The Illusionist

The suicide of the heir apparent to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian empire at Mayerling in 1889 has previously been the subject of a couple of sentimental tearjerkers (including the 1940 MGM film Florian). But in Neil Burger's The Illusionist—based on a short story by Steven Millhauser—the incident is playfully reworked into an atmospheric romantic mystery drenched in turn-of-the-century spiritualism and the class-consciousness that dominated pre-World War I Europe. A cat-and-mouse tale to which an upper-crust rat has been added, the film stars Edward Norton as an accomplished magician—the toast of Vienna—who becomes a rival to the crown prince for the love of a beautiful duchess. When the prince orders a policeman (Paul Giamatti) to unravel the secrets behind the illusionist's legerdemain and find an excuse for arresting him, the inspector is torn between following orders and resisting authority, especially after he discovers the clandestine affair going on between the magician and the noblewoman. An apparent death, a shadowy political conspiracy, and ghostly apparitions further complicate matters, and while the twisty close isn't too surprising, The Illusionist remains a mesmerizing, evocative film. Highly recommended. [Note: Available in either widescreen or full screen versions, DVD extras include audio commentary by writer-director Neil Burger, a four-minute 'making-of' featurette, a two-minute interview segment with costar Jessica Biel, and trailers. Bottom line: a small but solid extras package for a fine film.] (F. Swietek) [Blu-ray Review—June 22, 2010—Fox, 2 discs, 109 min., PG-13, $24.99—Making its first appearance on Blu-ray, 2006's The Illusionist features a great transfer and a DTS-HD 5.1 soundtrack. This two-disc set includes a Blu-ray copy of the film with no extras and a DVD version of the film with extras identical to the previous DVD release, including audio commentary by writer-director Neil Burger, a 'making-of' featurette (4 min.), an interview with costar Jessica Biel (2 min.), and trailers. Bottom line: although it's unfortunate that the Blu-ray disc lacks the extras on the DVD in this combo offering, this is a gorgeous-looking Blu-ray debut for an excellent underrated film.] [Blu-ray/DVD Review—July 2, 2019—MVD Visual, 109 min., PG-13, DVD: $14.99, Blu-ray: $24.99—Making its latest appearance on DVD and Blu-ray, 2006’s The Illusionist features a great transfer and a DTS-HD 5.1 soundtrack on the Blu-ray release. Extras include audio commentary by writer-director Neil Burger, a 'making-of' featurette (4 min.), and a segment with costar Jessica Biel (2 min.). Bottom line: if you don’t already own the earlier Blu-ray release, this is well worth picking up.]