Re: The Illusionist
Jan. 6th, 2007 12:50 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
cleolindaSo I'm going through my inbox a couple of days ago and there's an email from a Fox/M80 DVD rep who found the entry I wrote on The Illusionist and saw how much I loved the movie. I mean, I'm sure Fox is contacting a number of bloggers, but you can do worse than someone who started reading up on stage magic because of this and The Prestige. (And no, I still haven't tracked down the Steven Millhauser collection with "Eisenheim the Illusionist" yet, which vexes me deeply.) And they said that if I'd mention a few things, they'd send me a copy of the DVD, which 1) yay! and 2) I feel I should mention in the interest of fair play. But asking me to promote The Illusionist is like asking me to promote chocolate: my enthusiasm is genuine.
So first of all, I go to the DVD site they linked me to, and omg. They show you the plans for the orange tree! Jim Steinmeyer explained it in only the vaguest terms! It was a really beautifully done scene in the movie--I think that was my favorite track on the soundtrack--although my suspicion is that it was done with CGI in the movie. Which is why I wanted the DVD, because I so wanted to see the extras--apparently Ricky Jay was an advisor on both The Illusionist and The Prestige, as I understand it, so theoretically they could have recreated the orange tree illusion for real; I'd have to watch it again to see. I just assumed it was CGI because it was such a lovely, glowing effect, only finding out later that it was a famous Robert-Houdin illusion from the mid-1800s (and I'm not even sure he originated it). The other thing I loved was that Edward Norton wanted to do all the non-FX magic himself, and I'm completely fascinated by sleight of hand. Not how it works, exactly--yes, I'm sure you palmed it or hid it between your fingers or whatever--but the way it looks. There's a clip on the DVD site (go to Trailer and then Clip #2, "Trade Secret," which is also kind of sweet because the Paul Giamatti character reveals that he's an amateur magician and completely forgets to be officious in his enthusiasm for Eisenheim's illusions) where you can see Norton roll a ball back and forth over his fingers. It's a very simple, casual gesture, but it's just beautifully done. And kind of hot.
So I totally geeked out over the stage magic itself. Two other things I really liked: as I mentioned the first time around, I love the sepia-toned cinematography. I still can't tell exactly when the movie is set, since Jessica Biel's costumes seem to be very Edwardian (and were done, to my surprise, by Ngila Dickson, she of the many flowing elf dresses), but the footlights in the movie are still open flames--okay, wait. At that last link, the Costumer's Guide link:
Award-winning cinematographer Dick Pope (Topsy-Turvy, Nicholas Nickleby, Vera Drake) tells of the book that [director Neil] Burger showed him that contained color photography from the early 1900's: "Neil had obviously been carrying this book around with him for some time that explained the autochrome process, which very simply consisted of glass negative slides with a primitive kind of emulsion. The book contained really wonderful images and he had a very strong desire to make The Illusionist look like that."
So it is the early 1900s. And the whole movie really does have this wonderful, mysterious antique look to it--the opening/credit sequence alone is very, very striking, almost haunting, with the Philip Glass score and all. Speaking of Jessica Biel: she's the second thing. I mean, obviously Edward Norton pwns the hell out of it, and Rufus Sewell shows up in a very tense, jocular-but-threatening performance as the Crown Prince, but Jessica Biel is the real surprise of the movie. I honestly think that she saw this as her chance to change people's minds about what she can do and decided to put her back into it, because not only is her accent extremely good and natural, I think it's actually more consistent than Norton's or Giamatti's. I don't know that I ever heard her slip, and I was actually listening for it. I was talking about this on Snarkfest the other day, but I think Biel is actually a wonderfully counterintuitive piece of casting, because the character's just kind of there in terms of the writing. Childhood sweethearts, abusive fiancé, struggle to be independent, you know, okay. But when you cast someone as modern and athletic as Jessica Biel, you can immediately believe that she'd ride off on horseback in the middle of the night and have an affair behind the prince's back. Biel is good enough to fit the character, yet stands out in the way that Sophie herself must have stood out in society. You've automatically written a certain independence and fortitude into the character just by casting the right actress.
