Houdini

Viewed as a work of fiction this film is entertaining and worth watching. I say that as at the beginning of this picture it is made clear that the play contains fact and fiction, yet at the very end credits it is stated the movie is fiction.

Yet we all surely know that Houdini was historically a most famous "escape artist" and illusionist and forerunner to the likes of David Copperfield and David Blaine.

It would interesting to hear from a historian familiar with the real life Houdini to learn how accurate or otherwise this film is in its depiction of Houdini. From my knowledge much of the major incidents in the picture are factually based.

Where the movie scores heavily is, firstly, that it illustrates in detail the amazing escapes and illusions performed and for the most part shows how these tricks were done. Secondly, following the death of his mother, Houdini became a skeptic of spiritualists who were all the rage during this time period, and the movie handles Houdini's contempt for that very well.

The acting, direction, sets and music are all of a high quality and despite the film lasting over 2 parts @ 3-4 hours in total it had my attention throughout.

Well done History Channel!

7/10

While the merit of some set designers, some actors and some cinematography (what little of it actually which is melded with some cheesy computer set designs) can be commended, modern influence of abrupt and noisy scene changes, bad edits, and absolutely horrible soundtrack (inspired by that noise band from the 90s Nine Inch Nails ie distorted sawtooth waves and jarring effects) helps bring this 'bio' pic down to the average spectrum of creativity. But this is modern Hollywood and about famous Jewish guy. So be it. It was funny seeing the 'jealous' Rasputin though. That made the series for me. Oh Houdini's main squeeze is one terrible actress - doesn't even bother to try to conform to dialect and nature of a lady from over 100 years ago. Adrian Brody - a good actor but IMO not a good choice as Houdini was stalky and had no nose of a vulture.

This is definitely a modern miniseries.

Quick editing, fancy graphics and lots of slow motion effects. It even has some CSI-like visuals where you get to see how the muscles of the abdomen react to a direct punch and other similar graphics that usually appear in the CSI franchise.

The music is a mix of classic instruments, heavy metal guitars and synthesizers and adds to the modern feel of the show.

Harry Houdini is presented as a bigger than life character who quickly becomes rich and famous with his wit and boldness. Fame and fortune isn't enough though. He wants to be legendary. Also he wants to make his life count, so in this version he becomes an international spy who uses his performances in Germany and in Russia to gather intelligence before the first world war.

Adrien Brody is good enough as Harry Houdini and his narration, that you can hear throughout the episode, contributes to the dramatic tension that you may think that the show is lacking because of its very modern presentation.

Overall: A series worth watching for entertainment. From a biographical point of view you may want to look elsewhere.

It seems in the interest of inspiring awe, the creators of this series removed all of the actual awe around this legendary person and replaced it with annoying effects and hurried editing. The voice-over narration is uninspired, and makes the genius Houdini sound like a nitwit. The relationship between him and his family is reduced down to clichés and is indicative of lazy screen writing.

The worst part is that the actual history and character of Houdini is astounding and truly awe-inspiring. It doesn't need bells and whistles to be entertaining. All of this extra fluff was completely unnecessary and removes from the entertainment.

The History Channel has been Accused of Escaping from the Real Life Story of the 20th Century's Most Renowned and Recognizable Stage Showman/Magician and Delivering a Spiffed Up Glossy Conglomerate of Psycho-Babble and Stiff Characters.

Adrian Brody does Fine as the Charismatic Curmudgeon of the Spiritualists and Highly Successful Performer that Searches Diligently for the Next Illusion and Death be Damned. This Takes a Toll on His Wife Along with the Burden of a Mother Fixation.

But it's Obvious He does Love His Wife although She Seems to be Playing Third Fiddle to Mom and His Obsession with The Act. This All Makes for Good Drama, but Wait there's More.

We are Informed through some Pretty Bad Dialog and at Times Even Worse Narration that All of this is Playing with Houdini's Head, or at Least the Performer was a Heady Individual.

The Usually Good Screenwriter Nicholas Meyer's Sub-Par Script is Less than Insightful and not Very Witty. It is Downright Dull at Times. What Saves this 2-Part TV Mini-Series from Awfulness is Brody's Energy, the Art-Design, Costumes, and General Look of the Thing.

The Movie is Guilty of Over-Exposing and Telegraphing the Ending with Way too Many Scenes of Houdini's Innards. Ironically with All of the Money Spent on the CGI the Most Impressive Ambiance here is the Vintage Posters that are Everywhere and Use the Original Artwork with Brody's Face Inserted.

Slightly Above Average for This Type of Thing but it's Strength is not its History, but the Sheer Dynamism as a Person and Performer along with His Hyper-Volatility and Fascinating Life that was "The Great Houdini".