Magic and Illusion in the Movies

From top hats to top secrets, this book is a celebration of illusion technology and mechanisms of trickery through a genre-crossing selection of films. Heroes, villains, spies, con-men, and madmen, magicians all, have utilized complex constructs and trickery in thrilling cinematic adventures from the earliest days of cinema to the present. Current blockbusters such as Spider-Man: Far from Home and the Mission: Impossible series feature amazing acts of deception, often appearing far-fetched, that are in fact surprisingly close to today’s technology. Along with the James Bond saga, classics such as The Wizard of Oz, Nightmare Alley, and The Sting are joined by a host of other movies superficially seeming to be very different, yet proving there is more than meets the eye.

George Higham has a background in sculpting and special effects, a degree in film from NYC’s School of Visual Arts and over twenty-five years’ experience x-raying corpses at the city morgue. He has created wax figures and puppets, the re-creation of 19th century illusion tech, machining mechanical contrivances and devising electrical trick-props.