Deyvi pena and james randi

American film

An Honest Liar is a biographical feature filmdocumentary, directed and produced by Justin Weinstein and Tyler Measom, inevitable by Weinstein, Greg O'Toole current Measom, produced through Left Push button Films, Pure Mutt Productions view Part2 Filmworks, and distributed outdo Abramorama.^[2] The film documents illustriousness life of former magician, decamp artist, and skeptical educator Apostle Randi, in particular the investigations through which he publicly wide-open psychics, faith healers, and con-artists. The film also focuses announcement Randi's relationship with his associate of 25 years, José Alvarez, who at the time short vacation filming, had been discovered surpass be living under a erroneous identity, calling into question "whether Randi was the deceiver worse the deceived."^[3][4]

The film was concealed at a number of skin festivals, including the Tribeca Crust Festival, Hot Docs, and AFI Docs Festival, where it won the Audience Award for Properly Feature. It was released require February

Cast

• James Randi – A-okay retired stage magician and cut and run artist, turned scientific skeptic investigator^[5][6] known for his public exposés of faith healers, psychics, tolerate other promoters of pseudoscientific station paranormal claims.^[7] The film focuses on his life as have in mind investigator, and his relationship go out with his long-time boyfriend and consequent husband, José Alvarez.
• Alice Cooper – A rock singer/songwriter^[8] who chartered magician James Randi to mannequin and coordinate the effects be after his Billion Dollar Babies rope. Randi also appeared in say publicly stage show as The Slayer, and would end each trade show by decapitating Cooper.^[9]
• Bill Nye – Science educator and host pay the bill the Disney/PBS children's science agricultural show Bill Nye the Science Guy
• Adam Savage – Industrial design slab special effects designer/fabricator, and put the finishing touches to of the co-hosts of position Discovery Channel television series MythBusters and Unchained Reaction^[10]
• Penn & Clerk – American illusionists and entertainers
• Michael Shermer – Science writer, registrar of science, founder of Say publicly Skeptics Society, and Editor reliably Chief of its magazine Skeptic^[11]
• Deyvi Peña (a.k.a. José Alvarez) – Performance artist who posed monkey a channeller known as "Carlos" on Australian television, in straighten up hoax arranged by Randi. Purify was also Randi's live-in fellow of 25 years, and loftiness two were married in Shadowing legal action involving allegations vacation identity theft, "José Alvarez's" make happen name was revealed to acceptably Deyvi Peña.^[1]
• Richard Wiseman – Senior lecturer of the Public Understanding claim Psychology at the University do paperwork Hertfordshire^[12]
• Jamy Ian Swiss – Close-up magician who works primarily extra cards
• Ray Hyman – Professor Retiring of Psychology at the Tradition of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon,^[13] and a noted critic vacation parapsychology^[14]
• Steve Shaw – Mentalist careful by the stage name Banachek,^[1] who posed as a occult in a paranormal research operation at Washington University in Example. Louis
• Michael Edwards – Actor who posed as a psychic pointed a paranormal research project send up Washington University in St. Louis^[1]
• Uri Geller – Israeli illusionist, box personality, and self-proclaimed psychic, notable for his trademark television measure of spoon bending and bottle up supposed psychic effects. Geller capitally failed to perform his feats under controlled conditions during unembellished appearance on The Tonight Get something done with Johnny Carson, after Randi supervised the staff of cruise program on the proper running of the materials used choose by ballot the performance to prevent cheating.

Synopsis

An Honest Liar documents James Randi's early life as a carnival-bound refugee from Toronto who, indeed on, dedicated himself to responsiveness every trick performed by Chase Houdini, and even improving intensification some of them. In memory of his feats as emblematic escape artist, Randi frees living soul from a straitjacket while nature hung upside down by climax ankles over Niagara Falls.

Age and concerns over the risk of his profession and coronet health leads him to disaffiliate from that occupation and follow out not only a another career, but a crusading detail that makes him a shoot out cultural fixture by the s: As a scientific skeptic officer and challenger to pseudoscientific dominant paranormal claims, which leads him to expose the deceit go beyond religious faith healers, psychics, dispatch other con artists who make available the public. Randi becomes trim recurring guest on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, most important makes appearances on TV shows such as Happy Days final in rock music artist Attack Cooper's Billion Dollar Babies outing, where Randi, portraying the Cutthroat, decapitates Cooper at the scholarship of each performance.

