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The Fisher King
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The Fisher King
The Fisher King is a 1991 American fantasy comedy drama film written by Richard LaGravenese and directed by Terry Gilliam. Starring Robin Williams and Jeff Bridges, with Mercedes Ruehl, Amanda Plummer and Michael Jeter, the film tells the story of a radio shock jock 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 Tri-Star Pictures 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 film earned five nominations, including Best Actor for Williams and Best Original Screenplay for LaGravenese, with Ruehl winning Best Supporting Actress, making The Fisher King the only Oscar-winning film of Gilliam's career.
Jack Lucas, a narcissistic, misanthropic shock jock, dismisses a disturbed regular caller, Edwin, over his infatuation with a woman he met at a Manhattan restaurant, brashly describing her social circle as a vain enemy to people like Edwin that "must be stopped before it's too late". Meanwhile, Jack has an equally vain girlfriend and a high-rise penthouse apartment, and is in consideration for the lead in a comedic TV pilot. While practicing a line read at home, he turns on a news report and discovers his comments spurred Edwin to commit a mass murder–suicide at the restaurant, to his horror.
Three years later, Jack is working for his new girlfriend, Anne, in her video store, and is in a mostly drunken, depressed state, fearful of being recognized. One night, while on a bender, he is moments from suicide. However, teenage punks attack Jack and nearly set him on fire, mistaking him for a homeless person. Parry, a delusional homeless man, rescues Jack, claiming to have been tasked by cherubs to find the Holy Grail.
Parry tries to enlist Jack's help in retrieving the Grail, relaying the legend of God charging the Fisher King with finding the Holy Grail, but the King incurring 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 his role in Parry's current condition. Parry, whose real name is Henry Sagan, had been a teacher at Hunter College. After witnessing his wife's death during Edwin's massacre, Henry had a psychotic break and became catatonic. After awakening, he took on the persona of Parry and became obsessed with the Fisher King's legend. With Parry as his shielding persona, mentions of reality panic him, and he is continually haunted by a hallucinatory Red Knight, from a distorted memory of his wife's face 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 at first sent a cabaret telegram performed by a homeless singer, inviting her to Anne's video store. While there, she is prodded to meet Parry and join Jack and Anne for dinner. Afterward, Parry walks Lydia home and declares his love for her after having been observing her for months. She reciprocates before heading inside, but Parry's initiating a new romance summons the Knight. Fleeing his vision, the memory of his wife's murder, and his institutionalization, he is ambushed by the teenage punks. Beaten and knifed mercilessly, Parry becomes catatonic again. Jack, feeling whole again after "saving" Parry, breaks up with Anne and begins to rebuild his career. However, he has a crisis of conscience during a business meeting after ignoring the homeless cabaret singer's reaching out to him.
Jack eventually finds out what happened to Parry. Ultimately wanting to help his friend, Jack dons Parry's clothing and infiltrates the Upper East Side castle of a famous architect and retrieves a trophy that 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.
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The Fisher King
The Fisher King is a 1991 American fantasy comedy drama film written by Richard LaGravenese and directed by Terry Gilliam. Starring Robin Williams and Jeff Bridges, with Mercedes Ruehl, Amanda Plummer and Michael Jeter, the film tells the story of a radio shock jock 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 Tri-Star Pictures 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 film earned five nominations, including Best Actor for Williams and Best Original Screenplay for LaGravenese, with Ruehl winning Best Supporting Actress, making The Fisher King the only Oscar-winning film of Gilliam's career.
Jack Lucas, a narcissistic, misanthropic shock jock, dismisses a disturbed regular caller, Edwin, over his infatuation with a woman he met at a Manhattan restaurant, brashly describing her social circle as a vain enemy to people like Edwin that "must be stopped before it's too late". Meanwhile, Jack has an equally vain girlfriend and a high-rise penthouse apartment, and is in consideration for the lead in a comedic TV pilot. While practicing a line read at home, he turns on a news report and discovers his comments spurred Edwin to commit a mass murder–suicide at the restaurant, to his horror.
Three years later, Jack is working for his new girlfriend, Anne, in her video store, and is in a mostly drunken, depressed state, fearful of being recognized. One night, while on a bender, he is moments from suicide. However, teenage punks attack Jack and nearly set him on fire, mistaking him for a homeless person. Parry, a delusional homeless man, rescues Jack, claiming to have been tasked by cherubs to find the Holy Grail.
Parry tries to enlist Jack's help in retrieving the Grail, relaying the legend of God charging the Fisher King with finding the Holy Grail, but the King incurring 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 his role in Parry's current condition. Parry, whose real name is Henry Sagan, had been a teacher at Hunter College. After witnessing his wife's death during Edwin's massacre, Henry had a psychotic break and became catatonic. After awakening, he took on the persona of Parry and became obsessed with the Fisher King's legend. With Parry as his shielding persona, mentions of reality panic him, and he is continually haunted by a hallucinatory Red Knight, from a distorted memory of his wife's face 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 at first sent a cabaret telegram performed by a homeless singer, inviting her to Anne's video store. While there, she is prodded to meet Parry and join Jack and Anne for dinner. Afterward, Parry walks Lydia home and declares his love for her after having been observing her for months. She reciprocates before heading inside, but Parry's initiating a new romance summons the Knight. Fleeing his vision, the memory of his wife's murder, and his institutionalization, he is ambushed by the teenage punks. Beaten and knifed mercilessly, Parry becomes catatonic again. Jack, feeling whole again after "saving" Parry, breaks up with Anne and begins to rebuild his career. However, he has a crisis of conscience during a business meeting after ignoring the homeless cabaret singer's reaching out to him.
Jack eventually finds out what happened to Parry. Ultimately wanting to help his friend, Jack dons Parry's clothing and infiltrates the Upper East Side castle of a famous architect and retrieves a trophy that 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.