The Best 10 Movies About Magic of All Time

So here we go, the best 10 movies about "magic" of "all time". That is a difficult task and, of course, it will become a list that will be questioned by many.

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What I have tried to do is compile a list of films that present films that have magical themes or very obvious magical references. Of course, the eruption of the Harry Potter films, the excellent trilogy of Lord of the Rings and even Star Wars could be included. However, from the desire to expand the list of films inspired by magic or magical themes, I leave them as "too obvious".

For reasons of brevity, I have not included fully animated films in this list either, so fantasies of Fantasia, Sword in the Stone and even The Illusionist (film 2010 by Sylvain Chomet) are not considered.

I also ignored television series, such as The Magician (Bill Bixby coached by Mark Wilson), Jonathan Creek, the bizarre 1970s television series Ace of Wands, as well as specific episodes of Colombo, Midsomer Murders, One Foot in the Grave based In around magic and magicians.

So this brings us to a quick summary of some of the best inspiring movies in the movies I know. Starting with those who are outside the Top Ten, not because of lack of quality, simply because they are a bit peripheral to the main list.

Passport to Pimlico (1949): directed by Henry Cornelius and with great performances by Stanley Holloway and Margaret Rutherford. This great comedy of Ealing contains a sequence in the tube train where the magician of the day The Great Masoni, drops his box allowing his pigeons to escape adding to the surreal nature of the comic moment.

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Dead of Night (1945): directed by Alberto Cavalcanti is a magnificent Ealing horror film that contains a series of stories about a dream told by a guest who arrives at a remote farm. It is said that the film influenced the Hoyle, Gold and Bondi cosmologists to develop the "steady state theory". They were inspired by the circular nature of the narrative of the film. However, the film contains a story about a ventriloquist and a charming mannequin. Ventriloquism is related to the magical arts, hence its inclusion here. The story is the precursor of one that is really on the list, Magic, starring Anthony Hopkins.

Thirty-Nine Steps (1939): directed by Alfred Hitchcock. The original and perhaps the greatest version of this film whose climax takes place as in a theater in which a "man of memory" acts. The Law of Memory can be considered as a subset of the magical art of mentalism. The great magician Harry Lorraine is world famous not only for his "magical" act but also for his contribution to the training and development of human memory.

The Raven (1963): directed by Roger Corman sees the great Vincent Price, Peter Lorre, and Boris Karloff as medieval magicians involved in a magical duel. This fun, colorful camp and movie based loosely on Edgar Allan Poe's poem The Raven, is not the best example of the Corman-Price collection, but it's a lot of fun.

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The Night of The Devil (1957): Jacques Tourneur. This great film is an adaptation of the story of M R James "Casting the Runes". Starring Dana Andrews as a skeptical psychologist "cursed" by Faustian-looking magician and "cult" leader Julian Karswell (Niall MacGinnis). In a sequence, Karswell disguised as Dr. Bobo performs magic at a children's party. The conversation that goes on between the psychologist and the magician contains a lot of performance frameworks and ideas for the budding bizarre. Apparently, Tourneur never wanted the audience to "see" the devil. In many ways, I wish he had got away with it. The film would be even more spooky and terrifying if terror were left to the imagination. Again, strange magicians take note!

The Magician (1958): directed by Ingmar Bergman. The only reason why the cinema is out of the top ten is the possibility of being considered "pretentious" if it is placed where I think it belongs, at least among the top 5! Max von Sydow plays a traveling magician and a "magnetic healer" (going back to the days of Mesmer) trapped in a story about prejudice, honesty, the class system and ... well, everything is multidimensional. Sydow is brilliant, rarely speaks, and Bergman's images are great. The movie has been called a "man's thought horror movie". It is creepy, surreal and brilliantly acted and directed.

The Great Buck Howard (2008): directed by Sean McGinly is based on the character of John Malkovich, who in turn is based on the mentalist Kreskin.

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Next (2007): directed by Lee Tamahori Nicholas Cage sees a man who can see some minutes in the future and disguises his talent by working as a living magician. Cage is seen as another type of "magician" in the fantasy film The Sorcerer's Apprentice (2010 directed by Jon Turteltaub) that makes direct references to the apprentice of wizards of Disney in Fantasy.

Magic Man (2010): directed by Roscoe Lever, stars of Billy Zane who plays Darius, the Magic Man of the title. Announced as a thriller, this film has not received the best of criticism. As I have not seen it yet, I can not comment, but a future revision of this list may include it.

So In The Top Ten

10. Excelsior Prince of Magicians 1901: directed by Georges Melies. This pioneer of cinema was a magician before turning his hand to the magic of cinema. I have produced many short films of which this is just one, but many of them presented cinematic versions of scenic tricks that magicians would love to be able to really do. He was one of the first filmmakers to present stop frame, time-lapse, and multiple exposures. He also painted many of the black and white films he filmed. A true innovator.

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9. The Grim Game 1919: directed by Irvin Wilat. It is not the best movie to watch, but from a magician's point of view, it is imperative. He introduced Harry Houdini in the lead role that exhibits his exploits of escapology. Houdini, not only a great magician but also a great entrepreneur, embraced the beginnings of cinema, but to be honest, he honestly made a short-lived contribution to the cinematographic art. Somehow, perhaps, Melies's previous 'trick photography' diminished part of the dramatic impact that Houdini's live performances will have.

