The Magic Christian (film) - Revision history

Kurt at 17:56, 19 January 2023

2023-01-19T17:56:29Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 12:56, 19 January 2023
Line 1:		Line 1:
	~~{{Use dmy dates\|date=October 2014}}~~
	~~{{Use British English\|date=October 2014}}~~
	{{Infobox film		{{Infobox film
	\| name = The Magic Christian		\| name = The Magic Christian
	\| image = The Magic Christian.jpg		\| image = The Magic Christian (film).jpg
	\| caption = ~~DVD cover~~		\| caption =
	\| director = [[Joseph McGrath (film director)\|Joseph McGrath]]		\| director = [[Joseph McGrath (film director)\|Joseph McGrath]]
	\| producer = [[Denis O'Dell]]		\| producer = [[Denis O'Dell]]
Line 15:		Line 13:
	* [[Peter Sellers]]		* [[Peter Sellers]]
	}}}}}}		}}}}}}
	\| based_on = {{Based on\|''[[The Magic Christian (novel)\|The Magic Christian]]''\|Terry Southern}}		\| based_on = {{Based on\|''[[w:The Magic Christian (novel)\|The Magic Christian]]''\|Terry Southern}}
	\| starring = {{plainlist\|		\| starring = {{plainlist\|
	* Peter Sellers		* Peter Sellers
Line 115:		Line 113:
	==Production==		==Production==
	===Writing===		===Writing===
	Although Joseph McGrath co-wrote the adaptation with the American author [[Terry Southern]], who wrote the original 1959 comic novel ''The Magic Christian'', the screenplay differs considerably in content from the novel such as moving the story from America to London in the [[Swinging Sixties]]. Likewise the Youngman character was not in the original book, but was created for the film, with many of Sir Guy's early exploits in the novel adapted as Youngman's in the film.		Although Joseph McGrath co-wrote the adaptation with the American author [[w:Terry Southern\|Terry Southern]], who wrote the original 1959 comic novel ''The Magic Christian'', the screenplay differs considerably in content from the novel such as moving the story from America to London in the [[w:Swinging Sixties\|Swinging Sixties]]. Likewise the Youngman character was not in the original book, but was created for the film, with many of Sir Guy's early exploits in the novel adapted as Youngman's in the film.

	===Casting===		===Casting===
	[[Peter Sellers]], who was cast as Sir Guy Grand, was known to have liked the book because~~{{Clarify\|reason=non sequitur\|date=November 2022}}~~ it was how Terry Southern was hired by [[Stanley Kubrick]] to co-write ''[[Dr. Strangelove]]'' in 1964. After Sellers sent Kubrick a copy of ''The Magic Christian'', he decided to make the film as a black comedy/satire, rather than a straightforward thriller.<ref name=Southern>{{cite magazine\|author=Terry Southern\|url=http://www.visual-memory.co.uk/amk/doc/0081.html\|title=Notes from The War Room\|magazine=Grand Street\|issue=49}}</ref> The role of the orphan was played by [[Ringo Starr]]; it was written with [[John Lennon]] in mind. Starr and Sellers became good friends during the shoot.<ref>{{cite magazine\|last=Bonner\|first=Michael\|title=Ringo Starr on The Beatles, Peter Sellers, Frank Zappa and more…\|magazine=[[Uncut (magazine)\|Uncut]]\|date=7 July 2017}}</ref> The film also features a host of British and American actors with brief roles in the film, many playing against type.		[[Peter Sellers]], who was cast as Sir Guy Grand, was known to have liked the book because it was how Terry Southern was hired by [[w:Stanley Kubrick\|Stanley Kubrick]] to co-write ''[[w:Dr. Strangelove\|Dr. Strangelove]]'' in 1964. After Sellers sent Kubrick a copy of ''The Magic Christian'', he decided to make the film as a black comedy/satire, rather than a straightforward thriller.<ref name=Southern>{{cite magazine\|author=Terry Southern\|url=http://www.visual-memory.co.uk/amk/doc/0081.html\|title=Notes from The War Room\|magazine=Grand Street\|issue=49}}</ref> The role of the orphan was played by [[w:Ringo Starr\|Ringo Starr]]; it was written with [[w:John Lennon\|John Lennon]] in mind. Starr and Sellers became good friends during the shoot.<ref>{{cite magazine\|last=Bonner\|first=Michael\|title=Ringo Starr on The Beatles, Peter Sellers, Frank Zappa and more…\|magazine=[[w:Uncut (magazine)\|Uncut]]\|date=7 July 2017}}</ref> The film also features a host of British and American actors with brief roles in the film, many playing against type.

