The Fisher King (1991)
85%RT Audience Score: 85%
Awards & Nominations: Won 1 Oscar
14 wins & 39 nominations total
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
The Fisher King is a wild ride through the interconnected lives of two men on a quest for the Holy Grail. It’s visually impressive, frequently pretentious, and has moments of beauty as well as inelegance. But let’s be real, the real star of the show is Robin Williams’ epic beard. It’s so majestic, it deserves its own spin-off movie. Overall, it’s a touching and original film that’s well worth watching, if only for the beard.
Production Company(ies)
Distributor
Paramount Pictures
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Manhattan Bridge, New York City, New York, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for language and violence
Year of Release
1991
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby Stereo
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:2h 12m
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Sep 20, 1991 Original
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 29, 2001
Genre(s)
Drama
Keyword(s)
starring Robin Williams, Jeff Bridges, Amanda Plummer, Mercedes Ruehl, Michael Jeter, Adam Bryant, directed by Terry Gilliam, written by Richard LaGravenese, drama, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Kate Muir, Noel Murray, Owen Gleiberman, Jonathan Rosenbaum, Jo Berry, MPAA rating R, Debra Hill, Lynda Obst produced
Worldwide gross: $41,895,491
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $92,479,734
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,054
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 10,085,031
US/Canada gross: $41,895,491
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $92,479,734
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 790
US/Canada opening weekend: $311,662
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $687,960
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,325
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $24,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $52,977,387
Production budget ranking: 754
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $28,528,323
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $10,974,025
ROI to date (est.): 13%
ROI ranking: 1,330
Jeff Bridges – Jack Lucas
Amanda Plummer – Lydia
Mercedes Ruehl – Anne Napolitano
Michael Jeter – Homeless cabaret singer
Adam Bryant – Radio Engineer
Director(s)
Terry Gilliam
Writer(s)
Richard LaGravenese
Producer(s)
Debra Hill, Lynda Obst
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
Won 1 Oscar
14 wins & 39 nominations total
Academy Awards
Oscar Nominees, Oscar Winners
All Critics (62) | Top Critics (14) | Fresh (52) | Rotten (10)
The search for the Holy Grail reaches peak insanity in this wild, redemptive ride through two men’s interconnected lives.
June 15, 2017 | Rating: 4/5
Kate Muir
Times (UK)
TOP CRITIC
Gilliam exaggerates the romanticism, the grotesquerie, and the personal pain that runs through LaGravenese’s story, creating a reality where the more preposterous turns make sense.
June 22, 2015 | Rating: 4/5
Noel Murray
The Dissolve
TOP CRITIC
September 7, 2011 | Rating: C
Owen Gleiberman
Entertainment Weekly
TOP CRITIC
Visually impressive, frequently pretentious, and extremely fluid as narrative (the 137 minutes sail by effortlessly), this mythic comedy-drama presents Gilliam as half seer, half snake-oil salesman and defies you to sort out which is which.
January 29, 2010
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Chicago Reader
TOP CRITIC
Although there are moments when the mixture of comedy, fantasy and drama don’t come off, this is still an original, touching movie that is well worth the price of a ticket.
January 29, 2010 | Rating: 4/5
Jo Berry
Empire Magazine
TOP CRITIC
The Fisher King has two actors at the top of their form, and a compelling, well-directed and well-produced story.
March 26, 2009
Variety Staff
Variety
TOP CRITIC
A humane, empathetic, and very funny movie about a couple of down-on-their-luck guys, one of whom was a full-on street person. (30th anniversary)
October 1, 2021 | Rating: 4/5
Stephen Silver
Tilt Magazine
Stuffed to the point of emotional, narrative, and logical imbalance, there are as many moments of beauty as inelegance. But Gilliam’s ambitious odd-couple outfit, based on a script from Richard LaGravenese, revels in its own unique flavoring.
October 27, 2020 | Rating: 4/5
Nicholas Bell
IONCINEMA.com
The relationship between Jack and Perry feels lived in … Yet, the movie’s relationship to the themes of mental illness, mass shooting and homelessness are clumsier.
October 30, 2018 | Rating: 2.5/4
Christopher James
AwardsCircuit.com
At times loud and brash, at others introvert and delicate, Gilliam has crafted something rather special in this rightfully-beloved film.
April 11, 2018 | Rating: 9/10
Andrew Pollard
Starburst
Gilliam is not a director who does things by halves, and The Fisher King is as funny and emotive as the best of his work. Indeed, it’s the heightened humanity of this film that resonates the strongest.
June 26, 2017 | Rating: 4/5
Christopher Machell
CineVue
Intense ’90s drama has gory violence, mature themes.
August 9, 2016 | Rating: 2/5
Barbara Shulgasser
Common Sense Media…
Plot
Jack Lucas was once a famous, arrogant and egotistical New York City call-in radio talk show host. Largely self-inflicted due to remorse and grief, Jack goes on a quick downward spiral, both personally and professionally, after a glib comment he makes to one of his regular callers results in that caller going on a murder spree. Three years later, the only emotional and financial support a despondent Jack receives is from his current video store owning girlfriend, Anne. When Jack hits rock bottom, he meets a seemingly crazy and homeless man calling himself Parry. Parry does have mental health issues, namely hallucinations centered around the story of the Fisher King, which is why he has an obsession with obtaining the Holy Grail. When Jack learns of Parry’s own background and the reason he got to where he is, Jack feels he needs to be part of Parry’s salvation. He figures the way to do so is to connect Parry with Lydia Sinclair, a shy and uncoordinated woman who Parry loves from afar. In doing so, Jack may himself be able to recapture his old life back. But if he does, he may not realize that he was no saint in that former life.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
The Fisher King stars Robin Williams and Jeff Bridges in “moving performances.”
Terry-Gilliam.jpg
