Martin Scorsese’s name is synonymous with cinema, and he has earned the title of being one of its best-ever directors for his efforts across seven decades of filmmaking. There are few, if any, awards yet to be bestowed upon Marty or his works, winning more than 20 Academy Awards for movies such as Raging Bull (1980), Goodfellas (1990), The Departed (2006) and so on.
The 82-year-old director is known to frequently collaborate with some of Hollywood’s finest talents, including on six occasions with Leonardo DiCaprio, but it’s Robert De Niro, a childhood friend of Scorsese, who has worked the most alongside him. This iconic duo knew each other while growing up in New York City, first meeting as teenagers, and they’ve collaborated on ten films to create some of the most heralded performances cinema has seen.
De Niro picked up his second Academy Award for his portrayal of boxer Jake Lamotta in Scorsese’s Raging Bull and earned nods for roles in his pal’s films such as Taxi Driver (1976), Cape Fear (1991) and Killers of the Flower Moon (2023), but there is another hidden gem the two worked on that is now free to stream.
Following the all-conquering success of Raging Bull, the friends returned to the studio to work on The King of Comedy (1983), though its reception was worlds apart compared to their previous effort.
In the movie, De Niro plays Rupert Pupkin, deemed to be a failure in life but a celebrity in his own mind, as he hosts an imaginary talk show in his mother’s basement.
Pupkin goes on to meet actual talk show host Jerry Langford, played by Jerry Lewis, and is convinced it will provide his big break, though Langford isn’t interested, which leads to Pupkin stalking and eventually kidnapping Langford to get a spot on his show.
This sleeper hit is available to stream for free on the streaming platform Plex, with no account required.
Scorsese has discussed the negative reaction to Kings of Comedy on initial release, and how audiences have grown to love it over time, even mentioning it on his daughter’s TikTok account.
In a video uploaded by Francesca, the movie legend tried to guess the meanings of modern slang terms, with mixed results, one of which was ‘spelt on’, meaning to be overlooked or underrated.
“King of Comedy was slept on,” Francesca added to help her dad before he answered, “People hated it when it came out.”
He continued: “It was the flop of the year, that’s what it was called on Entertainment Tonight on New Year’s Eve, 1983 to 1984.”