A Wild Man's descent

Wild Man Fischer was institutionalised at 16 after trying to knife his cruel mother and was diagnosed as a manic-depressive, paranoid schizophrenic.

When he came out, he wandered the streets of LA singing his songs to passers-by for 10 cents a time until he was discovered by Frank Zappa, with whom he cut the dada rock classic Merry-Go-Round.

However, over 40 years, his paranoia overwhelmed him and he is now in a care home, heavily drugged.

Using copious clips of the eccentric rocker himself, Josh Rubin's film traces his life with what can only be called grim affection. There was, he says, nothing that could be done for him since his moods seemed inexplicable.

Fischer has become a minor cult figure and indeed his songs, which at first seem hopeless, do gradually assume a certain wild dignity.

Derailroaded
Cert: 18

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in