An Honest Liar (2014)

The life and career of the renowned stage magician turned scientific skeptic of the paranormal, James Randi.

Directors:

Tyler Measom, Justin Weinstein

Writers:

Tyler Measom, Greg O'Toole

Stars:

James Randi, Deyvi Peña, Penn Jillette

6 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
James Randi	...	Himself - Magician
Deyvi Peña	...	Himself - Artist (as Jose Alvarez)
Penn Jillette	...	Himself - Magician (as Penn)
Teller	...	Himself - Magician
Jamy Ian Swiss	...	Himself - Magician & Author
Richard Wiseman	...	Himself - Magician & Psychologist (as Prof. Richard Wiseman)
Ray Hyman	...	Himself - Experimental Psychologist
Adam Savage	...	Himself - Mythbusters
Alice Cooper	...	Himself - Rock Star
Banachek	...	Himself - Mentalist (as Steve Shaw)
Alexander Jason	...	Himself - Surveillance Expert (as Alec Jason)
Bill Nye	...	Himself - The Science Guy
Michael Shermer	...	Himself - Publisher, Skeptic Magazine
Michael Edwards	...	Himself - Project Alpha Psychic
Uri Geller	...	Himself - Purported Psychic

Storyline

AN HONEST LIAR is a feature documentary about the world-famous magician, escape artist, and world-renowned enemy of deception, James 'The Amazing' Randi. The film brings to life Randi's intricate investigations that publicly exposed psychics, faith healers, and con-artists with quasi-religious fervor. A master deceiver who came out of the closet at the age of 81, Randi created fictional characters, fake psychics, and even turned his partner of 25 years, the artist Jose Alvarez, into a sham guru named Carlos. But when a shocking revelation in Randi's personal life is discovered, it isn't clear whether Randi is still the deceiver - or the deceived.

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Plot Keywords:

magician | straitjacket escape | ends with biographical notes | false identity | debunking | 

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Genres:

Documentary | Biography | Comedy | History

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

BBC Storyville page Official Facebook

Country:

USA Spain Italy Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 November 2014 (UK)

Also Known As:

An Honest Liar: The Amazing Randi Story

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$13,821, 8 March 2015, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$124,031, 5 April 2015

Company Credits

Production Co:

Left Turn Films, Pure Mutt Productions, BBC Storyville

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min 58 min (TV) (2016)

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

At the end of the credits, a disclaimer comes up: "No spoons were harmed in the making of this film".

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Quotes

James Randi: Magicians are the most honest people in the world. They tell you they're going to fool you, and then they do it.

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Crazy Credits

Before the final copyright in the end credits it states, "No spoons were harmed in the making of this film."

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Connections

References MythBusters (2003)

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Soundtracks

Happy Birthday
(uncredited)
Written by Patty S. Hill & Mildred J. Hill

User Reviews

Debunking Mystics with a Retired Magician

The cunning, combative career of James "The Amazing" Randi, slightly better known as a professional disprover of psychics and faith healers than as an escape artist and illusionist of his own right. His career arc is an unexpectedly exciting one - he rubbed elbows with Johnny Carson and Alice Cooper in his prime - and as showy as one might expect from a lifelong performer. I found his transition right from the stage into the professional debunking game to be a natural one, not to mention noble (he considers work as a magician to be entertainment, while paranormal hoaxes are just thievery) but some see hypocrisy there. While it stays on the subject of his career, the documentary is a fascinating one. It switches gears in the final half-hour to focus on his personal life, where he's ironically caught by a private swindle during production, but apart from the obvious parallels to his working life I didn't find that long aside terribly interesting. Still, a good story, though perhaps not one that needed a feature-length documentary to explore.