, Victor Borge and Dr. Joyce Brothers as themselves who are guests at Langford’s show, Shelly Hack as Langford’s secretary, and Tony Randall as himself who would fill in for Langford during a broadcast.
Diahnne Abbott is superb as Pupkin’s bartender girlfriend Rita who doesn’t believe Pupkin would succeed as she becomes more suspicious about what he does as she becomes more bewildered by his behavior. Sandra Bernhard is fantastic as Masha as an obsessed fan of Langford who would secretly work with Pupkin as she hopes to have Langford all to herself. Jerry Lewis is phenomenal as Jerry Langford as a late-night TV talk show host who is trying to run a show as he becomes uneasy by Pupkin’s presence and determination as it’s a very low-key and restrained performance from Lewis that has him be funny when he’s on TV but be more serious when he’s not on TV. Finally, there’s Robert de Niro in an incredible performance as Rupert Pupkin as this wannabe stand-up comedian who is trying to get his break as he is quite deranged and obsessive as it is one of de Niro’s finer performances in terms of his energy, sense of humor, and willingness to balance kindness and madness all into one.
The King of Comedy is a tremendous film from Martin Scorsese that features great performances from Robert de Niro and Jerry Lewis. Along with its fantastic supporting cast, a cool soundtrack, amazing technical work, and a riveting study of obsession and the desire to be famous. It’s a film that explore the fallacy of these desires as well as how a man can lose touch with reality in order to pursue his dreams. In the end, The King of Comedy is a magnificent film from Martin Scorsese.
Martin Scorsese Films: (Who’s That Knocking on My Door?) – (Street Scenes) – Boxcar Bertha – (Mean Streets) – Italianamerican – Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore - Taxi Driver - New York, New York – American Boy: A Profile of Steven Prince - (The Last Waltz) – Raging Bull - After Hours – The Color of Money - The Last Temptation of Christ - New York Stories-Life Lessons - Goodfellas – Cape Fear - The Age of Innocence - (A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese Through American Movies) – (Casino) – (Kundun) – (My Voyage to Italy) – Bringing Out the Dead - (The Blues-Feel Like Going Home) – Gangs of New York - (The Aviator) – No Direction Home – The Departed - Shine a Light – Shutter Island - (A Letter to Elia) – (Public Speaking) - George Harrison: Living in the Material World - Hugo - The Wolf of Wall Street - (The Fifty Year Argument) – Silence (2016 film) - (The Irishman) - Killers of the Flower Moon - (An Afternoon with SCTV)
© thevoid99 2017
Directed by Don Letts, The Clash: Westway to the World is the story about the legendary British punk rock band who started off as a very political voice during Britain’s most chaotic moments in the late 1970s to become what many said “the only band that mattered” where they would fall apart in the early 1980s. The film feature interviews with former members of the band as well as journalists and producers who were connected to the band. The result is one of the most fascinating and intriguing portraits into one of the greatest rock bands that had ever lived.
In the mid-to-late 1970s in Britain, the music world was shaken up by a new revolution that is punk as it rebelled against what was happening in the mainstream as it simplified the music back to basics and appealed to a young audience who weren’t into progressive rock or the established bands at the time like the Rolling Stones, the Who, Led Zeppelin, and Pink Floyd. Among these bands that were part of this new punk-rock revolution were the Clash as they went from being this very political and socially-driven band that talked rallied against American capitalism to becoming a band that was a voice for the people by the early 1980s. The film is about the band’s story from their formation in the mid-1970s to guitarist/vocalist Mick Jones’ departure in 1983 that many believed was the end of the Clash though they would disband three years later.
Don Letts, who was part of the punk music scene in Britain during that time, interviews the key members of the group in Jones, bassist Paul Simonon, drummer Topper Headon, and the late Joe Strummer (who died in December of 2002) as well as original drummer Terry Chimes about the band’s history. Through rare footage of the band in their early years as well as various concert footage of the band from their shows in Britain during the late 1970s to Mick Jones’ final show with the band at the 1983 Us Festival. Letts keeps the film very straightforward as he lets all of the members tell their story as well as the band’s struggle with success and how Topper Headon’s heroin addiction led to his departure in 1982 just before the release of their most commercially-successful album Combat Rock.