8. Lord of Illusions (1995): directed by Clive Barker and based on his novel of the same name. This movie is notable for its magical references. The "bad" main character Nix not only has supernatural powers, but his disciples have them. One of his disciples, Swann, after the premature death of Nix (before his later resurrection), uses his magical powers to become a popular illusionist. The stage magic sequences are well done, there is a cameo on the part of the great Billy McCombe and the Magic Castle is represented as a place of secrets. The basic concept that "magic is a dangerous reality" is a great theme for the bizarre magicians that exist.

7. Cast to Deadly Spell (1991): directed by Martin Cambell, see Detective, Harry Philip Lovecraft (played by Fred Ward) who lived in a Los Angeles in 1940 where magic is a commonplace. He is recruited by a rich man to find a lost book, of course, you have it ... The Necronomicon! It's really a Bogart-esque film-noir with a magical flavor, of course, of course, there are magicians. It is witty, fun and full of Lovecraftian references. Unfortunately at the time of writing, unlike its less acute sequel (Witch Hunt) is not available to buy on DVD.

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Witch Hunt (1994): directed Paul Schrader. A sequel to Cast the Deadly Spell in which the detective, H. Phillip Lovecraft played by Dennis Hopper fights the evils and corruption of a senator who wields magic. As a sequel not of poor quality, but maybe not as good as the first movie.

6. The Great Kandinski (1995): directed by Terry Windsor. This film 'made for TV' should be included in this list, not only for its charm and humor but for its sensibilities. Richard Harris (whose work is admirable) plays a retired escapologist who lives in a nursing home. The story revolves around Kandinsky's desire to 'pursue a secret more' and make a 'final show'. The escape presented is Houdini's water torture cell, which is a testament to the iconic nature of that one illusion.

5. Nightmare Alley (1947): directed by Edmund Goulding. An impressive film and perhaps one of the best examples of all time of the black cinema. Tyrone Power plays the "psychic with man" Stanton Carlyle, whose trail of deceit and deception itself leads from rags to riches and rags. Of course, magicians will be a link to an artist who used to go by the name of Rinaldo, but who was better known professionally and now to mentalists around the world like Stanton Carlisle. (1928 - 1990). Stanton insisted, despite many affable challenges, that this was his real name and that he was not influenced by Goulding's film.

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4. House of Games (1978): directed by David Mamet. OK, it's not really a magic movie, but it features the performance of one of my magical heroes of all time, Ricky Jay. Ricky is one of a group of scammers in this Hitchcock Esque thriller. Mamet, as always, does a great job of capturing the mood and the film explores human motivations and behaviors. Ricky Jay, of course, is no stranger to the big screen, with roles in the movie Bond, Tomorrow Never Dies, Magnolia, Buck Howard, The Prestige and many more. This, however, I think it was his first adventure on the 'big screen'

3. Houdini (1953): directed by George Marshall with Tony Curtis as Houdini. This movie has a lot to answer for, as it creates some of the most enduring myths about the life of the genuinely "mythical" Houdini. His death on stage as a result of the completion of the "water torture cell" is not a fact, but the film certainly hints at it. The 'touch with death' in a frozen river; the first performance of the "straight jacket" at a Magicians Society dinner almost certainly never happened, but the romance and innocence of the moment saves it. The magical advisor of this movie was Dunninger.

I guess it's worth mentioning in passing that in 1998 there was a television movie about Houdini (directed by Pen Densham) and a previous attempt at a new biopic version in 1976 with Paul Michael Glaser in the lead role (directed by Melville Shavelson). The film Death Defying Acts (2007) directed by Gillian Armstrong focuses on the documented interest of Houdini by mediums and psychics and is really the vehicle through which another story can be told.

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2. Magic (1978): directed by Richard Attenborough and starring Anthony Hopkins. In the film, the Hopkins character begins as a magician but sees success as a ventriloquist. The film shows the fall in madness as the relationship that Hopkins has with his mannequin 'Fats'. It's a classic movie with some of the most creepy nuances that soften, what some claim to be, slower sequences of sentimentality.

1. The Illusionist (2006): directed by Neil Burger and starring Ed Norton. The rhythm and the feel of this movie are wonderful. It's a love story with great performances by an excellent cast. The magic advice came from Ricky Jay and Michael Webber. Norton as Eisenhiem is the magician of the ideal scenario. The cinematography is brilliant, the plot very well wrapped and with, perhaps some surprises.

1. The Prestige (2006): directed by Christopher Nolan. While The Illusionist is sumptuous and attractive and in its essence 'hopeful' and 'romantic', The Prestige is darker and is about revenge, envy, and competitiveness. Great performances by Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale, like the enemy wizards, each with a "secret" and a narrative that is not linear, make the film attractive and well worth the small effort it takes to keep up with the intricate tangle of intrigue. The 'prestige', the end of the film, contains revelations that may surprise. Smart scripts make emotional tension come alive and rich magical references (Chung Ling Soo, The Bullet Catch, The Water Torture) make this film a must for magicians. Ricky Jay appears as an established theater artist and Michael Caine is great as a creator of illusions, although I would never ask him to build me a birdcage that vanishes!

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I really can not separate these two films in terms of acting quality, direction and history, so they share the billing of the first place with the least serious ...

Magicians (2007): actually deserves a gold star on this list. Directed by Andrew O Connor and written in collaboration with David Britland, Andy Nyman and Anthony Owen and others, this is a magical tour de force. Opting for a comic look at the world of the conjuror, the Magicians see Mitchell and Webb sounding through some great verses; It pays homage to some key magicians and has a real blow to some of the extravagances that are part of the magical scene. The great Pat Page appears, and most of the "posts" of magic in the magic convention that hosts the competition in the center of the plot of the film were provided by well-known magic dealers.