After the financial disaster that was ‘The Adventures of Baron Munchausen,’ Terry Gilliam needed a way to prove to the studio brass that he could make a great movie that was on budget and made money at the box office. He found it in ‘The Fisher King,’ the film he made and released in 1991. Join us — Pete Wright and Andy Nelson — as we continue our Terry Gilliam series with the fantastic ‘The Fisher King.’ We talk about why this film works so well for us, even if Roger Ebert clearly didn’t click with it. We discuss the brilliant 4 leads in the film — Jeff Bridges, Robin Williams, Mercedes Ruehl and Amanda Plummer — and look at what each of them bring to their own roles that make them work so well. We chat about the brilliance of Richard LaGravenese’s script and how honest he portrays the characters yet how efficient the script is as well, giving full portrayals of characters even for minor characters (like the brilliant Michael Jeter). And we cover how this film succeeded at the box office and even gathered a handful of Oscar nominations, showing people that Gilliam can make films that make money. It’s a wonderful film that we have a great time talking about. Tune in!
Film Sundries
- Script
- Original theatrical trailer
- Original poster artwork
- Flickchart
- The Fisher King: The Book of the Film
