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| Dvdivas
was founded by John Gabbard in 2000. It's purpose has been and
remains to be to provide you, the entertainment community with
the latest dvds and movie reviews. It will continue to be your
link to the most popular dvd movies. |
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“The
Escape Artist”
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Reviewer:
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Wayne
A. Klein
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Studio: |
Paramount |
| Genre: |
Drama |
Release:
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10/25/05
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| Special
Features: |
Director Caleb Deschanel, magician/actor
Ricky Jay and producer Barrie Osborne, featurette on soundtrack
restoration |
| Review:
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“The Escape Artist” really could be about Francis Ford
Coppola. Just when you think his career has gone up in flames
(“One from the Heart”) he manages to arise like the phoenix
(with singed feathers I might add) from the ashes of his
disasters. Produced when Coppola was trying to put out a
series of off-beat films that Hollywood wouldn’t normally
produce, “The Escape Artist” is memorable primarily for
the strong performances of Griffin O’Neal and Raul Julia.
It’s also memorable for wasting the talented Terri Garr
in a supporting role that makes no use of her natural comedic
talents. ***
An interesting character study, “The Escape Artist”
tells the story of Danny (Griffin O’Neal) the son of the
second greatest escape artist (Houdini being the first)
who leaves home to join his Uncle Burke (Gabriel Dell) and
Aunt Sibyl (Joan Hackett) on the road. Danny has already
developed his ability as a magician and escape artist himself.
When he lifts the wallet of the abusive Stu (Raul Julia)
the mayor’s son, he lets himself in for a world full of
trouble. Directed by Caleb Deschanel (cinematographer on
“The Right Stuff” and “The Black Stallion”) the film just
doesn’t spark despite the interesting cast. ---
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| Special
Features: |
The film features an informative
commentary track from director Deschanel, magician Rickey
Jay (“The Spanish Prisoner”) and production manager Barrie
Osborne. Deschanel discusses the day-to-day production aspects
including the difficulty that Julia and Desi Arnaz had working
together on the film because of Julia’s acting approach. Ray
discusses some of the tricks that he had to teach O’Neal and
how well the kid picked up on them. There’s also a text section
on the soundtrack restoration. --- |
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Final Words:
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It’s nice that “The Escape Artist”
is finally available on DVD. It’s not a movie that connected
with audiences but that’s not due to the lack of talent of
the cast and crew. The DVD features an informative and active
commentary track and a very nice transfer done by Zoetrope
for this release. |
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