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Death Defying Acts (2007)
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Overview
User Rating:
Release Date:
13 March 2008 (Australia) moreTagline:
There is no escape. morePlot:
On a tour of Britain in 1926, Harry Houdini enters into a passionate affair with a psychic out to con the famous magician. full summary | add synopsisAwards:
2 wins & 6 nominations moreNewsDesk:
(18 articles)
Summit to Expose Houdini’s Secret Life (From Beyond Hollywood. 3 June 2009, 7:48 AM, PDT)
Scribe nominees announced; DeCandido gets Iamtw GrandMaster
(From Comicmix. 30 March 2009, 12:27 PM, PDT)
User Comments:
Disappointingly flat moreCast
(Cast overview, first billed only)| Guy Pearce | ... | Harry Houdini | |
| Catherine Zeta-Jones | ... | Mary McGarvie | |
| Timothy Spall | ... | Sugarman | |
| Saoirse Ronan | ... | Benji McGarvie | |
| Malcolm Shields | ... | Leith Romeo | |
| Leni Harper | ... | Leith Romeo's wife | |
| Ralph Riach | ... | Mr. Robertson | |
| Olivia Darnley | ... | Flower Stall Seller | |
| Anthony O'Donnell | ... | Oily Librarian | |
| Billy McColl | ... | McTavish | |
| James Holmes | ... | Ugly Mug | |
| Melanie Harris | ... | Rose (as Frankey Martyn) | |
| Aileen O'Gorman | ... | Effie - Elderly Seamstress | |
| Raymond Griffiths | ... | Music Hall Dwarf | |
| Shaun Mason | ... | Heckler |
Additional Details
MPAA:
Rated PG for some sensuality, thematic material, language, violent content and smoking.Parents Guide:
View content advisory for parentsRuntime:
97 minColor:
ColorAspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 moreSound Mix:
Dolby DigitalCertification:
Canada:PG | Ireland:PG | South Korea:15 | Singapore:PG | USA:PG | New Zealand:PG | Finland:K-7 | Hong Kong:IIA | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Netherlands:12 | Philippines:PG-13 (MTRCB) | Mexico:BFun Stuff
Goofs:
Anachronisms: In the scene before Houdini try to communicate with his passed mother via Mary McGarvie, it can be clearly seen there is a vacuum tube that happened to be a 6C33C Russian vacuum tube, which does not exist until the 60s, and further more, that vacuum tube couldn't work anymore, since it was leaked (it has a white layer of powder inside the tube that shows there is air inside). moreFAQ
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This film is about a woman who works as a con artist trying to deceive Harry Houdini into believing that she has psychic powers.
"Death Defying Acts" sounds like an action movie, but the poster looks more like a romantic film. In fact it is neither. It is a slowly unfolding drama about how Mary attempts to con Harry, and how harry falls for her.
As Houdini is the greatest escape artist of all times, a film about him should have been exciting, thrilling and even death defying. However, this film has none of these attributes. The plot is slow, plain and not exciting at all. There is not much tension or drama to captivate me. I do not care about the characters, and whatever relationship they have between them. There is little chemistry between Guy Pearce and Catherine Zeta-Jones. Frankly, I think they are both miscast. Fortunately, Saoirse Ronan is delightful as the psychic sidekick. She is the one who save the film.
"Death Defying Acts" turns out to be a bore. I am quite disappointed by it.