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The Fisher King



A fairy tale grounded in poignant reality, the magnificent, Manhattan-set The Fisher King, by Terry Gilliam, features Jeff Bridges and Robin Williams in two of their most brilliant roles. Bridges plays a former radio shock jock reconstructing his life after a scandal, and Williams is a homeless man on a quest for the Holy Grail—which he believes to be hidden somewhere on the Upper West Side. Unknowingly linked by their pasts, the two men aid each other on a fanciful journey to redemption. This singular American odyssey features a witty script by Richard La Gravenese, evocative cinematography by Roger Pratt, and superb supporting performances by Amanda Plummer and an Oscar-winning Mercedes Ruehl, all harnessed by Gilliam into a humane, funny modern-day myth.

DIRECTOR-APPROVED EDITION:

• New, restored 2K digital transfer, approved by director Terry Gilliam, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack on the Blu-ray
• Audio commentary featuring Gilliam
• New interviews with Gilliam; producer Lynda Obst; screenwriter Richard La Gravenese; and actors Jeff Bridges, Amanda Plummer, and Mercedes Ruehl
• New interviews with artists Keith Greco and Vincent Jefferds on the creation of the film's Red Knight
• Interview from 2006 with actor Robin Williams
• New video essay featuring Bridges's on-set photographs
• Deleted scenes, with optional commentary by Gilliam
• Costume tests
• Trailers
• PLUS: An essay by critic Bilge Ebiri

So is the commentary from the old laserdisc? I seem to recall after Williams' death that Gilliam said he'd recorded a new one for this release, but that could have just been referring to the new interview?

I believe the original commentary also featured the screenwriter, so if this one is solo, I think that must mean it's new?

flyonthewall2983 wrote:So is the commentary from the old laserdisc? I seem to recall after Williams' death that Gilliam said he'd recorded a new one for this release, but that could have just been referring to the new interview?

The new commentary might have been recorded for the deleted scenes.

I always thought that the two female "love interests" are actually more interesting characters than the two male leads. They are the main reason why I keep coming back to this film. The always brilliant Amanda Plummer is incredibly touching and funny as the ultimate klutz and Mercedes Ruehl gets that fantastic "f... you ! speech" which won her an Oscar.

i used to like this movie quite a bit, but i've not been able to watch robin williams in an acting role for many years. i think the only time i've seen him turn his schtick off was in Insomnia, and maybe The Survivors.
someone else in that role could have made the film easy for me to rewatch once in a while.
some actors you just find so annoying that they ruin any movie that they're in.
but i do think that this is gilliam's best film.

copen wrote:i used to like this movie quite a bit, but i've not been able to watch robin williams in an acting role for many years. i think the only time i've seen him turn his schtick off was in Insomnia, and maybe The Survivors.
someone else in that role could have made the film easy for me to rewatch once in a while.
some actors you just find so annoying that they ruin any movie that they're in.
but i do think that this is gilliam's best film.

I can see where you're coming from but first seeing the film when it came out, Williams had not yet taken all of these maudlin tears-of-a-clown roles which often made him imposible to watch. And at least there is genuine darkness at the core of this character, even if some sentimentality seeps in.

He had a few more atypical roles, like the creepy stalker in One Hour Photo, the radio host in The Night Listener and the opportunistic father who exploits his son's death in Worlds Greatest Dad (a pitch black comedy many people didn't watch because they expected Williams schmaltz).

yes, i forgot about One Hour Photo, i rewatched that a while ago. he wasn't bad in it, but the movie was not interesting. he should have taken more villain roles, he was quite decent at those.
i saw The Worlds Greatest Dad, but was probably more bothered with the movie itself than with williams. after really liking Bobcat Goldthwait's Sleeping Dogs Lie, his second effort (above) was a big letdown. and i was completely repulsed by God Bless America. i knew after the first 5 minutes what i was in for... 2 people beating their (quite unoriginal) opinions into the viewer's head for 90 minutes.

Also hit atypical turn was in Bop Gun episode of Homicide: Life on the Street

I still always think of The World According To Garp as one of Robin Williams' best, and earliest, darkly comic parts. No saccharine at all there! Well OK maybe a little, but it was very bitter tasting!

