Fearless (1993)
86%RT Audience Score: 80%
Awards & Nominations: 6 wins & 13 nominations
This underrated gem from director Peter Weir features an outstanding performance from Jeff Bridges as a man dealing with profound grief
Fearless” is a movie that will make you feel all the feels. Jeff Bridges and Rosie Perez are a dynamic duo that will take you on a rollercoaster of emotions as they explore the depths of fear and what it means to overcome it. It’s a thought-provoking film that will leave you questioning everything you thought you knew about life and death. Plus, who doesn’t love a good Jeff Bridges performance? He’s a national treasure. Overall, “Fearless” is a must-watch for anyone who wants to feel something real.
Production Company(ies)
Paramount Pictures, The Coppola Company, American Zoetrope
Distributor
Warner Bros. Pictures, Argentina Video Home
Release Type
Filming Location(s)
Shanghai, China
MPAA / Certificate
Rated PG-13 for violence and martial arts action throughout
Year of Release
2006
-
Color:Color
-
Sound mix:Dolby Digital
-
Aspect ratio:2.35 : 1
-
Runtime:2h 1m
-
Language(s):Mandarin, Japanese, English
-
Country of origin:United States
-
Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Oct 15, 1993 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 1, 2001
Genre(s)
Keyword(s)
starring Jeff Bridges, Isabella Rossellini, Rosie Perez, Tom Hulce, John Turturro, Benicio Del Toro, directed by Peter Weir, written by Rafael Yglesias, drama, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Candice Frederick, Sam Adams, David Ansen, Todd McCarthy, Geoff Andrew, Vincent Canby, Rosa Parra, Joe Leydon, Alberto Abuín, Owen McNally, MPAA rating R, grief, PTSD, near-death experience, psychologist, survivor, invulnerability, radical behavior, guilt, sense of self, altered state of mind, airplane crash, closure, human spirit, ethereal, hypnotic, realistic, poignant, unexpecting moments of humor, unabashed honesty, memorable scene, U2 soundtrack
Worldwide gross: $68,072,848
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $100,384,107
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,018
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 10,947,013
US/Canada gross: $24,633,730
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $36,326,304
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,205
US/Canada opening weekend: $10,564,000
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $15,578,277
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 767
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Isabella Rossellini – Laura Klein
Rosie Perez – Carla Rodrigo
Tom Hulce – Brillstein
John Turturro – Dr. Bill Perlman
Benicio Del Toro – Manny Rodrigo
Director(s)
Peter Weir
Writer(s)
Rafael Yglesias
Producer(s)
Mark Rosenberg, Paula Weinstein
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
6 wins & 13 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (41) | Top Critics (12) | Fresh (35) | Rotten (6)
Both [Jeff] Bridges and [Rosie] Perez are exceptional in this movie that explores the stages of fear and what two people did to overcome them.
September 12, 2017 | Rating: A-
Candice Frederick
Reel Talk Online
TOP CRITIC
In Fearless, fear-not just overcoming it, but experiencing it-connects us to our deepest selves, and to each other.
November 5, 2013 | Rating: 5/5
Sam Adams
The Dissolve
TOP CRITIC
Fearless is the rare commercial movie that raises more questions than it answers. You leave it in an altered state yourself–moved, not quite satisfied, but certain you’ve seen something out of the ordinary.
November 4, 2008
David Ansen
Newsweek
TOP CRITIC
Bridges is fine, especially in the ethereal early moments, and manages throughout to convey an altered state of mind that rivets the viewer.
October 16, 2008
Todd McCarthy
Variety
TOP CRITIC
As often with Weir, there’s considerably less here than meets the eye.
January 26, 2006
Geoff Andrew
Time Out
TOP CRITIC
Mr. Bridges does well with a difficult role.
May 20, 2003
Vincent Canby
New York Times
TOP CRITIC
An exploration of grief, PTSD, and how near-death experiences impact survivors. Rosie Perez deserves her acting nomination giving a raw heartbreaking performance.
May 22, 2021 | Rating: 4/5
Rosa Parra
Latinx Lens
“Fearless” is a powerful and provocative movie about, among other things, the dizzying possibilities of life after a near-death experience.
December 4, 2020
Joe Leydon
The Moving Picture Show
A bad movie that doesn’t even serve as entertainment. [Full Review in Spanish]
February 12, 2020
Alberto Abuín
Espinof
Like the movie itself, Daviau’s cityscapes are striking, mysterious and emotionally charged.
March 4, 2019
Owen McNally
Hartford Courant
…it’s the sense of sadness that gives the movie its backbone.
October 2, 2013 | Rating: 3/4
Josh Larsen
LarsenOnFilm
Especially as acted by Jeff Bridges, in one of the best performances of a career laden with outstanding work, Fearless is a bottomless character study.
August 12, 2010 | Rating: 9/10
Tim Brayton
Antagony & Ecstasy…
Plot
Martial arts legend Huo Yuanjia became the most famous fighter in all of China at the turn of the 20th Century. Huo faced personal tragedy but ultimately fought his way out of darkness and into history, defining the true spirit of martial arts. His self-discovery, and the choices he made, inspired his nation. The son of a great fighter who did not wish for his child to follow in his footsteps, the bullied Huo Yuanjia resolves to teach himself how to fight – and win. Years of training enable him to ace match after match in his home region of Tianjin. But as his fame as a martial arts master grows, so does his pride. After an ill-advised fight leads to another master’s death, members of Huo’s family are slain in revenge. Grieving and ashamed, Huo wanders the country in shock. Near death, he is rescued by women from an idyllic village, and is offered simple kindness and generosity that help him heal and regain his equilibrium over a period of several years. Huo realizes that the future of martial arts lies in sportsmanship and not brutality, and he rejoins society to apply what he has learned. Returning to Tianjin, Huo takes steps to come to terms with his past and restore his family’s name. His evolving, graceful Mizong (Missing) Fist method of fighting brings Huo renewed success, and he forms the progressive Jingwu Sports Federation. Taking note, duplicitous members of the Foreign Chamber of Commerce engineer a Shanghai tournament pitting Huo against four fighters, each representing the major foreign powers in China. Huo commits to the bout and faces off against, respectively, a British boxer, a Spanish swordsman, a Belgian soldier, and a Japanese martial artist. What happened that day in 1910 has never been, and will never be, forgotten in China.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Jeff Bridges delivers an outstanding performance as Max Klein in Fearless.
Peter-Weir.jpg
