Synopsis
The extraordinary life of Orson Welles (1915-85), an enigma of Hollywood, an irreducible independent creator: a musical prodigy, an excellent painter, a master of theater and radio, a modern Shakespeare, a magician who was always searching for a new trick to surprise his audience, a romantic and legendary figure who lived only for cinema.
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Cast
- Simon CallowSelf - Actor and Welles' Biographer
- Christopher WellesSelf - Orson's Oldest Daughter
- Joanne Hill StylesSelf - Orson's Classmate
- Norman LloydSelf - Actor
- Julie TaymorSelf - Stage and Film Director
- Paolo Cherchi UsaiSelf - G. Eastman House Curator
- Peter BogdanovichSelf - Filmmaker
- James NaremoreSelf - Writer and Film Scholar
- Elvis MitchellSelf - Film Critic
- Jonathan RosenbaumSelf - Film Critic
Recommendations
- 91
The A.V. Club
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. - 80
New York Daily News
Most 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. - 75
New York Post
If 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. - 75
RogerEbert.com
Whatever 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. - 70
Village Voice
Sturdy 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? - 60
The Dissolve
If 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. - 60
Time Out
Workman’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.” - 50
Slant Magazine
Director Chuck Workman's simply compiles Welles's greatest moments, offering little in the way of an authorial point of view.
