The Film "The Illusionist" opens Friday

[Richard Kaufman]

The Illusionist opens Friday nationwide and it's getting good reviews at Rotten Tomatoes:

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/illusionist/

I thought the film was great: an adult movie where a magician is portrayed as an intelligent adult.

[Dustin Stinett]

I'm looking forward to this. I'm a big fan of both Ed Norton and Pig Vomit...errr...Paul Giamatti.

Unfortunately Cindy says she'll see it with me only if I see Snakes on a Plane with her. :rolleyes:

She didn't look too thrilled when I said we could go to the Cineplex when they were playing at about the same time and watch the one we wanted; alone. In fact, if looks could kill...

Her and her dang snakes!

[Guest]

NY Times and LA Times gave it a favorable review. Gal from the Washington Post not so favorable--thought it should have been a TV movie.

Anyone else seen it and have a review of it?

[Guest]

rogerebert.com has a favorable review by his editor. Roger is currently recovering from surgery.

[Richard Kaufman]

I saw it today for the second time and my first impressions were correct: it's an intelligent, adult, movie.
Not fast moving, not a buddy movie with cops and super heroes, but a smart adult movie.
Well written and carefully directed. Expect to read more in Genii.

[Brian Marks]

NY Post gave it a good review

[Guest]

I enjoyed it very much.

[Guest]

I saw it this afternoon. The buzz in the theatre was positive, everyone around me seemed to enjoy it very much.

I, on the otherhand, left with mixed opinions and was nowhere near as thrilled.

Jessica Biel fared way better than the Katie-Holmes-in-Batman-Returns performance I expected from her.
I've been fan of Giamatti and Norton for a long time and they, typically, both provided solid performances.
Dick Pope's cinematography was a great match for the feel of the film.
The dialogue was solid for the most part.
The ending, however, I thought was a big letdown. When the denoument came, it was no surprise. It was so thoroughly telegraphed throughout the movie that when it came I kept waiting for a second ending on par with the Usual Suspects, which was what I would have expected based on the quality of the rest of the movie.
Since the story relied heavily on the ending that amounted to nothing, I wouldn't give it more than two out of four stars.

[Guest]

Yes, the movie is fantastic. I posted a short clip of Ed Norton talking about playing a magician and his history with Ricky Jay on my blog:

http://magicinterviews.blogspot.com/200 ... orton.html

[Jeff Eline]

NPR has a interview with writer/director Neil Burger and he discusses his interest in magic and his meeting Ricky Jay. HERE

[Guest]

I saw The Illusionist last night and thought it was great.

In addition to being an entertaining film, it was a blast seeing Robert-Houdin and similar style period effects recreated (e.g., the famous "fast-growing" orange tree). I don't know if they recreated the actual illusions as they would have been done at that time (I hope that they did just because that would be cool!) or if they achieved the effects using camera trickery.

Highly recommended.

[Jeff Eline]

Daniel,

In the NPR piece Neil Burger said he made every effort to recreate the magic authentically. He implied that it didn't happen every time, but he did try.

[Richard Kaufman]

It's a movie, not a live stage performance.
You're dealing with actors on camera, not magicians.
When actors do magic onscreen, it is an illusion.
That's what movies do: create the illusion of a certain type of "reality."

[Guest]

Just returned from the E street movie theatre in Wash DC (only one of two theatres showing "The Illusionist"in the DC area). The 2:10 PM showing was sold out.

I must say I throughly enjoyed this film. As some have critized the ending, it was not obvious to me until very close to the end.

Permit me one movie critic type critism. The actors performing the roles of Eisenheim and the Crown Prince should have been switched. I have liked Edward Norton in his previous roles but I felt he was too weak for this role (think it was his voice and articulation). The role of Eisenheim needs a shakesperian actor like Rufus Sewell (the Crown Prince). This is a minor nitpick--I would recommend this love story to all.

[Bob Klase]

Originally posted by Richard Kaufman:
The Illusionist opens Friday nationwide

"Nationwide" seems to be a stretch. Apparently "nationwide" doesn't include Florida or most of the major cities in other states. I can't find it playing at any theater in my area, and it doesn't even show up in the the movie sections of the yahoo and amc's websites.

[Richard Kaufman]

I thought it opened everywhere on August 18, but they've apparently switched things around a bit and September 1 is now the date at which the movie will expand from its current venues.

This is a common practice to build word of mouth for smaller, more adult oriented films. It helps them find their way in the marketplace.

The film is doing quite well with critics and is currently at 71% positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/illusionist/

[Guest]

I was contacted by the distribution company about promoting some of the early screenings here in Atlanta. We did a cross promotion with the July performance of Shenanigans.

They gave me a box of beautiful posters! I had several left over even after giving so many of them away to promote the film. Maybe the ones I have left will increase in value if the film does well! :)

JMT

[Guest]

Went to see it yesterday with my daughter.
She loved it but I was a bit disappointed in the punch/denouement at the end. I wish it could have been like the ending of a Monk or a Colombo episode where you see what happened from the eye of the culprit. If that makes any sense ...

I was a bit surprised how it was not well exploited ... it just came without any crescendo and not too many surprise from the audience ...

I loved the acting, the period shown by shooting the film on location in Europe was great.

I give it a 7.5/10

[Danny Archer]

Originally posted by Bob Klase:

Originally posted by Richard Kaufman:
The Illusionist opens Friday nationwide

"Nationwide" seems to be a stretch. Apparently "nationwide" doesn't include Florida or most of the major cities in other states. I can't find it playing at any theater in my area, and it doesn't even show up in the the movie sections of the yahoo and amc's websites.

Opening weekend figures ...

In limited release, The Illusionistconjured up a magical debut.

The PG-13 Yari Film Group release averaged $18,135 at 51 locations for $924,886.

[Bob Klase]

Originally posted by Richard Kaufman:
[QB] I thought it opened everywhere on August 18, but they've apparently switched things around a bit and September 1 is now the date at which the movie will expand from its current venues.

I feel better now. I'll just have to wait another week to see it.

[Tom Klem]

This is a beautiful film. I saw it at a screening two week ago.

As to the effects in this film remember it's story is told through the eyes of the Paul Giamatti character. So it is told through the eyes of a layman. He is relating what he believes he saw. This is often far different from the actual effect performed.

How many times have you heard such accounts of your own performances?

Tom Klem
Archivist

[Richard Kaufman]

There's a good interview with director Neil Burger here:
http://www.aintitcool.com/display.cgi?id=24218