X
  • 2014
  • PG-13
  • Cohen Media Group
  • 1 h 31 m
  • 2014
  • PG-13
  • Cohen Media Group
  • 1 h 31 m

Summary Magician: The Astonishing Life and Work of Orson Welles looks at the remarkable genius of Orson Welles on the eve of his centenary - the enigma of his career as a Hollywood star, a Hollywood director (for some a Hollywood failure), and a crucially important independent filmmaker. [Cohen Media Group]

Directed By: Chuck Workman

  • 2014
  • PG-13
  • Cohen Media Group
  • 1 h 31 m
  • 2014
  • PG-13
  • Cohen Media Group
  • 1 h 31 m

Magician: The Astonishing Life and Work of Orson Welles

Metascore Generally Favorable Based on 16 Critic Reviews
67
User Score Mixed or Average Based on 5 User Ratings
4.6
My Score
Hover and click to give a rating Saved

Summary Magician: The Astonishing Life and Work of Orson Welles looks at the remarkable genius of Orson Welles on the eve of his centenary - the enigma of his career as a Hollywood star, a Hollywood director (for some a Hollywood failure), and a crucially important independent filmmaker. [Cohen Media Group]

Directed By: Chuck Workman

Top Cast

View All
View All Cast & Crew

Critic Reviews

 View All
Metascore
Generally Favorable Based on 16 Critic Reviews
67
69% Positive
11 Reviews
31% Mixed
5 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews

  • All Reviews
  • Positive Reviews
  • Mixed Reviews
  • Negative Reviews

Critic Reviews

 View All
Metascore
Generally Favorable Based on 16 Critic Reviews
67
69% Positive
11 Reviews
31% Mixed
5 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews

  • All Reviews
  • Positive Reviews
  • Mixed Reviews
  • Negative Reviews
100
Jan 13, 2015
The dazzling thing in Magician is how Workman breezily covers the various periods in Welles’ career, periods worthy of entire books, from his childhood as “The Boy Wonder,” to his post-“Kane” “Gypsy” years, when Hollywood was sure it had plenty of reasons not to hire him as a director, on up to today, as Richard “Boyhood” Linklater dubs him “the patron saint of indie filmmakers.”
By Roger Moore FULL REVIEW
80
Jul 2, 2015
If director Chuck Workman maps a familiar rise and fall of rule-breaking brilliance it is vindicated by the great raconteur and in-depth praise from an impressive roster.
By Ian Nathan FULL REVIEW
75
Apr 2, 2015
There are unexpected things in “Magician,” such as Puck’s presence. Welles’s first screen test, from 1937, and an appearance on “I Love Lucy” are others. But even the expected things, such as the numerous Welles clips, are consistently unexpected.
By Mark Feeney FULL REVIEW
75
Dec 10, 2014
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.
By Farran Smith Nehme FULL REVIEW
63
Apr 4, 2015
The movie marches so quickly past the many milestones of Welles’s career and life that it doesn’t have to time to linger — lovingly or otherwise — on any of them.
By Michael O'Sullivan FULL REVIEW
50
Dec 9, 2014
Magician 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.
By Robert Abele FULL REVIEW
40
Dec 9, 2014
Like 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.
By Jeannette Catsoulis FULL REVIEW

User Reviews

 View All
User Score
Mixed or Average Based on 5 User Ratings
4.6
20% Positive
1 Rating
40% Mixed
2 Ratings
40% Negative
2 Ratings

User Reviews

 View All
User Score
Mixed or Average Based on 5 User Ratings
4.6
20% Positive
1 Rating
40% Mixed
2 Ratings
40% Negative
2 Ratings

There are no user reviews yet. Be the first to add a review.

Details

 View All
Production Company Cohen Welles Project, Calliope Films, Wheelhouse Creative
Release Date Dec 10, 2014
Duration 1 h 31 m
Rating PG-13
Genres
Website http://cohenmedia.net/films/the-magician
View All Details

Awards

Chicago International Film Festival
• 1 Nomination
Satellite Awards
• 1 Nomination

Related Movies

Hoop Dreams

98
Universal Acclaim

Man with a Movie Camera

96
Universal Acclaim

Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)

96
Universal Acclaim

I Am Not Your Negro

95
Universal Acclaim

Woodstock

95
Universal Acclaim

Collective

95
Universal Acclaim

Amazing Grace

94
Universal Acclaim

Stop Making Sense

94
Universal Acclaim

We Were Here

94
Universal Acclaim

Faces Places

94
Universal Acclaim

David Byrne’s American Utopia

93
Universal Acclaim

Shoah: Four Sisters

93
Universal Acclaim

Our Body

93
Universal Acclaim

Sherpa

93
Universal Acclaim

The Decline of Western Civilization

93
Universal Acclaim

Brother's Keeper

93
Universal Acclaim

Crumb

93
Universal Acclaim

One More Time with Feeling

92
Universal Acclaim

Sugarcane

92
Universal Acclaim

The Act of Killing

92
Universal Acclaim

De Humani Corporis Fabrica

92
Universal Acclaim

Menus Plaisirs - Les Troisgros

92
Universal Acclaim

Related News

2024 Movie Release Calendar

2024 Movie Release Calendar

Jason Dietz

Find release dates for every movie coming to theaters, VOD, and streaming throughout 2024 and beyond, updated weekly.

  • movie
Every Zack Snyder Movie, Ranked

Every Zack Snyder Movie, Ranked

Nick Hyman

With the arrival of Zack Snyder's latest Rebel Moon chapter on Netflix, we rank every one of the director's films—from bad to, well, less bad—by Metascore.

  • movie
Every Guy Ritchie Movie, Ranked

Every Guy Ritchie Movie, Ranked

Nick Hyman

We rank every one of the British director's movies by Metascore, from his debut Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels to his brand new film, The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare.

  • movie
April Movie Preview (2024)

April Movie Preview (2024)

Keith Kimbell

The month ahead will bring new films from Alex Garland, Luca Guadagnino, Dev Patel, and more. To help you plan your moviegoing options, our editors have selected the most notable films releasing in April 2024, listed in alphabetical order.

  • movie
DVD/Blu-ray Releases: New & Upcoming

DVD/Blu-ray Releases: New & Upcoming

Jason Dietz

Find a list of new movie and TV releases on DVD and Blu-ray (updated weekly) as well as a calendar of upcoming releases on home video.

  • movie