The King of Comedy (film) Reagan administration in contrast to other films made during the administration's early years (although the script was written well before Reagan's election, and shooting began less than five months after Reagan took office). "At a time when the film world piles on simple-minded sentiment in thick gooey gobs, a picture like "The King of Comedy" appears a frontal assault. The triumph of the 'little guy' is revealed to be nothing more than lumpen neo-Fascist blood lust." Pauline Kael of "The New Yorker" was one of the critics who disliked the film, describing the character of Rupert Pupkin as "Jake LaMotta
Robert De Niro Scorsese earned him the Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of Jake LaMotta in the 1980 film "Raging Bull". De Niro's first major film roles were in the sports drama "Bang the Drum Slowly" (1973) and Scorsese's crime film "Mean Streets" (1973). He earned Academy Award nominations for the psychological thrillers "Taxi Driver" (1976) and "Cape Fear" (1991), both directed by Scorsese. De Niro received additional nominations for Michael Cimino's Vietnam war drama "The Deer Hunter" (1978), Penny Marshall's drama "Awakenings" (1990), and David O. Russell's romantic comedy-drama "Silver Linings Playbook" (2012). His portrayal of gangster Jimmy Conway