The Magic Christian

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The Magic Christian

PG,

1970,

1h 33m,

Comedy

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Watchlist

61%

18 Reviews

Tomatometer

68%

2,500+ Ratings

Popcornmeter

61%

Tomatometer

18 Reviews

68%

Popcornmeter

2,500+ Ratings

Billionaire Sir Guy Grand (Peter Sellers) thinks nothing of throwing his endless stream of money away. He adopts a street person (Ringo Starr), christens him Youngman Grand and sets about trying to illustrate to his new heir how virtually everyone in the world can be bought. He pays a traffic cop to eat a ticket, pays the Oxford crew team to sabotage a race and finally fills a vat with feces and money, inviting one and all to keep the latter if they don't mind putting up with the former.

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Film Comment Magazine

Jun 14, 2013

Joseph McGrath's movie version remains an acerbic, late-Sixties dark comedy classic.

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Variety Staff

Variety

Sep 10, 2007

A spotty, uneven satire (from the novel by Terry Southern) with a number of good yocks, but insufficient sustained wit or related action.

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Derek Adams

Time Out

Jun 24, 2006

The result is a variety concert of a film in which most of the acts/jokes fall flat.

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D.M. Palmer

Vague Visages

Nov 9, 2023

The Magic Christian cries out to be re-visited. For all the cultural specificity of the novel and film, Grand remains a strikingly modern figure.

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Michael Ross

Los Angeles Free Press

Jan 23, 2020

Vital, devastating and immensely entertaining.

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Steve Crum

Video-Reviewmaster.com

Feb 23, 2008

3/5

Odd yet fun comedy-fantasy starring Peter Sellers and Ringo Starr.

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Kylo R

Jan 19, 2018

The Magic Christian is a bizarre reflection of reality, and what we think of as normalcy in terms of our condition, then and now. It may seem outrageous and vulgar and surprising, and the film shocked many who saw it, and many walked out on it or thought it was just too absurd to be enjoyed for what it is: a social commentary on the social, political, and economic inequality of this world, and how money is truly the root of all evil, and that our morals and ethics are totally decayed by this artificial and intangible thing. It is at once bizarre and entertaining, full of cameos like Yul Brenner, Raquel Welch, Roman Polanski, John Cleese, Richard Attenborough, Graham Chapman, and Christopher Lee. Of course, Peter Sellers and Ringo Star are the stars of the film. It's a shame that this movie was not well received as what it is: a social commentary and critique of the modern world.

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Joe McGrath

Director

Peter Sellers

Sir Guy Grand

Ringo Starr

Youngman Grand

Richard Attenborough

Oxford Coach

Isabel Jeans

Dame Agnes Grand

Caroline Blakiston

Hon. Esther Grand

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Synopsis

Billionaire Sir Guy Grand (Peter Sellers) thinks nothing of throwing his endless stream of money away. He adopts a street person (Ringo Starr), christens him Youngman Grand and sets about trying to illustrate to his new heir how virtually everyone in the world can be bought. He pays a traffic cop to eat a ticket, pays the Oxford crew team to sabotage a race and finally fills a vat with feces and money, inviting one and all to keep the latter if they don't mind putting up with the former.

Director: Joe McGrath
Producer: Denis O'Dell
Production Co: Columbia
Rating: PG
Genre: Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): May 9, 2019
Runtime: 1h 33m

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