Magic (film)
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| Magic | |
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 Magic DVD cover |
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| Directed by | Richard Attenborough |
| Produced by | Joseph E. Levine Richard P. Levine |
| Written by | William Goldman (novel) William Goldman (screenplay) |
| Starring | Anthony Hopkins Ann-Margret Burgess Meredith Ed Lauter David Ogden Stiers |
| Music by | Jerry Goldsmith |
| Cinematography | Victor J. Kemper |
| Editing by | John Bloom |
| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
| Release date(s) | November 8, 1978 (USA) |
| Running time | 107 min |
| Language | English |
| Budget | Unknown |
| Gross revenue | Unknown |
| IMDb profile | |
Magic is a 1978 film starring Anthony Hopkins and Ann-Margret. Not strictly a horror film, Magic is more correctly categorized as a "psychological thriller." It was written by William Goldman, who also wrote the novel on which it was based. Hopkins and Goldman would work together again in Hearts in Atlantis.
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[edit] Plot
Magic tells the story of Charles "Corky" Withers (Hopkins), a man that has just failed his first attempt at professional magic. His mentor says that he needs to have a better show business personality. A year later Corky comes back as a ventriloquist with a foul-mouthed dummy named Fats. His agent Ben Greene (played by Burgess Meredith) is on the verge of signing Corky on for his own television show, but Corky bails out for the Catskills, claiming to be afraid of success. In truth he doesn't want to take the required psychological testing because doctors might find out that he suffers from multiple personality disorder, and that he hears Fats talking to him.
In the Catskills he meets with his high-school crush, Peggy Ann Snow (Margret), who is stuck in a passionless marriage. Corky and Peg start up a relationship, which ultimately leads to the both of them making love, and sparks the jealousy of both Fats and Peggy's husband Duke (played by Ed Lauter).
Meanwhile, Greene has tracked Corky down. After a tense confrontation where Greene discovers the truth about Corky's mental state, he demands that Corky get help. Fats convinces Corky to kill Greene. Corky does this by using Fats' hard, wooden head, taking away all of Ben's personal belongings and dragging the corpse into the lake. The next morning Fats becomes even more possessive and jealous when Corky brings up the suggestion that he leave Fats behind so that he and Peggy can go away together.
Duke returns from his trip earlier than expected and is angry with Peggy, thinking that she might have made love with Corky. They have an argument and Duke hits her, she still denies she had sex with Corky. Afterwards, Peggy storms off and Duke decides to have a personal talk with Corky on the lake, much to the latter's worry. Duke expresses worry that he and Peggy may be growing apart. The awkward conversation lasts until Duke discovers Greene's dead body on the edge of the lake.
They row toward the body, and Duke, believing Greene could still be alive sends Corky to get help. Duke only finds that Greene is indeed dead and feeling something suspicious is going on decides to search Corky's cabin.
Indeed, Duke finds a trove of Ben Greene's identification, only to have Fats kill him with the aid of Corky ("Fats" stabs Duke whilst Corky is covered by a curtain behind him). Corky convinces Peg to run away with him, but just when everything seems perfect, Fats "comes alive" and reveals that Corky's card trick was really just a trick. Fats calls her foolish, causing her to hate Corky and run to her cabin in hysterics. With Corky grief-stricken, Fats manipulates him so that he will kill Peggy with his knife.
Corky, using Fats's voice confronts Peggy from in front of her door, telling her that he is sorry. When Corky returns, it is revealed that the blood on the knife is his; he has given Peggy the whittled heart he forgot to years ago and stabbed himself so that he won't kill anyone else. As a result Fats also feels "faint", and as the two die, they wonder who will die first.
As the duo die, Peggy returns to their cabin with the carved heart in hand, saying she has changed her mind and decided to come back to him.
[edit] Differences from the novel
There are some major differences from the novel by William Goldman. Although the story and chain of events are not significantly changed from the book, the narrative here is obviously more straight-forward, whereas the book cuts from the aftermath, to Corky's youth and early career, to the present. Perhaps even more significant is the fact that Fats is a dummy is not revealed until midway in to the novel. The film keeps the scene, but it is introduced much earlier, in the second scene. Other changes include:
- Corky's real name is "Charles" in the novel
- In the novel, Corky has made love forty-six times
- Corky's youth is only hinted at in the film. It is told that his father comes from England and his brother is still alive. He is seen with him at a funeral during a flash-back.
- Corky's attempted suicide, leading to his discovery of "Fats" is detailed in the novel
- Both Corky and "Fats" smoke in the book
- The fact that Lake Melody is full of snapping turtles is touched on more in the novel
- Ben Greene arrives at Lake Melody earlier in the book
- Duke is a silverware salesman in the novel
- Corky/Fats kills Duke (and later himself) with his own knives, in more detail
[edit] Reactions
The film received mixed reviews when released.
Vincent Canby for the New York Times wrote in a 1978 review "Magic is neither eerie nor effective. It is, however, very heavy of hand." [1]
Gene Siskel, film critic from the television show Siskel & Ebert, loved the film and ranked it at #9 on his list of the ten best films of 1978.
"The Science Fiction, Horror and Fantasy Film Review" 1990 writeup of the film remarks that Hopkins appears stiff in the lead role, but the supporting cast is excellent. "But there are far better performances elsewhere - from Ann-Margaret who invests her role with a considerable sparkle. Particularly good is the great and underrated Burgess Meredith whose sharp and alert Hollywood agent is a real plum of a performance. Jerry Goldsmith also adds a fine nervy carnivalesque score." [2]
Goldman received a 1979 Edgar Award, from the Mystery Writers of America, for Best Motion Picture Screenplay.
The trailer for this film was pulled from TV due to calls from angry parents who claimed that it gave their children nightmares and frightened them.[citation needed] The trailer in question is less than 30 seconds in length. It features Fats reciting the tagline, after which his eyeballs roll into the back of his head. This is followed by a cast reading, then Fats opens his eyes and gazes to his left.
[edit] Legal issues with the film
As 20th Century Fox never owned complete rights to this film (they did and still do own the theatrical distribution and music rights), other companies have released home video versions of Magic over succeeding years under different licenses. In the meantime, the film continued to play on broadcast television in edited versions. However, subsequent legal complications kept the film from being formally reissued on video and DVD in the last decade due in part to Embassy Pictures' (Joseph E. Levine's company) corporate holdings divided amongst different entities. Recently, the rights to this film were acquired by American Movie Classics and its parent company, Rainbow Media Holdings, LLC (while television rights now reside with CBS Paramount Television), and now the uncut version is once again available on widescreen DVD.
[edit] Tagline
- Abracadabra, I sit on his knee.
- Presto, change-o, and now he is me!
- Hocus Pocus, we take her to bed,
- Magic is fun...when you're dead.
The final phrase (as spoken by "Fats" in the trailer) is a bit unclear, and initially he may seem to say "we're dead."
[edit] Origins
Though based on an original novel, the story is similar to an episode from the film Dead of Night. Another possible influence is The Great Gabbo, a 1929 film directed by James Cruze and starring Erich Von Stroheim, which features the motif of a mentally-disturbed ventriloquist who has "conversations" with his dummy.
[edit] External links
- Magic at the Internet Movie Database
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