The MovieSite — Death Defying Acts

Death Defying Acts

There is no escape.

Set in the year of his death, this fictional episode in the life of famous magician Harry Houdini takes place while he is on a tour to England. He had recently offered a large prize to anyone able to tell him what his mother's dying words were. He was trying to prove that all the spirit mediums who popped up after the war were fakes. In England, he meets an attractive woman who claims to by psychic, and who has her eye on the prize. She captivates Harry, and soon he is in her arms... but is she all that she seems to be, or is she merely conning him?

96 minutes, Mature Accompaniment under 10
Drama, Romance, Thriller, On the art circuit

Credits

Cast

Catherine Zeta-Jones, Guy Pearce, Timothy Spall, Saoirse Ronan

Director

Gillian Armstrong

Screenplay

Tony Grisoni, Brian Ward

Music

Cezary Skubiszewski

Cinematography

Haris Zambarloukos

Editing

Gail Stevens

Soundtrack

Not available

Made in

2007

Produced by

Australian Film Finance Corporation, Myriad Pictures, BBC Films, Zephyr Films, Macgowan Films, Cinemakers, Film France

SA Distributor

UIP

IMDB page | FPB Report
Scroll down for embedded trailer

FPB Report (SA)
Genre	Drama
Language	Mild and infrequent
Nudity	None
Sex	None
Violence	Mild and infrequent
Prejudice	None
Blasphemy
Drug abuse
Comments	None
These details are supplied by the FPB. If you have a problem with any of the above, please take it up directly with the FPB. Read the Classification Guidelines.

Ratings

Scale (Max)

South African Media

Cape Argus/The StarTheresa Smith

Die BurgerJacques Liebenberg

iAfrica.comRebekah Kendal Terrific performances by all of the leads, sumptuous cinematography, adept direction and a few very funny lines ensure that the experience is riveting.

The CitizenPeter Feldman The film, anchored by an unexpectedly charismatic performance from Pearce, is a bold costume drama with an eye for detail and atmosphere. Throughout, Armstrong manages to weave together elements of trickery, magic, guilt and love in an enjoyable and breezy romp.

Sunday TimesBarry Ronge

24.comIvan Sadler Given the subject matter and capable cast I expected something spectacular, but merely got an adequate couple of hours of entertainment.

International Media

eye Weekly (Canada)Jason Anderson Largely devoid of the flair and cunning that any movie about magic needs, Death Defying Acts comes off as a poor relation to The Prestige and The Illusionist.

RottenTomatoes.com5 critics

RottenTomatoes.comTomatometer

Internet (IMDB)537 Netizens

Average .. 53%

Trailer

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