A magician is just an actor playing the part of a magician.
Documents the lives of infamous fakers Elmyr de Hory and Clifford Irving. De Hory, who later committed suicide to avoid more prison time, made his name by selling forged works of art by painters like Picasso and Matisse. Irving was infamous for writing a fake autobiography of Howard Hughes. Welles moves between documentary and fiction as he examines the fundamental elements of fraud and the people who commit fraud at the expense of others.
Orson Welles
Self
Oja Kodar
The Girl
Elmyr de Hory
Self
Clifford Irving
Self
Laurence Harvey
Self
Edith Irving
Self
David Walsh
Self
Paul Stewart
Self
Richard Wilson
Self
Joseph Cotten
Self
Howard Hughes
Self (archive footage)
Richard Drewett
Self
Alexander Welles
Self
Gary Graver
Self
Andrés Vicente Gómez
Self
Julio Palinkas
Self
Christian Odasso
Self
Françoise Widhoff
Self
Peter Bogdanovich
Self
William Alland
Self
Director
Orson Welles
Writers
Orson Welles, Oja Kodar, François Reichenbach
Marie-Sophie Dubus
Editor
Dominique Engerer
Editor
Michel Legrand
Original Music Composer
François Reichenbach
Director of Photography
Orson Welles
Editor
C_Hickcock
10/24/2025
This movie is a masterpiece -- it is equal parts an insightful essay, a magic trick and a prank. Welles considered it a new type of film -- its subject matter explores what is a forgery/counterfeit vs. what is authentic and the film wrestles with its subject by blurring those lines in a way that is both entertaining and fun. It's a masterclass in editing and a must for any student of filmmaking.