With the help of editor Denes Ujvari, Letts creates a film that plays into a band that is trying to maintain something that was a people’s band but forces that included their manager Bernie Rhodes who would play a role into Jones’ departure and the eventual dissolution of the band. Much of the film’s music is from the Clash as well as other genres that influenced the band like reggae as it plays into where the band came from. Especially as they were the kind of band that revealed what was going on in the world as they connected in such a way as they created a legacy that will never be duplicated.
The Clash: Westway to the World is an outstanding film from Don Letts about the Clash. The film isn’t just one of the finest films about punk rock and the band itself but it’s also a key essential film for anyone that doesn’t know much about the Clash or punk rock. Especially as it plays into a band that stood for something in a world that is often very complicated as they definitely earned that status as the only band that mattered. In the end, The Clash: Westway to the World is a magnificent film from Don Letts.
© thevoid99 2015
Written and directed by Jim Jarmusch, Mystery Train is a trilogy of stories set in Memphis, Tennessee that involve different visitors arriving into the city where they encounter all sorts of things in the city. One story entitled Far from Yokohama revolves around two Japanese tourists going on a pilgrimage to learn about the American blues. The second entitled A Ghost is about an Italian widow who stays at a hotel overnight. The third and final story called Lost in Space is about the adventures of an Englishman and his two friends. Starring Youki Kudoh, Masatoshi Nagase, Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, Cinque Lee, Nicoletta Braschi, Elizabeth Bracco, Rick Aviles, Steve Buscemi, and Joe Strummer. Mystery Train is an extraordinary film from Jim Jarmusch.
The film is essentially about different strangers who find themselves in the city of Memphis, Tennessee where they would all later stay at a hotel all in the course of one strange day. The first of which involves a young Japanese couple in Mitsuko (Youki Kudoh) and Jun (Masatoshi Nagase) who arrive to the city on a pilgrimage on the American blues where they arrive to Memphis earlier than they expected where they argue over who was better, Elvis Presley or Carl Perkins. The second story involves an Italian widow named Luisa (Nicoletta Braschi) who reluctantly stays in the city overnight where she shares a hotel room with a woman named Dee Dee (Elizabeth Bracco) who just left her boyfriend. The third story involves an angry Englishman named Johnny (Joe Strummer) who decides to go into a drunken adventure with his friends Will Robinson (Rick Aviles) and Charlie (Steve Buscemi) that gets bad. All of which has these characters staying in different rooms at a hotel run by the clerk (Screamin’ Jay Hawkins) and a bellboy (Cinque Lee).
Jim Jarmusch’s screenplay has these three very different stories all take place in a very simple narrative yet there’s moments where the three stories connect as characters from one story briefly interact with another and so on. Yet, these are all characters who feel sort of entranced but also lost in this strange city of Memphis as it is a character in the film. Mitsuko and Jun are these two young Japanese tourists who want to see Sun Studios and Graceland where Mitsuko is very upbeat but Jun is more reserved about everything as he doesn’t smile. Luisa is this Italian who finds herself having to stay to Memphis where she is conned into buying magazines and such as well as meeting a strange man (Tom Noonan) who claims to have met the ghost of Elvis where the most normal person she meets is Dee Dee who is just upset over her boyfriend getting laid off.
Mitsuko, Jun, and Luisa are these people who are fascinated by their surroundings where they’re just visitors in this strange land that is a bit decayed and sort of wild. Yet, they’re only staying there for one night as they know how chaotic the place is as the only other foreigner that is roaming around Memphis is Johnny who is just lamenting that he just got dumped. Drowning his sorrows in booze and carrying a loaded pistol, it’s obvious that this character is trouble but he’s sort of this charming character who feels bad over what he did as he has no clue on what is to do where he ends up causing more trouble for himself and his friends. All of these characters would stay in different hotel rooms where the clerk and the bellboy would meet these different characters and often make a few comments about what is going on and such where they would also listen to Elvis Presley’s cover of Blue Moon at certain points in the film as it plays on the radio.
Jarmusch’s direction is quite simple for much of the film while he does create some amazing compositions in the way he presents Memphis as well as the hotel the characters stay in. Memphis acts like this strange ghost town of sorts where some of places are abandoned or decaying while there’s also something vibrant that goes on in the city. It’s a true reflection of Americana that its foreign characters can seem overwhelmed by as Mitsuko and Jun are always staring though neither of them speak much English. There’s a lot of humor in the way these characters react to their surroundings where Mitsuko and Jun have a hard time listening to the Sun Studios tour guide who talks very fast in English. That is among some of the humorous moments as well as the scene of Luisa being conned to buy all of these magazines where it showcases that sense of alienation that can be quite funny.