	===Filming===		===Filming===
	The British actor and dancer [[Lionel Blair]] was responsible for the film's choreography.		The British actor and dancer [[w:Lionel Blair\|Lionel Blair]] was responsible for the film's choreography.

	The scene involving the vat containing animal blood, urine and excrement was filmed at London's [[South Bank]] on a stretch of waste ground on which the [[Royal National Theatre\|National Theatre]] was later built. It was originally planned to film this climactic scene at the [[Statue of Liberty]] in New York, and (remarkably) the U.S. [[National Park Service]] agreed to a request to permit this. Sellers, Southern and McGrath travelled to New York on the ''[[Queen Elizabeth 2]]'' (at a reported cost of US $10,000 [${{Inflation\|US\|10000\|1969\|r=-2\|fmt=c}} today] per person) but the studio refused to pay for the shoot, and it had to be relocated to London.<ref>{{cite book\|author-link=Lee Hill (writer)\|first=Lee\|last= Hill\|title=A Grand Guy: The Life and Art of Terry Southern\|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing\|year= 2001}}</ref>		The scene involving the vat containing animal blood, urine and excrement was filmed at London's [[w:South Bank\|South Bank]] on a stretch of waste ground on which the [[w:Royal National Theatre\|National Theatre]] was later built. It was originally planned to film this climactic scene at the [[w:Statue of Liberty\|Statue of Liberty]] in New York, and (remarkably) the U.S. [[w:National Park Service\|National Park Service]] agreed to a request to permit this. Sellers, Southern and McGrath travelled to New York on the ''[[w:Queen Elizabeth 2\|Queen Elizabeth 2]]'' (at a reported cost of US $10,000 [${{Inflation\|US\|10000\|1969\|r=-2\|fmt=c}} today] per person) but the studio refused to pay for the shoot, and it had to be relocated to London.<ref>{{cite book\|author-link=Lee Hill (writer)\|first=Lee\|last= Hill\|title=A Grand Guy: The Life and Art of Terry Southern\|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing\|year= 2001}}</ref>

	===Soundtrack===		===Soundtrack===
	The film features the song "[[Come and Get It (Badfinger song)\|Come and Get It]]" written and produced by Paul McCartney and performed by [[Badfinger]], a Welsh [[rock band]] promoted by [[Apple Records]]. The lyrics refer to Grand's schemes of bribing people to act according to his whims ("If you want it, here it is, come and get it").<ref>''McCartney: Songwriter'' {{ISBN\|0-491-03325-7}} p. 98</ref>		The film features the song "[[w:Come and Get It (Badfinger song)\|Come and Get It]]" written and produced by Paul McCartney and performed by [[w:Badfinger\|Badfinger]], a Welsh [[w:rock band\|rock band]] promoted by [[w:Apple Records\|Apple Records]]. The lyrics refer to Grand's schemes of bribing people to act according to his whims ("If you want it, here it is, come and get it").<ref>''McCartney: Songwriter'' {{ISBN\|0-491-03325-7}} p. 98</ref>

	"[[Something in the Air]]" by [[Thunderclap Newman]] is used in the film.		"[[w:Something in the Air\|Something in the Air]]" by [[Thunderclap Newman]] is used in the film.

