The King of Comedy (1982 Martin Scorsese)

Paul D Zimmerman's screenplay could be about the quest to try to make it in the creative business, but is also about celebrity and obsession, and he cleverly cuts between the fantasies of its protagonist Robert de Niro and the actuality of him trying to get discovered by his hero Jerry Lewis. They are both great, as is Sandra Bernhard, though we don't know why she's so nuts. Cleverly, the ending may be irony or just another fantasy, and we don't discover till the end whether Pupkin has any talent or not.

Edited by Thelma Schoonmaker; shot by Fred Shuler, who photographed Arthur and was operator on Manhattan, Annie Hall, Dog Day Afternoon and Taxi Driver.