So, anyway. That's me nattering on about the movie, which I think I would have done more of when I first saw it if I hadn't seen two movies that night and been out until one in the morning. The Illusionist isn't structured as brilliantly as The Prestige, which was actually built like a magic trick itself, but goes for a beautiful evocation of tone and mystery instead.
And just for the record, here's the actual assets Fox gave me. Which is to say, they're not feeding me information to repeat back to you; they gave me a couple of banners and a buddy icon. Voilà:
So, the movie’s coming out on January 9--Tuesday, I think? That’s the first thing they wanted me to mention. The second is that there’s an accompanying magic contest. Prize: One (1) Grand Prize: ATrip to the Magic Castle in Los Angeles ("The Magic Castle is a Hollywood landmark, and a well-known performance venue for the magic industry, being one of the most famous magic clubs in the world. It is a private clubhouse for The Academy of Magical Arts, an organization devoted to the advancement of the art of magic, with emphasis on preserving its history"). It sounds like you're supposed to film yourself (this is in the rules; you can't call in an expensive professional videographer or anything) performing some kind of magic trick, and I think you are allowed to have assistants ("third parties"). You then upload the clip to the contest site, much the way you'd upload it to something like YouTube. Judging criteria: "Winners will be selected by a panel of judges using the following criteria: creativity and originality of video (50%); quality and originality of magic trick (50%)." So presentation, as in all stage magic, does count. The interesting thing is that Steinmeyer notes in Hiding the Elephant that there are relatively few tricks a magician can perform. You can make something disappear, you can make something reappear, you can make something move from one place to the other, and so on. Most vanishing acts, for example, are done with mirrors or trapdoors; I'm not even sure how you'd do it otherwise. So as far as creativity and originality go, they're not asking you to reinvent the wheel; they're asking you to dress it up a little differently. So if you're interested in performing magic, or you know someone who is, you've got until January 31 to upload something. Dooooooo it.
So first of all, I go to the DVD site they linked me to, and omg. They show you the plans for the orange tree! Jim Steinmeyer explained it in only the vaguest terms! It was a really beautifully done scene in the movie--I think that was my favorite track on the soundtrack--although my suspicion is that it was done with CGI in the movie. Which is why I wanted the DVD, because I so wanted to see the extras--apparently Ricky Jay was an advisor on both The Illusionist and The Prestige, as I understand it, so theoretically they could have recreated the orange tree illusion for real; I'd have to watch it again to see. I just assumed it was CGI because it was such a lovely, glowing effect, only finding out later that it was a famous Robert-Houdin illusion from the mid-1800s (and I'm not even sure he originated it). The other thing I loved was that Edward Norton wanted to do all the non-FX magic himself, and I'm completely fascinated by sleight of hand. Not how it works, exactly--yes, I'm sure you palmed it or hid it between your fingers or whatever--but the way it looks. There's a clip on the DVD site (go to Trailer and then Clip #2, "Trade Secret," which is also kind of sweet because the Paul Giamatti character reveals that he's an amateur magician and completely forgets to be officious in his enthusiasm for Eisenheim's illusions) where you can see Norton roll a ball back and forth over his fingers. It's a very simple, casual gesture, but it's just beautifully done. And kind of hot.
So I totally geeked out over the stage magic itself. Two other things I really liked: as I mentioned the first time around, I love the sepia-toned cinematography. I still can't tell exactly when the movie is set, since Jessica Biel's costumes seem to be very Edwardian (and were done, to my surprise, by Ngila Dickson, she of the many flowing elf dresses), but the footlights in the movie are still open flames--okay, wait. At that last link, the Costumer's Guide link:
Award-winning cinematographer Dick Pope (Topsy-Turvy, Nicholas Nickleby, Vera Drake) tells of the book that [director Neil] Burger showed him that contained color photography from the early 1900's: "Neil had obviously been carrying this book around with him for some time that explained the autochrome process, which very simply consisted of glass negative slides with a primitive kind of emulsion. The book contained really wonderful images and he had a very strong desire to make The Illusionist look like that."
