"There is an oath not to reveal certain tricks. And I had issues with this," Brody admits. "But the audience will gain an understanding of how some great illusions worked. You could probably find them online these days. I feel like it's an interesting facet of the storytelling, but I don't really like that certain things are revealed because he wouldn’t have wanted to reveal them."
To what extent will Houdini expose the great magician's feats? For that I guess we will need to wait until September 1st.
Houdini co-stars Kristen Connolly and Evan Jones. The 4-hour miniseries airs September 1 & 2 at 9/8c on HISTORY. An extended edition DVD will be released on October 7.
Uh oh.
ReplyDeleteIndeed.
DeleteDistressing, to say the least. I'm not even a member of any magician's society, yet I know it's against the code of ethics to reveal a magician's secrets. I was worried by the clip of the jail escape from the trailer; I was hoping I was just seeing wrong.
DeleteVery bad form on the part of everyone involved, yet I applaud Brody for bringing up the fact that breaking the oath isn't something looked kindly upon.
On the upside, this might be just the thing to bring Houdini back from the other side...
-Meredith
Well said, Meredith.
DeleteThe Paul Michael Glaser and Tony Curtis films depict Houdini picking a jail cell padlock with his toes. The Glaser film depicts Houdini wacking his wrists on a table to pop open a pair of British cuffs. In that scene, he does it in front of a group of British aristocrats. Something Houdini would have considered unthinkable: reveal one of his handcuff secrets so brazenly to a group of strangers. We're not treading new ground here.
ReplyDeleteActually, in Houdini's 1909 Paris film he releases himself from handcuffs by whacking them on the ground. Houdini would occasionally do this in full view.
DeleteShowing Houdini picking locks isn't really revealing secrets. This is more than that.
I'm really trying to keep an open mind about this, but boy, they sure aren't making it easy.
ReplyDeleteMy feelings exactly.
Delete-Meredith
Showing Houdini picking locks in no big deal. Revealing how he escaped from what are considered his "effects".......his planned stage escapes such as the milk can or WTC etc would be a huge mistake to say the least.
ReplyDeleteI'm in a little bit of a dilemma because I know exactly which secrets are revealed. I was keeping the secret of the secret revealing secret (got that?) because I wanted people to come to the miniseries fresh and form their own opinions, and I do think this news taints it. I only reveled it now because Brody is talking publicly about it (he gave another similar quote to the NYT). But I'll do for HISTORY what they didn't do for Houdini and keep their secrets. But you can bet I'll have something to say about this after it airs.
ReplyDeleteLooks like all the stops are out to achieve ratings etc.
ReplyDeletePsychoanalysis. Espionage. Secrets revealed. etc........ :-(
My one hope is that this leads to more people visiting sites like this for accurate / latest /newly discovered information.