	==Reception==		==Reception==
	Most mainstream critics have been quite negative about the film, especially for its extensive use of [[black humour]]. Darrel Baxton, in his review for ''The Spinning Image'', refers to the film as of "the school of savage sub-[[Luis Buñuel\|Bunuelian]] satire".<ref>{{cite web \|title=The Magic Christian \|url=http://www.thespinningimage.co.uk/cultfilms/displaycultfilm.asp?reviewid=145 \|work=The Spinning Image \|access-date=10 October 2012}}</ref>		Most mainstream critics have been quite negative about the film, especially for its extensive use of [[w:black humour\|black humour]]. Darrel Baxton, in his review for ''The Spinning Image'', refers to the film as of "the school of savage sub-[[w:Luis Buñuel\|Bunuelian]] satire".<ref>{{cite web \|title=The Magic Christian \|url=http://www.thespinningimage.co.uk/cultfilms/displaycultfilm.asp?reviewid=145 \|work=The Spinning Image \|access-date=10 October 2012}}</ref>

	Christopher Null on filmcritic.com states that "it is way too over-the-top to make any profound statement".<ref>[http://www.filmcritic.com/misc/emporium.nsf/ddb5490109a79f598625623d0015f1e4/0c63a2560495532008256cbb00826ca3?OpenDocument filmcritic.com] {{webarchive \|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080115004058/http://www.filmcritic.com/misc/emporium.nsf/ddb5490109a79f598625623d0015f1e4/0c63a2560495532008256cbb00826ca3?OpenDocument \|date=15 January 2008}}</ref>		Christopher Null on filmcritic.com states that "it is way too over-the-top to make any profound statement".<ref>[http://www.filmcritic.com/misc/emporium.nsf/ddb5490109a79f598625623d0015f1e4/0c63a2560495532008256cbb00826ca3?OpenDocument filmcritic.com] {{webarchive \|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080115004058/http://www.filmcritic.com/misc/emporium.nsf/ddb5490109a79f598625623d0015f1e4/0c63a2560495532008256cbb00826ca3?OpenDocument \|date=15 January 2008}}</ref>

	Among retrospective reviews, Jay Gent of ''We Are Cult'' writes:<blockquote>[On] its own merits ''The Magic Christian'' is a real curio of its time, with enough celebrity cameos and ‘60s British Cinema, [[Beatles]] and [[Monty Python\|Python]] connections to appeal to a cross-section of fandoms for cultural and historical interest alone. And it’s good fun: Daft, silly, flawed, patchy, but rarely dull, with Sellers and Starr carrying the film with their infectious personalities alone – for better or worse, a shining example of “They don’t make them like that any more” and “Drugs in the sixties must have been REALLY good!”<ref>{{cite web\|url=http://wearecult.rocks/the-magic-christian-on-dvd-reviewed\|author=Gent, James\|title=''The Magic Christian'' on DVD reviewed\|website=WeAreCult.rocks\|date=May 2017 \|access-date=1 May 2017}}</ref></blockquote>		Among retrospective reviews, Jay Gent of ''We Are Cult'' writes:<blockquote>[On] its own merits ''The Magic Christian'' is a real curio of its time, with enough celebrity cameos and ‘60s British Cinema, [[w:the Beatles\|the Beatles]] and [[Monty Python\|Python]] connections to appeal to a cross-section of fandoms for cultural and historical interest alone. And it’s good fun: Daft, silly, flawed, patchy, but rarely dull, with Sellers and Starr carrying the film with their infectious personalities alone – for better or worse, a shining example of “They don’t make them like that any more” and “Drugs in the sixties must have been REALLY good!”<ref>{{cite web\|url=http://wearecult.rocks/the-magic-christian-on-dvd-reviewed\|author=Gent, James\|title=''The Magic Christian'' on DVD reviewed\|website=WeAreCult.rocks\|date=May 2017 \|access-date=1 May 2017}}</ref></blockquote>

