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Summary: Terry Gilliam & The Holy Grail
Review: Terry Gilliam has revealed himself to be a consistently GREAT film director. Who would have ever imagined this back in the early 70s Python days? If one might say Gilliam's hand is heavy, it is also always equally sure. Everything he's made is worth seeing, and most of it is heady classic material. THE FISHER KING is, perhaps, his most "normal" film of all, yet it's just as full of mythological imagery as any of his purely fantasy works. It's a great script based on a great idea, and Gilliam pulls it off flawlessly. The acting is superb at every level, but particular mention should be made, I think, of Robin Williams' perfectly controlled performance as Parry. Can one really have moral responsibility in an absurd and meaningless world? And, if so, can one find absolution for a perpetrated wrong? Gilliam says "yes" on both counts. The solution, though, is terribly, terribly funny. FISHER KING is about what really matters in life. And what doesn't. Great stuff!
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Summary: Don't read this, click the 'BUY' button...
Review: Brazil. Jabberwocky. Twelve Monkeys. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Terry Gilliam is a mastermind and loves to make suprising movies. Fisher King is his best, showing off his talents as a story-teller, a master director and a smart symbolic movie crafter. Trust me when I say, that you WON'T be annoyed by Robin Williams in this movie. I'm not saying he is a bad actor- I loved him in Dead Poets Society and I always will- yet he can never reach the point he reaches here. Jeff Bridges is magnificent as always, and another pleasent suprise is Amanda Plummer, one of the most talented actresses of our time. This movie is a true masterpiece in every sense of the word. Watch it as soon as possible and contact me. Now this is real story-telling. By the way, remember that this is a differant take of Pinnochio. Contact me and I'l tell you why! MWA Hahahaha!!!!!
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Summary: A SENSITIVE BUDDY MOVIE AND A LOVE STORY...WOW!
Review: This is a beautifully directed film, as Terry Gilliam exacts bravura performances from the entire cast. This film is a cinematic masterpiece which the viewer will not easily forget.Jeff Bridges plays Jack, a radio shock jock whose unthinking tirade provokes a caller into a senseless act of violence that culminates in tragedy for a number of faceless New Yorkers. The tragedy derails Jack's career and ends his glitteratti lifestyle. Gone is the fabulous hi-rise apartment, model type girl friend, and high paying media career. Three years later, Jack finds himself living over a video store in a run down part of town with the video store owner, a blue collar ex-beautician, consummately played by Mercedes Ruehl, in a bravura performance that won her a Best Supporting Actress Oscar, and deservedly so. Despairing of his life and looking like the bum he believes himself to be, Jack goes down by the water front and toys with the idea of killing himself. The issue is taken out of his hands when he is accosted by two youths who are sick of "his kind", as they apparently mistake him for part of the great unwashed horde of humanity of which they are heartedly sick. They beat him with a baseball bat and douse him from head to toe with gasoline, but just before they ignite him, a knight errant named Parry, touchingly played by Robin Williams, comes to his rescue and saves him from an untimely and excruciating death. Parry takes Jack to his refuge, and there Parry tells him of his quest for the Holy Grail. A curious bond between the two men begins to form. After Jack leaves, he later returns, curious to knpw more about this strange, but kindly individual who saved his life. Jack discovers that Parry was a former college professor whose own life drastically changed three years ago, when a caller to a shock jock's show went on a shooting rampage and killed Parry's beloved wife, one of the faceless New Yorkers who for Jack is faceless no more. Jack, realizing that their lives are intertwined by that tragedy, seeks redemption by trying to help Parry resume a normal life. Clearly mentally ill, Parry's battle with his inner demons is seen through his eyes. The viewer is made to feel the heartbreak and pathos of his fears which are brought to life in the fearsome visage of the Red Knight, a figment of Parry's imagination who appears intermittently throughout the film, until it gives way to Parry's fragmented recollection of that fatal night three years ago. Robin Williams portrayal of Parry is one of the most beautifully nuanced performances ever. That he did not win the Best Actor Oscar for which he was nominated was truly a major faux pas on the part of the Academy. Jack wades through Parry's fantasies of knights, quests, and the holy grail and discovers that Parry has fallen in love with an unlikely lady, the plainly hapless Lydia, played to perfection by Amanda Plummer. He engineers an unlikely meeting and sets in motion a dazzling sequence of events that ultimately results in his redemption as a human being, and an appreciation of his own lady love. This is a wonderful film that no movie lover should be without. While the DVD is notable for its dearth of extras, do not let that deter you from adding it to your collection. The film alone should suffice.
