Film Excess - Free Ukraine - Stop Putin - End the war NOW!!: The Fisher King (1991) - Gilliam and Co. win with unpredictable story with major heart and amazing Williams

3/21/2019

The Fisher King (1991) - Gilliam and Co. win with unpredictable story with major heart and amazing Williams

♥♥♥♥♥

A long, loony tagline and a wonderfully intense photo of the two stars make up this beloved poster for Terry Gilliam's The Fisher King

A New York radio host, who is smarter than his own good, becomes implicitly guilty of a massacre and descends into depression, until he one day meets one of the relatives of a victim of the massacre.

The Fisher King is written by Richard LaGravanese (The Comedian (2016)) and directed by Minnesotan master filmmaker Terry Gilliam (Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)), whose 6th feature it is.
Robin Williams (The Best of Times (1986)) gives one of his all-time most touching and intense performances here in Gilliams' lively, extraordinary, incredible film. Mercedes Ruhl (Bad Apple (2004, TV movie)) is also formidable in The Fisher King; her couple's scenes with Jeff Bridges (R.I.P.D. (2013)) are beautifully observed. Furthermore Michael Jeeter (Bank Robber (1993)) is memorable in a supporting part.
The Fisher King is an emotional ride that one remembers!

Terry Gilliam: The Brothers Grimm (2005) - Gilliam's European misadventure sort-of entertains

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998) - Depp's Thompson lives and breathes in Gilliam's outrageous, drug-fueled masterpiece

12 Monkeys (1995) or, What's the Time?

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: 24 mil. $
Box office: 41.8 mil. $ (North America only)
= Uncertain
[The Fisher King premiered 10 September (Venice Film Festival, Italy) and runs 137 minutes. Shooting took place in New York and Los Angeles, California from May - August 1990. Gilliam devised the Grand Central Station waltz scene himself. The film opened in 10 theaters to a 311k$ first weekend in North America, peaking at #1 the following week, which it retained for another 2 weeks, before spending one week as #3 and one as #4, before leaving the top 5, grossing 41.8 mil. $ domestically. The film would have to gross 60 mil. $ to break even, which it likely did, but this is strictly speculation. It was nominated for 5 Oscars, winning one, for Best Supporting Actress (Ruhl, her only ever nomination). It lost Actor (Williams) to Anthony Hopkins in The Silence of the Lambs, Art/Set Decoration to Bugsy, Score (George Fenton) to Alan Menken for Beauty and the Beast and Original Screenplay to Callie Khouri for Thelma & Louise. It won 2/5 Golden Globe nominations, was nominated for 2 BAFTAs, won 3 awards in Venice and a bunch of other honors. Roger Ebert gave the film a 2/4 star review, translating to 3 notches harder than this one. Gilliam returned with Twelve Monkeys (1995). Williams returned in Hook (1991), Bridges in American Heart (1992). The Fisher King is certified fresh at 83 % with a 6.96/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

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William Friedkin has died

Born in Chicago, Friedkin accrued TV credits prior to his advance to the big screen as the director of Good TImes (1967), The Birthday Party (1968), The Night They Raided Minsky's (1968) and The Boys in the Band (1970) before his major breakthrough, The French Connection (1971), for which he won his only Oscar. He followed it up with the even bigger smash, The Exorcist (1973), arguably the best horror film of all time, for which he was Oscar-nominated. Later credits include Sorcerer (1977), Cruising (1980), To Live and Die in L.A. (1985), Rampage (1987), Rules of Engagement (2000), Killer Joe (2011) and The Devil and Father Amorth (2017, documentary). Friedkin passed away at age 87. R.I.P.

Louise Fletcher has passed away

Born in Alabama to deaf parents, Fletcher got her first credits in late-1950s TV-series.She took a 10 year-long sabbatical to devote her time to motherhood after the release of A Gathering of Eagles, but then came back and soon saw her career's most important part, as Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), for which she won her sole Oscar. Later credits include Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977), The Lucky Star (1980), Brainstorm (1983), Two Moon Junction (1988), Cruel Intentions (1999), A Perfect Man (2013) and many more. Fletcher passed away at age 88. R.I.P.

Jean-Luc Godard has passed away

Born in Paris, France, Godard lived much of his life in Switzerland. He wrote for French film criticism magazine Cahiers du Cinema and became foundational for the New French Wave that inspired new waves in scores of other countries across the world with his Breathless (1960). Later credits include A Woman Is A Woman (1961), Vivre Sa Vie (1962), Le Petit Soldat (1962), Contempt (1963), Alphaville (1965), Pierrot le Fou (1965), 2 or 3 Things I Know About Her (1967), Weekend (1967), Every Man for Himself (1980), King Lear (1987), Century of Cinema (1995, documentary), Goodbye to Language (2014) and many more. Godard died of assisted suicide at age 91. R.I.P.

