William Lindsay Gresham - New Editions

Discuss the historical aspects of magic, including memories, or favorite stories.
Richard Hatch
Posts: 2095
Joined: January 17th, 2008, 12:00 pm
Location: Providence, Utah
Contact:

Re: William Lindsay Gresham - New Editions

Postby Richard Hatch » December 21st, 2021, 3:43 am

My wife and I saw the movie Saturday night in an almost empty theater. I believe we were two out of just five or six in the auditorium. I really liked it. We'd seen West Side Story a week or two before that in a similarly empty theater. Both are well directed and acted movies with strong story lines. Both might be considered "remakes" and period pieces but I don't think that is why they are doing poorly compared to Spiderman and the most recent Ghostbusters movies.

I did spot "Michael Close" listed in the end credits as the "Magic Consultant", just after the listing for "Mr. Cooper's personal chef". I recommend you try to see it while it is still in theaters.

Diego
Posts: 517
Joined: June 16th, 2008, 11:29 am

Re: William Lindsay Gresham - New Editions

Postby Diego » December 21st, 2021, 3:13 pm

Some have said these films might appeal to an older demographic, that are staying away from inside venues, with the new surges of the virus going around.
I saw Derren Brown and someone else I forgot, listed under different credits at the end.

Diego
Posts: 517
Joined: June 16th, 2008, 11:29 am

Re: William Lindsay Gresham - New Editions

Postby Diego » December 21st, 2021, 3:44 pm

Besides someone else, Teller is listed with Derren Brown and _____ ?

Richard, if you've read the book or seen the 1947 version, how did it compare/contrast to what the two of you saw?

Diego
Posts: 517
Joined: June 16th, 2008, 11:29 am

Re: William Lindsay Gresham - New Editions

Postby Diego » January 15th, 2022, 3:35 pm

Last night went to a screening of the new movie in black and white and liked it more.
While many have praised the set/artwork/visual vision of the director, but I found it distracting at times. The b/w photography is very good, it also better set the time/era/genre of the story and made it easier to focus on the story/acting better.

I picked up some details/nuances since the 1st viewing and was able to better focus on this being this director's vision of the story, and it's own merits, and not be as distracted by comparisons to the 1947 movie or book.

Attendence was still sparse, but have seen screenings that will have a live Q&A with the director are sold/selling out. (I won't attend those, as I purposely went to a theater with few people in it.)

Note: Below the sideshow stage, you can posters of C.A. Newmann and MacDonald Birch.

ringlips
Posts: 1
Joined: April 15th, 2019, 5:54 pm
Favorite Magician: Gresham

Re: William Lindsay Gresham - New Editions

Postby ringlips » January 28th, 2022, 4:16 pm

Hi,
I also went to a nearly empty theatre to watch NA back in December. I was less annoyed by Cooper's portrayal than I was expecting to be - and liked how he handled the final scene. I'd heard it was truer to the book, and so came in with the expectation that it was going to be noir. But to me the film was too glossy, and that sucked the heart out of it. Gresham went to dark places - and you can't put shine on a shadow. I think they tried to make it dark by bringing in more on-screen violence/blood, but that didn't work for me.
Diego - glad to hear the black and white version worked a bit better. It wasn't shown in that format on big screens near me, so I won't get the chance to see it that way.
Pre-pandemic I'd been deep into research on Gresham, but the lockdowns sort of killed research opportunities... hopefully I'll be able to chip away at it again soon. I don't think we needed another cinematic retelling of Nightmare Alley, but we do need a book on Gresham!

Diego
Posts: 517
Joined: June 16th, 2008, 11:29 am

Re: William Lindsay Gresham - New Editions

Postby Diego » January 28th, 2022, 7:08 pm

The b/w version is supposed to play in 1,000+ screens across the country starting today. Noir can be done in color but the director's vision for visuals/symbolism is to distracting to me. Do you have a particular interest/focus on Gresham? I and others have made a long time study of him. There were two accomplished authors who were writing bios on him, but they both passed away 2-3 years ago. We are trying to keep their research/mms. available for others to research. Because probably of the renewed/discovered interest in Gresham, the FB William Lindsay Gresham page has lately been getting more visits, so anyone interested in Gresham and his interests might want to check it out, and post info/images/questions if you like.

User avatar
Steve Bryant
Posts: 1947
Joined: January 17th, 2008, 12:00 pm
Favorite Magician: Ballantine
Location: Bloomington IN
Contact:

Re: William Lindsay Gresham - New Editions

Postby Steve Bryant » February 1st, 2022, 7:08 pm

Nightmare Alley started streaming on Hulu today (2/1/22).

Yesterday, Terry Gross interviewed Guillermo Del Toro about it on Fresh air. He cited Derren Brown, Teller, and Mike Close as consultants, and he seemed quite savvy at magic himself.

Joe Lyons
Posts: 875
Joined: November 13th, 2017, 8:27 am
Favorite Magician: Wonder
Location: Texas

Re: William Lindsay Gresham - New Editions

Postby Joe Lyons » February 1st, 2022, 7:43 pm

Steve Bryant wrote:Nightmare Alley started streaming on Hulu today (2/1/22).


HBO Max as well.

Diego
Posts: 517
Joined: June 16th, 2008, 11:29 am

Re: William Lindsay Gresham - New Editions

Postby Diego » February 1st, 2022, 9:53 pm

I read somewhere that Del Toro is a member of The Magic Castle.

Be interesting to see if the film does better streaming, or not.

Diego
Posts: 517
Joined: June 16th, 2008, 11:29 am

Re: William Lindsay Gresham - New Editions

Postby Diego » March 20th, 2022, 5:22 pm

There is a Facebook page devoted to William Lindsay Gresham,
according to a biographer of Elvis's manager, Colonel Tom Parker, his favorite movie,
was, "Nightmare Alley."
(some could read something into that)

Joe Lyons
Posts: 875
Joined: November 13th, 2017, 8:27 am
Favorite Magician: Wonder
Location: Texas

Re: William Lindsay Gresham - New Editions

Postby Joe Lyons » June 27th, 2022, 5:42 pm

First edition coming up on Potter.

Diego
Posts: 517
Joined: June 16th, 2008, 11:29 am

Re: William Lindsay Gresham - New Editions

Postby Diego » June 28th, 2022, 10:02 pm

The 1st edition up on the Potter & Potter site, has a comparatively lower starting price, than what others are trying to get on ebay and elsewhere. Since the new movie came out, some are selling, (but getting?) copies for $200 - $1,000, (yes, $1,000)!

I can remember seeing copies for $5 - $10


Return to “Magic History and Anecdotes”