MovieChat Forums > Magic (1978) Discussion > My Review, 31 Years Later

My Review, 31 Years Later

posted 15 years ago by tomtkh
6 replies | jump to latest

When this film was released it had VERY misleading trailers. There was indication that this dummy was going to come to life (similar to Chucky) and it drew a lot of people for that reason, and disappointed them (including me). But now it is 31 years later, and I've seen the film again for the first time, and it's a GREAT film. Anthony Hopkins did a great job in this role, as did Burgess Merideth and Ann Margret. My favorite scene is when Burgess Meredith walks in on Anthony as he's yelling at the dummy. The look on Burgess's face is priceless, he is shocked to see that his client clearly has deep emotional problems. The ending to the film is extremely sad -- especially Ann Margret's last scene...but it fits very well with this kind of movie. In fact, I'm glad they didn't do an epilogue, explaining everything to death or a super happy ending.
This is a very under-rated film!!

[–] bobadexter 15 years ago

Yes this is a great atmospheric 70, film they dont know how to make a movie like this anymore.

[–] mizhu 14 years ago

I'm sure they still know how to make 'em like this, it's just not the kind of film people today seem to want (action! action! action!).

...Which is sad to me, because I'd rather watch Magic than any of the overloaded CGI crapfests that keep getting produced.

[–] tagster 13 years ago

My favorite scene was when Burgess Meredith was timing Hopkins with a stopwatch, betting that Hopkins couldn't go 5 minutes without speaking as Fats. I wrote on another thread that my family went to the same resort every summer, starting in 1978 or 1979. That first year we stayed in the same cabin as Hopkins. My brother and I immediately recognized it as the cabin from 'Magic' but my parents weren't convinced they actually filmed it there until they read an interview with Hopkins years later, saying they filmed it at Blue Lakes, CA. That place (and the movie) gave me nightmares as a kid.

...and nobody beats The Riz!

[–] tomtkh 13 years ago

Wow, that is SO cool that you actually STAYED there! That whole scene with the watch and timing him is cool, but my favorite is when Burgess first catches him talking to the dummy, the look on Burgess's face and eyes is very cool (VERY concerned look).

[–] IceboxMovies 13 years ago

These movies has a couple of scary scenes, but overall it left me feeling a little depressed. Corky never seems to get a break in the movie.

"What I don't understand is how we're going to stay alive this winter."

[–] Filthy_Giuseppe 11 years ago

Great review.

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