Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
True Manna from DVD Heaven, January 21, 2008
When I was a kid in the late 50s, Houdini was still THE man. Escape artist, illusionist and master magician, Harry Houdini fired our youthful imaginations almost as no other - even though we had almost never seen him except in faded stills or old newsreels. We certainly never heard him speak, but had only read avidly about his past exploits.
Now, Kino International is giving Houdini back to his legions of devoted fans by releasing a three-DVD set that includes ALL of the surviving silent movie films of "Houdini - the actor," as well as footage of escapes and an audio clip of the master's voice!
More than mere entertainment, this wonderful collection is truly an historical presentation of Houdini's film career.
By 1919, Houdini was known internationally as an unparalleled master magician. Having conquered the stage, he set out to do the same thing to the "new" medium of the day - the movie. Houdini appeared in a series of thrillers built upon his almost supernatural powers, which he performed the majority of the stunts himself in all of his films.
This incredible boxed set represents the first time that these images (except for "The Man from Beyond") have ever been released on DVD, and may very well be the first time a lot of fans have seen these wonderful productions in more than 75 years!!
Kino International culled everything it could find from film archives and private collections to gather and remaster this amazing material. It includes all of Houdini's surviving silent films as an actor, rare footage of actual handcuff and straitjacket escapes, as well as a wealth of historical information. It also includes a serial in which may have been the first-ever robot on screen to be a threat.
Included in this DVD set is: The Master Mystery (1919, 238m, Color Tinted), a cliff-hanging serial in which Justice Department Agent Quentin Locke (Houdini) must investigate a powerful cartel protected by a robot (referred to as "The Automation") and using a gas weapon "The Madagascar Madness"; Terror Island (1920, 55m, B&W), which involves an inventor of a submarine (Houdini), a damsel in distress, her captured father, hostile natives on an island, a family of villains and some shipwrecked treasure; The Man From Beyond (1922, 68m, Color Tinted), which includes a jail type escape, a fist fight with Houdini winning of course, and a sensational scene with Houdini swimming the rapids at Niagara Falls; Haldane of the Secret Service (1923, 84m, Color Tinted), Heath Haldane (Houdini) tracks down a vicious gang of counterfeiters, narrowly missing death several times. He must rescue Adele Ormsby, whom he loves despite her pending marriage; and The Grim Game (Fragment, 1919, 5m, Color Tinted), a film that featured a famous jump from the wings of one plane to another, and the first in-air plane collision ever recorded by a movie camera.
Special Features include filmed records of Houdini escapes (ca. 1907-23); an audio recording of Houdini speaking (1914); Excerpts from the NY Censor Board files; Slippery Jim, a 1910 Houdini-inspired comedy; and the illusion Metamorphosis performed by Houdini's beloved brother Hardeen, and others.
Beyond recommended!!
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Houdini Returns...On DVD., April 9, 2008
Kino's new set HOUDINI: THE MOVIE STAR is a three disc collection of just about everything that Houdini did which still survives. HH made 5 films over a 5 year period (1919-1923). His first effort THE MASTER MYSTERY is a serial which survives mostly intact. It's also a rare opportunity to see Mae Marsh's older sister Marguerite in action and she's pretty good given the material.
Of the other four only his last effort HALDANE OF THE SECRET SERVICE is fully complete. 1919's THE GRIM GAME has only about 5 minutes but it contains an actual midair collision which was left in the film. THE MAN FROM BEYOND is Houdini's best known film and the 16mm copy here is much better than any of the previous video incarnations. The story of a man revived after being frozen for 100 years has been reworked many times and is never less than fascinating. The highlight of the collection is TERROR ISLAND. Although missing reels 3 and 4 it has the advantage of high production values (it was made at Paramount), a quality director in James Cruze (THE COVERED WAGON), and a cast of strong supporting players led by Eugene Pallette (he was Friar Tuck in Errol Flynn's ROBIN HOOD) whose career stretched into the 1940s.
The set comes with lots of extras including actual clips of Houdini performing and an audio recording of him advertising his act from 1914. As a performer Houdini was charismatic but his films suffer from the same plots and stunts used over and over again. If you've seen one, you've seen em' all. Nevertheless this is a valuable piece of celluloid history and is certainly worth having for the discriminating collector or silent film lover. Just don't expect something "magical".
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An entertaining close-up of a legend, April 21, 2008
Harry Houdini is still remembered today as one of the greatest magicians and escape artists of all time, and now - a century later - Kino Video has given him an exceptionally fine tribute in this very nice set of three DVDs, each in their individual slimline cases with original old and colourful artwork. World-famous since the late 1800s for his seemingly superhuman feats of slipping out of handcuffs, ropes and straitjackets, Houdini was already in his mid-40s when he decided that the burgeoning motion picture industry could do wonders for his career and image, and for a few years it certainly did. Due to his untimely death in 1926, his film career produced only a handful of feature films and one serial, all of which have now been collected and preserved in this interesting set. Although only a few minutes of footage survive of one film ("The Grim Game") and others are missing scenes or complete reels, they have been carefully restored so that we can enjoy Houdini's stunts and tricks just as earlier generations did a century ago.
Intending to capitalize on his fame as an escapist, his first film venture featured such escape stunts prominently, namely in almost every episode of the 15-part serial, "The Master Mystery". Missing a few episodes, it is still four hours worth of viewing in this set and has explanatory notes to fill the gaps, as well as excellent general notes about Houdini and his career, stills and other great bonus material. The serial is not unlike the action-packed adventure serials popular at that time, such as "The Perils of Pauline" in which the hero or heroine must get out of a dangerous situation in every episode until the mystery of the criminal masterminds is finally solved. In "The Master Mystery", Houdini tries to solve a criminal case, but is repeatedly caught and then either wrapped in barbed wire, tied into an electric chair and many other tight situations, as well as being stalked by a dangerous robot or `automaton'. Needless to say, he frees himself from every such evil and torturous device with apparently sheer determination, together with considerable physical strength and dexterity, rather than any special effect or trickery.
After the success of this serial in 1919, Houdini played very similar straight-faced action hero roles in feature films, solving crimes and mysteries and getting the girl in the end. While generally standard action-adventure films, each one is different and features a certain interesting theme, such as "The Man from Beyond" which I found most intriguing for its concept about coming back to life in another time. In this setting, Houdini has been frozen in a shipwreck in the Arctic for a hundred years, but is brought back to life and finds a girl he believes is the reincarnation of his beloved from a century ago. There are also special, thrilling stunts and action scenes, once again highlighting Houdini's escapism feats. The last film Houdini made, "Haldane of the Secret Service" had less stunts and feats, and emphasized the story of a clever counterfeiting racket which Houdini is determined to solve while also winning the girl. Although standard fare, the films are all entertaining and interesting, and each one has a different musical score; piano, organ or orchestral, with overall good picture quality throughout. Houdini himself may not look the part of the typical action hero because he is neither particularly tall, muscular nor handsome, nor does he demonstrate any special acting skills, but his character does grow on you after a while. Among the bonus material I found a few gems I really enjoyed, such as a 1910 French Pathe comedy based on Houdini's feats, only comically exaggerated by the use of unusual special effects and film trickery, which was common in the very first years of moving pictures. There is also a short audio track of Houdini introducing one of his famous acts, as well as other short film footage of his various stunts, mostly getting out of a straitjacket while hanging by his ankles high above a busy street. Overall, it is a charming glimpse back into the past to see a legend close-up in silent films, and maybe this set fulfils Houdini's theory or plan to come back from the dead - one way or another!
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