Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7261 in DVD
• Released on: 2007-09-17
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 87 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
After taking a fairly decent run up in superb voyeur-friendly sitcom Peep Show, David Mitchell and Robert Webb make the jump onto the big screen in Magicians, a Brit-com with just enough tricks up its sleeve to carry it out of fandom and into the mainstream. That said, fans of Peep Show will be pleased to see the duo's familiar character traits (uptight nerd and faux-cool layabout) very much in evidence. The story sees the pair recast as fading magicians Harry and Karl (Mitchell and Webb respectively), whose successful double act is brought to a somewhat sticky end when Harry catches Karl cheating with his wife, before accidentally guillotining her in front of a packed audience.

The aftermath sees Harry reduced to performing tricks in supermarkets, while Karl has the more humiliating task of establishing himself as a Derren Brown-style performer. But the chance to reclaim former glory presents itself in the form of a magic contest and, aided by the lovably hapless assistant Linda (Jessica Hynes) and fruity TV agent Otto (Darren Boyd), Harry and Karl dust off the guillotine for a head to head battle. Despite its modest ambitions, Magicians maintains a respectable pace and gag rate throughout. A great supporting cast help raise the bar, but the film's appeal is largely down to its two leads, whose isn't-broke-won't-fix-it route to comic acting is effective and well judged. Magicians might not pack the belly laughs of a Hot Fuzz, but you're never too far away from a chuckle or two. --Luke Mawson

Synopsis
Magicians is the feature film debut of David Mitchell and Robert Webb, best known for their groundbreaking and hilarious television comedy Peep Show. Magicians also marks the film debut of Peep Show's writers Jesse Armstrong and Sam Bain. Harry (Mitchell) and Karl (Webb) are magicians who have become one of the most successful acts in the business, with the help of Harry's wife as the duo's assistant. After discovering an affair between Karl and his wife, Harry accidentally causes a guillotine-related incident that has grave consequences for his wife. Several years later, a struggling Harry decides to enter a magic competition with a large cash prize. He recruits his enthusiastic if untalented friend Linda as an assistant (Jessica Hynes - nee Stevenson, Spaced) and persuades Karl to join him in attempt to win the competition, forcing the pair to try to put aside their differences. In the wake of 2006's magic based dramas The Prestige and The Illusionist, Magicians offers a welcomingly comic look at the world of illusionism. As the film features the stars and writers of Peep Show, much of the humour is the same, although it doesn't allow the audience to hear the main characters inner monologue, as is the case in Peep Show. There is much to appeal to both fans of Peep Show and people who haven't watched a single episode in this entertaining British comedy.

Customer Reviews

Excellent!!!
I found this to be a brilliantly funny movie - not just were Mitchell & Webb superb but the whole cast shone.

I think the film suffered from very poor promotion (I'd certainly not heard of it until I was Googling M & W one day)
BUY IT! - WATCH IT! - You won't be disappointed.

so boring i nearly fell asleep
how could anyone enjoy this film?it was slow, the script was dull and the funniest part was someone dying!!!i really had high hopes for this film because i do find mitchell and webb very funny, but their characteristics are exactly the same in this film which proves to me that they dont seem to be able to act any other way. i would definately recommend you stay away from this film, it'll bore you to tears.

Very funny take on the geeky side of semi-pro magic
Well, I thought it was funny, as did my wife and sister-in-law. I'm not a performer, but I do like deconstructing and creating tricks and I enjoy going to Blackpool once a year for the international conference; my wife and her sister watch the odd bit of Derren Brown but enjoy Mitchell and Webb.

I can see why amateur and semi-pro magicians would hate it if they take their 'art' too seriously; it humourously parodies the lack of showmanship that goes with the geeky aspects of magic junkies. Such magicians should read Absolute Magic and understand why the public watches Brown and Blaine but dismisses the staid and old-fashioned that this film pokes fun at.

I found the story compelling and should point out that it's the dialogue and inter-play between characters that drives it on and not necessarily the plot. Even so, on a second viewing I was still glued to the suspense that the final performance builds. There are some very funny moments, plus a constant likeableness of the main characters. The knife-through-arm at the beginning and the faux mediumship towards the end were my laugh-out-loud sequences.

Fans of Peep Show are probably intelligent enough to appreciate that different parts require different styles. Slating Magicians from an acting or comedic punch perspective because it's not in the same style as Peep Show is like having a dig at Fawlty Towers just because it isn't Monty Python. Fawlty Towers is largely funny because of the over-acting and stereotypes, not in spite of them. Equally, Magicians allows M & W to put on a show and deliver performances that are different, while still being funny. Chastising them for not 'playing it straight' is completely unfair in my book.

Others that don't get it may be more suited to Mr Bean or Bottom slapstick rather than the wry wit and subtle expressions of M & W. As a fan of Peep Show and their later stuff, I had high expectations and I'm really glad to say they were fulfilled. If you need your laughs large and obvious with a big arrow made of canned laughter, however, you may be better off with a Catherine Tate DVD instead. But please, just don't watch it when I'm in the room. :)

All in all, it's fun and funny, with just the right amount of sparkle. Like a Svengali deck handled by Andy Nyman (sorry non-magicians, that's just to get those 'in the know' on-board). Get it, enjoy it, and use it to show your magician mates why you so often laugh at them rather than with them.