In turn-of-the-century Vienna, a magician uses his abilities to secure the love of a woman far above his social standing.In turn-of-the-century Vienna, a magician uses his abilities to secure the love of a woman far above his social standing.In turn-of-the-century Vienna, a magician uses his abilities to secure the love of a woman far above his social standing.
- Nominated for 1 Oscar
- 11 wins & 12 nominations total
- Josef Fischer
- (as Edward Marsan)
- Young Eisenheim
- (as Aaron Johnson)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaSo that the crew would not have to use CGI to "fake" the magical illusions seen, Norton received intensive training in sleight of hand and other stage magic techniques from British magician James Freedman and American magician Ricky Jay.
- GoofsNear the end, Chief Inspector Uhl is in Prince Leopold's office. When the two argue, the boom mic is visible, going from one character to the other, in the reflection on the brass table lamp.
- Quotes
Eisenheim: From the moment we enter this life we are in the flow of it. We measure it and we mark it, but we cannot defy it. We cannot even speed it up or slow it down. Or can we? Have we not each experienced the sensation that a beautiful moment seemed to pass to quickly, and wished that we could make it linger? Or felt time slow on a dull day, and wished that we could speed things up a bit?
As with any run-of-the-mill period piece, there's a lavish attention to the set designs and costumes, here representing late nineteenth century Vienna. Director Burger puts a nice spin on the same-old, same-old with an acute attention to lighting (especially in the dreamily over-exposed flashbacks) and old fashioned camera techniques (witness the circular camera's eye closing to transition from scenes) to give the film the feel of being a fond memory of a classic movie from a bygone era.
The central romance where Edward Norton's title character and Jessica Biel's Dutchess are star-crossed lovers kept apart because of class and society, had all the makings of a snore-inducing cheese-athon. Executed in an understated manner that services the greater plot, it ends up being anything but. Norton's performance, especially in the second half of the film when he turns into a man of very few words, had the potential to be one-note. As an actor, he speaks volumes with his eyes. Biel, a former teen idol and TV star, seemed a horrific choice for this role. She pulls of the nifty trick of being quite good. Even better are Rufus Sewell as the tyrannical crown-prince and Paul Giamatti as the chief inspector. Using a short story as the source material, characterizations had the potential to be paper-thin, but these seasoned veterans make the most of their lines and scenes adding terror, humor, and gravitas through their vocal and physical deliveries where lesser actors would've been wooden and cold. The entire cast also worked together very well utilizing their odd, vaguely European and aristorcatic accent. Everyone used it so consistently and earnestly, it didn't seem to matter after awhile that the accent was unnecessary.
A more over-eager or pretentious director may have completely sabotaged the fantastic ending to "The Illusionist" and cheated the audience. Handled deftly by Burger, the grande finale where "all is revealed" is a wholly organic and satisfying conclusion that rewards the patient viewer and fulfills the lofty promises of the themes presented throughout the work.
"The Illusionist" boasts an excellent music score from minimalist composer Phillip Glass that easily rivals his great work done in "Candyman" and "The Hours." Norton and Giamatti treat us to some of the best "staring" since the days of silent films. The look on Giamatti's face and the positioning of his raised eyebrows as he watches Norton perform his illusions coupled with Norton's eyes as he pulls off his tricks are priceless.
- WriterDave
- Aug 20, 2006
- Permalink
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Official site
- Language
- Also known as
- El ilusionista
- Filming locations
- Konopiste Palace, Benesov, Czech Republic(as the Crown Prince's castle)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $16,500,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $39,868,642
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $927,956
- Aug 20, 2006
- Gross worldwide
- $87,892,388
- Runtime1 hour 50 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1