Nicholas Urfe is a young Englishman, who has taken a teaching position on the Greek island of Phraxos, following the previous instructor's suicide. For Nicholas, it is a chance to sample different surroundings and an opportunity to escape from a relationship with his emotionally unstable lover Anne. At first, Nicholas' life on Phraxos is uneventful but peaceful. However, he soon becomes involved with a reclusive man named Maurice Conchis, who owns an estate on the opposite side of the island, and has a beautiful young woman named Lily as his companion. On being introduced to the couple, Nicholas' life begins to unravel, and he tries to find out who the mysterious Conchis really is. Is he a psychiatrist? A film producer? A Nazi sympathiser? Or a magician who controls the lives and destinies of those around him? Nicholas quickly begins to lose his grip on reality, sinking deeper into Conchis's game. During visits to Conchis's estate, Nicholas has a series of experiences which gradually become more unexpected and bizarre. Many are related to past events from Conchis's life. Ultimately, these events begin happening off the estate as well at unexpected times and places, raising questions as to how much power and control Conchis can actually exercise over others' lives. The story climaxes with a "trial" directed by Conchis, with Nicholas participating. The final scene, which may be interpreted as a coda, concerns Nicholas' relationship with Anne, and whether or not it will continue.
The film was a critical disaster. Fowles was extremely disappointed with it, and laid most of the blame on director Guy Green despite having written the screenplay himself. Michael Caine said that it was one of the worst films he had been involved in along with The Swarm and Ashanti because no one knew what it was all about. Candice Bergen said in an interview about the film: "I didn't know what to do and nobody told me. I couldn't put together the semblance of a performance." When Woody Allen was asked whether he would make changes in his life if he had the opportunity to do it all over again, he jokingly replied he'd do "everything exactly the same, with the exception of watching The Magus." Despite the film's failure, it was nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best Cinematography and retained a cult following.
Box office
According to Fox records, the film required $7 million in rentals to break even, and by 11 December 1970, it had made $2,450,000, resulting in a loss to the studio.
