The Magic Box

Audience Reviews

View All (14) audience reviews

Audience Member The Magic Box 1951 What is sad about the film is that this was a photographer or film inventor who never saw success in his lifetime. He kept running into debt to try and make moving pictures and color film but was never able to afford the ability to get recognized during his lifetime since he was not able to afford mass production of his work. I liked the fact that this film does show what went into making a long exposure portrait, developing film or making a film. It showed how film portrait studios were set up in the early days. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 10/03/19 Full Review Audience Member (63%) A quite quaint dramatisation of one of the first ever inventors of a camera with motion capture capability. The story itself is one of quite strong sadness as poor old Friese-Green struggling to keep his, and his families, head above water while he works away below stairs on his invention. Everything is as you'd expect from a well made early 50's British movie, and it is quite an insight into the inner workings of late Victorian/Edwardian photography and life in general. Anyone with interest in either early cinema or British classics (or both) should give this a hunt down. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/25/23 Full Review Audience Member Rather unusual film about an unsung hero of cinema technology. Also delicious as a showpiece for British movie making in the 1950s. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/25/23 Full Review Audience Member A beautiful telling of the life of one of the pioneers of cinema. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/12/23 Full Review Audience Member all star cast brings this drama to life. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/21/23 Full Review Audience Member One of the most apt films to be made given it pays tribute to the man that makes it possible. It's a fairly sad story of hardship and a lack of recognition for one of the major entertainment devices of modern times which Robert Donat plays perfectly. The British cast is relentless, but easy to miss given the amount of cameos. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/06/23 Full Review Read all reviews

The Magic Box

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW