DEATH DEFYING ACTS
by Gillian Armstrong
synopsis
The story of the great Harry Houdini as he arrives in Edinburgh for the grand finale of his world tour in 1926. While his ingenious near-death escape stunts enrapture audiences, Houdini is more intrigued by notions of the afterlife. He offers a prize to anyone who can contact the dead and reveal the last words uttered by his dying mother. Mary, a struggling Scottish psychic, and her nine-year-old daughter Benji hear of the offer and decide to out-con Houdini. Instantly bewitched, Houdini is convinced that Mary is who he’s looking for. Mary soon finds herself seduced by Houdini’s charms and drawn into his world of illusion and dark secrets. As the stakes increase, it soon becomes a question of who is out-conning who?
international title: | Death Defying Acts |
original title: | Death Defying Acts |
country: | United Kingdom, Australia |
sales agent: | Myriad Pictures |
year: | 2007 |
genre: | fiction |
directed by: | Gillian Armstrong |
release date: | ES 04/04/2008, GR 24/04/2008, HR 26/07/2008, UK 08/08/2008, IT 14/11/2008 |
screenplay: | Tony Grisoni, Brian Ward |
cast: | Guy Pearce, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Timothy Spall, Saoirse Ronan, Malcolm Shields, Leni Harper, Ralph Riach |
cinematography by: | Haris Zambarloukos |
film editing: | Nicholas Beauman |
art director: | Gemma Jackson |
costumes designer: | Jane Greenwood |
music: | Cezary Skubiszewski |
producer: | Chris Curling, Marian Macgowan |
production: | Zephyr Films, Myriad Pictures UK, Scion Films, Macgowan Lupovitz Nasatir Films (AU) |
backing: | Film Finance Corporation, UK Film Council, Australian Film Finance Corporation, Zephyr Films, BBC Films, Myriad Pictures |
distributor: | Lionsgate, DeA Planeta (ES), Audiovisual (GR), MG Film (HR), Eagle Pictures (IT) |