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Houdini

  • TV Mini Series
  • 2014
  • TV-14
  • 1h 16m
IMDb RATING
7.3/10
13K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
2,146
63
Adrien Brody in Houdini (2014)
Watch the trailer for History's miniseries "Houdini," starring Adrien Brody, tonight at 9pm!
Play trailer1:01
5 Videos
42 Photos
DocudramaBiographyDrama

Follow the man behind the magic as he finds fame, engages in espionage, battles spiritualists and encounters the greatest names of the era, from U.S. presidents to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and... Read allFollow the man behind the magic as he finds fame, engages in espionage, battles spiritualists and encounters the greatest names of the era, from U.S. presidents to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Grigori Rasputin.Follow the man behind the magic as he finds fame, engages in espionage, battles spiritualists and encounters the greatest names of the era, from U.S. presidents to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Grigori Rasputin.

  • Stars
    • Adrien Brody
    • Kristen Connolly
    • Evan Jones
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    7.3/10
    13K
    YOUR RATING
    POPULARITY
    2,146
    63
    • Stars
      • Adrien Brody
      • Kristen Connolly
      • Evan Jones
    • 34User reviews
    • 21Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Won 1 Primetime Emmy
      • 2 wins & 22 nominations total

    Episodes2

    Browse episodes
    TopTop-rated1 season2014

    Videos5

    On Tonight
    Trailer 1:01
    On Tonight
    Series Trailer
    Trailer 1:37
    Series Trailer
    Series Trailer
    Trailer 1:37
    Series Trailer
    Houdini (German Blu-Ray/DVD Trailer)
    Trailer 1:43
    Houdini (German Blu-Ray/DVD Trailer)
    Houdini
    Trailer 0:31
    Houdini
    Fear
    Promo 0:30
    Fear

    Photos42

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    Top cast72

    Edit
    Adrien Brody
    Adrien Brody
    • Harry Houdini
    • 2014
    Kristen Connolly
    Kristen Connolly
    • Bess Houdini
    • 2014
    Evan Jones
    Evan Jones
    • Jim Collins
    • 2014
    Tim Pigott-Smith
    Tim Pigott-Smith
    • William Melville
    • 2014
    Tom Benedict Knight
    Tom Benedict Knight
    • Dash Houdini
    • 2014
    Shaun Williamson
    Shaun Williamson
    • Riley
    • 2014
    Eszter Ónodi
    Eszter Ónodi
    • Cecilia Weiss
    • 2014
    Louis Mertens
    • Erich Weiss
    • 2014
    Jeremy Wheeler
    Jeremy Wheeler
    • Rabbi Weiss
    • 2014
    Caroline Boulton
    Caroline Boulton
    • Sylvia The Bearded Lady…
    • 2014
    Megan Dodds
    Megan Dodds
    • Margery Crandon
    • 2014
    David Calder
    David Calder
    • Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
    • 2014
    Linda Marlowe
    Linda Marlowe
    • Lady Doyle
    • 2014
    Madeleine Potter
    Madeleine Potter
    • Houdini's Mistress
    • 2014
    Michael Terry
    • Sol
    • 2014
    Stevan Rimkus
    • Maxwell
    • 2014
    Anthony Cozens
    • Chauncey Kidd
    • 2014
    Chrissie Cotterill
    • 2014
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews34

    7.312.8K
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    Featured reviews

    7LeonLouisRicci

    "The Great Houdini"…becomes...The Good Houdini TV-Movie

    The History Channel has been Accused of Escaping from the Real Life Story of the 20th Century's Most Renowned and Recognizable Stage Showman/Magician and Delivering a Spiffed Up Glossy Conglomerate of Psycho-Babble and Stiff Characters.

    Adrian Brody does Fine as the Charismatic Curmudgeon of the Spiritualists and Highly Successful Performer that Searches Diligently for the Next Illusion and Death be Damned. This Takes a Toll on His Wife Along with the Burden of a Mother Fixation.

    But it's Obvious He does Love His Wife although She Seems to be Playing Third Fiddle to Mom and His Obsession with The Act. This All Makes for Good Drama, but Wait there's More.

    We are Informed through some Pretty Bad Dialog and at Times Even Worse Narration that All of this is Playing with Houdini's Head, or at Least the Performer was a Heady Individual.

    The Usually Good Screenwriter Nicholas Meyer's Sub-Par Script is Less than Insightful and not Very Witty. It is Downright Dull at Times. What Saves this 2-Part TV Mini-Series from Awfulness is Brody's Energy, the Art-Design, Costumes, and General Look of the Thing.