	==In popular culture==		==In popular culture==
	* The episode of ''[[The Simpsons]]'' television series titled "[[Homer vs. Dignity]]" (2000) follows the film's plot.		* The episode of ''[[w:The Simpsons\|The Simpsons]]'' television series titled "[[w:Homer vs. Dignity\|Homer vs. Dignity]]" (2000) follows the film's plot.
	* The writer [[Grant Morrison]] named ''The Magic Christian'' as an inspiration for their ''[[Batman Incorporated]]'' series.<ref>{{cite magazine \|last=Thill \|first=Scott \|title=Grant Morrison's Batman, Inc. Births Comics' First Zen Billionaire \|url=https://www.wired.com/underwire/2010/11/grant-morrison-batman-inc?pid=1392 \|magazine=[[Wired (magazine)\|Wired]] \|date=November 2, 2010 \|access-date=1 January 2013}}</ref>		* The writer [[Grant Morrison]] named ''The Magic Christian'' as an inspiration for their ''[[w:Batman Incorporated\|Batman Incorporated]]'' series.<ref>{{cite magazine \|last=Thill \|first=Scott \|title=Grant Morrison's Batman, Inc. Births Comics' First Zen Billionaire \|url=https://www.wired.com/underwire/2010/11/grant-morrison-batman-inc?pid=1392 \|magazine=[[w:Wired (magazine)\|Wired]] \|date=November 2, 2010 \|access-date=1 January 2013}}</ref>

	==DVD/Blu-ray==		==DVD/Blu-ray==
Line 145:		Line 143:

	==References==		==References==
	~~<references/>~~		{{Reflist}}

	==External links==		==External links==
Line 151:		Line 149:
	* {{Amg movie\|30780\|The Magic Christian}}		* {{Amg movie\|30780\|The Magic Christian}}
	* [https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_magic_christian ''The Magic Christian'' in ''RottenTomatoes.com'' (synopsis and notes)]		* [https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_magic_christian ''The Magic Christian'' in ''RottenTomatoes.com'' (synopsis and notes)]

	~~{{Terry Southern}}~~
	~~{{Joseph McGrath (director)}}~~
	~~{{Graham Chapman}}~~

	{{DEFAULTSORT:Magic Christian, The}}		{{DEFAULTSORT:Magic Christian, The}}
Line 176:		Line 170:
	[[Category:1960s English-language films]]		[[Category:1960s English-language films]]
	[[Category:1960s British films]]		[[Category:1960s British films]]
			[[Category:British comedy films]]

Kurt: 1 revision imported

2023-01-13T18:45:11Z

1 revision imported

← Older revision	Revision as of 13:45, 13 January 2023
(No difference)