There are also moments that include the hotel room scenes as there’s always a different painting of Elvis Presley in that hotel room. A lot of which showcases a man who represents everything that is an icon where Mitsuko and Jun are fascinated by how influential he is while Luisa is also transfixed by his presence. Johnny however, isn’t enthused about Elvis as he’s also called by Elvis by some of the locals. His story is definitely one of the darker moments of the film as well as one that is also quite mysterious as Johnny is someone who is connected to a character in another story as it all plays to these characters dealing with the strangeness of the city all in the span of one entire day. Overall, Jarmusch creates a very mesmerizing yet sensational film about people looking for something in the city of Memphis.
Cinematographer Robby Muller does amazing work with the film‘s very colorful and exotic photography from the look of Memphis in the daytime with the use of lights and such to play into the scenes set at night. Editor Melody London does excellent work with the editing by going for a straightforward approach while using some rhythmic cuts for some of the film‘s humorous moments. Production designer Dan Bishop and set decorator Dianna Freas do wonderful work with the look of the hotel rooms the characters stay in that features a different painting of Elvis Presley in each room.
Costume designer Carol Wood does terrific work with the clothes from the youthful look of Mitsuko and Jun to the more old-fashioned look of Luisa. Sound editor Robert Hein does superb work with the sound to convey the atmosphere of the locations as well as moments to link the other stories as a whole piece such as the music and a gunshot that is heard in the morning. The film’s music by John Lurie is fantastic for its low-key yet blues-based score to play into the world of Memphis while its soundtrack features an array of music from soul and rockabilly that includes music by Elvis Presley to play into the mysticism that is Memphis.
The film’s incredible cast includes some notable small roles from people like Sara Driver as an airport clerk, Sy Richardson as a magazine clerk, famed Memphis musician Rufus Thomas as a man who greets the Mitsuko and Jun at the Memphis train station, Rockets Redglare as a liquor store clerk, Tom Noonan as a mysterious man Luisa meets at a diner, and Tom Waits as the voice of a local radio DJ who plays the music that appears in the film. Cinque Lee is very funny as the young bellboy while the late yet legendary Screamin’ Jay Hawkins is superb as the hotel night clerk who dazzles in his red suit. Youki Kudoh and Masatoshi Nagase are fantastic as the young Japanese couple Mitsuko and Jun with Kudoh as the more upbeat and quirky Mitsuko while Nagase displays a low-key melancholia to his rule as Jun.
Nicoletta Braschi is amazing as Italian widow Luisa who is bewildered by her surroundings as she has no idea what is going on while being fascinated by the presence of Elvis Presley. Elizabeth Bracco is excellent as Dee Dee as this woman who just left her boyfriend as she is a very talkative person who is just upset over her day. Rick Aviles is terrific as Johnny’s friend Will Robinson who is frustrated over Johnny’s antics as well as the fact that he is named after a character in the TV show Lost in Space. Steve Buscemi is brilliant as Johnny’s friend Charlie who reluctantly helps Will out to sort out Johnny while trying to deal with the chaos of the night. Finally, there’s the late Joe Strummer in a marvelous performance as Johnny as this troubled Englishman who is upset over losing his job and his girl as he just wants to lash out at whatever is around him as he’s just got this presence that is unforgettable.
Mystery Train is a magnificent film from Jim Jarmusch. Armed with a remarkable ensemble cast as well as an intoxicating sense of mysticism. The film is an entrancing look into the world of alienation as well as a look into a world that is changing but also in decay where many of its traditions try to stay on. Notably in a city that is vibrant as Memphis, Tennessee that is full of culture and mystery that is still exciting to watch. In the end, Mystery Train is a phenomenal film from Jim Jarmusch.
Jim Jarmusch Films: Permanent Vacation - Stranger Than Paradise - Down by Law - Night on Earth - Dead Man - Year of the Horse - Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai - Coffee & Cigarettes - Broken Flowers - The Limits of Control - Only Lovers Left Alive - Paterson - Gimme Danger - (The Dead Don't Die) - The Auteurs #27: Jim Jarmusch
© thevoid99 2013
