An Honest Liar

Name: An Honest Liar
Genre: Biography, History, Comedy, Documentary
Released: March 6, 2015
Duration: 90 min
Rating: 76

2015

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Generally favorable reviews based on 16 Critic Reviews

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Generally favorable reviews based on 8 Ratings

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7.8	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 8 Ratings

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An Honest Liar

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Movie Details & Credits

Abramorama | Release Date: March 6, 2015 | Not Rated

Summary: 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 theAn 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.… Expand

Director: Justin Weinstein and Tyler Measom

Genre(s): Biography, History, Comedy, Documentary

Rating: Not Rated

Runtime: 90 min

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Critic Reviews

David Edelstein

Mar 7, 2015

Whatever his foibles, An Honest Liar depicts a great American original — a man who has taught a generation of scientists, magicians, and even certain film critics that our senses must be trained to detect the smell of bullshit. Read full review

Peter Keough

Mar 19, 2015

It would violate a taboo to relate how this movie magic, masterfully orchestrated by Weinstein and Measom, is done. Their film is as smooth as Randi’s patter and demonstrates how the documentarian’s camera is quicker than the eye. Read full review

Bill Goodykoontz

Apr 9, 2015

An Honest Liar is a fascinating look at what the truth means, and how it means different things to different people. It's also a reminder that no one has a monopoly on it. Not even the Amazing Randi. Read full review

Geoff Pevere

Mar 3, 2015

The ultimate question in An Honest Liar is whether it’s possible to know so much about the method behind the magic without being fooled into believing your own act. Read full review

Richard Roeper

Mar 19, 2015

Even with my misgivings about some of Randi’s methods, anyone who can challenges faith healers, psychics and mediums who claim a special bond with the dead — and often wins those challenges — deserves a standing ovation. An Honest Liar is an honest portrait of just that man. Read full review

David Rooney

Mar 3, 2015

The film navigates an abrupt turn when it explores an elaborate untruth in the subject's own life. But while that shift could have been smoother and its conclusions more coherent, this is nonetheless intriguing stuff. Read full review

Joshua Rothkopf

Mar 4, 2015

The doc makes a hairpin turn into sentiment, as the realities of immigration law impose themselves on Randi’s private relationship with his Venezuelan lover of 25 years. We already know that professional charlatans run from their pasts. Where they head to, though, is the better question: For a while, An Honest Liar brings a captivating crusader into view. Read full review

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