en>PatTheMoron at 07:14, 7 December 2022

2022-12-07T07:14:43Z

New page

{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2014}}
{{Use British English|date=October 2014}}
{{Infobox film
| name = The Magic Christian
| image = The Magic Christian.jpg
| caption = DVD cover
| director = [[Joseph McGrath (film director)|Joseph McGrath]]
| producer = [[Denis O'Dell]]
| screenplay = {{plainlist|
* [[Terry Southern]]
* Joseph McGrath
}} {{Infobox|decat=yes|child=yes|label1=Additional material by|data1={{Ubl|{{plainlist|
* [[Graham Chapman]]
* [[John Cleese]]
* [[Peter Sellers]]
}}}}}}
| based_on = {{Based on|''[[The Magic Christian (novel)|The Magic Christian]]''|Terry Southern}}
| starring = {{plainlist|
* Peter Sellers
* [[Ringo Starr]]
* [[Richard Attenborough]]
* [[Leonard Frey]]
* [[Laurence Harvey]]
* [[Christopher Lee]]
* [[Spike Milligan]]
* [[Raquel Welch]]
* [[Wilfred Hyde-White]]
* [[Isabel Jeans]]
* [[Caroline Blakiston]]
}}
| music = [[Ken Thorne]]
| cinematography = [[Geoffrey Unsworth]]
| editing = [[Kevin Connor (director)|Kevin Connor]]
| studio = Grand Films
| distributor = [[Commonwealth United Entertainment]]
| released = {{Film date|df=yes|1969|12|12|UK|1970|02|11|US}}
| runtime = 92 minutes
| country = United Kingdom
| language = English
| budget =
}}
'''''The Magic Christian''''' is a 1969 British [[Satire (film and television)|satirical]] [[farce]] [[black comedy film]] directed by [[Joseph McGrath (film director)|Joseph McGrath]] and starring [[Peter Sellers]] and [[Ringo Starr]], with appearances by [[John Cleese]], [[Graham Chapman]], [[Raquel Welch]], [[Spike Milligan]], [[Christopher Lee]], [[Richard Attenborough]] and [[Roman Polanski]]. It was loosely adapted from the 1959 comic novel ''[[The Magic Christian (novel)|The Magic Christian]]'' by the American author [[Terry Southern]], who co-wrote the screenplay adaptation with McGrath. The film also features pre-[[Monty Python]] appearances of John Cleese (credited) and an uncredited Graham Chapman, who had jointly written an earlier version of the film script.

Songs by [[Badfinger]], including "[[Come and Get It (Badfinger song)|Come and Get It]]" written by [[Paul McCartney]], were used on the soundtrack. The official soundtrack album had other music as well as dialogue from the film. Badfinger released an album, ''[[Magic Christian Music]]'', containing their songs for the film.

The film received mostly negative reviews on release, citing its unrelenting and heavy-handed [[satire]] of [[capitalism]], [[Seven deadly sins#Greed|greed]] and human vanities.

==Plot ==
Sir Guy Grand, an eccentric billionaire, together with his newly adopted heir (formerly a homeless derelict), Youngman Grand, start playing elaborate [[practical joke]]s on people. A big spender, Grand does not mind handing out large sums of money to various people, bribing them to fulfill his whims, or shocking them by bringing down what they hold dear. Their misadventures are designed as a display by Grand to his adoptive charge of the notion that "everyone has their price" — it just depends on the amount one is prepared to pay. They start from rather minor spoofs, like bribing a Shakespearean actor to strip during a stage performance of ''[[Hamlet]]'' and persuading a traffic warden to take back a parking ticket and eat it (delighted by the size of the bribe, he eats its plastic cover too) and proceed with increasingly elaborate stunts involving higher social strata and wider audiences. As their conversation reveals, Grand sees his plots as "educational".

At [[Sotheby's]] art auction house, it is confided to Grand that an original portrait from the [[Rembrandt|Rembrandt School]] might fetch £10,000 at auction. To the astonishment of the director, Mr. Dugdale, Grand makes a pre-auction bid of £30,000 (£{{inflation|UK|30000|1969|r=-2|fmt=c}} today) for the painting and, having bought it, proceeds to cut the portrait's nose from the canvas with a pair of scissors, as a mortified Dugdale looks on in open-mouthed shock. In an elegant restaurant, he makes a loud show of wild gluttony, Grand being the restaurant's most prominent customer. In the annual [[The Boat Race|Boat Race]] sports event, he bribes the coach of the [[Oxford University|Oxford]] rowing team to have them purposely ram the [[Cambridge University|Cambridge]] boat, to win a screamingly unjust victory. In a traditional pheasant hunt, he uses an anti-aircraft gun to down the bird.

