The articles on the next several pages have been adapted and abridged from the material included in the original press kit for Magic.
PRODUCTION NOTES
There is magic indeed in the creative elements which fuse together to bring "MAGIC" to the screen as one of the most fascinatingly suspenseful love stories ever filmed.
The story of "MAGIC" moves fascinatingly between two worlds: the glitter and excitement of nightspots, hotels and restaurants in the entertainment capitals of Hollywood and New York -- and the contrasting desolation of a near-deserted resort in the pastoral beauty of the Catskills, near a mountain lake.
Producers Joseph E. Levine and Richard P. Levine bring to "MAGIC" the extraordinary production values for which they are famed, and Richard Attenborough's direction finds just the right note of brooding terror for the compelling screenplay William Goldman has woven so masterfully from his novel.
The result is a film which catches the audience in its grip and never lets go from those first moments when, under the titles, the camera begins its restless prowling of a room jam-crammed with magic apparatus: collapsible bird cages, top hats, flags, silks, linking rings. It is a bizarre array, and it sets the tone for the pulse-stopping action which follows: the intriguingly detailed study of a man who takes refuge within the illusionary world magic can create. Corky finds for himself a voice outside his own, the voice of Fats, a ventriloquist's dummy -- brash, aggressive, acid-tongued, frequently descending into foul-mouthed abusiveness -- who, within the framework of a nightclub performance, mouths Corky's own hidden fears, yearnings, hostilities and aggressions.
By combining ventriloquism with his magic, Corky catapults himself into the limelight as one of the most sought-after entertainers in the business. His agent, worldly-wise and cynical old Ben Green, tells him he is just one step away from the big time. But this represents a final commitment which terrifies Corky, and he is plunged suddenly into an abyss of self-created terror, a nightmare he wreaks upon the placid countryside he knew many years earlier when he was growing up.
The story of "MAGIC" moves fascinatingly between two worlds: the glitter and excitement of nightspots, hotels and restaurants in the entertainment capitals of Hollywood and New York -- and the contrasting desolation of a near-deserted resort in the pastoral beauty of the Catskills, near a mountain lake.
Producers Joseph E. Levine and Richard P. Levine bring to "MAGIC" the extraordinary production values for which they are famed, and Richard Attenborough's direction finds just the right note of brooding terror for the compelling screenplay William Goldman has woven so masterfully from his novel.
The result is a film which catches the audience in its grip and never lets go from those first moments when, under the titles, the camera begins its restless prowling of a room jam-crammed with magic apparatus: collapsible bird cages, top hats, flags, silks, linking rings. It is a bizarre array, and it sets the tone for the pulse-stopping action which follows: the intriguingly detailed study of a man who takes refuge within the illusionary world magic can create. Corky finds for himself a voice outside his own, the voice of Fats, a ventriloquist's dummy -- brash, aggressive, acid-tongued, frequently descending into foul-mouthed abusiveness -- who, within the framework of a nightclub performance, mouths Corky's own hidden fears, yearnings, hostilities and aggressions.
By combining ventriloquism with his magic, Corky catapults himself into the limelight as one of the most sought-after entertainers in the business. His agent, worldly-wise and cynical old Ben Green, tells him he is just one step away from the big time. But this represents a final commitment which terrifies Corky, and he is plunged suddenly into an abyss of self-created terror, a nightmare he wreaks upon the placid countryside he knew many years earlier when he was growing up.
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A brilliant combination of talents at the top of their form, the film's stars -- Anthony Hopkins, Ann-Margret, Burgess Meredith and Ed Lauter -- work together in a commanding display of ensemble performance that adds immeasurably to the cumulative terror and suspense as this most unusual love story unfolds.
Anthony Hopkins enriches the screen with his performance as Corky, brilliantly bringing to life the harrowing complexities of the bedeviled ventriloquist. Ann-Margret brings new depth and insight to the role of Peggy Ann, the woman who hungers for a realization of her youthful dreams. As Ben Green, cryptically referred to as The Postman because he always delivers, Burgess Meredith plays a cynical, high-living theatrical agent with the level of performance that won him two Academy Award nominations. As Duke, Peggy Ann's embittered and jealous husband, Ed Lauter finds, at last, an opportunity worthy of the talent that has already won him wide critical recognition.
ANTHONY HOPKINS is certainly one of the most magnetic, remarkable, resourceful and downright talented actors the screen has produced in the seventies, and his performance as Corky in "MAGIC" is the highlight of an already impressive career which has embraced acclaim for his starring role in the stage production of "Equus," plus performances that have won critical recognition in such films as "The Lion in Winter," "Young Winston" and recently in Joseph E. Levine's presentation of "A Bridge Too Far." Hopkins virtually went into training for his role in "MAGIC." He had to learn the art of ventriloquism as well as to perfect the manual dexterity required to perform feats of magic. It was a challenging, complex, demanding role with its labyrinth journey through the mind of a unique, gifted, yet mentally twisted man who seeks to express his inner emotions through the mouth of an abusive ventriloquist's dummy whom he has cleverly billed as "the first X-rated dummy on the block." There is little question that Hopkins' performance will rate high when the time rolls around to make out the list of this year's Academy Award contenders.
Anthony Hopkins enriches the screen with his performance as Corky, brilliantly bringing to life the harrowing complexities of the bedeviled ventriloquist. Ann-Margret brings new depth and insight to the role of Peggy Ann, the woman who hungers for a realization of her youthful dreams. As Ben Green, cryptically referred to as The Postman because he always delivers, Burgess Meredith plays a cynical, high-living theatrical agent with the level of performance that won him two Academy Award nominations. As Duke, Peggy Ann's embittered and jealous husband, Ed Lauter finds, at last, an opportunity worthy of the talent that has already won him wide critical recognition.
ANTHONY HOPKINS is certainly one of the most magnetic, remarkable, resourceful and downright talented actors the screen has produced in the seventies, and his performance as Corky in "MAGIC" is the highlight of an already impressive career which has embraced acclaim for his starring role in the stage production of "Equus," plus performances that have won critical recognition in such films as "The Lion in Winter," "Young Winston" and recently in Joseph E. Levine's presentation of "A Bridge Too Far." Hopkins virtually went into training for his role in "MAGIC." He had to learn the art of ventriloquism as well as to perfect the manual dexterity required to perform feats of magic. It was a challenging, complex, demanding role with its labyrinth journey through the mind of a unique, gifted, yet mentally twisted man who seeks to express his inner emotions through the mouth of an abusive ventriloquist's dummy whom he has cleverly billed as "the first X-rated dummy on the block." There is little question that Hopkins' performance will rate high when the time rolls around to make out the list of this year's Academy Award contenders.
Text copyright © 1978 Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation.
