Deceptive Practice: The Mysteries and Mentors of Ricky Jay (2013)
87%RT Audience Score:
Awards & Nominations: NA
Deceptive Practice: The Mysteries and Mentors of Ricky Jay presents a fascinating — and tantalizingly incomplete — picture of a legendary magician and skilled raconteur
Deceptive Practice: The Mysteries and Mentors of Ricky Jay is a documentary that will leave you in awe of the card-trick genius. The film offers a colorful history of the evolution of magic and illusions, and Ricky Jay’s own personality and intellect steer the film. It’s like spending time with a magician who keeps things shadowy and hard to pin down, but in the best way possible. You’ll be entertained by the splendid feats and dazzling card magic, and you’ll learn a lot from Jay, but he’ll still keep his mystique. Overall, it’s a magical experience that’s time well spent.
Production Company(ies)
Element Pictures, Film 4 Film Nation Entertainment,
Distributor
NA
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
MPAA / Certificate
Not Rated
Year of Release
2012
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby
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Aspect ratio:NA
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Runtime:NA
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Oct 4, 2012 Original
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 5, 2013
Genre(s)
Documentary
Keyword(s)
documentary, Ricky Jay, magician, card-trick, Molly Bernstein, Alan Edelstein, Dick Cavett, David Mamet, Winston Simone, Cathy Greenwold, Philip Dolin, executive producer, box office, gross USA, budget, reviewed by THR Staff, Drew Taylor, Tom Long, Walter V Addiego, Adam Nayman, Michael O’Sullivan, Chase Beck, Bernard Boo, Gerald Peary, Richard von Busack, Jeffrey M Anderson, Jean Lowerison, genre, MPAA rating, producer, director, writer, audience score, critic score, Deceptive Practice: The Mysteries and Mentors of Ricky Jay, documentary film, magic, illusions, history, close-up magic, magician’s world, private life, tantalizingly incomplete, legendary magician, skilled raconteur, fascinating, mind-blowing tricks, colorful history, evolution of magic, 20th century, intimate, riveting, routines, shadowy, hard to pin down, inner life, glowering, cryptic figure, mystique
Worldwide gross: $152,791
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $196,982
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,936
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 21,481
US/Canada gross: $152,791
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $196,982
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,551
US/Canada opening weekend: $13,802
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $17,794
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,554
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $500,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $644,612
Production budget ranking: 2,105
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $347,124
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): -$794,754
ROI to date (est.): -80%
ROI ranking: 1,880
Dick Cavett – Narrator
David Mamet – self
Winston Simone – self
Molly Bernstein – Director
Cathy Greenwold – Executive Producer
Director(s)
Molly Bernstein
Writer(s)
NA
Producer(s)
Alan Edelstein, Philip Dolin
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
NA
Academy Awards
All Critics (42) | Top Critics (26) | Fresh (39) | Rotten (3)
Astonishment abounds in doc about card-trick genius.
November 3, 2020
THR Staff
Hollywood Reporter
TOP CRITIC
We want to know as much as we can about this guy, but like any good magician, he keeps things shadowy and hard to pin down.
November 3, 2020 | Rating: A-
Drew Taylor
indieWire
TOP CRITIC
The film offers all manner of mind-blowing tricks, as well as a colorful history of the evolution of magic and illusions, especially through the 20th century.
July 25, 2013 | Rating: B
Tom Long
Detroit News
TOP CRITIC
Jay’s own personality and intellect steer the film, and he’s such a finely honed performer that he easily carries it off…What we get here, simply, is time spent with Ricky Jay, and that’s time well spent.
July 5, 2013 | Rating: 3/4
Walter V. Addiego
San Francisco Chronicle
TOP CRITIC
Molly Bernstein and Alan Edelstein’s film works first and foremost as a showcase of Jay’s skills, but he’s also an ideal interview subject …
July 5, 2013 | Rating: 2.5/4
Adam Nayman
Globe and Mail
TOP CRITIC
A documentary portrait of the magician, author and actor who is known as one of today’s preeminent practitioners of close-up magic.
June 27, 2013 | Rating: 2.5/4
Michael O’Sullivan
Washington Post
TOP CRITIC
Deceptive Practice: The Mysteries and Mentors of Ricky Jay only delivers on half the promise that the title makes, there are plenty of mentors, but no real mysteries to speak of. I’m okay with that.
March 4, 2021
Chase Beck
Battleship Pretension
It would be entertaining enough to simply set Ricky Jay in front of a camera and let him talk, but Bernstein captures the essence of Jay’s persona in a way that’s as intimate and riveting as his routines.
April 12, 2019 | Rating: 8.2/10
Bernard Boo
Way Too Indie
The filmmaker is annoyingly passive and star-struck,as Ricky Jay, speaks only to his chosen agenda.
September 16, 2013 | Rating: 2
Gerald Peary
Arts Fuse
The splendid feats and dazzling card magic direct our attention away from the inner life of a large, glowering and cryptic figure. You learn a lot from Jay, and yet he keeps his mystique.
July 18, 2013 | Rating: 4/5 stars
Richard von Busack
MetroActive
I happen to love magic tricks. Deceptive Practice gave me a healthy dose of them, plus a good bit of history as well, and I appreciated it.
June 28, 2013 | Rating: 3.5/4
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid
Magic and Magical
June 9, 2013 | Rating: 5/5
Jean Lowerison
ReviewExpress.com…
Plot
Deceptive Practice: The Mysteries and Mentors of Ricky Jay is a documentary that explores the private world of professional magician Ricky Jay, showcasing his skills and providing a history of the evolution of magic and illusions.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
The film features magician and skilled raconteur Ricky Jay.
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