An Honest Liar (2014) Reviews

• I loved this movie

  iraisrael2015-02-25

  This week a stunningly beautiful, brilliant and poignant new documentary about James Randi comes out and it is as riveting as any narrative film I have ever seen. "An Honest Liar: Truth and Deception in the Life of James 'The Amazing' Randi" paints a luscious portrait of James Randi and a fascinating history of the crusades that he has waged in the name of honesty - as well as two provocative discrepancies in his personal life. Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction. And sometimes revealing untruths is even stranger than anything you can wrap your mind around. James Randi is a vigilante. He is exceptionally bright, gifted, articulate, audacious and relentless in a quest for truth that often consists of denouncing psychics/magicians who fall below his moral barometer. He feels that taking advantage of the limitations of consciousness as entertainment is perfectly acceptable; however, taking advantage of the limitations of consciousness to scam people for financial gain or trying to pass it off as "science" is utterly abhorrent. James Randi devised elaborate hoaxes over many years to prove that renowned scientists could be easily fooled by magicians into thinking that such gimmicks as psychokinesis (supposedly moving or influencing objects with one's mind) were real and not optical illusions. For four decades Randi took particular umbrage with master showman Uri Geller and publicly implored him in his book "The Truth About Uri Geller" and on multiple television appearances to stop referring to himself as a psychic. His main disgust was at the money wasted by lauded institutions such as Stanford University investigating illusionists such as Gellar. In the end, it is Uri Geller who sells fake diamonds on QVC while James Randi's Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge remains intact.

• Great way to learn about Randi's story

  InterlinkKnight2015-03-05

  I admire Randi since I was a kid because he was passion about the truth, and his effort to expose BS. I always hear about he was a magician, but never got the chance to see him in those days. Gladly, this documentary tell his story from the beginning to the present, so there is a lot of footage of his magician days. The story sometimes jumps back and forward, but I think in a good way. Overall is told chronologically. A long story compress in so few minutes. But don't feel like was too short or too long. Also is great to see people that was involve in all those stories talking about it in the present. If you are a fan of Randi, for sure you most watch it.

• Everybody must see this movie

  deleau2015-06-28

  Without detailing into spoilers, This movie provided enough interesting lessons spanning much wider than just a movie. I think it's pretty unique in its underlying message, at least I don't know of any other movies with these lines underneath. I may even fall in a separate category. For scientists this movie will show you that there are other variables besides "controlled conditions" and "a bunch of references" which you should be taken into account, when performing tests with humans: humans may deliberately fraud your research. As far as I remember that was never a topic or even a consideration during classes on how to conduct controlled experiments. It also taught me that, no matter how smart you are, people will always be able to fool you. So you do need strict conditions and help of trained professionals when performing tests or experiments in this area. The movie also taught me that even if you put the plain proof that people are frauds in front of people, it is no use. Apparently people disregard the truth even with evidence and for reasons I can't yet comprehend, donate gazillion of dollars to frauds even with recorded proofs of fraudulent behavior. The movie made me aware that knowing the truth is one thing but assuming other people are interested in the truth is another thing. Apart from these and other pretty unique things the movie lets you think of ... it gives an insight in the career of Randi. I was not completely aware of his complete career, which was an eye opener. I also did not know how broad his operations stretched, the determination during the 2 years of paranormal research was absolutely stunning. If I would have to categorize the movie in my DVD/Blu-Ray collection I would create a separate drawer "Truth".

• "Fighting the fakers"

  paul-allaer2015-04-04

  "An Honest Liar" (2014 release; 95 min.) is a documentary about the life and works of James "The Amazing" Randi, a magician and escape artist along the lines of the infamous Houdini. Like Houdini, Randi later becomes a fierce opponent/prosecutor of those who lie to and manipulate the public for personal and monetary gain (such as the so-called faith healers and those who proclaim to channel the dead). Couple of comments: this documentary is co-directed by Tyler Measom (previously of "Sons of Perdition") and Justin Weinsteiny (previously of "Being Elmo"). In the early part of this documentary, we get an introduction as to Randi's background. Let me admit upfront that I had never heard of him. He left school at age 17 after having seen a magician's show in Toronto, deciding that he wanted to become "the next Houdini". By all means, Randi built a fabulous career (there are multiple clips from the Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson). But things get a lot more interesting of course, once Randi decides (in the 1980s) to devote his efforts to exposing the cheaters and manipulators. The expose on self-proclaimed faith healer Peter Popoff is nothing short of brilliant (and stunning). "We're fighting the fakers", exclaims Randi. Towards the end of the documentary, when we get a taste of Randi's current personal life, there are a couple of further twists which I did not see coming. "An Honest Liar" recently opened at my local art-house theater here in Cincinnati, and I finally had a chance to see it on its second weekend. The early evening screening where I saw this at was quite well attended, somewhat to my surprise. In the end, I found "An Honest Liar" an okay documentary, but not as compelling as certain other recent documentaries like "Finding Vivian Maier", just to name that one. Still, if you are into documentaries, "An Honest Liar" is worth checking out, be it in the theater, or eventually on Amazon Instant Video or DVD/Blu-ray.

• A story so captivating, it's hard to believe it has truly happened

  tomstyle-811962015-07-18

  The title 'An Honest Liar' should honestly be the only thing that you read, before watching it. For those who won't do that, I will summarize the elements that make it my favorite documentary: -Nicely structured storytelling 'An Honest Liar' is long, but it has a calm yet captivating pace. Interviews are mixed up with enough found footage to prevent a talking-heads syndrome. -The turbulent life of Randi This is a magician that can tell you his life's story for hours, without boring you. -Controversial chapters Randi has devoted his life to revealing the truth, but is hiding one in the meantime. This plot wraps around the story, and is told in a way that allows you to feel with the reason of this deception. For skeptics on the matter, this might broaden their horizon. -Scope of the plot The scope of 'An Honest Liar' is big, just as the life of Randi. It will probably touch some familiar subjects, from interesting angles (fi: Faith-healers). It even reached out of the borders of a documentary when the interviewer partakes in a lie himself, allowing you to consider the broad definition of deception. -It's educative nature There are several life-lessons told throughout the documentary. What it can teach the viewer is very subjective, but there are lessons about deception to be learned in there for most of us. -The atmosphere Interviews being held seated, but the camera work is varied enough, and settings capture the atmosphere of the interviews. This is most noticeable in one of the more emotional scenes near the end. -What I disliked The lack of action in the own footage. There is, for instance, a lawsuit going on at the time of recording, but the camera isn't in on the action. This didn't degrade much from my overall viewing pleasure, so I won't hesitate to grant 'An Honest Liar' 10 out of 10.