Robin Williams finest work as well as Jeff Bridges, this is a masterpiece film and so powerful to watch. A perfected blend of drama and comedy, with a pinch of wacky ~ a Monty Python twist for the soul. Mercedes Ruehl was red hot, just a steamy performance ~ well worthy of the Oscar she won. Amanda Plummer is utterly charming and again, my absolute favorite performance of hers. A rich and amazing film, 5/5, e a s i l y.

7.5/10? Wtf! Robin Williams in his best dramatic performance, Mercedes slaying the told and bridges coming up a distant third but still great. If you don’t have this on your top ten list you aren’t a film aficionado!

A radio presenter who provocatively causes the death of a man's wife tries to make amends.

Somehow I found myself identifying, at turns, with all four of the main characters. It’s just that deep.

Comfortably my favourite movie of all time, it is worth watching just for the dance sequence in Grand Central Station which has to be one of the greatest scenes both visually and emotionally ever made. In essence we have a story of supreme self centred arrogance, tragedy, guilt, pity, love and (possibly) redemption, not necessarily in that order. The characters are all vividly painted, you are immersed in to the world of these individuals who have been thrown together through circumstance. It can be a difficult watch at times but there are rewards to be had in allowing yourself to accept these people and their seemingly crazy existence. Robin Williams and Jeff Bridges are excellent but the true star in my eyes is Mercedes Ruehl. Her performance gives the real heart to the story and she deservedly won an Oscar for the role. Take a bow Mr Terry Gilliam, your madness has never made so much sense.

I felt like the characters in this movie could feel the happiness and difficulties that they faced in real life.

The background was really interesting

After a young man accidentally provokes a caller in a bar and kills a group of innocent people, he becomes depressed and starts drinking. When he's about to hit rock bottom, he runs into a homeless man whose wife was killed by someone who called Lucas. He spends his days emotionally wounded by the loss. Feeling guilty for the poor man's plight, Lucas promises to help him in his quest. It's a really great movie about friends

After shock jock Jack Lucas (Jeff Bridges) inadvertently provokes a caller into murdering a group of innocent people in a Manhattan bar, he grows depressed and turns to booze. As he's about to hit rock bottom, Lucas meets a homeless man named Parry (Robin Williams), whose wife was killed by the caller Lucas pushed to the brink. Mentally scarred by his loss, Parry spends his days searching for the Holy Grail. Lucas, feeling culpable for the poor man's plight, pledges to help him in his quest.

At times the story takes a backseat to the performances of each lead character. Whether Jack, Parry, Anne, or Lydia the characters pull you in with their stories. Stories that are a powerful representation of so many mental health issues; most notably grief. It’s immensely moving.

One issue that holds back a lot of Gilliam's work is they get a bit too crazy and frantic with the imagination and lose touch with reality a bit too much but are still really good films. This is what happens when he slows down and just lets the characters breathe with a witty and smart script to boot. Despite the surreal and bizarre setup the characters always feel so sincere than 99% of other romance flicks. It's truly heartfelt throughout. Really the only minor issues is the regression Jack does feel a bit forced and out of place but its so well done i's uper easy to overlook it and just go with it. The music also is really good but could be a bit more catchy on its own. Otherwise this is super masterfully done. It's a romance mixed with comedy and drama with a surreal touch but never feels unrelatable or ungrounded. Everyone should try this once. All Time Classic.

Great movie! I'll never understand why Robin Williams didn't win an Oscar. He's absolutely marvellous.

I saw this movie when it first came out and I thought it deep and amazing.

Just not my kind of movie. I didn't understand it from the start. A mess.