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Summary: superlative performances all round
Review: Not many movies have stayed with me as strongly as this one has. I watched it again last night and found it just as enthralling as when I first saw it at the cinema. My companions, who hadn't seen it before, loved it, and I had the opportunity to savour again some of the great set pieces - the naked romp in Central Park, the ballroom scene in Grand Central Station, the most over-the-top singing telegram in film history, and more. A feature of the film not mentioned by other reviewers is the way in which Manhatten is not only the backdrop to the action, but almost a character in its own right. I love the way Terry Gilliam has mythologised the city. When I visited Central Park, for example, I couldn't help imagining the red knight charging through the undergrowth, couldn't help seeing the skyscrapers as medieval fortresses. Another thing I noticed on a second viewing was simply how superlative the acting is. Despite the tone of melodrama throughout the film, each and every performance is utterly convincing. First time round I loved Robin Williams's performance. This time I was particularly struck by the dynamic between Jeff Bridges and oscar-winner Mercedes Ruehl. The only complaint I heard after last night's viewing was that the start was a bit slow. In all, though, this film ought to have made everyone involved with its making very proud. I hope they are.
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Summary: A sham...Perfect for all of today's shallow non-thinkers
Review: I loved this film when I first saw it: the over-the-top symbolism, the grand irony of an arthurian legend in the middle of nyc, the gushy proto-improvisational performances, it seemed so edgy, full of vision and daring, so "about something". Over the years, however, I've come to see it as a fraud, the characters all pure surface: they really are "symbols" and not real people in any way. The central incident: a timid unhappy man is turned into a rampaging murderer by the crude provocative remarks of a bozo disk jockey. He shoots up a night club and kills the beautiful wife of a handsome man in gorgeous slow motion. The handsome man becomes the lunatic lovable street person that the disk jockey meets and befriends. I've never understood the point of showing and romanticizing two men who have so totally abrograted any responsibility for their behavior. We get a few extremes of society thrown in for color, the world's klutziest ditziest woman (who is all cartoon) and the world's flamingest queen (in a fantastic performance by Michael Jeter, the most memorable part of the film for me). I guess they represent "outsiders" in a conformist society that these two knights go on their eventual quest for. I dunno, it seems to me this movie celebrates shedding responsibility for ones moral behavior in favor of playing at dungeons and dragons, in the hope that maybe, accidentally, you might save the life of someone you never even met. Sounds frighteningly like tomorrow's headlines.
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Summary: Surreal Character Study!
Review: Fascinating and sometimes painful experience, it handles homelessness and mental illness lightly at times but very heavy at others. Superb performances by an all-star cast. Jeff Bridges really shines and shows us that he is a really good character actor, Robin Williams delivers his best performance and adds comic relief to a depressing subject matter. Mercedes Ruehl is a joy to watch and elevates every scene she's in, Amanda Plummer is also good. Terry Gilliam's stamp is evident and his surreal touches make it unique, interesting and fascinating. Also with some very funny moments. Superb screenplay and surreal art direction. Very well acted and directed. From a scale of 1-10 I give this movie an 8!
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Summary: A fine film
Review: This is a wonderful film, with Robin Williams putting in what I consider his finest performance. It is also quite a different film - the sets are almost surreal, while showing the plight of homeless people in a stark and uncompromising light. But most of all it is a film that will make you laugh, and make you cry, and I feel you can never want more from entertainment than that. Don't pass it by - it is truly a wonderful film about how you can find salvation in the most unlikely of places.
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Summary: A Film With A Heart.
Review: When I saw this film in the theatre in 1991 I thought it was brilliant. Jeff Bridges turned in an Oscar-winning performance and Robin Williams showed he had range, turning in an Oscar-winning performance himself. Interestingly, Mercedes Ruehl is the one who walked away with best supporting actress. It's hard to say exactly what this film is about, but Jeff Bridges plays a snotty radio d.j. who unintentionally sends one of his radio listeners on a shooting spree, killing innocent people at a bar. I won't say much more than this, except that it is a great story with great directing and acting. A must have for any film collector.
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Summary: Phil Loeb must have had a bad day when he saw this.
Review: A quinessential Gilliam film. A shock jock makes an offhand remark about offing people in a trendy restaurant. This in turn causes a psychopath into the popular eatery to carry out the jock's 'orders.' This in turn destroys the life of a mild and caring teacher and the life of the shock jock as well. This is a story of crass disregard for one's fellow human being, consequences, madness, homelessness, and ultimately of redemption. The most interesting parts of this movie are Gilliam's attempts to see the world through Parry's crazed eyes. Brief moments of Parry's world are both disturbing and wonderful. If you like stories that can present opposing forces and happy endings with brief episodes of madness you will enjoy this one. Beautifully told, artfully filmed and extremely well cast. The acting tastefully and professionally done. This is one for your video shelf.
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Summary: A few moments of truth amidst a lot of silliness.
Review: This movie has a few poignant lessons borrowed from Arthurian legends and the Don Quixote story--but read the originals instead of wasting time on this slow-moving film that is mostly filler between a few good scenes. By the time the Jeff Bridges character broke into the castle to steal the Grail, I no longer cared if he made it or what would happen if he brought it to Robin Williams. Good performances by Jeff Bridges and Mercedes Rhuel, just wish they'd had better material to work with. Robin Williams plays the type of character we're familiar seeing him do--zany, devil-may-care, society's-opinion-be-damned guy who tries too hard to make you love him.
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