Wolfgang Petersen has died

James Caan has died

Caan was born the son of Jewish immigrants from Germany in New York. He got his start on TV in the early 1960s. His credits include El Dorado (1966), The Rain People (1969), Brian's Song (1971, TV movie), The Godfather (1972), - for which he earned his only Oscar nomination, - Slither (1973), The Gambler (1974), Funny Lady (1975), Rollerball (1975), Silent Movie (1976), Hide in Plain Sight (1980), - the only film he also directed, - Thief (1981), Misery (1990), Honeymoon in Vegas (1992), Bottle Rocket (1996), Eraser (1996), Dogville (2003), Elf (2003), Las Vegas (2003-07), Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009) and many more. Caan passed away at age 82. R.I.P.

Jean-Louis Trintignant has died

Born in Vaucluse, France, Trintignant's theatrical debut as an actor was in If All the Guys in the World... (1955). Later credits include ...And God Created Woman (1956), The Seven Deadly Sins (1961), Inferno (1964), A Man and A Woman (1966), My Love, My Love (1967), A Man to Kill (1967), The Great Silence (1968), Z (1969), The Assassination (1972), Three Colors: Red (1994), Amour (2012), Happy End (2017) and many more. He also wrote and directed two films in the 1970s. Trintignant passed away at age 91. R.I.P.

Ray Liotta has died

Adopted from an orphenage at a young age, Liotta got hooked on acting in high school. He had various TV credits in the late 1970s and early 80s, with his film debut in The Lonely Lady (1983). Later credits include Something Wild (1986), Field of Dreams (1989), Goodfellas (1990), Cop Land (1997), Hannibal (2001), Blow (2001), Narc (2002), John Q (2002), Identity (2003), Observe and Report (2009), Youth in Revolt (2009), The Details (2011), Killing THem Softly (2012), The Place Beyond the Pines (2012), Shades of Blue (2016-18), The Simpsons (2018, TV-series), Marriage Story (2019), The Many Saints of Newark (2021), Black Bird (2022, TV-series) and many more. Liotta passed away at age 67 in his sleep while on production in the Dominican Republic. R.I.P.

Philip Baker Hall has died

Born in Ohio, Hall didn't start acting until he was 30. His long list of credits include Zabriskie Point (1970), Miami Vice (1987, TV-series), Midnight Run (1988), Ghostbusters II (1989), Cheers (1993, TV-series), Hard Eight (1996), The Rock (1996), Air Force One (1997), Boogie Nights (1997), Seinfeld (1991-98), Rush Hour (1998), The Insider (1999), Magnolia (1999), The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), Bruce Almighty (2003), Dogville (2003), The Zodiac (2005), Zodiac (2007), Curb Your Enthusiasm (2004-09), Mr. Popper's Penguins (2011), Modern Family (2011-12) and many more. Hall passed away at age 90. R.I.P.

William Hurt has passed away

Born in Washington D.C., Hurt's first film role was the lead in Altered States (1980). Later credits include Body Heat (1981), The Big Chill (1983), Gorky Park (1983), Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985), for which he earned his only Oscar as Best Actor; Chilrdren of a Lesser God (1986), for which he was also Oscar-nominated; Broadcast News (1987), for which he was again Oscar-nominated; Smoke (1995), A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001), A History of Violence (2005), for which he was again Oscar-nominated; The Good Shepherd (2006), Into the Wild (2007), Robin Hood (2010) and many more. Hurt passed away at age 71. R.I.P.

Ivan Reitman has passed away

Born in Chechoslovakia, now Slovakia, Reitman's family fled the Soviet regime to Austria, then Toronto, when he was 4 years old. Reitman broke into movies as a director with Foxy Lady (1971). Later credits include Cannibal Girls (1973), Meatballs (1979), Stripes (1981), Ghostbusters (1984), Twins (1988), Ghostbusters II (1989), Kindergarten Cop (1990), Junior (1994), Father's Day (1997), Evolution (1998), No Strings Attached (2011), Draft Day (2014) and more. Reitman's son Jason Reitman is also a great filmmaker. Reitman passed away at age 75. R.I.P.

Film Excess - Free Ukraine - Stop Putin - End the war NOW!!

Eagerly anticipating this week ... (6-24)

3/21/2019

The Fisher King (1991) - Gilliam and Co. win with unpredictable story with major heart and amazing Williams

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