The Magic Christian
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Movie Reviews of The Magic Christian
Movie Review: 30 years may make a difference
Summary: 1 Stars
I think I first saw "Magic Christian" in the early 70s. I thought it was philosophically interesting, funny and fun. I watched it last week and kept waiting for the good parts. Even the good parts I remembered weren't as good as I remembered them, and the slothly pacing made me restless as a kid in church. I watched the first hour then ejected the disk. There are better things to do.Movie Review: The Magic Christian is a Wild Ride!
Summary: 5 Stars
I first saw "The Magic Christian" on WGN TV when I was a boy of about 9. Of course, it was butchered by editing, but still was a lot of fun. It took forever for me to get my hands on a rental tape of it when I was 22, and finally purchased a copy of my very own copy on DVD recently. The uncut version is much more fun! The Plot.
Peter Sellers stars as Guy Grand, the richest man in the world. He finds a bum in the park, played by Ringo Starr, and adopts him as his only son and heir. He announces this to his company, and then fires all of the board members after showing them a silly cartoon of his new product, the giant car. From here on out, Peter Sellers and Ringo set about the show us all that everyone in the world has his price, and can be "bought", and bribed to do anything he asks. Some of the funniest scenes ever put to film are acted out before your very eyes, including these examples:
The Hunt: Guy Grand and son go on a hunt with some of the rich boys of the country club, and after a bit of discussion about the shotguns they all use, and the dogs go on point, Guy Grand calls in the artillery and flame throwers to make "a quick kill", much to the astonishment of the sportsmen hunting pheasant.
The Nazi Scene: On a Guy Grand train, Guy Grand and son play some nasty tricks on a former Nazi, to the extent that he questions his sanity.
The Auction Scene: Just before the auction at Sotheby's, a Rembrandt painting is purchased, and they mutilate the painting, cutting out the nose and throwing out the rest. Then they go on to the auction, where Peter Sellers bids in some very unusual ways.
The Roman Polanski and Yul Brenner scene: This one is so weird, Yul Brenner, dressed up as a woman, serenades the now exiled Polish movie maker.
The Hamlet Scene is also a favorite, you will never think of "To Be or not to Be", in the same light again!
Of course, the reason it is called the Magic Christian is because the two book passage on a cruise ship's maiden voyage from England to the USA, the "Social Must of the Season". Many more zany and weird adventures occur here, and drive the passengers crazy to the point of revolution, and they wish to smash capitalism. A surprise is awaiting them when they wish to leave the ship.
The entire musical score is by Paul Mcartney, and the music is very fitting. One more note about the cameos, here they are: Raquel Welsh, Yul Brenner, Richard Attenborough, John Cleese, Graham Chapman, Roman Polanski, and Laurence Harvey.
See this movie, it is so weird and funny, you won't believe it!
Movie Review: Excellent remastering of this mess of a comic masterpiece
Summary: 5 Stars
For what is basically a "bargain" DVD, the video remastering is a tremendous improvement over the ghastly quality of the "middle-speed" LP VHS version I popped for a couple of years ago. It must be very close to the original film's colors, with highly natural skin tones and great overall dynamic range. Saturation is a tad underdone, which is to my taste.Audio is another matter. It's all over the map, ranging from quite clear to "telephone" quality, but I suspect the original was essentially beyond meaningful repair. Still, it is readily decipherable throughout.
Considering that it includes one of the funniest scenes EVER filmed -- the "mystery" singer performing "Mad About The Boy" for Roman Polanski at the ship's bar -- this DVD is a must for anyone with a madcap sense of humor.
Movie Review: Great Cameos (esp. by Chris Lee, Raquel Welch); So-So Film.
Summary: 3 Stars
I've always enjoyed watching this film but I really don't know why. For a comedy it isn't really all that funny (especially considering John Cleese and Graham Chapman of "MONTY PYTHON" contributed some bits to the screenplay). I guess it has a lot to do with the "guest stars" that pop up now and then, like director Roman Polanski, Lawrence Harvey, Spike Milligan, Yul Brynner, Richard Attenborough and (best of all) British horror legend CHRISTOPHER LEE and the beautiful RAQUEL WELCH. Lee is a vampire (what else?) on board the "ship" The Magic Christian near the end. He looks very elegant stalking the corridors, his long black cape billowing about him as goes. And Rocky (er, Miss Welch) is the Priestess of the Whip, in charge of the top-less female galley slaves rowing in the engine room. Dressed in her Amazon garb, she is breath-taking to behold! Confronted by a male passenger who demands to know what is going on, she flicks her whip at him, he rips his shirt open and kneels before her and begs her to do that again. These two cameos are very brief, but they are the best parts of this rather meandering and dull comedy. The DVD is a bare bones disc. No notes, no trailer. No extras to speak of. But on the back of the box it lists the "SPECIAL FEATURES" as the full screen version, the interactive menus, scene access and then states that these SPECIAL FEATURES are "NOT RATED". Not Rated? There are no special features to rate! Otherwise, the digitally remastered picture is nice and the film sounds good. Oh yeah, and the songs are very good (Paul McCartney's "COME AND GET IT" and Badfinger's "CARRY ON" heard under the main titles). So, I can't really recommend this DVD, unless you like Mr. Lee or Miss Welch (as I do) and must see every movie they make. Anyone else, stay clear.Movie Review: The "Magic" For This DVD Is Almost There...
Summary: 3 Stars
The picture quality of this dvd is full-bodied and sharp in comparison to earlier video releases where the tone was cloudy and muddy and a little too yellow. The picture is full frame which is sad but we can't expect Criterion treatment all the time! There's not too much wear, except early in the film where speckles and edge enhancements make guest appearances from time to time but having seen this film in theaters, on video and even network TV, I must say it's the best that may ever be presented.The only annoying aspect is the so called "Dolby Digital 2.0"
you might as well just say "enhanced mono" the highs are slightly muffled and the lows are hollow and the songs are left without their Badfinger punch.
But at least listenable and good to see this wonderful Ringo Starr and Peter Sellers satirical comedy available in at least a half way decent format. No extras not even a theatical trailer, but again this isn't Criterion, whereby if it was we may have been lucky to have gotten a running commentary by Mr. Starr or at least a brief video introduction.
Most recent reviews state this film is rather dated, however the nucleus of the film still rings true today, if not more so, that everyone has their price.... and the price tag on this DVD is at least worth every pence!