''The Fisher King'' is a 1991 American

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...

comedy-drama film Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

written by

Richard LaGravenese Richard LaGravenese (; born October 30, 1959) is an American screenwriter and film director, known for '' The Fisher King'', ''The Bridges of Madison County'', and ''Behind the Candelabra''. Personal life LaGravenese was born in Brooklyn, New Yo ...

and directed by

Terry Gilliam Terrence Vance Gilliam (; born 22 November 1940) is an American-born British filmmaker, comedian, animator, actor and former member of the Monty Python comedy troupe. Gilliam has directed 13 feature films, including ''Time Bandits'' (1981), ''B ...

. Starring

Robin Williams Robin McLaurin Williams (July 21, 1951August 11, 2014) was an American actor and comedian. Known for his improvisational skills and the wide variety of characters he created on the spur of the moment and portrayed on film, in dramas and come ...

and

Jeff Bridges Jeffrey Leon Bridges (born December 4, 1949) is an American actor. He has received various accolades throughout his career spanning over seven decades, including an Academy Award and two Golden Globe Awards. Bridges comes from a prominent a ...

, with Mercedes Ruehl,

Amanda Plummer Amanda Michael Plummer (born March 23, 1957) is an American actress. She is known for her work on stage and for her roles in such films as '' Joe Versus the Volcano'' (1990), ''The Fisher King'' (1991), ''Pulp Fiction'' (1994), and '' The Hunge ...

, and

Michael Jeter Robert Michael Jeter (; August 26, 1952 – March 30, 2003) was an American actor. His television roles included Herman Stiles on the sitcom ''Evening Shade'' from 1990 until 1994 and Mr. Noodle's brother, Mister Noodle, on the '' Elmo's World'' ...

in supporting roles, the film tells the story of a

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...

shock jock A shock jock is a radio broadcaster or DJ who entertains listeners and attracts attention using humor and/or melodramatic exaggeration that may offend some portion of the listening audience. The term is used pejoratively to describe provocative o ...

who tries to find redemption by helping a man whose life he inadvertently shattered. It explores "the intermingling of New York City's usually strictly separated social strata" and has been described as "a modern-day Grail Quest that fused New York romantic comedy with timeless fantasy". The film was released in the United States by

TriStar Pictures TriStar Pictures, Inc. (spelled as Tri-Star until 1991) is an American film studio and production company that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, part of the multinational conglomerate Sony. It is a corporate sibling of Sony ...

on September 20, 1991. It received generally favorable reviews from critics and grossed $72 million on a $24 million budget. At the

64th Academy Awards The 64th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 1991 in the United States and took place on March 30, 1992, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles begi ...

the film earned five nominations, including Best Actor for Williams and

Best Original Screenplay The Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay is the Academy Award for the best screenplay not based upon previously published material. It was created in 1940 as a separate writing award from the Academy Award for Best Story. Beginning with the ...

for LaGravenese, with Ruehl winning Best Supporting Actress.

Plot

Jack Lucas, a narcissistic,

misanthropic Misanthropy is the general hatred, dislike, distrust or contempt of the human species, human behavior or human nature. A misanthrope or misanthropist is someone who holds such views or feelings. The word's origin is from the Greek words μῖσ ...

, becomes suicidal and despondent when his insensitive on-air comments inadvertently prompt a mentally unstable caller to commit a

mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different elementar ...

murder–suicide A murder-suicide is an act in which an individual murder, kills one or more persons either before or while suicide, killing themselves. The combination of murder and suicide can take various forms: * Murder linked with suicide of a person with a ...

at a

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

restaurant. Three years later, Jack is working for his girlfriend Anne in a video store, and is in a mostly drunken, depressed state. One night, while on a bender, he contemplates suicide. However, he is attacked and nearly set on fire by thugs who mistake him for a homeless person. He is rescued by Parry, a delusional homeless man who claims his mission is to find the

Holy Grail The Holy Grail (french: Saint Graal, br, Graal Santel, cy, Greal Sanctaidd, kw, Gral) is a treasure that serves as an important motif in Arthurian literature. Various traditions describe the Holy Grail as a cup, dish, or stone with miracul ...

. Parry tries to enlist Jack's help in getting the grail, explaining that the

Fisher King The Fisher King is a figure in Arthurian legend, the last in a long line of British kings tasked with guarding the Holy Grail. The Fisher King is both the protector and physical embodiment of his lands, but a wound renders him incapable and hi ...

was charged by God with finding the Holy Grail, but incurred an incapacitating wound for his sin of

pride Pride is defined by Merriam-Webster as "reasonable self-esteem" or "confidence and satisfaction in oneself". A healthy amount of pride is good, however, pride sometimes is used interchangeably with "conceit" or "arrogance" (among other words) wh ...

