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| The Illusionist (Full Screen Edition) |
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| The Illusionist (Full Screen Edition) |
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Currently viewing: The Illusionist (Full Screen Edition) Compare prices for The Illusionist (Full Screen Edition) Affiliate Program |
| The Illusionist (Full Screen Edition) |
Average Rating:
 Rating:  - Don't Believe What You SeeIt's odd, but in the year 2006 there were two major motion pictures to feature stories about magicians and/or illusionists. The first film was The Illusionist, while the second film was The Prestige. In my humble opinion The Prestige is a superior film mainly because of the film's technical execution under the watchful eye of director Christopher Nolan. But I digress. The Illusionist is a surprisingly engaging suspense film with strong supernatural or "fantasy" elements. Writer/director Neil Burger made the film on a relatively small budget, but this doesn't have a negative impact on the end result. On the contrary, The Illusionist is a better film than most supernatural thrillers because it relies on characterization to carry the story, rather than over-the-top action and unnecessary special effects. The few special effects in the film are subtle and understated, which in some strange way only makes them more impressive. The story is set in Vienna, during the dawn of the 20th century, where an illusionist named Eisenheim causes a commotion with his startling magic tricks. He soon attracts the intention of the social elite, including Vienna's own Crown Prince Leopold. Leopold, an arrogant, ambitious, and cynical man, feels threatened by Eisenheim's extraordinary abilities. He is outraged that Eisenheim knows more than he, and so as a ploy to reveal Eisenheim's methods, Leopold offers his fiancée, the beautiful Duchess Sophie von Teschen to participate in one of Eisenheim's ... Read More Rating:  - You that think you know, but you really have no idea..."The Illusionist" does not fail to entertain. The film satisfies a wide audience with its ability to weave romance, mystery, and suspense all into one plot. Right from the beginning of the film, the understated texture of the film adds an appealing aesthetic quality that draws the audience to wonder what secrets and illusions lie deeper below the surface. The beginning scene sets the stage for the rest of the film. Eisenheim (Edward Norton) performs a scandalous magic trick on stage that causes terror and fright in his audience. Inspector Uhl (Paul Giamati) then attempts to arrest Eisenheim on the account of disturbing the peace. The rest of the film follows a back and forth movement of events that gradually reveal the mystery of Eisenheim's past, present, and future. All of the events in the movie revolve around the young adolescent love between Eisenheim and his beloved Sophie (Jessica Biel) that ended when Sophie's family separated her from Eisenheim. Their love seems tragically lost until they are reunited by chance 15 years later. At the time, Sophie is more or less betrothed to Crown Prince Leopold (Rufus Sewell) and seems set to marry him until fate brings Eisenheim back to her. The strange thing about their evolving love is that things aren't always what they seem. The two lovers experience joy and tragedy through dramatic events. The audience may be convinced that Eisenheim and Sophie's love is all but lost...until an unforeseen twist is revealed. Read More Rating: - *Spoiler*This movie ends like the Sixth Sense. One can say the movie has two endings. The first ending, when Paul Giamatti finds out he also cannot touch Edward Norton, was very good. It would mean that Edward Norton himself was a ghost, sort of like Bruce Willis finding out he too is a ghost in the Sixth Sense. The second ending in which Paul Giamatti has a series of revelations (shown to us using flashbacks) was a bit too much for me, as it seemed too eager to end on a Hollywood-style high note. Rating: - Excellent atmospheric historical romanceEward Norton gives a wonderfully understated performance in this historical romance set in Vienna at the turn of the century. He plays a marvelous magician who has fallen in love with a daughter of the aristocracy intended for marriage to the nasty megalomaniac Crown Prince who regards her as a ripe fruit worth picking and then throwing away. How will he win her? By magic obviously. Norton is backed up by a superb performance by Paul Giamatti as a cynical police chief trying to advance his career without entirely giving up his morals. Jessica Biel as the female lead is innocent and lovely. In some ways, this movie is a harmless piece of wish-fulfillment and fantasy rather than an actual exploration of historical themes. But the acting is so good, the photography (the movie was all filmed in the Czech Republic) so lovely, and the music by Philip Glass so haunting that it somehow all works. At the heart of the movie is a mystery never explained: how does the illusionist work his magic? His feats move beyond conventional illusion into the realm of the supernatural. Yet we accept it because the movie has woven its web so well. First-class entertainment! Rating: - A top notch filmThe marvelous film The Illusionist was released in 2006 to reasonable success at the box office. But its art house feel and understated (and excellent)acting apparently appealed to only so many people. It did not make great play with the media and was not splashed across the covers of magazines, with the possible exception of celebrity gossip circles for the youthful Jessica Biel. Even an ardent viewer of films such as myself missed this one at the theater. So, seeing this film two years later on DVD, with little or no fanfare, only added to my pleasure at finding this gem. Director and screen writer Neil Burger effortlessly presents a cat and mouse detective mystery against the backdrop of turn of the century Vienna. Edward Norton, who plays Eisenheim the Illusionist, and Paul Giamatti, who plays Inspector Uhl, both aptly demonstrate their exceptional acting skill and range. A must see. Browse for similar items by category: |
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