An Honest Liar

This week a stunningly beautiful, brilliant and poignant new documentary about James Randi comes out and it is as riveting as any narrative film I have ever seen. "An Honest Liar: Truth and Deception in the Life of James 'The Amazing' Randi" paints a luscious portrait of James Randi and a fascinating history of the crusades that he has waged in the name of honesty - as well as two provocative discrepancies in his personal life.

Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction.

And sometimes revealing untruths is even stranger than anything you can wrap your mind around.

James Randi is a vigilante. He is exceptionally bright, gifted, articulate, audacious and relentless in a quest for truth that often consists of denouncing psychics/magicians who fall below his moral barometer. He feels that taking advantage of the limitations of consciousness as entertainment is perfectly acceptable; however, taking advantage of the limitations of consciousness to scam people for financial gain or trying to pass it off as "science" is utterly abhorrent.

James Randi devised elaborate hoaxes over many years to prove that renowned scientists could be easily fooled by magicians into thinking that such gimmicks as psychokinesis (supposedly moving or influencing objects with one's mind) were real and not optical illusions.

For four decades Randi took particular umbrage with master showman Uri Geller and publicly implored him in his book "The Truth About Uri Geller" and on multiple television appearances to stop referring to himself as a psychic. His main disgust was at the money wasted by lauded institutions such as Stanford University investigating illusionists such as Gellar. In the end, it is Uri Geller who sells fake diamonds on QVC while James Randi's Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge remains intact.

I've always loved magic. I study films and music to the point that while I still appreciate art at its best, the secrets have been spilled. I want to keep the secrets of magic under wraps so the best showmen can still captivate me. I'd actually never heard of James Randi, a self- proclaimed substitute for Houdini after his death, or maybe I had but forgotten him, so it was a delight to find out he'd been involved in significant events in magic that I looked into - such as Uri Geller's live exposé. Even in his 80s he's a charismatic entertainer who's fun to watch. He knows the value of the secrets of magic, and hates when it's abused to manipulate people for profit, rather than entertain them for profit. It's very satisfying to watch Randi's successes as frauds are exposed and the filmmakers have a wealth of footage to illustrate their points. The chapters may seem to end prematurely, but it culminates in its crisis point in the third act in a way that keeps a balanced argument as to whether what Randi is doing is justice or invasive of people's freedom and hope. But what's most engaging about the doc is Randi's own life and the hidden side of him of his partner. An Honest Liar is a very well put together doc about an important figure in magic everyone should know about.

8/10

No spoons were harmed in the making of this film.

The Amazing Randi is a legend. I've read one of his books and seen him countless times on TV. This documentary is a real treat if you're a fan of magic and healthy skepticism. I like how it shows his human side and wish it spent more time the personal side of his life. But it also spends a good bit of time covering some of his best shenanigans. This really needed to be a series. They crammed a lot in here.

I admire Randi since I was a kid because he was passion about the truth, and his effort to expose BS. I always hear about he was a magician, but never got the chance to see him in those days. Gladly, this documentary tell his story from the beginning to the present, so there is a lot of footage of his magician days.

The story sometimes jumps back and forward, but I think in a good way. Overall is told chronologically.

A long story compress in so few minutes. But don't feel like was too short or too long.

Also is great to see people that was involve in all those stories talking about it in the present.

If you are a fan of Randi, for sure you most watch it.

I've always been a huge fan of James Randi, and this documentary makes me love his work even more. The Popof story alone makes this film worth watching, but there's tons more about him here. Definitely a must-see for any sceptic.