67
Metascore
16 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- It’s enough for Workman to simply assemble a patchwork of Welles in his myriad incarnations (as the hearty Falstaff in Chimes At Midnight; as an arched-eyebrow spokesman for Paul Masson wine; as The Third Man’s cynical Harry Lime; as a sharp, vital youth and a sharp, frail elder) and allow the many faces to confirm, contradict, and, ultimately, speak for themselves.
- 80New York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierNew York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierMost tales come from the inimitable mouth of the man himself, who could make ordering dinner sound like Shakespeare. He had a life to match. Workman covers all of his subject’s years, even if very few of them truly belonged to Welles.
- 75New York PostFarran Smith NehmeNew York PostFarran Smith NehmeIf this documentary is swift and witty, that’s in part because it relies heavily on clips of Orson Welles talking. And oh, how Welles could talk, that beautiful voice wrapping itself around tall tales and wine commercials with equal grace.
- 75RogerEbert.comGlenn KennyRogerEbert.comGlenn KennyWhatever its shortcomings, “Magician” accomplishes quite a bit as a corrective, and it also gives one an hour and a half in the company of Orson Welles. That in and of itself is worth at least a three-star rating.
- 70Village VoiceStephanie ZacharekVillage VoiceStephanie ZacharekSturdy and rudimentary, Magician may be Welles 101, but it's dotted liberally with TV and radio clips of the famously loquacious auteur talking, talking, and doing more talking — and how could anybody with ears and a brain resist that buttery voice, spinning out clause-laden sentences that take more twists and turns than the streets of Venice but always end, somehow, in a place that's ravishingly articulate?
- 60The DissolveKeith PhippsThe DissolveKeith PhippsIf nothing else, the sweep of Workman’s cradle-to-grave approach helps place Kane in a broader context, making it one chapter in a long life and a drama-packed career. The only trouble with the film is that Welles’ story has been told many times over, and Workman struggles to find anything new to say.
- 60Time OutJoshua RothkopfTime OutJoshua RothkopfWorkman’s study, complete with a fawning sit-down with Steven Spielberg, feels slightly awestruck: The films certainly deserve it, but you’ll want more of Welles’s Illinois schoolmate, rolling her eyes when the subject is described as “humble.”
- 50Slant MagazineChuck BowenSlant MagazineChuck BowenDirector Chuck Workman's simply compiles Welles's greatest moments, offering little in the way of an authorial point of view.
- 50Los Angeles TimesRobert AbeleLos Angeles TimesRobert AbeleMagician may not be its own rich experience, but like Workman's many breathlessly compiled odes to the history of movies, it'll certainly spur a meaty living room film festival.
- 40The New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisThe New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisLike one of those machines that can inhale a car and spit out a tidy cube of squashed components, Magician: The Astonishing Life and Work of Orson Welles is a near-indigestible lump of clips and quips and snipped opinions.