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The Amazing Johnathan Documentary

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The Amazing Johnathan Documentary

Released Aug 16, 2019

1h 31m

Documentary

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Popcornmeter

80%

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41 Reviews

55%

Popcornmeter

100+ Ratings

Filmmaker Benjamin Berman has a difficult time separating truth from fiction as he documents the final tour of a dying magician.

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Critics Consensus

The Amazing Johnathan Documentary sets out to survey a magician's final tour -- and ends up pulling off some wildly ambitious tricks of its own.

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Cath Clarke

The Big Issue

As a device for a film it's interesting to a point -- but it didn't fully work its magic on me.

Nov 21, 2019

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Ian Freer

Empire Magazine

The Amazing Johnathan Documentary starts as a blast but as the journey progresses, becomes ever more slippery: Is Szeles tricking Berman? Is Berman bamboozling us? The answer is entertaining and frustrating in equal measures.

Rated: 3/5

Nov 19, 2019

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Ed Potton

Times (UK)

It's compelling stuff: funny, moving and, yes, often amazing. Johnathan is a slippery subject, but in Berman he has a committed chronicler, who is even prepared to smoke meth with him on camera.

Rated: 4/5

Nov 18, 2019

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Steven Sheehan

The Digital Fix

Learning more about Berman's childhood and problems faced completing the documentary just isn't that interesting, and once you see through the illusion, the magic quickly starts to fade.

Rated: 6/10

Feb 6, 2020

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Rich Cline

Shadows on the Wall

[The Amazing Johnathan Documentary] provides a fascinating look at art, perception and the nature of truth.

Rated: 4/5

Nov 25, 2019

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Jamie East

The Sun (UK)

A cursory tale that it's well worth planning things in advance as much as possible, this is a gnat's breath away from being a complete disaster, but is saved by a first-time director's naive faith it will all be saved in the edit.

Rated: 3/5

Nov 25, 2019

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Tyler J

Seems like a very dishonest Documentary where the director needlessly interject himself into the film! Not worth your time.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

03/16/24

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David R

Dishonest film making. Monstrous directing.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

06/04/23

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J R

Yet another documentarian who thought it necessary to make the film mostly about themself. Complete with the obligatory footage of going home to his rich parents' home to talk about how he's thinking about giving up. It's a doc about how hard it was to make. Ho hum. I'm beyond sick of this narcissistic format.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/08/23

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Audience Member

In his heyday The Amazing Johnathan was one of the funniest and most surprising comedy-magicians on the circuit. The premise for this slightly rambling and confusing documentary is to follow Johnathan on his come-back tour after a forced absence brought on by an apparent diagnosis of terminal illness. How much of what we're told is true and how much manipulation and trickery becomes the subject. Unfortunately the price is an increasing lack of focus. Still interesting, though.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/27/23

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Audience Member

Waste of time. Fake documentary scripted to look like a crazy, frustrating and intriguing story. Berman, Chinn and the Annoying Jonathan are completely horrible at making this look authentic.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

02/13/23

Full Review

mohammad j

You never really know where the movie is heading and at first I was a bit annoyed but as the twist and turns pile up the movie really starts to shine. I was hoping for an interesting ending and staying true to the spirit of documentary, it ends in the weirdest way possible. The illusion is revealed and hilarity ensues.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

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Benjamin Berman

Director

The Amazing Johnathan

Self

Anastasia Synn

Self

Benjamin Berman

Self

Penn Jillette

Self

Criss Angel

Self

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The Amazing Johnathan Documentary: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

Filmmaker Benjamin Berman has a difficult time separating truth from fiction as he documents the final tour of a dying magician.

Director: Benjamin Berman
Producer: Miranda Bailey, Benjamin Berman, Russell Wayne Groves, Amanda Marshall, Jacob Perlin
Screenwriter: Benjamin Berman
Distributor: Hulu
Production Co: Anonymous Content, Cold Iron Pictures
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Aug 16, 2019, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 16, 2019
Runtime: 1h 31m

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