. "A Fool asks the King why he suffers, and when the King says he is thirsty, the Fool gives him a cup of water to drink. The King realizes the cup is the Grail and asks, 'How did you find what my brightest and bravest could not?' The Fool said 'I don't know. I only knew that you were thirsty.'" Jack is initially reluctant but acquiesces after learning that he is partially responsible for Parry's current condition. Parry, whose real name is Henry Sagan, had been a teacher at

Hunter College Hunter College is a public university in New York City. It is one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York and offers studies in more than one hundred undergraduate and postgraduate fields across five schools. It also admi ...

. After witnessing his wife's gruesome death at the same mass shooting Jack had provoked, Henry had a

psychotic break Psychosis is a condition of the mind that results in difficulties determining what is real and what is not real. Symptoms may include delusions and hallucinations, among other features. Additional symptoms are incoherent speech and behavior t ...

and became catatonic. When he woke, he had taken the persona of Parry and became obsessed with the legend of the Fisher King. With Parry as his shielding persona, mentions of reality panic him and he is continually haunted by a terrifying, hallucinatory

Red Knight Red Knight ( cy, Marchog Coch, kw, Marghek Rudh, br, Marc'heg Ruz) is a title borne by several characters in Arthurian legend. In legends Tales of Perceval The Red Knight prominently appears in the tales of the hero Perceval (Percival) as his ...

, from a distorted memory of his wife's head exploding from a shotgun blast. Jack seeks to redeem himself by helping Parry find love again. Lydia, a shy woman with whom Parry is smitten, is prodded into meeting Parry and joining Jack and Anne for a dinner date. Afterwards, Parry walks Lydia home and declares his love for her; she reciprocates, but the brush with reality summons the Red Knight. Fleeing his vision and the memory of his wife's murder, he is ambushed by the same thugs against whom he had defended Jack. Beaten mercilessly, Parry becomes catatonic again. Jack, feeling whole again after 'saving' Parry, breaks up with Anne and begins to rebuild his career, but has a crisis of conscience during a

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ne ...

pitch after snubbing a vagrant who had previously done him a favor. After finding out what happened to Parry, Jack dons Parry's clothing and infiltrates the

Upper East Side The Upper East Side, sometimes abbreviated UES, is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 96th Street to the north, the East River to the east, 59th Street to the south, and Central Park/Fifth Avenue to the wes ...

castle of a famous architect and retrieves the "Grail", a trophy which Parry believes to be the real Grail. During the theft, Jack finds the architect unconscious from attempting suicide. He triggers the alarm while leaving, alerting authorities and saving the man's life. When he brings the “Grail” to Parry, Parry regains consciousness and tells a silent Jack he's ready to miss his wife now. Lydia comes to visit Parry in the hospital; she finds him awake and leading the patients of the ward in a rendition of "

How About You? "How About You?" is a popular song composed by Burton Lane, with lyrics by Ralph Freed. (1941 in music) It was introduced in the 1941 film ''Babes on Broadway'' by Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney. The lyrics of the song are often changed dependi ...

" with Jack. Parry and Lydia embrace, and Jack reconciles with Anne, telling her that he loves her. She slaps him, but then grabs and kisses him. Later, Jack and Parry lie naked in

Central Park Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West Side, Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the List of New York City parks, fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban par ...

gazing at the clouds, as a fireworks display over New York presents "The End".

Cast

Production

During an appearance on an episode of ''The Directors'', Gilliam stated that he wanted to do the film because he was tired of big budget special effects films, such as his previous film ''

The Adventures of Baron Munchausen ''The Adventures of Baron Munchausen'' is a 1988 adventure fantasy film co-written and directed by Terry Gilliam, and starring John Neville, Sarah Polley, Eric Idle, Jonathan Pryce, Oliver Reed, Robin Williams and Uma Thurman. An interna ...

'', which went over budget and cost over $45 million, nearly twice as much as ''The Fisher Kings budget of $24 million. This was the first film Gilliam directed in which he was not involved in writing the

screenplay ''ScreenPlay'' is a television drama anthology series broadcast on BBC2 between 9 July 1986 and 27 October 1993. Background After single-play anthology series went off the air, the BBC introduced several showcases for made-for-television, fe ...

, as well as his first film not to feature any other members of

Monty Python Monty Python (also collectively known as the Pythons) were a British comedy troupe who created the sketch comedy television show '' Monty Python's Flying Circus'', which first aired on the BBC in 1969. Forty-five episodes were made over four ...

. According to ''The Directors'' episode, Gilliam came up with the scene where Robin Williams and Amanda Plummer meet during a huge waltz in the middle of

Grand Central Terminal Grand Central Terminal (GCT; also referred to as Grand Central Station or simply as Grand Central) is a commuter rail terminal located at 42nd Street and Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Grand Central is the southern terminus ...

, because he felt the scene LaGravenese had written, in which a large group of people in a crowded subway listen to a homeless woman sing with a beautiful voice that fills the room, wasn't working. He was hesitant about this at first, because his original intentions were just to shoot the script and the waltz would make it "a Terry Gilliam film". The scene was shot in one night with a mix of professional extras and passengers alighting from the train.

Reception

Box office

The film did moderately well at the box office, with a gross of almost $42 million in the United States and Canada, and an international gross of $30.5 milion, for a worldwide total of $72.4 million.

Critical response

Peter Travers Peter Joseph Travers (born ) is an American film critic, journalist, and television presenter. He reviews films for ABC News and previously served as a movie critic for ''People'' and ''Rolling Stone''. Travers also hosts the film interview prog ...

of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' wrote that the film "sweeps you up on waves of humor, heartbreak and ravishing romance". John Simon of the conservative

National Review ''National Review'' is an American conservative editorial magazine, focusing on news and commentary pieces on political, social, and cultural affairs. The magazine was founded by the author William F. Buckley Jr. in 1955. Its editor-in-chief i ...

described ''The Fisher King'' as "one of the most nonsensical, pretentious, mawkishly cloying movies I ever had to wretch through." Following Robin Williams' death, a re-appraisal of the film on RogerEbert.com stated that "no Williams film can hit harder — or be so fully consoling in such heartbreaking circumstances — than ''The Fisher King''", where his character "gradually simmers to a boil of bristling insecurities, terror and agonizing internalized pain". On

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, the film has an approval rating of 84% based on 62 reviews, with an average rating of 7.1/10. The site's critics consensus reads, "An odd but affecting mixture of drama, comedy and fantasy, ''The Fisher King'' manages to balance moving performances from Robin Williams and Jeff Bridges with director Terry Gilliam's typically askew universe." On

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

, the film has a weighted average score of 61 out of 100, based on nine critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences surveyed by

CinemaScore CinemaScore is a market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts based on the data. Background Ed Mintz founded Ci ...

gave the film a grade "B+" on scale of A to F.

Accolades

Home media

Laserdisc

The film was released on VHS and Laserdisc by

Columbia TriStar Home Video Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (abbreviated as SPHE) is the home video distribution division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. Background SPHE is responsible for the distribution of the Sony Pictures lib ...

in 1992. The first Laserdisc release was a full-screen, but showed more vertical information while cropping horizontally. The second release in 1997 presents the film in its theatrical ratio of 1.85:1.

The Criterion Collection The Criterion Collection, Inc. (or simply Criterion) is an American home-video distribution company that focuses on licensing, restoring and distributing "important classic and contemporary films." Criterion serves film and media scholars, cinep ...

released their Laserdisc version in 1993 with several extras that have not surfaced on any other release, and a director-approved widescreen transfer in 1.66:1.

DVD and Blu-ray

The film was first released on DVD in 1998 by Columbia TriStar Home Video, using the same master as the 1997 Laserdisc release, with only theatrical trailer as a special feature. This release was one of the oldest DVD titles to still remain in print. In 2011, Image Entertainment released the film on

Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...

utilizing a new HD master in the theatrical ratio of 1.85:1, with Dolby Digital Tru-HD 5.1 surround, with no special features. On June 23, 2015,

re-released the film on Blu-ray and DVD featuring a brand new 2K transfer and DTS-HD 5.1 surround sound mix.

References

External links

* * * *
Dreams: ''The Fisher King''

''The Fisher King: In the Kingdom of the Imperfect''
an essay by Bilge Ibiri at the

Criterion Collection The Criterion Collection, Inc. (or simply Criterion) is an American home-video distribution company that focuses on licensing, restoring and distributing "important classic and contemporary films." Criterion serves film and media scholars, cinep ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fisher King, The 1991 films 1990s fantasy comedy-drama films American fantasy comedy-drama films Arthurian films 1990s English-language films Films about atonement Films about the Holy Grail Films about homelessness Films about post-traumatic stress disorder Films about radio people Films directed by Terry Gilliam Films featuring a Best Musical or Comedy Actor Golden Globe winning performance Films featuring a Best Supporting Actress Academy Award-winning performance Films featuring a Best Supporting Actress Golden Globe-winning performance Films produced by Debra Hill Films produced by Lynda Obst Films scored by George Fenton Films set in New York City TriStar Pictures films Toronto International Film Festival People's Choice Award winners 1990s American films