Karry
Best movie of this year hands down!
Jonah Abbott
There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.
Portia Hilton
Blistering performances.
hwg1957-102-265704
Alexandre Dumas pere tells one of his stories to Alexandre Dumas fils about Joseph Balsamo who begins as a conjurer and patent medicine seller and ends up as Count Cagliostro in the French court of Louis XV as a healer and mystic, involving himself in royal politics. This is partly due to him having under his sway a woman called Lorenza who is the double of Marie Antoinette. On the way he encounters Franz Anton Mesmer who will have a great effect on his life. Handsomely mounted with a big cast and filmed in Italy it is a beautiful looking film with a splendid music score by the prolific Paul Sawtell. Count Cagliostro is played by Orson Welles and no one could have done it better. A villain indeed but one with a sense of humour. He dominates all the scenes he is in. Nancy Guild plays two roles, the biddable Lorenza and the fiery Marie Antoinette and acquits herself well in both parts. Added to this are able supporting actors like Akim Tamiroff, Valentina Cortese, Margot Grahame and familiar British face Ronald Adam. It makes for good entertainment.The title 'Black Magic' for the film is not really appropriate as none is involved though Mr Welles does get to show off some of his skilled conjuring.
LeonLouisRicci
Sumptuous Production Design and Sharp Noir Cinematography, Highlighted by an Orson Welles Performance that is "Mesmerizing". The Story is loosely Based on the Writings of Alexandre Dumas with some Historical Facts.The Film is Rich with Occult (Gypsy) Symbolism and the Application of the Newly Discovered Practice of "Hypnosis", that was, Uncovered by but Not Invented by, Dr. Franz Anton Mesmer (Charles Goldner) who is a Minor Character in this Fiction.Welles Dominates the Screen in front of Lavish Sets and Costuming that looks like it Cost a Fortune. It truly is a Visual Feast on the Screen. The Character based on a Real Life Mystic, "Cagliostro", is Central to the Court Intrigue that Includes "King Louie" and "Marie Antoinette" and the Plot is one of Doppelgangers and Revenge.It's all a Bizarre and Beautifully Told Tale with Nancy Guild in a Dual Role as Marie/Lorenza, Akim Tamiroff, and a Good Cast all around. But the Attraction is the Attractive Production and Welles Powerful Performance. It's an Off-Beat, Little Seen Movie and is one to Seek Out for Fans of Welles, Historical Dramas/Adventures, and Movie Fans of all stripes. It is an Atypical and Sizzling, Sure-Fire Treat for some Over-the-Top Shenanigans, Gripping Suspense, and Grandiose Filmmaking.
brad-jan
Would like to see this film on TCL channel. As a Wells admirer, it will always be a classic. My husband was a stage hypnotist, in the 1950's, having studied psychology at The Detroit Institute of Technology in Detroit Michigan. (several stories in local papers) He appeared on stage along with the showing of Black Magic,(Vanity Theatre) in Windsor Ontario Canada while a student to demonstrate hypnosis. As a result, he traveled to several cities giving demonstrations. At one time he had his own by- line in a Michigan paper in which he discussed hypnosis, Father Stan Murphy (Asumption College Windsor, Ontario Canada) had him on The Christian Culture Series, and demonstrations for the Canadian Police. His picture and stories were carried along with the movies credits in the media. (Have clippings for anyone interested)
thrillerclub
Orson Welles is mesmerizing and perfectly suited to the roll of Count Cagliostro. The Count has waited silently for over 20 years secretly planning revenge on the ruling class he holds responsible for the drunken public execution of his mother he witnessed as a boy.Is Cagliostro an ambitious Gypsy charlatan or a demonic master of the black arts? Is he really a Count? There are several entertaining scenes where Cagliostro gains the upper hand over odds stacked against him such as the "choking rope" switcheroo in the jail, and the "your legs are like wax" turnabout. Yet similarly to SVENGALI (John Barrymore) he will not be able to exert this will power forever over everyone.Welles seems to be thoroughly enjoying himself throughout.BLACK MAGIC has threads in common with "The Prisoner in the Mirror" Boris Karloff presents THRILLER teleplay, an updating of the evil magician known as Cagliostro. The real mystery is why such an enjoyable movie starring Orson Welles was so long overlooked, not released on DVD until 2016 (unfortunately the source print used by Hen's Teeth is not nearly as clear as the sharp print TCM aired in January 2017). Though considered by some as a costume melodrama with little more than Welles and the art direction going for it, ever since I watched a primitively colorized print of BLACK MAGIC (aired on a local San Francisco station KOFY-TV20 around 1990) it's been my favorite off- beat Welles movie, always a fun find to share with friends who hadn't seen it!