Although I might be biased as I still fondly remember a lovely elderly neighbour babysitting me around the age of 8 or 9 while my parents were working nights and she was the one who let me stay up doing homework and watching lots of unsuitable for young kids films on television with her: Garp, My Beautiful Laundrette, the sweary version of Private Benjamin, that harrowing BBC mini-series with Charles Dance called First Born and so on! Though I seem to remember that she also liked The Equalizer and L.A. Law too!

That seems like a really appropriate memory to have associated with The World According to Garp. Beautiful film.

The World According to Garp may have been the best attempt possible at filming an unfilmeable book, but that's still what it is. The novel is so deeply invested in the process of being a writer, with long sections from Garp's fiction essential to the narrative and revealing Garp's inner states. The film can't hope replicate that and it flattens everything.

I will give it that though, I can't think of a better cast literary adaptation. Every character was spookily close to how I'd imagined them in the novel, with Glenn Close's Jenny almost supernaturally aligned with how I'd imagined her.

I'm disappointed to see they used the same transfer as the old blu-ray. It's not bad, and the top and bottom of the screen shows slightly more information, but it's the same transfer with a darker color timing. I was hoping they could transfer from the original negative and save the generation loss of the interpositive.

Here's a screen cap from the old blu-ray:
http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/screensho ... osition=17" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Here's the Criterion blu-ray:
http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/screensho ... position=3" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Smafdy wrote: Thu Jun 04, 2015 11:21 pm I'm disappointed to see they used the same transfer as the old blu-ray. It's not bad, and the top and bottom of the screen shows slightly more information, but it's the same transfer with a darker color timing. I was hoping they could transfer from the original negative and save the generation loss of the interpositive.

In the wake of the just-announced UHD, the page for this on Criterion's website has been updated to say this:

New 4K digital restoration, approved by director Terry Gilliam, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack

(As seen upthread, it originally said their Blu-ray was a 2K transfer.)

So could be a huge upgrade,

Good info, but the quote you are responding to is from 2015 regarding Criterion’s original Blu-ray release and not the new 4K release. Looking forward to this. The Blu had been on my wishlist, and now I’m glad I never got around to picking it up.

DeprongMori wrote: Tue Jan 17, 2023 6:00 pm Good info, but the quote you are responding to is from 2015 regarding Criterion’s original Blu-ray release and not the new 4K release. Looking forward to this. The Blu had been on my wishlist, and now I’m glad I never got around to picking it up.

Yeah, that was the intention - it was understood that the original complaint was referring to the 2015 BD, and now that we have a new 4K coming out, I was pointing out the expressed wish of a new and improved transfer had likely occurred with this new release given the updated info Criterion provided.

Never my favorite Gilliam, mainly because of the self-help quality of the story and Robin Williams' too-frequent blasts of manic over-acting -- the screaming and flailing get tiresome instead of moving. This is one of the UHDs I won't be upgrading to. The old Criterion Blu will do.

Shouldn't be a surprise, but the Blu-ray included with the 4K edition is the exact same one from the 2015 edition.

cdnchris wrote: Mon Apr 10, 2023 6:21 am Shouldn't be a surprise, but the Blu-ray included with the 4K edition is the exact same one from the 2015 edition.

This is their policy. I asked them which blus were included in the new Three Colors release and this was their reply:

For 4K catalog upgrades where we've previously released a Blu-ray edition, the same Blu-ray is included in the 4K combo edition. It is not a new encode/Blu-ray from the new 4K restoration. For new 4K releases of titles not previously released by Criterion on Blu-ray, the 4K disc and the Blu-ray disc are from the same (new) 4K restoration.

Came here to say this might be one of the best Criterion 4Ks I've seen, or UHDs period. I never thought this would benefit much from the upgrade, but I also didn't realize I needed to be able to count the hairs in Bridges' beard until now.

I also never realized how perfect the last fifteen minutes of this movie are, and how they churn two hours of mostly-good, but at-times unpalatable weird tonal episodes into what feels like the end of a consistently perfect movie. Which this isn't, though I may eat these words if I revisit it again so soon after experiencing that ending this way