    The Movie is Guilty of Over-Exposing and Telegraphing the Ending with Way too Many Scenes of Houdini's Innards. Ironically with All of the Money Spent on the CGI the Most Impressive Ambiance here is the Vintage Posters that are Everywhere and Use the Original Artwork with Brody's Face Inserted.

    Slightly Above Average for This Type of Thing but it's Strength is not its History, but the Sheer Dynamism as a Person and Performer along with His Hyper-Volatility and Fascinating Life that was "The Great Houdini".
    5paul2001sw-1

    Not the greatest show on earth

    Harry Houndini was a great magician, showman, and at least according to his own legend, a fascinating character. But this doesn't mean that his life story is actually a single great narrative. This glossy renditioning of his biography leaves (too) little to the imagination; yet it's continuously straining, trying to find a uniting theme that means something more than the birth, extraordinary career, and death of one man. In places, the over-stretched story makes little sense: it's understandable that Houdini's assistant should have been grief-stricken by news of his death, but not that this should make him want to destroy all of his master's equipment. Aiden Brody has been good in other stuff, but in this role, there's a lot of screen time and not much to do with it. I could imagine Houdini playing a role in a clever-clever drama not unlike Nic Roeg's 'Insignificance'; but as a biographic hero, this is obvious and surprisingly dull stuff.
    7A_Different_Drummer

    Kristen Connolly steals this movie

    ... which is both a good and a bad thing.

    It is a good thing because over the course of the 2-parter you start to realize that the intensity comes not from the escapes, but rather from Connolly simultaneously delivering her dialog with that machine-gun rasp of hers, at the same time those extra-wide "cartoon" eyes pause for emphasis. I don't mean to make light of this, it is very unusual, and very effective.

    The bad news is that, as interesting as Connolly is, she should really not be able to steal the entire film. That she can, speaks to the weakness of the script, and meandering self-indulgent arc that passes for a plot.

    Brody tries hard. In fact, Brody is one of those actors who seems to be merely tolerated by his audience during his actual career but, I suspect, will become a cult idol to nextgen viewers. Here he does the best he can with what he was given.

    If you bring no expectations to this film, it is entertaining, although truth be told I think the History Channel should set its standards a bit higher. (With Hatfields/McCoys, which I reviewed here, they nailed it AND were factually accurate to boot).

    Never liked the Curtis film but I did read Houdini's autobiography, so I empathize with the angry reviews in this list.

    In the end, it is true, Houdini was able to escape everything but his own ambition.
    7monaa-1410

    What you expect

    I have a strange relationship with Adrian Brody I like him and I like this movie and I think it's independent. The movie is good. I liked it when they debunked the magic tricks because it'll be even real life. The Costa was really good she had like this puppy eyes I laughed when they proved that all psychics are wrong and I love the hell do you need that although he was really eager to talk to his mother but because he was smart the checks didn't I want them and because he's actually Trackmaster you know it's all this all about not as great as Houdini's name but really good. I think they shorten the bed sets that entertaining.
    Dr_Sagan

    A modern mini-series that is worth watching.

    This is definitely a modern miniseries.

    Quick editing, fancy graphics and lots of slow motion effects. It even has some CSI-like visuals where you get to see how the muscles of the abdomen react to a direct punch and other similar graphics that usually appear in the CSI franchise.

    The music is a mix of classic instruments, heavy metal guitars and synthesizers and adds to the modern feel of the show.

    Harry Houdini is presented as a bigger than life character who quickly becomes rich and famous with his wit and boldness. Fame and fortune isn't enough though. He wants to be legendary. Also he wants to make his life count, so in this version he becomes an international spy who uses his performances in Germany and in Russia to gather intelligence before the first world war.

    Adrien Brody is good enough as Harry Houdini and his narration, that you can hear throughout the episode, contributes to the dramatic tension that you may think that the show is lacking because of its very modern presentation.

    Overall: A series worth watching for entertainment. From a biographical point of view you may want to look elsewhere.

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    Related interests

    Jesse Eisenberg in The Social Network (2010)
    Docudrama
    Ben Kingsley, Rohini Hattangadi, and Geraldine James in Gandhi (1982)
    Biography
    Mahershala Ali and Alex R. Hibbert in Moonlight (2016)
    Drama

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Adrien Brody had studied magic as a child and was able to perform most of his own stunts.
    • Goofs
      The capital of Russia at the time of Houdini's visit was St Petersburg, not Moscow. Very doubtful he gave a performance to the Royal Family in Moscow.
    • Connections
      Featured in The 21st Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards (2015)

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    FAQ18

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • September 1, 2014 (United States)
    • Countries of origin
      • United States
      • Canada
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Гудіні
    • Filming locations
      • Hungary
    • Production companies
      • A+E Networks
      • Cypress Point Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h 16m(76 min)
    • Color
      • Color

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