MAGIC

Merlin (E J Andre), an elderly magician, awaits the return of his protégé Corky (Anthony Hopkins, THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS) from an amateur talent night.

Corky lies to his mentor, telling him that his turn on stage was a roaring success. But, as Merlin suspects, the truth is that the drunken audience were not interested in Corky's magic act. Merlin suggests Corky lacks charm, and if he can find a gimmick to give him some presence he will stand more chance of breaking the crowds.

A year later, and Corky is a triumph of the stage - thanks to his ventriloquist act. His agent Ben (Burgess Meredith, ROCKY) invites a TV executive to a nightclub to witness Corky's act. Initially unimpressed, the executive takes an interest when Corky introduces his foul-mouthed dummy Fats to the stage.

Days later, Ben meets Corky at a plush hotel with some good news - the TV studio wants to commission a pilot episode. If it's a success Corky will get a lengthy contract out of them. Corky's delight soon turns sour when he learns he will have to undergo a medical examination first.

Ben persists with Corky, eager to get the deal closed. But when he informs Corky he was unable to get the studio executives to change their policy on medicals, Corky disappears - retreating to a remote town in the Catskills where he grew up.

It's there that Corky (with Fats in tow, of course) plans to hide from the pressure of impending success and the fear of failure that dogs him. It's also there that he meets up with Peggy (Ann-Margret, VIVA LAS VEGAS; TOMMY), a girl he had a crush on as a kid.

All seems to go well for a while, with Peggy falling for Corky's shy charms and vowing to leave her absent husband Duke (Ed Lauter, STARSHIP TROOPERS 2; NOT ANOTHER TEEN MOVIE). But with Ben harassing Corky to get his head checked over his spooky connection with Fats, and a suspicious Duke turning up unexpectedly, things are about to get rocky for the unstable ventriloquist.

There have been many attempts at creepy ventriloquist's dummy films over the years - most notably the early musical THE GREAT GABBO, which certainly echoes MAGIC'S themes, and the Michael Redgrave segment of Ealing's DEAD OF NIGHT. It's hardly surprising that, in the horror-heavy 1970s, William Goldman's novel of MAGIC would be optioned for film adaptation.

Richard Attenborough's MAGIC succeeds largely due to the performances. Hopkins is reliable as ever (even when wearing hideous woolly jumpers), while Ann-Margret finds depth and humanity in a character lesser actresses would have failed to illuminate. Being the most sympathetic character in the entire film, it's great that she gets it right.

The supporting actors are the strongest links, however. Lauter shines as a confused, ultimately scared, husband - clearly relishing the chance to play something other than a barking soldier or school coach. And Meredith steals every scene he's in. He simply has to look deadpan as Hopkins is sweating his angst out, and he wins the acting honours hands-down.

The script (Goldman wrote the screenplay too) is for the most part naturalistic and free from cliché. Fats' insults are tempered down from the novel, but you still get the idea. The screenplay's less ambiguous than I remembered it being (it's a long time since I last saw this!), but the effect is not lessened by this.

Attenborough (GANDHI; A BRIDGE TOO FAR) directs well, employing the right amount of restraint to keep the creepier scenes from spilling over into the realms of melodrama. He only drops the ball once, during an overwrought love scene between Hopkins and Margret. I didn't know whether to vomit or laugh, this scene is so bad - with Jerry Goldsmith's obvious score compounding the matter.

Still, MAGIC is an overall sombre piece that stands out thanks to it's good pacing, believable script, sympathetic performances and lush photography. Fats is a triumph in himself too - a genuinely creepy looking piece of wood.

Anchor Bay's 2 disc special edition offers the film on disc 1, in an anamorphic 1.78:1 transfer that's generally good. Images are clear and bright, with some minor film grain in darker scenes. Audio options include the original stereo track, plus mixes in 5.1 and 5.1 DTS. I sampled the former two, both of which were hugely impressive - even, loud and clear.

Other than static menu pages including a scene selection allowing access to the movie via 12 chapters, that's it for disc 1.

Disc 2 provides some interesting extras, most of which have previously been made available on Dark Sky's R1 release.

SCREENWRITING FOR DUMMIES is an interesting 16 minute featurette which interviews Goldman. He talks of his initial inspiration, the research he put into the medium when writing his novel, and his adventures of getting the film made.

FATS AND FRIENDS sees ventriloquist Dennis Alwood give us a brief history of films based on the subject, plus his own recollections of the filming of MAGIC. It's interesting to note that Norman Jewison (THE THOMAS CROWN AFFAIR; ROLLERBALL) was initially going to direct, and that Jack Nicholson was originally cast as Corky - but pulled out because he didn't want to wear a hairpiece. At 26 minutes, this is a decent featurette that hols the interest.

An 11 minute interview with cinematographer Victor Kemper is a nice addition, as is an archive 7 minute interview with Hopkins for Spanish TV. The interviewer translates Hopkins' answers into Spanish, which means this is pretty slow - but amusing at the same time.

A 3 minute radio interview with Hopkins is accompanied by behind-the-scenes archive footage. Hopkins talks more about his break into acting here.

Some passable TV spots and trailers (the US trailers played silent on the screener disc) follow, with a 1 minute clip of Ann-Margret's make-up screen test and so-so stills gallery rounding things off.

Another fine effort from the folks at Anchor Bay UK.

Review by Stu Willis