Fool's Fire

Plot synopsis:
A family of "little people" are peacefully having dinner when the thundering sound of horsemen is heard. One of the male adults helps the other family members to hide, but with nowhere else in the house to hide he jumps out a window and flees, only to be ridden down by a horsemen, captured and kidnapped to a foreign kingdom. He is dragged before a royal court of monsters (literally and figuratively) consisting of the monstrously fat king and his equally repulsive court, called "Hop-Frog" because of his now-limping gait, and forced to become the new jester.One morning, the practical joke-obsessed king orders the inventive yet sensitive Hop-Frog to provide entertainment for the arriving Duke and Duchess of Siri-Siril. Following Hop-frog's physical comedy and a sumptuous banquet, the king's guests wheel in a giant bird cage, containing a young dwarfish woman named Tripetta, as a gift for the king. It's love at first sight for Hop-Frog, but his feelings and the condescending and cruel treatment at the hands of the so-called "normal" courtiers only tortures him even more. Events take an even uglier turn when the king summons Hop-Frog, orders him to come up with a original idea for an upcoming costume ball and forces him to drink goblets of wine (which the poor dwarf can't handle). Trippetta, who has been forced to be present, tries to halt the bullying, but has a goblet of wine thrown in her face for her efforts. This in turn has the effect of immediately sobering Hop-Frog up, and he comes up with a brilliant idea: the king and his councillors will be covered in fur and pretend to be ourangutangs bound together by a lengthy chain and, most appealing to the King's sadistic nature, scare the you-know-what out of everybody. The conceit is a strange one, but the King and his men readily accept it. Later that night, Hop-frog frees Trippetta from her cage to assist him in carrying out his plans for the costume ball.The night of the ball arrives and the plan is carried out; the king and his councillors are sewn into tight-fitting body-suits (which are painted all over with tar and covered with flax) and equipped with carved wooden masks. The illusion is a flawless one, so much so that when the "Eight Chained Ourangutangs" bust into the party at midnight and create their commotion, none of the guests complain when Hop-Frog lowers a chandelier chain down from the ceiling, hooks it to the chain connecting the beasts and has it and the "apes" hoisted into the air. Using a torch to pretend to try and find out who these costumed people are, he sets them all afire, with the other partygoers too far out of reach to help. He and Trippetta (who has been waiting on the roof) watch coldly from the roof as the fire claims its victims, then escape into the air on a makeshift flying machine as flames slowly spread through the kingdom.

Tags: revenge

Review:
Eerie,strange and beautiful adaptation of great Poe story.
I accidently caught this strange and beautiful tv movie when it first aired in the early 90's, while I was on a ski trip.
With its weird and eerie and incredibly beautiful fairy tale atmosphere it is very reminiscent of Jim Henson's "Storyteller", and it's a shame that it only seems to have aired once and never rerun.
I have no idea whether it's available on video or not, but if you can find it, I highly recommend watching it, and reading the Edgar Allen Poe story(titled "Hopfrog") it is based on as well..
Add me to the list.
I'm one more of the folks who saw this film years ago, and have found it stuck in my heart and gut ever since.
Dark, beautiful, tender, sassy and way ahead of its time, this one's a keeper.
The setting, the costumes, the characterization -- all exceed most films made since.
Most haunting, however, is the mood that's set.
This film has an emotional color that is as compelling as any of its characters.
At least once in their lives, a genius gets it altogether.
This was an early outing for Taymor, but she gave it everything she has.
And that's a great deal.
I, like the other Fool's Fire junkies, would give anything to get a good DVD copy of this film.
I know I would find something new, deeper each time I watched!.
One of the best things ever broadcast.
If only available on DVD!.
My wife & I saw Fool's Fire when originally broadcast on PBS.
We were totally blown away.
Talk about fresh & original.
Quite a coup for Julie Taymor, who is more noted these days for the Broadway production of "The Lion King".
Having Michael Anderson (one of David Lynch's favorite actors) cast as the court jester, Hop Frog, while casting all the "normal" characters of the court with puppets was amazing.
This is one of the most human stories.
More pathos than the original E.A. Poe story, without loosing any of the original's impact.
With Julie Taymor's success with "Titus", there should be an enterprising soul willing to put this production out on DVD, where it can get the audience it deserves.
Is anyone listening?.
What I saw was fascinating.
Late one night, I had the chance to catch this play.
I never saw the entire PBS production.
Still, I was captured by the fanciful atmosphere and very much intrigued by the puppetry.
I would love to see this brought to DVD.
I've been searching for it for years and I'm surprised that it's not available..
Amazingly original treatment of obscure story.
I was captivated by this film when it first appeared on PBS...and have since been captivated by most of what Julie Taymore has involved herself with.I would love to have this available on DVD.
How unfortunate that it is not!For those who are fans of absurdist theatre (such as Ionesco and others), or who enjoyed the films in the City of Lost Children genre, I definitely recommend getting a hold of a copy of this.
It is odd, haunting, and a stroke of design brilliance!.
Fool's Fire Copy???.
I am also looking desperately for a copy of Julie Taymor's Fool's Fire PBS production done in 1992.
My mother absolutely loves this production and when I was in middle school she mistakenly gave me a permission to show it to my class for a project.
Unfortunately, the VHS came up missing.
As you can imagine, I have been blamed for losing this amazing broadcast ever since!
If anyone has a copy or knows of a place I can get one that would be amazing.
I am willing and able to pay a good amount for the copy of this production.
I will be surprising my mom with it as well!
Please email me at the above email address if you any information on Fool's Fire or if you have any hope at all!!!!
Thanks so much!