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The Illusionist (DVD, 2006)
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The movie in a nutshell is about Eisenheim the illusionist, an amazing performer from turn of the century Austria. He reconnects with a childhood love who happens to be engaged to the crown prince and as you can imagine trouble starts brewing. Soon she ends up murdered and he sets out to avenge her death by bringing the man responsible to justice, only problem is it's the prince. The illusionist turns to his talents to aid his cause, by supposedly conjuring spirits from the dead his love is able to publicly accuse her murderer. Or so we're meant to think! You see the entire movie is a magic trick, and like a good magic trick we are distracted from what is really happening. I loved the performances, but really at this point I think these two actors can do no wrong in my book. The one major flaw are the accents; half German, half British and all wrong. Everyone in the movie had the same goofy accent so it's not the actors fault. I also really really loved the whole victorian look of the film. Another minor criticism comes at the end when the whole deception is revealed, there is that "aah-ha" moment that both Paul Giamatti's character and the audience go through, but since you weren't paying attention to the details of what was happening under the surface it's not easy to get the gist of everything that really happened. Those moments are risky for a film to take, if the audience suspects anything the scene often doesn't have the weight that is intended. But for me anyway, it worked perfectly. And it was fun realizing that we'd all been tricked.Read full review
What a nice little movie this turned out to be! Edward Norton, we missed you. Where have you been, pal? So anyway, Norton plays an illusionist who goes by the awesome name of Eisenheim. During his childhood, he fell in love with a girl named Sophie who happens to be very upper class. They attempt to run away together but their plans are foiled by adults who don't want them together. Years later, Eisenheim has developed quite a reputation and Crown Prince Leopold (Rufus Sewell) comes to see his performance. He asks for a volunteer from the audience and the prince volunteers his fiancé, Sophie (Jessica Biel). The prince becomes convinced he can figure out any trick from Eisenheim and during a private performance at his home, he's proven to be a fool in front of his guests. Sophie and Eisenheim begin to meet privately because she knows the prince is bad for the country and she wants to get away from society life. Before they can carry out their plan, she is murdered, apparently by the jealous prince. Eisenheim is heartbroken and begins having performances of dead spirits appearing before the audience which makes him more popular than ever. Sophie's spirit appears making the audience question who murdered her. The entire movie, Inspector Uhl (Paul Giamatti) who works for the prince follows Eisenheim around trying to discover his tricks and persuade him not to challenge the prince. The prince wants Eisenheim taken into custody for disturbing the public with his performances. As they approach to take him in, he becomes transparent and vanishes himself! Now I won't tell you any more about the ending because it's just to fun to watch. The special effects are amazing in this movie. It really does seem like magic. Edward Norton is wonderful as always, sporting an accent and a calm demeanor that makes you wonder what's going on beneath. Paul Giamatti is characteristically gruff, at times difficult to understand and awkward. I have to say I'm not a big fan of his work just on account of the fact that all his characters I have seen tend to be the grown-up version of that awkward kid in high school who had trouble making friends. Why is he always feel like an outcast even when, in this case, he's in the prince's pocket? Jessica Biel is beautiful and keeps it simple which seems to be the best way to play it in this case. Rufus Sewell (wow.....what a scary name) as the prince does a good job in the beginning and creates an arc towards a great villian.....but I felt like he could have done more. Been a little more menacing, a little more crazy even. Don't hold back, man! Playing villians is supposed to be more fun! All in all, this was a very fun movie and I personally give it a B++. If the other two guys had been a little sharper, I could've been persuaded to give an A-.Read full review
This is a clever sleuth type movie. As a boy, Eisenheim was the son of a furniture maker and had been trained in the trade. His father made the furniture for the family of the future Duchess Sophie Von Teschen. One day the boy met a traveling magician who imparted several magical secrets to him and inspired his future in illusion. He also dearly loved Sophie, but the old problem of his being the son of a tradesman, and her being a daughter of aristocrats meant that their love could never be. Forbidden to associate, their only possible contact had to be secretive. He made her a special pendant that only could be opened by a secret procedure that only the two of them knew. Discovered together, he had to flee to save his life. After traveling the world, the boy, now a man, returns to 1900 Vienna as the famous Illusionist Eisenheim. By now, Sophie is grown and is the promised future bride of Crown Prince Leopold. He is a cold and cruel man and she doesn't love him, but as is the manner of that time, she has little choice in the matter. Eisenheim's first performance is so spectacular that it is the talk of the town. Many of his illusions are so spectacular that people actually believe it to be magic. On the second performance, Eisenheim asks for a volunteer from the audience to assist. Prince Leopold and Sophie are there, and being something of an amateur sleuth himself, he urges Sophie to go forward and assist, for his own amusement. They both recognize eachother and the illusion is spectacular. Leopold can't figure it out, and invites