Very disappointing...

It's no definitive masterpiece but it's damn close.

Absolutely Fantastic

To all those who have watched it: I hope you enjoyed it as much as I do.

I'm a great admirer of both Goldman brothers, James and William, both of whom have produced both novels and screenplays but I can't help feeling a little disappointed that Bill Goldman saw fit to rip off the segment from the portmanteau movie Dead Of Night (circa 1946) in which Michael Redgrave played a ventriloquist who wound up controlled by his dummy. Apart from disappointment I am also surprised that no one else seems to have spotted this. Admittedly the English film is now some seventy years old but even so ... That said this is a fairly competent adaptation by Goldman himself of his own novel and though it skips over Corky's transition from brilliant albeit egg-laying magician to vent act it does offer fine performances by Hopkins and Burgess Meredith.

I found this film on youtube before it was taken down for copyright reasons. It features Anthony Hopkins, who also starred in the horror film Audrey Rose. This movie is not only creepy but also very sad. Corky grew up as an awkward kid in a small town. When he grows up he wants to be in show business, and takes care of his dying mentor, a former magician named Merlin Jr. During Corky's first performance he bombed, and incorporated a dummy look-alike of himself into his act, becoming hugely successful. He is almost hired by NBC to have his own TV show, but his Agent Ben Greene tells him he'll need a medical exam and he panics because of his secret mental disorders, running away to his childhood home only to find it empty and for sale, implying that his mother and brother are dead or forgot about him. He decides to rent out a secluded lakeside cabin in a dreary part of the Catskills town, owned by his high school crush, Peg. Her husband is on a business trip and she has changed from a popular high school cheerleader to a frumpy housewife. Corky still loves her and they begin a relationship, but Fats (the dummy) becomes jealous since it has its own personality provided by Corky and has become Corky's alter-ego. Soon Corky is discovered by Ben Greene and is threatened to be sent to an asylum. He kills Greene and dumps the body in the middle of the lake. Peg's husband Duke gets home and becomes jealous of Corky, and after finding Greene's body washed up on the shore is stabbed by Fats, who is operated by Corky. Soon Corky has to decide on whom to stick with for life, Peg or Fats. The film is exceptional, it doesn't rely on special effects and gore to be freaky. Anthony Hopkins did the voice of both Corky and Fats and was very good in both roles. The ending was pretty sad; when Fats wants Corky to stab Peg, Corky stabs himself instead to protect the girl he loves. The soundtrack was really good, who knew an accordion could be so eerie? My favorite quote was probably at the end when Corky says, "there was never me Fats, only us," and Fats says, "Shmuko... us was you. It was you the whole time." The line was somehow very effective. Fats was like the exact opposite of Corky; whereas Corky is polite and shy, Fats is outgoing, crude and has a never-ending bunch of swear words and sex jokes to say. The acting of the character Ben Greene was pretty good, and so was Peg's role. The scenery of the Catskills cabin property was beautiful; the big green trees and dark clouds and rain, there was never any sun at that place so it made the atmosphere eerie and pretty and mysterious. Anyone who is scared of dolls, dummies, etc. would find Fats very disturbing. There is a deeper part of Corky's past never revealed in the film, in the book he was always overlooked by his dad because of his Jock older brother and his mom was depressed most days. Peg was a cheerleader who was good friends with Corky in high school but had no idea he loved her because she was dating Duke. All in all the film is great to watch, it has a few comedic scenes but is meant to be serious. Not so much spooky as it is disturbing and sad.

A successful ventriloquist - dependent upon his dummy's advice and whims - can't go to the next level of fame - TV - until he's checked out by a doctor. Instead of following his agent's advice to see a doctor, the ventriloquist heads for a remote Catskills lodge in hopes that the girl he held a torch for in high school is still available. When the agent comes a calling at the lodge, he tells the ventriloquist he can forgo seeing a doctor only if he can sit for 5 minutes without making his dummy talk. Anthony Hopkins is brilliant as Corky, the insecure, vulnerable ventriloquist who suffers from excruciating headaches and uncontrollable bouts of transferring his thoughts and feelings into his dummy's mouth. Because of Hopkins' emotional performance, we actually believe Fats (the wooden imp with the big head) is controlling Corky's every move - good and bad.Ann-Margret is warm, tender, and touching as Corky's high school sweetheart Peggy Ann Snow. Her belief in Corky - and her love for the adorable Fats - is poignant. At the same time you want to shout at the screen and say, "What the hell are you doing? The guy is nuts!!!"Burgess Meredith is Ben Greene, Corky's cigar-smoking agent who hounds Corky about seeing a doctor. And Ed Lauter plays Duke, Peggy Ann's jealous husband who gets caught between Corky's and Peggy Ann's rekindled love for one another.Corky and Fats have many heavy conversations with one another. The best being one of the last:"It was never me. Always us." - Corky "Schmuck. Us was you." - Fats"What?" - Corky "It was you all the time." - FatsI saw Magic in NYC when it first came out in 1978. That being said, the movie is better viewed on the big screen for a number of reasons. The most important- so you can better notice and experience the dummy's different faces/expressions during certain crucial scenes and because psychological thrillers are just more affective on large screens. However, don't pass this film over just because you can't sit in a Ziegfeld-sized theatre.

Richard Attenborough's Magic (1978) is an exceptional work of cinema that has so much to offer to the viewer at different levels. It features Anthony Hopkins in the role of a shy ventriloquist named Corky Withers. Corky's act in which he uses a dummy to perform on-stage magic tricks is an instant success. Corky is at height of his fame and probably a single step away from becoming an icon. But, things are not as simple as they appear. Believe it or not, but Corky's dummy Fats has developed a mind of its own! And Corky must learn to control it before it's too late. Anthony Hopkins, I daresay, delivers the best performance of his life. The role of Hannibal Lecter may have elevated Hopkins to apotheosis but Corky has a sense of vulnerability that makes it appear far more realistic than Lecter. A comparison between Lecter and Corky is inevitable for both the characters lie on the brink of insanity... while the former can control it to a great extent the latter is always at the mercy of his vicious alterego. Magic (1978) is a psychological thriller of the highest quality. And Hopkins' sublime portrayal makes it an experience of a lifetime. Ann-Margret is brilliant in the role of Peggy Ann Snow. Burgess Meredith as Ben Greene virtually steals every scene that he is a part of.Magic (1978) is indeed magical. And the dream-like combination of two great Englishmen, Richard Attenborough and Anthony Hopkins, makes it possible. A necessary watch!http://www.apotpourriofvestiges.com/