''Night Magic'' is a 1985 Canadian-French

musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but in some cases, they serv ...

written by

Leonard Cohen Leonard Norman Cohen (September 21, 1934November 7, 2016) was a Canadian songwriter, singer, poet, and novelist. Themes commonly explored throughout his work include faith and mortality, isolation and depression, betrayal and redemption, soc ...

and

Lewis Furey Lewis Furey, born with the name Lewis Greenblatt (7 June 1949), is a Canadian composer, singer, violinist, pianist, actor and director. Career Born in Montreal, Quebec to French and American parents, Furey trained as a classical violinist, and ...

and directed by Furey. The film stars

Nick Mancuso Nicodemo Antonio Massimo Mancuso (born May 29, 1948) is an Italian-Canadian actor, artist, playwright, and director. Beginning his career as a stage actor, he had his breakthrough role in the 1981 drama ''Ticket to Heaven'', for which he won th ...

as Michael, a down on his luck musician whose fantasies begin to come true after he meets an angel (Judy, played by

Carole Laure Carole Laure (born August 5, 1948) is an actress and singer from Quebec, Canada. Career Throughout most of her career, Carole Laure primarily collaborated with Anglophone singer, songwriter, producer, and director Lewis Furey, whom she met i ...

)."Angel Eyes heads for Cannes". ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...

'', March 23, 1985. The film's supporting cast includes

Stéphane Audran Stéphane Audran (born Colette Suzanne Jeannine Dacheville; 8 November 1932 – 27 March 2018) was a French film actress. She was known for her performances in the films of her husband Claude Chabrol, including '' Les Biches'' (1968) and '' Le Bou ...

Jean Carmet Jean Carmet (; 25 April 1920 – 20 April 1994) was a French actor. Life and career Jean Carmet began working on stage and then in film in the early 1940s becoming a very popular comedic actor in his native country. He is best known internat ...

Frank Augustyn Frank Joseph Augustyn, (born January 27, 1953) is a Canadian ballet dancer and artistic director. He was principal dancer of the National Ballet of Canada and the Berlin Opera Ballet. Background Frank Augustyn was born in Hamilton, Ontario. As ...

, Louis Robitaille,

Anik Bissonnette Anik Bissonnette (born February 9, 1962) is a Canadian ballet dancer. She began her professional ballet career with the Ballet de Montreal Eddy Toussaint in the 1980s and became a principal dancer with Les Grands Ballets Canadiens in 1990. C ...

Nanette Workman Nanette Joan Workman (born 20 November 1945, Brooklyn, New York, United States) is a singer-songwriter, actress and author, who has been based in Ormstown, Quebec, Canada, during much of her career. She holds dual citizenship of both the United ...

and

Barbara Eve Harris Barbara Eve Harris (born Barbara Evadney Reid-Hibbert; March 8, 1959) is a Canadian actress, known for her supporting performances on television. She may be best known for her role as FBI Agent Felicia Lang on ''Prison Break''. Life and career ...

Jay Scott Jeffrey Scott Beaven (October 4, 1949 – July 30, 1993), known professionally by his pen name Jay Scott, was a Canadian film critic."Critic Jay Scott, 43 among world's best". ''Toronto Star'', July 31, 1993. Early life Scott was born in Lincol ...

, "'Ooh, that is wonderful, yes!'". ''

'', May 17, 1985. The film was originally slated for release as ''Angel Eyes'', but reverted to its original working title ''Night Magic'' by the time of its premiere at the

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world. Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...

on May 17, 1985. Most of the score is in

Spenserian stanza The Spenserian stanza is a fixed verse form invented by Edmund Spenser for his epic poem ''The Faerie Queene'' (1590–96). Each stanza contains nine lines in total: eight lines in iambic pentameter followed by a single ' alexandrine' line in iamb ...

s.The Montreal Gazette, July 19 1986 ''Night Magic creators take on just too much of a challenge.'' Bruce Bailey
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Plot

Michael is an unsuccessful musician and playwright, leading a troupe. One night he is visited by three "angels" who offer him three wishes. He chooses as his first wish the ability to express himself perfectly in his art, and as his second, to choose a lover, draw her to him, send her away, and bring her back again. His first wish brings him great success as an artist, but for his second wish he chooses one of the angels (Judy). She gives up her angelic form to become human and join him. They have a child together, but as in his wish, he rejects her, and their house is burned by the other two angels. As his final wish, he asks to be assassinated. Judy refuses to participate, and goes to find him, but just as she reaches him, the other two angels assassinate him. Time stops while, in the only daylight scene of the film, the couple walk through the city together, but then return to his dying body.

Cast

Songs

Some of Cohen's lyrics recur in his later work, for example, ''Hunter's Lullaby'' appeared with almost identical lyrics on the album

Various Positions ''Various Positions'' is the seventh studio album by Leonard Cohen, released in December 1984 (and February 1985). It marked not only his turn to a modern sound and use of synthesizers (particularly on the opening track), but also, after the harm ...

, and the lyrics of the song ''The Bells'' form a large part of the song "Anthem" from The Future.

Awards

The film garnered four

Genie Award The Genie Awards were given out annually by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television to recognize the best of Canadian cinema from 1980–2012. They succeeded the Canadian Film Awards (1949–1978), known as the "Etrog Awards" for sculptor ...

nominations at the 7th Genie Awards: * Best Art Direction (

François Séguin François Séguin is a Canadian production designer, art director and set decorator. Recognition * 1986 Genie Award for Best Achievement in Art Direction - '' Night Magic'' - Nominated * 1987 Genie Award for Best Achievement in Art Direction/Prod ...

) * Best Original Score (Furey) * Best Original Song: "Angel Eyes" *Best Original Song: "Fire" It won the Best Original Song award for "Angel Eyes"."Cousin strikes Genie gold; Comedy-drama triumphs in film awards' top categories". ''

Montreal Gazette ''The Gazette'', also known as the ''Montreal Gazette'', is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper which is owned by Postmedia Network. It is published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the only English-language daily newspape ...

'', March 21, 1986.

References

External links

* {{Leonard Cohen 1985 films Canadian musical drama films 1985 multilingual films Leonard Cohen French musical drama films Films directed by Lewis Furey Films scored by Lewis Furey Rock operas Sung-through musical films Canadian multilingual films French multilingual films 1980s Canadian films 1980s French films 1985 musical films