Houdini (2014)

each child has his heroes. this film reminds this fact. and gives the clothes to it. the CSI technology, the impeccable performance of Adrien Brody, the metamorphose of a great illusionist in a symbol of his time, the science as tool of magic, the force of details, the personal life of a pure showman who is more than piece of entertainment but a kind of revolutionary are good points of a series who propose a new and convincing perspective about the history more than portrait of an artist. and this is the source of seduction of "Houdini". the courage, and the art to transform well known information in a dramatic and impressive show about the grow up of a modern hero. so, in great measure, a series for the inner child.

-Houdini (2014) miniseries review: -Houdini is a two-part series following the life and career of Harry Houdini, played by Adrian Brody. Mainly focusing on his rise to fame and career as a major entertainer, Houdini looks at various elements of his life, such as his marriage, family, rivalries, and of course, escape magic tricks.-I honestly wish Houdini would have been a film. If has a total runtime of 2 hours 20 minutes, a great cast, and high production design. But as a series, it was still pretty darn good! -The story was well focused and very compelling. The second half is very different from the first half because of Houdini's change in interests, but that is what actually happened, so….-The pace was fantastic. It never became not interesting to me. I binged-watched it because I could not turn it off.-The acting is very good. Adrian Brody does a very convincing job and the supporting cast did great.-The characters all feel very human and flawed, which is something I am glad they showed because of how inhuman Houdini appeared to everyone at the time. I also really liked seeing his rivalries with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Charlie Chaplin.-The music did not fit very well. It had a very modern vibe to it, which aided the pace, but made the overall tone feel too…. hip? Something like that.-The editing was also pretty choppy. It matched the fast cuts in the music, which was played for suspense, but was not needed for it. It is prevalent that he lives through dangerous escapes, but his life was still on the line, so modern music and quick-cuts don't were overkill.-The production design on the film was great. Everything from costumes to makeup was done very well. I also really liked seeing how tricks were done, and some of them are explained afterwards, making you guess first. I am also not going to complain about an anticlimactic ending, because that is how Harry Houdini went, very anticlimactically.-Houdini had some flaws trying to add style and suspense, but despite its best efforts, it was very well done, well-acted, and compelling due to an engaging story and relentless pace. Houdini, being slightly shy of Amazingtastic, is definitely worth checking out! -Houdini is TV-14 for some mild language, intense scenes, some violence, and some brief sexual content, but no nudity.

Anyone who has read anything about Houdini, seen his picture or the rare film footage we have would have to wonder why Adrien Brody thought he could carry this off. He looks at best ridiculous as Houdini. Physically Houdini was a mini muscleman but Brody is painfully skinny. He doesn't have the charisma either. Houdini could capture his audience and his eyes according to those who met him were intense.Adrien Brody was reasonably good in the Pianist (not deserving of an Oscar in my opinion) but I have not seen him carry of anything well since. In Cadillac, the film about Chess records he was just awful, but in this he is even worse.Sadly other cast members seem quite well cast, especially Kristen Connolly as Houdini's wife Bess.Who knows one day we might actually get a good film about the great Houdini?

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.