Guy and Youngman eventually buy tickets for the luxury liner ''The Magic Christian'', along with the richest stratum of society. Guests seen boarding the ship include [[John Lennon]], [[Yoko Ono]], [[Jacqueline Kennedy]] and [[Aristotle Onassis]] (all played by lookalikes). In the beginning everything appears normal, and the ship apparently sets off. Soon, things start going wrong. A solitary drinker at the bar is approached by a transvestite cabaret singer, a vampire poses as a waiter, and a cinema film features the unsuccessful transplant of a black person's head onto a white person's body. Passengers begin to notice, through the ship's [[closed-circuit television]], that their captain is in a drunken stupor and is carted off by a gorilla. In a crescendo of panic, the guests try to abandon ship. A group of them, shown the way by Youngman Grand, instead reach the machine room. There, the Priestess of the Whip, assisted by two topless drummers, commands more than a hundred slave girls. They are naked except for loincloths. Rowing five to an oar, their wrists are manacled and fastened by chains to the ceiling. As passengers finally find an exit, and lords and ladies stumble out in the daylight, it is discovered that the supposed ship was in fact a structure built inside a warehouse, and the passengers had never left London. As they break out, a large painted sign reading "SMASH CAPITALISM" can be seen on the inside wall of the warehouse. During the whole misadventure, the Grands look perfectly composed and cool.

Toward the end of the film, Guy fills up a huge vat with urine, blood and animal excrement and adds to it thousands of bank notes. Attracting a crowd of onlookers by announcing "Free money!", Grand successfully entices the city's workers to recover the cash. The sequence concludes with many members of the crowd submerging themselves, in order to retrieve money that had sunk beneath the surface, as the song "[[Something in the Air]]" by [[Thunderclap Newman]] is heard by the film's audience.

The film ends with both Guy and Youngman, having returned to the park where the film opened, bribing the park warden to allow them to sleep there, stating that this was a more direct method of achieving their (mostly unstated) ends.

==Cast==
{{div col}}
* [[Peter Sellers]] as Sir Guy Grand KG, KC, CBE
* [[Ringo Starr]] as Youngman Grand, Esq.
* [[Isabel Jeans]] as Dame Agnes Grand
* [[Caroline Blakiston]] as Hon. Esther Grand
* [[Spike Milligan]] as Traffic warden #27
* [[Richard Attenborough]] as Oxford coach
* [[Leonard Frey]] as Laurence Faggot (ship's psychiatrist)
* [[John Cleese]] as Mr. Dugdale (director in Sotheby's)
* [[Patrick Cargill]] as Auctioneer at Sotheby's
* [[Joan Benham]] as Socialite in Sotheby's
* [[Ferdy Mayne]] as Edouard (of Chez Edouard restaurant)
* [[Graham Stark]] as Waiter at Chez Edouard Restaurant
* [[Laurence Harvey]] as Hamlet
* [[Dennis Price]] as Winthrop
* [[Wilfrid Hyde-White]] as Capt. Reginald K. Klaus
* [[Christopher Lee]] as Ship's vampire
* [[Roman Polanski]] as Solitary drinker
* [[Raquel Welch]] as Priestess of the Whip
* [[Victor Maddern]] as Hot dog vendor
* [[Terence Alexander]] as Mad Major
* [[Peter Bayliss]] as Pompous Toff
* [[Clive Dunn]] as Sommelier
* [[Fred Emney]] as Fitzgibbon
* [[David Hutcheson]] as Lord Barry
* [[Hattie Jacques]] as Ginger Horton
* [[Edward Underdown]] as Prince Henry
* [[Jeremy Lloyd]] as Lord Hampton
* Peter Myers as Lord Kilgallon
* [[Roland Culver]] as Sir Herbert
* [[Michael Trubshawe]] as Sir Lionel
* [[David Lodge (actor)|David Lodge]] as Ship's guide
* [[Peter Graves, 8th Baron Graves|Peter Graves]] as Lord at ship's bar (uncredited)
* [[Robert Raglan]] as Maltravers
* [[Frank Thornton]] as Police Inspector (uncredited)
* [[Michael Aspel]] as TV commentator (uncredited)
* [[Michael Barratt (television presenter)|Michael Barratt]] as TV commentator (uncredited)
* [[Harry Carpenter]] as TV commentator (uncredited)
* [[John Snagge]] as TV commentator (uncredited)
* [[Alan Whicker]] as TV commentator (uncredited)
* [[Graham Chapman]] as Oxford crewman (uncredited)
* [[James Laurenson]] as Oxford crewman (uncredited)
* [[Yul Brynner]] as Transvestite cabaret singer (uncredited)
* [[John Le Mesurier]] as Sir John (uncredited)
* [[Guy Middleton]] as Duke of Mantisbriar (uncredited)
* [[Nosher Powell]] as Ike Jones (uncredited)
* [[Rita Webb]] as Woman in Park (uncredited)
* [[Jimmy Clitheroe]] as Passenger on Ship (uncredited)
* Sean Barry-Weske as [[John Lennon]] lookalike (uncredited)
* Kimberley Chung as [[Yoko Ono]] lookalike (uncredited)
* George Cooper as Losing Boxer's Second (uncredited)
* [[Rosemarie Hillcrest]] as Topless Galley Slave (uncredited)
* [[Edward Sinclair]] as Park attendant (uncredited)
{{div col end }}

