Magic

I liked Magic. Its a far more sophisticated movie than Child's Play, Bride of Chucky and other unrealistic horror movies with doll's taking on a life of their own. In fact, Magic is less horror and more a study of a deeply disturbed man. Hopkins is the shy unsuccessful magician who creates an alter-ego in the form of Fats, his puppet. Together, the magician and Fats make for a very successful act and the magician starts to achieve notable success. When asked to give a health test in order to sign on for a lucrative TV deal, he refuses and runs away. He stays at an isolated island as a paying guest with his now unhappily married college crush - played by Ann-Margret. As romance starts to blossom, the Fats side of Hopkins personality also starts to take over.

Magic reminded me of The Wicker Man - a low budget but chilling Brit horror flick. To be honest, I thought Magic was the better of the two. The similarities it shares with Wicker Man are low budget, reliance on atmosphere, relative realism for the horror genre, a macabre performance by the leading man Hopkins/Christopher Lee respectively and an isolated setting close to the sea. Magic draws the viewer in more because of Hopkins performance which shows likability and vulnerability. 60's sex symbol Ann-Margret, a talented actress, has yet another small role that completely under utilises her.

I can't understand the reason for the low rating on IMDb and obscurity of this film. Even after Hopkins carved out a name for himself in the celebrated horror movie Silence of the Lambs, this was never revisited.

Richard Attenbourough has directed an intriguing and creepy little psychological thriller about a schizophrenic ventriloquist who 'splits' his identity with his dummy. Attenbourough has given a lot of attention to the setting creating an atmospheric effect such as the silent gloomy lake (inhabited by snapping turtles) and Corky's lonely cabin. The cinematography, particularly the closeups, are very impressive. 'Magic' is a simple film and while many have assumed that it's a horror film where the dummy is expected to become some kind of horrific entity (as I thought), that is not the case. Anthony Hopkins gives a stunning performance as the complex, shy and lonely Corky who finally finds love and his manipulative dummy Fats. There are so many moments of his excellent acting. Some examples include the scene where Corky is subjected to 'stop being Fats' for 5 minutes, the boat sequence and Hopkins's scenes with Ann Margret. Though he is more recognized for his 'chilling' Hannibal Lector persona, 'Magic' definitely showcases one of his best performances. The sexy Ann Margret also does an excellent job as the love of Corky's life. She brings a lot of depth to Peggy and she shows more than expected. Burgess Meredith leaves a mark as Corky's concerned manager. Overall, it's nice to see a different kind of Attenborough film. One that is quite well made and very well acted.

This somehow has become a forgotten movie which seems odd that after the subsequent success and recognition of Anthony Hopkins in Silence of the Lambs that more people didn't look back at his 1978 performance in this psychological/horror gem. William Goldman has quite a record of novels being adapted to film or screenplays by him which include No Way to Treat a Lady, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Stepford wives, The Great Waldo Pepper, All the Presidents Men, Marathon Man, Misery and A Bridge Too Far among other memorable films. Actor/Dirctor Richard Attenborough who is notable for directing Ghandi, Chaplin and A Bridge Too Far teams up again with Goldman to bring us Magic. Anthony Hopkins as the ventriloquist also provides the voice of his menacing dummy. Bergis Meredith turns in a great performance as usual as well as Ann Margaret. This is Hopkin's film though and he is superb in lead role. I saw this in the theater during it's initial release and have only seen it once since then. Don't know why this doesn't make on TV more often. I would give this an 8.0 out of 10 and recommend it.

I have passed on this film several times in the past, and people told me it was better than I thought, so I gave it a try. I was amazed how great it was, Anthony Hopkins has never had a character with more energy, this was before he started playing rather boring characters. Although the film does have some plot holes, and there are some unintentional laughs(especially the death of Ben Greene, I couldnt keep a straight face), but Anthony Hopkins is so good he overpowers all of the weaknesses of the film. The film made over 40 million dollars at the time of release, and thats quite a lot for 1978, Im surprised the rating isnt higher, and that it doesnt have more votes. My rating: 7.5 out of 10.

Strangely neglected at the time of its release, this is a creepy and sort-of black humored character study of a man who, basically, splits his personality in two halves; imagine Norman Bates with a dummy fixation instead of a Mommy fixation and you get a general idea what is in store. The scene where Burgess Meredith asks Anthony Hopkins to make the dummy stop talking for five minutes is worth the price of admission. Plus you get brief glimpses of Anne Margaret's bare breasts!

On the whole the plotting reminds me very much of a Jim Thompson novel. Not at all typical of the work of Director Richard Attenborough...unless to remember that as an actor in 1970 he portrayed real-life British Serial murderer & necrophiliac John Christie in TEN RILLINGTON PLACE (which was actually filmed in the exact house where the real-life killings took place!)