I liked the movie, it is a tad on the commercial side for Terry G. Not his best, but better than Brother's Grimm or his Hunter S Thompson one

Strange movie with many touching moments and some quirky and memorable performances. The plot arc got messy and I didn't think it ever landed on the other side.

Mostly I remember it because it helped inspire me to take up the hobby of burning homeless people alive. Jeff Bridges' wife and her video store also make a great portrait of how porn can truly empower women. I swear, though, I've watched this movie about three additional times because I find I've forgotten the title parable. And now I've done it again. Who the fuck was the "fisher king" again? It's got to be the most forgettable fairy tale I've ever heard.

A bit over done (the flash backs) but I liked it more or less and Robbin Williams, Mercedes Ruehl, Jeff Bridges, and Amanda Plummer were all OK. It has just been remade as Reign Over Me.

Wha? Someone dissing Fear and Loathing? Say it ain't so!!

But yeah, Fischer King is a bit on the commercial side. Still a good movie though.

I saw it for the first and only time on Italian TV (in English) a year and half or so back. I had only three thoughts on it:

1) Tom Waits! OMG!

2) Robin Williams, meh. Robin Williams naked....ugh.

3) Jeff Bridges wears the same Japanese baseball player shirt that he wore much later and much more famously in The Big Lebowski. That was kinda cool.

I guess I'm willing to conceed that Fear and Loathing may be an ok movie, but while I'm not OMG DRUGS R EVIL, I'm not, generally, a fan of 1) drug movies, 2) Johnny Depp, or 3) Hunter S Thompson*, though I found Where the Buffalo Roam to be amusing, NIXON!

*(there are situational exceptions to all three that I can think of that I like, but as a whole, nah)

I saw it a long, long time ago. Probably just after it came out on VHS. All I really remember is that it was confusing.

I saw it way too long ago too... on VHS... Damn it deborah, are you sure you AREN'T my crazy ex-wife?

Anyway, I remember that Mr. Noodle's brother Mr. Noodle and Mr. Burns were in the cast, but I didn't recognize Peggy Hill and Niles Crane. Just a couple more reasons to see it again.

Did I mention that Robin Williams once pointed me out while he was on stage and called me "Bill Tilden" because of the sweater I was wearing? Oh yeah, I have, several dozen times.

I like it a lot. The scene where Robin Williams is following Amanda Plummer through the train station and everyone around them starts dancing, like it's a huge ballroom, is one of my favorite movie moments ever.

I like the movie enough that it is on my wishlist, I think it is much more accessible [not necessarily commercial] than his other films. It is by no means a perfect film, but Gilliam productions have always been plagued with haphazardry. Lost in la Mancha anyone?

I think what I like best about it is that it takes place on the border between fantasy and reality in literal and psychological senses, not in an academic manner, but in a way that anyone with a smidgen of imagination can relate to.

We used this in HS english to discuss the "Hero's Journey" mythological plot arc.

And I'm in the love it column. I like NY in June!

Interesting responses. I actually fell asleep while "collecting my thoughts". I did wonder whether being exhausted affected my emotional response to the movie.

I saw this when it came out, thought it was tremendously affecting, but a bit confusing too and not one of my favorites. I saw it on cable a couple of times later because Mercedes, er, Ruehls. (I loved her guest stint on Frasier, one of his best foils in the entire series, and I had forgotten the David Hyde Pierce connection.) Those times, it was a bit meh.

For some reason, though, my mom checked it out of the library (we watch movies with my nephew a lot) and I figured she had no idea what she was in for.

I think it's one of Gilliam's most affecting films, and that the material and cast were perfectly suited to him (or at least, none could do it appreciably better). The fundamental message of humanism that you can find in all his films is brought to the fore here through character rather than plot, which makes it more powerful.

