Death Defying Acts
| Death Defying Acts | |
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Promotional movie poster
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| Directed by | Gillian Armstrong |
| Produced by | Chris Curling Marian Macgowan |
| Written by |
Tony Grisoni Brian Ward |
| Starring |
Guy Pearce Catherine Zeta-Jones Timothy Spall Saoirse Ronan |
| Narrated by | Saoirse Ronan |
| Music by | Cezary Skubiszewski |
| Cinematography | Haris Zambarloukos |
| Edited by | Nicholas Beauman |
| Distributed by | Weinstein Co. |
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Release date
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Running time
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97 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom Australia |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $8,380,329 |
Death Defying Acts is a 2007 British-Australian supernatural romance film, directed by Gillian Armstrong, and starring Guy Pearce and Catherine Zeta-Jones. It concerns an episode in the life of Hungarian-American escapologist Harry Houdini at the height of his career in the 1920s. It was screened in a special presentation at the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival.
In 1926, 13 years after his mother's death, illusionist Harry Houdini (Guy Pearce) has begun debunking mystics, psychics and others who claim to have paranormal powers. He offers US$10,000 to anyone who can quote his mother's dying words to him.
Impoverished and uneducated Scottish con artist Mary McGarvie (Catherine Zeta-Jones) and her daughter Benji (Saoirse Ronan) set their sights on Houdini's reward when he visits Edinburgh on tour. Mary's psychic act pulls in the public: Benji surreptitiously gathers information on members of the audience, information Mary uses to con them into believing they can reach out to their deceased loved ones.
Their only obstacle is Houdini's protective manager, Sugarman (Timothy Spall). Mary manages to charm the unsuspecting magician, but as they spend more and more time together, Sugarman intervenes, trying to prevent Houdini from becoming entangled with Mary, of whom he is suspicious.
Sugarman's main desire is to see Mary and Benji gone; they claim they will be gone for good once they secure the reward for finding out what Houdini's mother said to him on her death bed. Sugarman realizes he can't get rid of them as easily as he had hoped. Mary is caught trying to open Houdini's chest and covers up by saying she was just searching for something to channel the psychic energy of the deceased.
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