==Production==
===Writing===
Although Joseph McGrath co-wrote the adaptation with the American author [[Terry Southern]], who wrote the original 1959 comic novel ''The Magic Christian'', the screenplay differs considerably in content from the novel such as moving the story from America to London in the [[Swinging Sixties]]. Likewise the Youngman character was not in the original book, but was created for the film, with many of Sir Guy's early exploits in the novel adapted as Youngman's in the film.

===Casting===
[[Peter Sellers]], who was cast as Sir Guy Grand, was known to have liked the book because{{Clarify|reason=non sequitur|date=November 2022}} it was how Terry Southern was hired by [[Stanley Kubrick]] to co-write ''[[Dr. Strangelove]]'' in 1964. After Sellers sent Kubrick a copy of ''The Magic Christian'', he decided to make the film as a black comedy/satire, rather than a straightforward thriller.<ref name=Southern>{{cite magazine|author=Terry Southern|url=http://www.visual-memory.co.uk/amk/doc/0081.html|title=Notes from The War Room|magazine=Grand Street|issue=49}}</ref> The role of the orphan was played by [[Ringo Starr]]; it was written with [[John Lennon]] in mind. Starr and Sellers became good friends during the shoot.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Bonner|first=Michael|title=Ringo Starr on The Beatles, Peter Sellers, Frank Zappa and more…|magazine=[[Uncut (magazine)|Uncut]]|date=7 July 2017}}</ref> The film also features a host of British and American actors with brief roles in the film, many playing against type.

===Filming===
The British actor and dancer [[Lionel Blair]] was responsible for the film's choreography.

The scene involving the vat containing animal blood, urine and excrement was filmed at London's [[South Bank]] on a stretch of waste ground on which the [[Royal National Theatre|National Theatre]] was later built. It was originally planned to film this climactic scene at the [[Statue of Liberty]] in New York, and (remarkably) the U.S. [[National Park Service]] agreed to a request to permit this. Sellers, Southern and McGrath travelled to New York on the ''[[Queen Elizabeth 2]]'' (at a reported cost of US $10,000 [${{Inflation|US|10000|1969|r=-2|fmt=c}} today] per person) but the studio refused to pay for the shoot, and it had to be relocated to London.<ref>{{cite book|author-link=Lee Hill (writer)|first=Lee|last= Hill|title=A Grand Guy: The Life and Art of Terry Southern|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing|year= 2001}}</ref>

===Soundtrack===
The film features the song "[[Come and Get It (Badfinger song)|Come and Get It]]" written and produced by Paul McCartney and performed by [[Badfinger]], a Welsh [[rock band]] promoted by [[Apple Records]]. The lyrics refer to Grand's schemes of bribing people to act according to his whims ("If you want it, here it is, come and get it").<ref>''McCartney: Songwriter'' {{ISBN|0-491-03325-7}} p. 98</ref>

"[[Something in the Air]]" by [[Thunderclap Newman]] is used in the film.