Originally an allegory of how humanity is waiting for its savior, "The Fisher King" is a story about a man so driven by fame and power, that he can't look past his own nose. The protagonist, Jack, is unable to consider the thoughts or feelings of others, until an un-empowered man (the Fisher King is a representation of those of us who are "castrated" and unable to produce or fend for ourselves) enters his life, giving him the opportunity of redemption. The movie is, in itself, a creative and meaningful adaptation of the mythological tale, but is very poorly scripted, often leading the viewer into frustration, annoyance, apathy and disregard. Robin Williams was an incredible talent; his mind was constantly creating in an incessant unease; possibly brought on by a feverous need for acceptance and meaning. Like for many of us, comedy was a mandatory survival tactic for Robin, but he went further, eventually thriving upon it. Sadly, "The Fisher King" fails to tread the delicate balance between drama and comedy, and understandably, since the two are incredibly different. Robin's relentless energy is misplaced and poorly directed, often presented at pivotal points of emotion or danger, instead of properly and timely at appropriate moments in the plot. Terry Gilliam fails to temper Robin's antics, shape a proper homeless lunatic, or present believable social interactions. This movie definitely did not merit award, but was still able to pull off many, including the Oscar, eventually becoming the only so honored movie in Gilliam's repertoire (how did his movie "Brazil" not get noticed?). Despite the intriguing premise and exceptional cast, "The Fisher King" is unable to rise above mediocrity, weighed down heavily by its horrendously wordy and meaningless script. Writer Richard LaGravenese either allowed the actors free reign or butchered the dialogue. Other aspects of the film are basically flawless, such as Roger Pratt's unique cinematography, as well as sound, music and editing. Depth and meaning are also presented correctly in the film. For example, the fact that Jack wears Parry's clothing in order to retrieve the grail is symbolic of his triumph of being able to walk in Parry's shoes. A massive achievement for Jack, who was unable to respect or understand others before this friendship. In conclusion, "The Fisher King" is probably a movie worth watching in the background, while doing something else.

I remember seeing this movie when it came out in 1991 and liked it. I have seen it 2 or 3 times since then, and it has held up. I have always been a big fan of Terry Gilliam movies, since his Monty Python days. His movies are funny, sad, offbeat, thought provoking and hit and miss with usually unsatisfying endings. Ha. This is one of his best movies. It has several great messages, and it is in my top 100 of all time movies. I have always been a fan of those ancient King Arthur stories also, which it ties into very well with. A+++

Jack Lucas (Jeff Bridges), a narcissistic, misanthropic shock jock, becomes suicidal and despondent when his insensitive on-air comments inadvertently prompt a mentally unstable caller to commit a mass murder–suicide at a Manhattan restaurant. Three years later, Jack is working for his girlfriend Anne (Mercedes Ruehl) 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 (Robin Williams), a delusional homeless man who claims his mission is to find the Holy Grail. Parry tries to enlist Jack's help in getting the grail, explaining that the Fisher King was charged by God with finding the Holy Grail, but incurred an incapacitating wound for his sin of pride. "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. After witnessing his wife's gruesome death at the same mass shooting Jack had provoked, Henry had a psychotic break 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, from a distorted memory of his wife's head exploding from a shotgun blast... Peter Travers of Rolling Stone wrote that the film "sweeps you up on waves of humor, heartbreak and ravishing romance". John Simon of the conservative National Review 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". Rotten Tomatoes 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." (via Wikipedia) This Terry Gilliam film is a true child of the nineties in terms of visual direction, vibe and cinematography. We get great performances from Bridges, Ruehl, Williams and Plummer, but it´s an unbalanced drama/comedy/romcom/fantasy with great moments and some truly strange moments. Gilliam's quite absurd over-direction blends too many styles in a film that doesn´t seem to know what it wants to be. In that sense I guess it´s a classic Gilliam film as he likes a mish mash of genres, but that´s also his minus side as a director. "The Fisher King" has a sad moving storyline that touches you in certain ways, but yet not really keep that feeling throughout the film. It´s too disjointed as a film in my opinion. I saw it when it came out in 1991, and I liked it then as far as I do remember, but it hasn´t aged all that well to me at least.

This film heavily owes to the two leads' presence, Robin Willians and Jeff Bridges. Thanks to that, I think this is least eccentric and more humane/realistic work compared to the other works created by Terry Gilliam. But in my view, his taste suits for more bizarre or fantasy. Likewise his other works, the story is about living in modern society absurd, and the ending is positive. Just too much things are going on, even though it has sufficient running time, I felt unevenness and rush.

Such a bizarre and beautiful story, emotional and nuts, all at the same time. Absolutely majestic!

This is a quirky, once contemporary (it was released in 1991) telling of an old tale as explained in the film, which is where the title comes from. It does feature themes relating to morality and so some people might feel it to be a little high and mighty, looking down on people who belittle those who are different, as well as the perhaps more obvious theme of the aftermath of failure. I enjoyed Robin Williams character, the rather eccentric Parry, who introduces Jack to a different way of thinking and regarding others. There is a sense of both naivety and innocence present in his character some times and at other times, the opposite applies. The fantasy elements made it seem more dated - nowadays better special effects would likely be used but then thats a given of course. It is an analogy of sorts I suppose. The performances by Jeff Bridges and Robin Williams are quite solid and overall I found it a good watch.