Search - The Illusionist (Widescreen Edition) on DVD

K. K. (GAMER)
Reviewed on 8/14/2024...

Needed to be cut down in length but had some good moments and a mind trick at the end!

Craig S. (InnerMacro) from WAUSAU, WI
Reviewed on 3/2/2023...

Norton and Biel play forbidden lovers in pre-WWI Austria-Hungary. Pacing is good, setting is well-done and credible. Rufus Sewell is very good as the abusive husband-to-be set on rulership at any cost. Giamatti does well as the chief inspector, and arguably the central character in the film that holds the story together. Norton is (as usual) a bit too waif-like and lispy to pull off the role with the sense of dangerous intensity I would have like to have seen in a Houdini-ish Master of Illusions that may know life's terrible secrets. As a *Spoiler*, I really think the movie would have ended better had we been left to wonder if he really had magical powers, rather than the cop-out Orange Tree secret being revealed as a fancy mechanical apparatus that probably couldn't be built with today's technology, much less that of the steam era. While the magic shows would be incredible to see in real life, it's far too obvious that Norton is simply aided by CGI in his parlor tricks. The majority of the film is an engaging mystery, but asking me to believe that such a master plot was hatched during a single night of passion is difficult. That such a plan could be pulled off to the 'T' that it was, given all the human variables, is pure fantasy, which makes the 'everything-is-mundane' ending all the more inappropriate.

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Christopher Y.
Reviewed on 7/2/2016...

THE ILLUSIONIST
(2006)
(Romantic Mystery)

Rating - Overall 7 out of 10 / Acting 6 out of 10 / Story 7 out of 10
Edward Norton / Paul Giamatti / Jessica Biel

Background - This covers the Mayerling incident in which the crown prince of Austria and his lover Baroness Vestera committed suicide at a hunting lodge having a profound effect on the history of the 19th century. This takes place in 1889.

“The Illusionist” is a moderately entertaining movie with many compelling moments but in the end it never rises above similar movies. The best way to classify this movie is as a “mind game” movie. A movie in which there is some major twist or puzzle that you, as an audience member, are not meant to figure out, but which when we revealed will cause pleasant surprise. That is this movie. You watch it trying to figure out how Edward Norton’s character is doing his various tricks or if perhaps they are indeed authentic and not tricks. Despite the fact most audience members will fixate on the Norton character as the protagonist, it is in fact the inspector character played by Paul Giamatti (the best performance out of any of the actors).

Early on, via narration, we learn about how Eisenheim met a magician and from there learned magic and eventually made his way back to Vienna, where as fate would have it, the noble girl he had once loved is not set to be married to the crown prince of Austria. It also so happens that the Crown Prince is a particularly unsympathetic scoundrel who deserves zero sympathy.

And it is that which leads to my biggest problem with the film. Throughout the film we learn that the Crown Prince is plotting to overthrow his dad and that he has supposedly beat or killed previous women (without seeing this it is hard to accept this as justifying what happens later) and is an overall pompous ass. The final “trick” performed by Eisenheim has as it’s effect the death of this character. Without revealing too much, it just seems egregious.

Are we supposed to root for the character who basically manipulated the Crown Prince’s death so he can make away with the women he was betrothed to because that was his childhood crush? I mean yes, the Prince was not a good character, but this is a love story and not a political/action thriller where that sort of thing can be expected. At any rate, that was my major quibble and it didn’t entirely ruin the movie for me, but it certainly lessened it’s impact.

It's also important to note that no matter how much the Crown Prince disliked Norton's character (they were rivals), he never orders his death or explicitly orders that he be apprehended even.  So in essence, as bad as he was he never does any of the things he could have and which were within his power.  Meanwhile, our good guy goes through immense machinations in order to see that he dies so he can steal his girl…..and yes, perhaps save the monarchy I suppose.  Still…..

