Movie · 1991 · Comedy, Drama · 2h 18m · R · English
Curator score: 7.4/10 (168K ratings)
A Modern Day Tale About The Search For Love, Sanity, Ethel Merman And The Holy Grail.
Overview
Two troubled men face their terrible destinies and events of their past as they join together on a mission to find the Holy Grail and thus to save themselves.
Ratings
Curator score: 7.4/10
IMDb: 7.5/10
Letterboxd: 3.89/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 84%
Metacritic: 67
TMDB: 7.3/10
Director
Terry Gilliam
Production
TriStar Pictures
Cast
Robin Williams, Jeff Bridges, Amanda Plummer, Mercedes Ruehl, Michael Jeter, William Jay Marshall, Chris Howell, Adam Bryant, Paul Lombardi, David Hyde Pierce, Ted Ross, Lara Harris, Warren Olney, Frazer Smith, Kathy Najimy, Harry Shearer, Melinda Culea, James Remini, Mark Bowden, John Ottavino
Curator Review
Verdict
A bittersweet, offbeat redemption story with real emotional weight, strong performances, and Gilliam’s signature blend of fantasy and urban grit. It’s especially rewarding if you like heartfelt dramedies that turn trauma into a quest for connection.
Best for
fans of melancholy comedies with hope at the center
viewers who like surreal or fairy-tale-inflected storytelling
people drawn to standout Robin Williams performances
audiences who enjoy New York stories with a magical-realist edge
Skip if
you want a tightly realistic drama with no tonal detours
you dislike eccentric, theatrical filmmaking
you prefer cleanly plotted stories over emotional wandering
you’re not in the mood for sadness mixed with whimsy
Overview
The Fisher King is one of those rare films that feels both ragged and deeply humane. Terry Gilliam turns a story of guilt, grief, and second chances into a modern fairy tale, where the city is bruised, the jokes are jagged, and the longing underneath everything is painfully sincere.
Worth noting
Robin Williams gives a performance that is wild but never merely showy; he makes Parry feel like a man living inside a wound and a dream at the same time. Jeff Bridges is the perfect counterweight, grounding the film’s chaos in exhaustion, shame, and gradual decency.
Bottom line
What lingers most is the movie’s tenderness. It can be messy, even overextended, but its belief that damaged people can help heal one another gives it a lasting emotional charge. It’s funny, sad, romantic, and strangely uplifting all at once.
Top Letterboxd reviews
Joel Haver (5★) · 1749 likes
This movie contains my favorite scene of any movie. If you’ve seen it, it’s the one between Parry and Lydia on the sidewalk. Over the last few years I’ve revisited that scene over and over, I’ve probably watched it 50 times if not more. It incapsulates a love I have for somebody special in my life who I’ve missed dearly like nothing else. After many years I reunited with this person and we watched the movie together, they hadn’t seen… more This movie contains my favorite scene of any movie. If you’ve seen it, it’s the one between Parry and Lydia on the sidewalk. Over the last few years I’ve revisited that scene over and over, I’ve probably watched it 50 times if not more. It incapsulates a love I have for somebody special in my life who I’ve missed dearly like nothing else. After many years I reunited with this person and we watched the movie together, they hadn’t seen… more
SilentDawn (5★) · 764 likes
The building blocks for the legend of The Fisher King revolve around the hero. No matter the problem or the issue, no matter how modern or ancient in its magnitude; the hero must go on a quest to heal the wounds of The Fisher King, one who is lost, lonely, and in need of purity to cleanse the dirt within his inflicted damages. The emotional anguish and the heartbreak is too much to bear, for when dark times rain down… more The building blocks for the legend of The Fisher King revolve around the hero. No matter the problem or the issue, no matter how modern or ancient in its magnitude; the hero must go on a quest to heal the wounds of The Fisher King, one who is lost, lonely, and in need of purity to cleanse the dirt within his inflicted damages. The emotional anguish and the heartbreak is too much to bear, for when dark times rain down… more
Bruno Youn (4★) · 336 likes
Robin Williams has touched and inspired the lives of many people with his work throughout the ages. Cinema just lost one of its legends, but his legacy will live for eternity! The usual fantastical and supernatural elements that are trademarks from Terry Gilliam are present again in The Fisher King and I felt they were used in a very powerful way here. They represent Parry’s traumatic past that won’t let him go and start over. Robin Williams’ vibrant and joyful… more Robin Williams has touched and inspired the lives of many people with his work throughout the ages. Cinema just lost one of its legends, but his legacy will live for eternity! The usual fantastical and supernatural elements that are trademarks from Terry Gilliam are present again in The Fisher King and I felt they were used in a very powerful way here. They represent Parry’s traumatic past that won’t let him go and start over. Robin Williams’ vibrant and joyful… more
Joel Haver (5★) · 305 likes
I want this entire movie wrapped around me like a blanket. With the terror to keep me moving, the fantasy to keep me dreaming and the romance to keep me alive. One of those movies I’ll revisit forever, just to keep its world alive in my brain.
Joel Haver (5★) · 266 likes
Start to finish unbelievable magic. Each time I watch it I am more enthralled. At this point there’s not a single moment I’d change. Multiple scenes in this film are so full to the brim with love that it’s a surprise they don’t explode. The mere thought of them can make my eyes water. A jester sung ballad for the misfits looking for their fit. A hopeful plea for second chances stammered by a mental patient who might just know what he’s talking about. Flawless, one of the best movies ever made.