==Reception==
Most mainstream critics have been quite negative about the film, especially for its extensive use of [[black humour]]. Darrel Baxton, in his review for ''The Spinning Image'', refers to the film as of "the school of savage sub-[[Luis Buñuel|Bunuelian]] satire".<ref>{{cite web |title=The Magic Christian |url=http://www.thespinningimage.co.uk/cultfilms/displaycultfilm.asp?reviewid=145 |work=The Spinning Image |access-date=10 October 2012}}</ref>

Christopher Null on filmcritic.com states that "it is way too over-the-top to make any profound statement".<ref>[http://www.filmcritic.com/misc/emporium.nsf/ddb5490109a79f598625623d0015f1e4/0c63a2560495532008256cbb00826ca3?OpenDocument filmcritic.com] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080115004058/http://www.filmcritic.com/misc/emporium.nsf/ddb5490109a79f598625623d0015f1e4/0c63a2560495532008256cbb00826ca3?OpenDocument |date=15 January 2008}}</ref>

Among retrospective reviews, Jay Gent of ''We Are Cult'' writes:<blockquote>[On] its own merits ''The Magic Christian'' is a real curio of its time, with enough celebrity cameos and ‘60s British Cinema, [[Beatles]] and [[Monty Python|Python]] connections to appeal to a cross-section of fandoms for cultural and historical interest alone. And it’s good fun: Daft, silly, flawed, patchy, but rarely dull, with Sellers and Starr carrying the film with their infectious personalities alone – for better or worse, a shining example of “They don’t make them like that any more” and “Drugs in the sixties must have been REALLY good!”<ref>{{cite web|url=http://wearecult.rocks/the-magic-christian-on-dvd-reviewed|author=Gent, James|title=''The Magic Christian'' on DVD reviewed|website=WeAreCult.rocks|date=May 2017 |access-date=1 May 2017}}</ref></blockquote>

==In popular culture==
* The episode of ''[[The Simpsons]]'' television series titled "[[Homer vs. Dignity]]" (2000) follows the film's plot.
* The writer [[Grant Morrison]] named ''The Magic Christian'' as an inspiration for their ''[[Batman Incorporated]]'' series.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Thill |first=Scott |title=Grant Morrison's Batman, Inc. Births Comics' First Zen Billionaire |url=https://www.wired.com/underwire/2010/11/grant-morrison-batman-inc?pid=1392 |magazine=[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]] |date=November 2, 2010 |access-date=1 January 2013}}</ref>

==DVD/Blu-ray==
''The Magic Christian'' was released on DVD and Blu-ray by Olive Films on 28 May 2013.

==References==
<references/>

==External links==
* {{IMDb title|id=0064622|title=The Magic Christian}}
* {{Amg movie|30780|The Magic Christian}}
* [https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_magic_christian ''The Magic Christian'' in ''RottenTomatoes.com'' (synopsis and notes)]

{{Terry Southern}}
{{Joseph McGrath (director)}}
{{Graham Chapman}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Magic Christian, The}}
[[Category:1969 films]]
[[Category:1960s black comedy films]]
[[Category:British black comedy films]]
[[Category:British satirical films]]
[[Category:Films based on American novels]]
[[Category:Films directed by Joseph McGrath (film director)]]
[[Category:Films set in London]]
[[Category:Films set on ships]]
[[Category:Films shot in London]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by Terry Southern]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of John Lennon]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Yoko Ono]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Aristotle Onassis]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis]]
[[Category:1969 comedy films]]
[[Category:1969 drama films]]
[[Category:Films scored by Ken Thorne]]
[[Category:1960s English-language films]]
[[Category:1960s British films]]