IMDb RATING
6.9/10
974
YOUR RATING
A look at the life and work of the great theatre, radio and film artist.A look at the life and work of the great theatre, radio and film artist.A look at the life and work of the great theatre, radio and film artist.
- Awards
- 2 nominations
Photos
Orson Welles
- Self
- (archive footage)
Christopher Welles
- Self
- (as Christopher Welles Feder)
Micheál MacLiammóir
- Self
- (archive footage)
Norman Corwin
- Self
- (archive footage)
William Alland
- Self
- (archive footage)
Reggie Armour
- Self
- (archive footage)
William Randolph Hearst
- Self
- (archive footage)
John Houseman
- Self
- (archive footage)
Storyline
Did you know
- GoofsWhen the paternity of Welles's alleged son is mentioned, one of the photographs which is shown and purported to be of Welles is actually a photograph of Vincent D'Onofrio, who played Welles in Ed Wood (1994).
- ConnectionsFeatures The Hearts of Age (1934)
Featured review
worth seeing but not spectacular
"Magician: The Astonishing Life and Work of Orson Welles" is a documentary from 2014 about the great filmmaker, actor, magician, and personality. I must have seen and read everything there is on Welles, if that's possible, and this particular documentary borrowed heavily from the best there is -- the BBC interview with Welles, which was one of the best things I've ever seen.
Of interest here were the photos of him as a young boy, and interviews with Micheál MacLiammóir, Norman Lloyd, comments by Julie Taymor, his daughter Beatrice, and so many others, some of whom I had not seen interviewed before.
Welles was, to say the least, a complicated man. He couldn't deal with the studio constraints, but without them, he often floundered. Spielberg was interviewed here, and I remember very well from one of the books on Welles that he went to dinner with Spielberg with the idea that Spielberg could help him find a distributor for one of his movies.
When he came home, the interviewer called him, and he said, they only ever want to talk about Kane. Kane was a blessing and a curse. I think some of the people interviewed didn't give him credit for the fact that he was just as talented as he had always been, but the business had become so much tougher.
Documentaries about Welles are always worth seeing. He was one of the most charismatic and interesting people who ever lived, and he'd probably tell you that himself. And the people around him seemed to adore him. So really, as much as I have liked other documentaries better, this one is worth seeing too.
Of interest here were the photos of him as a young boy, and interviews with Micheál MacLiammóir, Norman Lloyd, comments by Julie Taymor, his daughter Beatrice, and so many others, some of whom I had not seen interviewed before.
Welles was, to say the least, a complicated man. He couldn't deal with the studio constraints, but without them, he often floundered. Spielberg was interviewed here, and I remember very well from one of the books on Welles that he went to dinner with Spielberg with the idea that Spielberg could help him find a distributor for one of his movies.
When he came home, the interviewer called him, and he said, they only ever want to talk about Kane. Kane was a blessing and a curse. I think some of the people interviewed didn't give him credit for the fact that he was just as talented as he had always been, but the business had become so much tougher.
Documentaries about Welles are always worth seeing. He was one of the most charismatic and interesting people who ever lived, and he'd probably tell you that himself. And the people around him seemed to adore him. So really, as much as I have liked other documentaries better, this one is worth seeing too.
helpful•11
- blanche-2
- Mar 19, 2016
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official site
- Language
- Also known as
- Mago: La impresionante vida y obra de Orson Welles
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $813,505 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $16,400
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $7,130
- Dec 14, 2014
- Gross worldwide
- $16,400
- Runtime1 hour 31 minutes
- Color
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Top Gap
By what name was Magician: The Astonishing Life and Work of Orson Welles (2014) officially released in Canada in English?
Answer