The performances were average. Biel never looks quite comfortable in the role and Norton, who plays Eisenheim, plays the part too close to the chest, never allowing the character to show any emotion at all. This is fine, after all he is a magician and meant to be mysterious, but the crux of the entire story is that he is so in love with a woman that he basically risks everything to get her back. The one scene where they make love had the chemistry of a blind date at Starbucks. Giamatti was fantastic. He plays the part of the inspector perfectly and we become genuinely transfixed by his own predicament which climaxes in an unexpected way at the end. Rufus Sewell, who played the Crown Prince, was perfect.

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Jennifer D. (jennicat) from ST AUGUSTINE, FL
Reviewed on 3/29/2014...

Loved it!

0 of 1 member(s) found this review helpful.

All Is Not What It Seems / Is That All There Is?

prisrob | New EnglandUSA | 08/21/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

""Eisenheim, making it easier to appreciate the movie's elegant cinematic sleight of hand. As with any good magic show, the fun of a picture like this lies in knowing that we're being tricked and trying to figure out how the trick works, rather than having the rug pulled out from under us all of a sudden at the end." LA Times.



"The Illusionist" directed by Neil Burger is a powerful film that tells the darkly, romantic story of an "Illusionist", Eisenheim, played by Edward Norton who falls in love as a teenager to Sophie von Teschen, Jesscia Biel. Because Eisenhiem was poor and Sophie from a wealthy upper-class family the union was not to be. We return to the Vienna of the 1900's, Eisenheim is now a famous Illusionist and he finds Sophie is engaged to Crown Prince Leopold, one who is said to be a sadist with his ladies. In the opening scene, Eisenheim is found alone on the stage. The dark, simple, dreary, stage that comes to life when Eisenheim displays his art. This magic is worrisome to Crown Prince Leopold, played by Rufus Sewell and he orders Chief Inspector Uhl, Paul Giamatti, to arrest Eisenheim for fraud. This dark, sinister plot adds to the feel of the film, it is as if the dim light hides a glow. The magic of an orange seed that blooms into a full orange tree bearing fruit. And, the ghosts that fade into view and then disappear. We want it to be so, we want to believe that "all is not what it seems", and then again "is that all there is?"



The plot thickens as Sophie faces danger and Eisenheim accuses Crown Prince Leopold of misdeeds. A game of cat and mouse ensues and it is Chief Inspector Uhl who becomes the centrist trying to decide who "The Illusionist" is and what is real. Paul Giamatti steals this movie, in my opinion. He is ruthless and thoughtful and in the end we discover he is also a man of the law. We discover, through Chief Inspector Uhl that this film is a moral story about power and deception.



The photography and film are powerful. The old Austria is well represented. The feel of the early 1900's and the era of Prince Joseph Franz and what is to come, spring to life through the scenes of the richness of Crown Prince Leopold's surroundings compared to a simple hunting lodge. We are able to feel the darkness and the glow that survives.



The soundtrack to "The Illusionist" recorded by Philip Glass is a marvelous score. The music becomes a large part of the movie, telling the story when there is no dialogue. The music is eerie and telling and lovely and matches the darkness that starts to glow.



This is a movie to remember, a movie to ruminate -is this real, is that all there is? The wooden necklace that Sophie wears was made by Eisenheim just for Sophie, and is an allegory of this film. It is made in such a way that when opened, becomes a heart with a picture of a young Eisenheim inside. Think about this- when opened, the truth is revealed. "This is a movie in which the future doesn't exist -- all that matters is the misty golden halo of its own present, a vibrant city standing at the edge of a new century. Blink and it's gone. But at least the glow remains." salon.com



Highly Recommended. prisrob 08-21-06

"

