The Magician of Lublin ** (1979, Alan Arkin, Louise Fletcher, Valerie Perrine, Shelley Winters, Lou Jacobi) – Classic Movie Review 12,322

Director Menahem Golan’s 1979 drama film The Magician of Lublin stars Alan Arkin, Louise Fletcher, Valerie Perrine, Shelley Winters, and Lou Jacobi, and is based on the novel by Isaac Bashevis Singer.

The Magician of Lublin is a decidedly odd retelling of Isaac Bashevis Singer’s fairy tale about a travelling Polish magician Yasha Mazur (Alan Arkin), who dreams of flight in the early years of the 20th century.

It is full of intriguing Yiddish fantasy, but here it is devoid of the spark that would have given this tale real magic. The cast look better on paper than on celluloid, with Arkin over-acting in places to try to make his mark, though the costly picture looks good on its German outdoor settings with the distinguished David Gurfinkel cinematography, and Maurice Jarre’s score is another asset.

The title song is performed by Kate Bush.

The cast are Alan Arkin as Yasha Mazur, Louise Fletcher as poor aristocratic widow Emelia, Valerie Perrine as Zeftel, Shelley Winters as Magda’s mother Elzbieta, Lou Jacobi, Warren Berlinger, Maia Danziger as Magda, Lisa Whelchel, Elspeth March, Zachi Noy, and Linda Bernstein.

Estelle Louise Fletcher (July 22, 1934 – September 23, 2022) died at her home in Montdurausse, France, on 23 September 2022, aged 88.

Miloš Forman saw Fletcher in Robert Altman’s 1974 Thieves Like Us and cast her as Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, becoming only the third actress to win an Oscar, BAFTA and Golden Globe Award for a single performance, after Audrey Hepburn and Liza Minnelli.

She followed Cuckoo’s Nest with Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977), The Cheap Detective (1978), The Lady in Red (1979), The Magician of Lublin (1979), Brainstorm (1983), Firestarter (1984), Invaders From Mars (1986), Flowers in the Attic (1987), Two Moon Junction (1988), Best of the Best (1989), Blue Steel (1990), Virtuosity (1995), High School High (1996), and Cruel Intentions (1999).

© Derek Winnert 2022 Classic Movie Review 12,322

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