Eisenheim to the palace for a command performance before a bunch of intellectuals as the means of debunking the illusion. Again at the palace his illusions can't be figured out and in one case, the Prince, in trying to belittle Eisenheim, is himself humiliated. Now, Eisenheim has made an enemy. Chief Inspector Uhl is an honest policeman, but is controlled by the Prince, through promises of a rise in status to the ranks of aristocrat. He is an amateur illusionist himself and he is fascinated by Eisenheim, and through the Prince, ordered to spy on him. Sophie clandestinely meets with Eisenheim. They still are very much in love, but it is impossible. Inspector Uhl reports on her activities to Leopold and he is furious. Eisenheim's illusions are getting better and better, now apparently raising spirits from the dead, and totally captivating audiences with thoughts of supernatural powers. Eisenheim concocts a plan to free Sophie from the Prince's control and to get rid of the madman at the same time. It is a grand illusion that will fake her death and frame him for murder. The plan is set in motion and in an almost slight of hand type of way it works. Chief Inspector Uhl truly believes that the Prince killed her and alerts the authorities in such a manner that the Prince, convinced that he will be convicted and hanged, commits suicide. After all is done, Eisenheim and Sophie leave together, and Uhl, no longer Chief Inspector figures out this latest and grandest illusion. This was a clever and enjoyable movie.Read full review
Hmmm, Edward Norton as an illusionist....i guess i buy that. Im a fan of his work, and I feel that his performance here is up there with some of his best work. As for the movie.....I thought it was a good solid picture with a good sense of "illusion" the time in which the movie is set works well and was pulled off with nice visuals of the streets and buildings of the time. The Acting support of the other two actors was good as well. The whole plot is set around an illusionist who performs incredible illusions in front of a stunned crowd. Norton (the illusionist)has an interesting back story that is explained involving a childhood love(Jessica Biel) who returns to him and their relationship which never was allowed as teens, picks back up and trouble insues.The Movie was good, however i felt it lacked at the ending. The "suprising" ending was somehow un-climactic since they show you all the Amazing Illusions and make you believe they are real. Overall, its a good movie.Read full review
Posted by CK-Auctions The Illusionist is quite an accomplishment when you consider writer/director Neil Burger's background. His only other film credit, a shot on digital mock doc about the Kennedy assassination, could not possible prepare audiences for a lush period piece centering on forbidden love, a twisty whodunit, and a main character whose craft seems almost supernatural. It's a leap of faith so large than many a movie fan wouldn't dare the creative chasm. And that's a shame. While it pales in comparison to Christopher Nolan's masterful adaptation of Christopher Priest's novel The Prestige, The Illusionist (based on a short story by Pulitzer Prize winner Steve Millhauser) is a delightfully engaging effort, a film overloaded with sensational small touches and mesmerizing melodramatic strokes. Taking a typical tale of class-crossed lovers, political intrigue and personal vendettas and filtering it through the evocative world of turn of the century Europe (expertly realized by several found locations in Prague), we end up with a movie that's inviting, intriguing and never sort on ideas. By combining the celebrated showmanship of old world magicians with a few technological tweaks, we end up with a fascinating display of dramatics that subverts the basic challenges of keeping the unexplained enticing within the already enigmatic realm of cinema. At the center of this story is a quartet of compelling characters – Eisenheim (played with just a splash of contemporary cynicism by Edward Norton), Inspector Uhl (Paul Giamatti, expertly lost in the role) Crown Prince Leopold (made both pathetic and piercing by Dark City's Rufus Sewell) and the shimmering, sublime Sophie (given a good turn by Jessica Biel in what is a basically underwritten role). How they interact, how they confuse and control each other is the key to The Illusionist's success. Sometimes, Burger and his cast manage magnificently. During a command performance in the Prince's palace, a subtle sequence of one-upmanship sees everyone in the cast masking conflicting and contrasting emotions. Similarly, whenever Uhl is speaking one-on-one with Leopold or Eisenheim, the conversations crackle with real thespian thunder. It has to be said that there is little chemistry between Norton and Biel as carnal companions, but we still believe in their relationship because of the carefully controlled flashbacks that Burger uses to set up their story. And this is not a movie made up of subplots. Even though Uhl enjoys magic himself, and Leopold has a plan to seize power from his father, those aspects of the narrative are tossed off and treated as the ancillary trappings of such a long forgotten era. Indeed, there are times when The Illusionist relies heavily on its production design, hoping it will carry some of the story's cinematic weight. Like any movie positioned on a twist ending to sum up its success, The Illusionist does a decent job of hiding the key clues to its last act denouement. Keen cinephiles will probably have it figured out long before Uhl's wide-eyed realization, but this does not detract from the way in which Burger balances the needs of the mystery with the forward progress of his plot. Indeed, The Illusionist is as old fashioned in its wrap up as the epoch its characters exist in, While it is not the best magic movie of the year, it is a remarkably accomplished piece of masterful motion picture making. Any questions please contact us at contact@ck-auctions.comRead full review
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