Sepia-toned Beauty in Mystery and Passion

Kelly L. Norman | Plymouth, MI United States | 09/24/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Set in Vienna, filmed in Prague,and just about as lovely as anything I've seen on the large screen, "The Illusionist" stars Edward Norton as a charismatic magician, and Jessica Biel as his high-born love interest. In keeping with its magic and later, occult, theme, the film unwinds through shadow and darkness, like a carriage being horsedrawn through fin-de-siecle Europe's narrow streets. Philip Glass's minimalist score, rather than acting as an anachronism as one might expect, enhances the ethereal, other-worldly quality. Edward Norton brings to Eisenheim, the central character (the book is based on the short story "Eisenheim, the Illusionist", by Steven Millhauser)an understated quality that adds to the sense that he always knows more than we do...and more than the characters in the film, including the two that most want to undo his works of magic, Inspector Uhl and Crown Prince Leopold. Unfortunately, the latter is engaged to Dutchess Sophie van Teschen, Biel's character. Leopold's intent is not only to prevent his lower class rival's success, but to control Sophie completely. Uhl, on the other hand, continues to respect Eisenheim, even as he is carrying out the Crown Prince's orders to shut the magician's show down.



As the tale unwinds (and it does ever more quickly as it moves toward the end), we do learn more and more about what lies behind Eisenheim's sad eyes. When Sophie's body turns up in the river after an argument with Leopold, Eisenheim's shows take on a dark change and he becomes kind of a "John Edwards" of the 19th century...but this John Edwards can summon holographic ghosts onto the stage, much to the delight of his audience. Is he becoming more and more obsessed and perhaps insane as Sophie begins to appear in these seances? In a twinkling, we find out as much about Eisenheim as we have during the entire film, and the lines in the Sophie-Leopold-Eisenheim triangle between the innocent and the devious aren't so clear.



A film to be savored."

Film example of great storytelling

C. Middleton | Australia | 03/03/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is an excellent gothic thriller based on the short story by Steven Millhauser, Eisenheim The Illusionist, set in late 19th century Vienna about the son of a young cabinetmaker who falls in love with a young Viennese aristocrat and is banned from seeing her as he is a basic commoner. As the legend goes about the young lad, he meets a travelling magician on the road who shows him the secrets of illusion, where he sets off to exotic lands to learn the mysteries of life. He returns to Vienna after his travels and opens a show in the great city to astonish not only Vienna's common public with his quasi supernatural illusions, but also Crown Prince Rudolf, son of Emperor Franz Josef who then reigned over the Austrian Hungarian Empire.



Originally the short story was written as a political criticism of the Monarchy, based on the scandalous incident, where the bodies of Rudolf and his mistress, Baroness Mary Vetsera were found shot in a Royal hunting lodge, apparently a murder suicide which the Royal family kept from the public for many years.



Edward Norton as Eisenheim is understated and brilliant, as the many sleight of hand tricks in the film were actually done by the gifted actor. Norton must have practiced for months to reveal such confidence and skill needed for these types of trick. However, Norton's character portrayed a perfect man of mystery, begging the question, are these mere illusions or does Eisenheim possess supernatural power, controlling matter, energy, space and time itself.



The special effects in this film are well done. My favourite illusion in the film, (and they're many) is the Excalibur Sword illusion where Eisenheim borrows Rudolf's sword, somehow magnetizes it to the stage standing straight up, asking the various aristocrats' in the audience to release it from its position. Of course none can release the sword, as they, like the Arthur legend, are not meant to be king. When Prince Rudolf attempts to pull the sword from its stationary stance, he finally does so with great effort; by causing the ruthless Prince some embarrassment, Eisenheim is now a targeted enemy of the Crown.



Paul Giamatti as the corrupt Inspector Uhl really shows what a versatile and gifted actor he really is, able to do comedy, tragedy, fantasy...a very impressive performance.



The overall look of the film had the atmosphere as if we are viewing a primary historical source, the director using 80 year old editing techniques etc., this was unusual but effective for such a mixed genre film - fantasy, thriller, supernatural thriller and fairy tale romance.



When first seeing this film I was spellbound and the ending, a perfect twist, making The Illusionist a perfect example of skilful storytelling.



This is an excellent film.



"