“This,” Abrams said, “is really the story of America,” There is also a strong element of the first modern celebrity in Houdini, who understood marketing and self-promotion in ways that seem eerily prescient. Those elements came from research conducted by Meyer’s late father, whose book on the subject Meyer relied on and that History Channel bought as source material. “I wanted to do justice to the spectacular character of this man’s life while at the same time feathering in some attempts to psychologically interpret what his motives were,” said Meyer, who counts a diverse roster of movies including “Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan” and “The Seven-Percent Solution” among his credits.Ī lot of those motives, Meyer’s script suggests, had to do with Houdini’s father, a failed rabbi who died young and whose disappointing life fueled his son’s need for success and adoration. A disclaimer at the start of the miniseries offers that what we’re about to see is a mix of fact and fiction, and producers “defy you to tell the difference.” (The last half will debut Tuesday.) Shot in Budapest, the miniseries covers Houdini’s invention as a magician upon leaving home, a fraught relationship with wife and assistant Bess (Kristen Connolly), a battle against spiritualists with whom he strongly disagreed and even his (not quite historically accurate) recruitment into Western espionage circles in the days leading to World War I. Abrams (“Nuremberg”), “Houdini” packs in plenty about its subject’s life over four hours. Written by Nicholas Meyer and executive produced by the TV veteran Gerald W.
When audiences tired of the novelty he moved on to increasingly dangerous feats - plunging off bridges into icy water, for instance. After early struggles, he found success in the U.S.
Born Erik Weisz in Budapest, Hungary, before immigrating with his family to Appleton, Wis., the boy who would become Harry Houdini was not a simple figure, in love with illusions and attention equally and willing to undertake risky acts to pursue them both.
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