Magic — Magic( Blu Ray)
Magic was the fourth film from actor-turned-director Richard Attenborough, it was based on the 1976 book of the same name by American novelist William Goldman, who also wrote the screenplay for the film. The film features Anthony Hopkins as up & coming ventriloquist/ magician Corky, with supporting cast from Burgess Meredith( the Rocky series) as his cigar-chomping agent Ben Greene, and Ann-Margret as Corky’s old flame Peggy.
The film opens with Corky- down on his luck trying to do card tricks for bored bar patrons, on his death bed Merlin, his mentor, suggests he comes up with a new twist to his show. Fast forward sometime & we see his now agent Ben Greene taking NBC representative to go & see Corky’s now sold-out show. To start with the rep is unimpressed as he seems to be still doing the same card tricks, then someone heckles from the crowd- the performer steps off stage to confront the person- and we meet Fats for the first time- he’s a dirty mouthed-yet-amusing ventriloquist dummy, with large blue eyes & a creepy smile. The rep is so impressed by the performance, the network decides to sign him- but there’s a problem they want Corky to have a medical, this panics him for some reason- so he escapes from the city to hide away in his old home town- here he re-meets his love crush, who now runs a riverside lodge.
The film largely takes place at the riverside lodge, which is out of season with only Corky staying there- with the leaf bound grounds & grey skied location captured well. Hopkins is stellar in the lead role as the charming-yet- nervy Corky, Meredith is perfectly cast as the agent, and Ann-Margret is well cast as the small-town love interest. Worth mentioning too is Ed Lauter, as her suspicious husband.
The tension is nicely built & grown throughout the film- with the films linchpin/ edged coming from wether Corky is mad, or Fats is somehow a possessed doll. The scenes with Fat’s either with Corky or on his own are skilfully & subtle done, so you are constantly watching for self-movement from the doll- yet it never fully steps into the unreal/supernatural which of course is a bonus. Later on, we do have some fairly intense moments of bloody violence, but these are fleeting- with the main of the film been carried by the great acting, effective score from Jerry Goldsmith which features a great eerie harmonica element when every Fats is on the screen. All told it’s a very classy psychological horror thriller.
On the extra side- as far as I can gather there is nothing new exclusive to this Blu Ray- though we do get the interesting content- with the best stuff coming from 2006 Blue Undergrounds release- this takes in a fifteen-minute interview with author/ screenplay writer William Goldman- here he talks about how the idea for the book came about, the films producer, different actor & directors that where connected to the film, and the finished film. Next, we get an around thirty-minute interview/featurette with ventriloquist Dennis Alwood who was a consultant on the film- here he starts by talking about the history behind his trade & key performers, going onto talking about other films about ventriloquists. Before he goes onto talk about Magic, how/ why the doll changed from the one he owns to Fats, and lastly we get to meet Fats again- both of these are great features, it’s just a bit of a pity there couldn’t have been some sort of commentary track from a genre expert. Other than these we get a Spanish interview with Hopkins from when the film came out, Ann-Margret make-up test, radio interview with Hopkins, and radio spots.
I always felt it was a pity that Magic wasn’t thought of as highly as the other creepy doll films- as real it’s one of the best of the genre has to offer, sure it’s a slow burn- but it really gets under your skin & keeps you guessing to the end- so it’s great to see it getting this new Blu Ray release that I hope spurs new interest in this often over looked film.