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An Honest Liar

2014 1h 32m Documentary List
98% Tomatometer 41 Reviews 88% Popcornmeter 1,000+ Ratings
World-renowned magician and escape artist James "the Amazing" Randi dedicates his life to exposing fake psychics and others who claim paranormal powers.
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An Honest Liar

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Critics Consensus

A thoughtful and surprisingly layered documentary enlivened by its subject, An Honest Liar serves as a well-deserved tribute to a fascinating life.

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Critics Reviews

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David Edelstein New York Magazine/Vulture Whatever his foibles, An Honest Liar depicts a great American original... Nov 3, 2020 Full Review Marc Savlov Austin Chronicle Mankind may be awash in more con men and faith-based swindlers than ever, but precious few are bold enough to step forward into the light of reason, even for a million bucks. Bravo, Mr. Randi. Rated: 3.5/5 Apr 16, 2015 Full Review Bill Goodykoontz Arizona Republic "An Honest Liar" is a fascinating look at what the truth means, and how it means different things to different people. It's also a reminder that no one has a monopoly on it. Not even the Amazing Randi. Rated: 4/5 Apr 9, 2015 Full Review Michael J. Casey Michael J. Cinema The trick of magic is to turn the act into a show, and 'An Honest Liar' is an enjoyable show. Rated: 3.5/5 Oct 10, 2021 Full Review C.J. Prince Way Too Indie Weinstein and Measom's documentary is fascinating and enjoyable for the most part, but it's not without its flaws. Jun 21, 2019 Full Review Stephen Saito Moveable Fest However, nothing compares to the momentum of a great story, and though "An Honest Liar" may occasionally get a little too crafty for its own good, when it works, it's pure magic. Nov 15, 2018 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Cheryl C Very interesting and informative. The human element makes the film more compelling. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 09/07/24 Full Review William L Faith healers and divine spiritualists are just the worst, y'know? A neat documentary on fraud and fraudsters, but more interesting as a discussion about the psychology behind people's innate desire to be fooled, and the line between deception and deceit when the underlying intention is under consideration. Presenting fact-based explanations for supposedly bizarre phenomena and getting some form of rebuke is pretty classic territory that political thrillers have explored ad nauseum. Going against this solid (if familiar) premise is Randi's own, surprisingly complex personality - a charismatic individual who gets a somewhat perverse pleasure from countering the prevailing opinion, from being berated because he feels (not without some justification) that he is the smartest man in the room, but silently grappling with the ambiguous moral cutoff between lies for a larger lesson and the incidental damage caused in telling those lies. While the aspects regarding Randi's sexuality and relationship with his partner seem rather out of place early in the runtime, they do ultimately introduce a pretty interesting aspect to Randi's character as the relatively unhurt victim of a deception, but still one that possibly allowed himself to be fooled because of his own self-interest in a loved one. (3.5/5) Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 05/27/22 Full Review william d The parts where Randi is debunking psychic phenomena was very interesting, but much of the film is about Jose Alvarez and I just didn't care about that guy's story. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member Fascinating from beginning to end. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/23/23 Full Review Audience Member A documentary about Amazing Randi and how he publicly exposed fake psychics and healers(Peter Popoff being one of them) a great way to open your eyes and see how most religious televangelists are full of crap,and how these con men are taking advantage of innocent and naive people. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/29/23 Full Review Audience Member No matter how educated you are...you can always be deceived . It's unfortunate and I suppose makes for entertaining stories. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/10/23 Full Review Read all reviews
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Movie Info

Synopsis World-renowned magician and escape artist James "the Amazing" Randi dedicates his life to exposing fake psychics and others who claim paranormal powers.
Director
Tyler Measom, Justin Weinstein
Producer
Tyler Measom, Justin Weinstein
Screenwriter
Tyler Measom, Greg O'Toole, Justin Weinstein
Production Co
Part2 Pictures, Left Turn Films, BBC Storyville, Pure Mutt Productions
Genre
Documentary
Original Language
English
Release Date (Streaming)
Sep 17, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA)
$177.8K
Runtime
1h 32m
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