The Illusionist (2006 film)

Not to be confused with The Illusionist (2010 film).

The Illusionist
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Neil Burger
Written by	Steven Millhauser (Short story) Neil Burger (Screenplay)
Produced by	Brian Koppelman David Levien Michael London Cathy Schulman Bob Yari
Starring	Edward Norton Paul Giamatti Jessica Biel Rufus Sewell Eddie Marsan Eleanor Tomlinson
Cinematography	Dick Pope
Edited by	Naomi Geraghty
Music by	Philip Glass
Production companies	Bob Yari Productions Contagious Entertainment
Distributed by	Yari Film Group Releasing 20th Century Fox (DVD)
Release date	August 18, 2006 (2006-08-18)
Running time	110 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$17 million
Box office	$87,892,388

The Illusionist is a 2006 English-language period drama film written and directed by Neil Burger and starring Edward Norton, Jessica Biel, and Paul Giamatti. It is based loosely on Steven Millhauser's short story, "Eisenheim the Illusionist". The Illusionist tells the story of Eisenheim, a magician in turn-of-the-20th-century Vienna who uses his abilities to secure the love of a woman far above his social standing.

The film premiered at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival and opened the 2006 Seattle International Film Festival; it was distributed in limited release to theaters on August 18, 2006, and expanded nationwide on September 1.

Plot

The film, which contains both fictional and historical characters, begins as Chief Inspector Walter Uhl (Paul Giamatti) moves to arrest Eisenheim (Edward Norton) during what appears to be necromancy passed off as a magic show. He then begins to recount the story of Eisenheim for Crown Prince Leopold (Rufus Sewell).

Eisenheim was born the son of a cabinetmaker in Vienna, Austria-Hungary. One day as a teenager, Eisenheim (played as a young man by Aaron Johnson) meets a traveling magician along a road who performs several tricks for him. Eisenheim becomes obsessed with magic tricks after this.

He also falls in love with Sophie, the Duchess von Teschen (Jessica Biel, played as a teenager by Eleanor Tomlinson), a noblewoman well above his social class. Although the two are forbidden to see each other, they meet secretly for a time until at last they are caught and forcefully separated.

Eisenheim then leaves home and travels the world, perfecting his craft. He returns to Vienna years later as a master illusionist. He meets Sophie again at one of his performances, when she is volunteered by Crown Prince Leopold as a reluctant participant in an illusion. He soon learns that Sophie is expected to marry the Crown Prince, who purportedly has a history of abuse towards women. After humiliating the Crown Prince during a private show, Eisenheim finds his hit performance shut out of Vienna. When Sophie comes to offer him help, the two consummate their relationship and realize that they are still in love. They plan to flee the Empire together, but first something must be done to stop Leopold, who Sophie reveals is planning a coup d'etat to usurp the Crown of Austria from his aging father, the Emperor Franz Joseph I while using his engagement to her to win the Hungarian half of the Empire as well. She also knows that the Crown Prince will view her as disposable if she leaves him for another man and that he will have both her and Eisenheim followed and killed.

Leopold finds out from Uhl, who was following the couple, that Sophie has met with Eisenheim. While drunk, Leopold confronts Sophie and accuses her of being unfaithful. She tells him that she will not marry him or have anything to do with his plan. She flees, and is soon found dead in the river with a sword cut across her neck. Unfortunately, Leopold's royal status makes any accusations against him unthinkable. As Eisenheim plunges into despair and the citizens of Vienna begin to suspect Leopold of Sophie's murder, Uhl observes Eisenheim's actions more closely on behalf of Leopold.

Wracked with grief, Eisenheim prepares a new kind of magic show, using mysterious equipment and Chinese stagehands. During his show, Eisenheim apparently summons spirits, leading many to believe that he possesses supernatural powers.

Leopold decides to attend one of Eisenheim's shows in disguise. During this show, Eisenheim summons the spirit of Sophie, who says someone in the theater murdered her, panicking Leopold. Uhl pleads with Eisenheim to stop such performances, but Eisenheim refuses. Finally, Leopold orders Eisenheim's arrest. We then return to the opening scene of the movie, but now we see that when Uhl tries to arrest him during the performance, Eisenheim's body fades and disappears like his summoned spirits.

Uhl soon reveals to Leopold that he has found evidence that links the Crown Prince to Sophie's murder: a jewel from the prince's sword and a locket that Eisenheim had given Sophie when they were children. After ordering, then begging Uhl to keep silent, Leopold discovers that Uhl has already informed the Emperor and the General Staff of Leopold's conspiracy to usurp the Austro-Hungarian throne. As the Army arrives at his Palace to arrest him, Leopold shoots himself in despair.

As Uhl leaves the Imperial Palace, a boy runs up to hand him a folio explaining one of Eisenheim's magic tricks. Uhl demands to know where the child obtained the folio; the child reveals that Eisenheim had given it to him. Uhl then reaches down into his pocket, to discover that he has been pick-pocketed by a disguised Eisenheim, while distracted by the boy, and gives chase following him to the train station. As the train leaves, a montage shows Uhl putting the pieces together in his mind and discovering how Eisenheim faked Sophie's death and framed Leopold for the murder. Eisenheim is then seen walking up to a house in the country where Sophie is waiting for him.

Cast

• Edward Norton as Eisenheim the Illusionist (born Eduard Abramovich)
• Paul Giamatti as Chief Inspector Walter Uhl
• Jessica Biel as Duchess Sophie von Teschen
• Rufus Sewell as Crown Prince Leopold
• Eddie Marsan as Josef Fischer, Eisenheim's manager
• Jake Wood as Jurka
• Aaron Johnson as Young Eisenheim
• Eleanor Tomlinson as Young Sophie

Production

The script was based loosely on "Eisenheim the Illusionist", a short story by Steven Millhauser from Millhauser's 1990 collection The Barnum Museum.

Magic consultancy and technical advice during the production was supplied by James Freedman, Ricky Jay, Michael Weber and Scott Penrose. Director Neil Burger wrote, "Starting in pre-production, James (Freedman) became a major collaborator; brainstorming, designing and refining everything from small sleight of hand tricks to major narrative set pieces. He worked with Edward Norton preparing him for his stage performances and acted as a hand double in various scenes. His contribution was enormous." Aaron Johnson, who plays the teenage Eduard in the beginning of the film, also learned how to do the ball trick seen in those scenes.

The original story on which the movie is based does not include the artifice of the protagonist framing the Duke for murder.

Although the film is set in Austria, it was filmed mostly in the Czech Republic. The city of Vienna is represented in the movie by those of Tábor and Prague, while the scenes set in Eisenheim's childhood village were shot in Český Krumlov. The Crown Prince's castle is actually the historical fortress of Konopiště (located near Benešov), formerly the home of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria. The front gates of Leopold's Vienna palace were actually the front gates of Prague Castle. All other shots were at Barrandov Studios in Prague.

Reception

As of June 29, 2008 the film has earned worldwide box office receipts of $87,892,388, including $39,868,642 in the United States, exceeding its reported $16.5 million budget. In the first five months after it was released on DVD in January 2007, the film earned $35.99 million in rental revenue.

The Illusionist received mostly positive reviews. Rotten Tomatoes classified it as 74% "certified fresh" with 184 reviews (as of November 20, 2011). Jonathan Rosenbaum's review in The Chicago Reader praised Paul Giamatti's performance of "a character who feels sympathy for the magician but owes allegiance to Leopold and is therefore divided and compromised ... Giamatti’s performance is subtle, expressive, and richly nuanced." Stephen Holden, in his review for The New York Times, praised Edward Norton's role, which, according to him, "perfectly fits his disturbing inscrutability". Variety wrote that Jessica Biel "is entirely stunning enough to fight to the death over."

Director of Photography Dick Pope earned a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Cinematography, losing at the 79th Academy Awards to Guillermo Navarro, cinematographer for Pan's Labyrinth.

Soundtrack

The soundrack for the film was composed by Philip Glass and was released on the 15th August 2006.

Track listing

1. "The Illusionist" - 2:24
2. "Do You Know Me" - 2:48
3. "Chance Encounter" - 3:23
4. "The Locket" - 2:54
5. "The Orange Tree" - 1:47
6. "The Mirror" - 1:27
7. "Wish I Would See You Again" - 1:26
8. "The Sword" - 0:36
9. "Meeting In The Carriage" - 1:09
10. "Sophie" - 2:50
11. "The Secret Plot" - 2:53
12. "Sophie's Ride To The Castle" - 2:05
13. "The Accident" - 1:30
14. "The New Theater" - 1:39
15. "Frankel Appears" - 3:26
16. "A Shout From The Crowd" - 2:02
17. "Eisenheim Disappears" - 2:07
18. "The Search" - 3:00
19. "The Missing Gem" - 3:03
20. "The Chase" - 4:11
21. "Life In The Mountains" - 4:31

Historical links

Eisenheim's portrait of the Emperor seen in the palace performance scene closely resembles Franz Joseph I of Austria. The character Leopold somewhat resembles Crown Prince Rudolf, who committed suicide after killing his mistress. This incident caused an international scandal and has attracted much subsequent conjecture.

Iris fades and the final montage sequence in The Illusionist, as well as Eisenheim's name, suggest a nod to director Sergei Eisenstein (1898–1948). The iris fade and montage were used prominently in Eisenstein's famous Bolshevik propaganda film The Battleship Potemkin. The "Odessa Steps" sequence in that film proved so powerful that many audiences believed they were viewing actual newsreel footage, prompting Eisenstein to label himself an "illusionist".

See also

• The Prestige

External links

• Official website
• The Illusionist at IMDb
• Template:Amg movie
• The Illusionist at Metacritic
• The Illusionist at Box Office Mojo
• "The Illusionist: Movie Production Notes" from Film Entertainment Magazine