As sciurus alludes, the masterful, confident slips between reality and fantasy -- never straying too far -- are amazing. (If you like this aspect, I highly, highly recommend the Peter Jackson film Heavenly Creatures.) And as someone who used to make that clockwork trip across the not-really-chaotic Grand Central Terminal every day, the waltz scene was delicious.

One thing that struck me this time through was that Gilliam was directing two very strong actresses, and particularly one long scene together. Gilliam is well-known for having few women characters, and those that he does are often abstract and iconic. Parry's wife, in this film, fulfilled that need for him, but he was forced -- because it wasn't his script, it was Richard LaGravenase's -- to handle these two strong women characters played by strong actresses, and he did it quite well.

He was also capable of forcing Williams to produce a strong acting performance, which he manages far too rarely in recent years. There's a class of actors that need strong directors, and if they aren't directed properly turn in befuddling or just bad performances, and I count actors as different as Williams and (say) Bruce Willis among them. Gilliam didn't have a problem -- he knew when to use Williams's loopy schtick for a purpose.

I love the idea of the Sheep Meadow bit, but I also knew that on any night nice enough for them to do that, it wouldn't be deserted by any stretch. In fact, the few times I was out there after the park was closed (and no, you didn't want to bramble around too much after dark, if you had any concept of safety) it was full of really chilled out people.

Another small oddity about the film is that there wasn't a single shot of the WTC that I saw. Nevertheless, Gilliam managed to capture aspects of the city that nobody else could. The art direction, as always, was stunning -- and here he was using a real city.

My observed failings of the film include poor integration of the Michael Jeter character and lack of follow-up of various subplots and characters. It was already over 2 hours, but you almost wished that Jack's transformation(s) had more visible effect in his life, at times.

Who the fuck was the "fisher king" again? It's got to be the most forgettable fairy tale I've ever heard.

The Fisher-King is a seriously important part of Western literature. Not only is it a standard part of the Arthurian story family, it's the basis of works ranging from Wagner's opera Parsifal to T.S. Eliot's The Waste-Land. It's dealt with in The Golden Bough, a seminal work of literary criticism that is required reading for many English Lit. majors. It's perhaps forgotten today -- there isn't an accessible Brothers Grimm version -- but the tale itself has resonances to themes that are present throughout Western art.

Woh -- someone really loved the movie: fansite for the film.

Another small oddity about the film is that there wasn't a single shot of the WTC that I saw. Nevertheless, Gilliam managed to capture aspects of the city that nobody else could. The art direction, as always, was stunning -- and here he was using a real city.

I remember in an interview from the time that Gilliam made a conscious decision to use the tops of buildings in NYC that no one ever looked at. He found some hidden in plain sight beauty that way.

Wikipedia Fisher King

The Fisher King is carries classic themes from Gilliam in terms of what is reality and that there is a big gray strip between reality and fantasy.

Commercial though it may be for Gilliam, I still love it. The characters are fairly interesting and, unlike Baron Munchausen, Gilliam got Robin Williams to act, which is always a bonus.

I love the ballroom scene in Grand Central, especially the transition back from waltz to rush hour. This is a typical "what is reality?" moment and the change from one to the other is so seamless. I caught it on TiVo last week and watched that transition several times. It was great.

There is also another moment that stands out: when Jack is scaling the castle in search of the Grail, he gets a taste of Perry's hallucinations, when he spots the Red Knight in the stained glass. You (and he) hear a horse whinnying in the distance and as he turns his head to find it, the whinny changes to a distance police siren.

I also really like the comic relief moment for when Jack pushes "Ordinary Peepholes" and "Creamer vs Creamer" on the annoying customer ("It's a split cheeky, spread titty kind of movie").

Re: The mythic and cultural impact; I always think of the Fisher King when I listen to Bowie's "I'm Deranged".

"Things guide a man changed; his hands held fire."

At least, I think that's what the line is. It's quite possible he's alluding to the FK.

wendell - I promise I'm not your ex. Although... the mister occasionally asks how many times I've been married. This is my one and only, I tell him, and toe-tags are your only escape.