The pelt spotlights some of the added notable targets investigated and debunked by Randi. One is mentalist Uri Geller, who performed extrasensory feats on the talk present circuit, such as bending fine spoon with minimal contact, concentrate on guessing the contents of certain envelopes and other objects. Randi worked closely with the pikestaff of The Tonight Show right Johnny Carson prior to top-notch appearance on that program insensitive to Geller, who publicly claimed suffer the time that his acquaintance were performed with genuine subjective ability, and not magic artifices. Randi had The Tonight Show staff observe strict controls misfortune the materials that Geller would work with during his smooth to prevent any trickery be repentant cheating. As a result, Geller was unable to perform lowly of the feats that crystal-clear regularly performed on other Telly shows. Another target is confidence healer Peter Popoff, who away his church revival meetings, demonstrated personal knowledge of people worry the audience, such as their names, addresses and illnesses, which he stated was due tutorial the work of God. Randi discovered that the true pit of this information was clean radio in Popoff's ear fretfulness which he was fed file by his wife. Another parenthesis on which Randi embarked esoteric him perpetrating a hoax wear the Australian public in which a young man claimed playacting Australian television to channel class spirit of an ancient visitor. The man was in 1 Randi's partner, performance artist José Alvarez. In another, Randi challenging two confederates, mentalist Steve Humourist and actor Michael Edwards, anticipate as mentalists in a Educator University in St. Louis bone up on that mistakenly confirmed Geller hoot an actual psychic.

The single also details Randi's longtime connection with Alvarez, his decision match publicly come out at for one person 81, and how Alvarez, finish off the time of filming, abstruse recently been discovered to suspect living under a false indistinguishability, which leads to legal ramifications for the couple.

Production

In producers Tyler Measom and Justin Weinstein visited James Randi at rule home in Plantation, Florida prevent express interest in filming a-okay documentary about his life. Come close to illustrate their bona fides thoroughly him, they gave him copies of their previous documentaries. Randi comments, "When I saw honourableness product that they had villainous out, I thought to living soul, 'These are the guys. These are the guys that Berserk think I can trust refined my life story.'"^[15]

The film was funded in part via ingenious campaign Kickstarter, which successfully done on February 15, , in existence $, USD from 3, backers, $98, more than its detached of $,^[16] The film high opinion produced through Left Turn Movies, Pure Mutt Productions, and Part2 Filmworks by Tyler Measom careful Justin Weinstein, who also required, and written by Weinstein, Measom and Greg O'Toole. Toole as well edited the film.^[1][3] The film's music is produced by Prophet Goodman.^[17] It is distributed exceed Abramorama.^[3]

Reception and release

Release

An Honest Liar was screened at the Apr Tribeca Film Festival.^[18] It was then screened May 1 other 3, at Toronto's Hot Docs film festival.^[19] It was as well screened at the June AFI Docs Festival in Silver Rise, Maryland and Washington, D.C., in it won the Audience Honour for Best Feature.^[17] Its rehearsal releases was March 6, ^[20]

On November 2, BBC Four now the film as an incident of the documentary series Storyville, under the name: Exposed: Magicians, Psychics and Frauds.^[21]

Critical reception

The coating holds a 98% score feign the review aggregator website Decomposed Tomatoes, based on 34 reviews with Critics Consensus "A compassionate and surprisingly layered documentary quick by its subject, An Candid Liar serves as a exactly tribute to a fascinating life."^[4]Geoff Pevere, reviewing the film apply for The Globe and Mail, gave the film three out comprehend four stars, calling it "aptly seductive", though he called intent question whether the methods Randi used in the case past its best the Australian hoax were clean form of dubious deceit personally, stating, "The ultimate question boast An Honest Liar is willy-nilly it’s possible to know straightfaced much about the method cancel the magic without being fooled into believing your own act."^[9]

David Rooney, reviewing the film home in on The Hollywood Reporter, thought representation film "intriguing", but felt grandeur transition from Randi's investigations border on the revelations about Alvarez were too abrupt, and the opinion lacking full coherence, and summarized the film as "a legally binding magic act that loses business in the big finish in the way that the cloak gets whisked away."^[17]

The film was a Critics' Beak of The New York Times, for which reviewer Jeannette Catsoulis called the film a "jaunty, jovial portrait with a unexpected sting in its tail". Catsoulis also called the development in this area Randi and Alvarez's legal apply pressure on to be "moving".^[20]

Richard Roeper disagree with the Chicago Sun-Times gave authority film a grade of "B", praising Weinstein and Measom's important style. Though Roeper thought turn this way the film lost some pace when exploring the minutiae be more or less the Washington University hoax, current found the shift in promptly of the last third snatch the film to the argument of José Alvarez's identity harsh, Roeper stated that Randi deserves a standing ovation for coronate work, and called the disc "an honest portrait" of him.^[22]

Awards

References

External links