First episode of the the big new TV drama Houdini is on C4 tonight at 9. I previewed it early this week so a couple of general spoilers: 1) He dies in the end. 2) Its pretty dire. Houdini buffs like me the world over have been really looking forward to it for a long time - its a lavish big budget production made for the History Channel in the States, but unfortunately the History bit is no indication of its dedication to facts - its hugely inaccurate in almost too many ways to list. Sadly it falls into that awfully vague based on a true story category, which doesnt really mean anything. The costumes, set and cinematography all scream dollars, but the plot and characterisation seemed to have been aimed at a 12 year-old, and you end up wondering why so many pivotal points in Harrys career have been changed or omitted when it wouldnt make any difference to the overall story. As a couple of examples, the whole thing was shot in Budapest, yet the jailbreak which really changed the course of his career is set in the States despite it actually taking place at Scotland Yard in London. There is very little significant action set in the UK despite him becoming established as an escape artist and spending a huge amount of time here between 1900 and the First World War. A major trick which is given away in basic form is his version of the bullet catch; there is no hard evidence that he ever presented that trick - it certainly wasnt a feature routine of his. And so it goes on. Spelling his real name, Ehrich, incorrectly as Erich in a short subtitled sequence is pretty unforgivable, and why paint up his minimalist industrial-looking stage set to look Egyptian for the iconic milk churn escape?! Adrian Brody is cast as the lead and makes a good fist out of a corny script, but hes too tall and thin, and apparently a lot of American Houdini enthusiasts think his accent was laughable. Most disappointing for me was the casting of Evan Jones as Houdinis long-term Man Friday assistant Jim Collins. Ive spent a long time researching this character, and Jim was a gaunt, dark-haired Englishman (see my profile pic!), yet he is portrayed as a geeky socially inept ginger hick from the Deep South. Unfortunately what the general public will take away from this latest incarnation is a lot of inaccuracies which will become accepted as historic fact in the general consciousness, the same as happened with the 1950s biopic starring Tony Curtis. Despite this version claiming to be based on a certain biography, much of it is actually based on the more recent one, The Secret Life of..., and perpetuates the ridiculous notion that Houdini acted as a spy for the British and Americans in Europe - a concept which seems to have been created and developed to get an angle for a publishing deal. The second episode is apparently considerably better and features Harrys campaign to expose fraudulent spirit mediums (now theres a plot line!), but my guess is that, this being Hollywood-style cheese, theyll probably include an Ooh - maybe there really are ghosts...? Twilight Zone moment. Either way, I wont be holding my breath, under water or otherwise. All in all worth a look if youre at all interested in the subject matter, but in a nutshell, highly inaccurate and disappointing cheeseballs. channel4/programmes/houdini
Posted on: Sun, 07 Sep 2014 16:18:02 +0000
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