So it is the early 1900s. And the whole movie really does have this wonderful, mysterious antique look to it--the opening/credit sequence alone is very, very striking, almost haunting, with the Philip Glass score and all. Speaking of Jessica Biel: she's the second thing. I mean, obviously Edward Norton pwns the hell out of it, and Rufus Sewell shows up in a very tense, jocular-but-threatening performance as the Crown Prince, but Jessica Biel is the real surprise of the movie. I honestly think that she saw this as her chance to change people's minds about what she can do and decided to put her back into it, because not only is her accent extremely good and natural, I think it's actually more consistent than Norton's or Giamatti's. I don't know that I ever heard her slip, and I was actually listening for it. I was talking about this on Snarkfest the other day, but I think Biel is actually a wonderfully counterintuitive piece of casting, because the character's just kind of there in terms of the writing. Childhood sweethearts, abusive fiancé, struggle to be independent, you know, okay. But when you cast someone as modern and athletic as Jessica Biel, you can immediately believe that she'd ride off on horseback in the middle of the night and have an affair behind the prince's back. Biel is good enough to fit the character, yet stands out in the way that Sophie herself must have stood out in society. You've automatically written a certain independence and fortitude into the character just by casting the right actress.
So, anyway. That's me nattering on about the movie, which I think I would have done more of when I first saw it if I hadn't seen two movies that night and been out until one in the morning. The Illusionist isn't structured as brilliantly as The Prestige, which was actually built like a magic trick itself, but goes for a beautiful evocation of tone and mystery instead.
And just for the record, here's the actual assets Fox gave me. Which is to say, they're not feeding me information to repeat back to you; they gave me a couple of banners and a buddy icon. Voilà:
So, the movie’s coming out on January 9--Tuesday, I think? That’s the first thing they wanted me to mention. The second is that there’s an accompanying magic contest. Prize: One (1) Grand Prize: ATrip to the Magic Castle in Los Angeles ("The Magic Castle is a Hollywood landmark, and a well-known performance venue for the magic industry, being one of the most famous magic clubs in the world. It is a private clubhouse for The Academy of Magical Arts, an organization devoted to the advancement of the art of magic, with emphasis on preserving its history"). It sounds like you're supposed to film yourself (this is in the rules; you can't call in an expensive professional videographer or anything) performing some kind of magic trick, and I think you are allowed to have assistants ("third parties"). You then upload the clip to the contest site, much the way you'd upload it to something like YouTube. Judging criteria: "Winners will be selected by a panel of judges using the following criteria: creativity and originality of video (50%); quality and originality of magic trick (50%)." So presentation, as in all stage magic, does count. The interesting thing is that Steinmeyer notes in Hiding the Elephant that there are relatively few tricks a magician can perform. You can make something disappear, you can make something reappear, you can make something move from one place to the other, and so on. Most vanishing acts, for example, are done with mirrors or trapdoors; I'm not even sure how you'd do it otherwise. So as far as creativity and originality go, they're not asking you to reinvent the wheel; they're asking you to dress it up a little differently. So if you're interested in performing magic, or you know someone who is, you've got until January 31 to upload something. Dooooooo it.
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no subject
Date: 2007-01-06 06:58 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-06 07:00 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-06 07:04 pm (UTC)XD
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Date: 2007-01-06 08:40 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-08 10:06 pm (UTC)p.s. Dead dove - do not eat.
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Date: 2007-01-08 10:23 pm (UTC)Well, I don't know what I was expecting.
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Date: 2007-01-06 07:17 pm (UTC)Hm. I think that leaves out a lot of classes of tricks, like card tricks, mentalist routines, levitation (although you could plausibly include that in "moving things"), and appearing to cut people in half. When you include those, that's probably it, though.
no subject
Date: 2007-01-06 09:22 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-06 09:33 pm (UTC)I guess for something to be "magic" it has to contradict some part of our experience of the world. We know things don't move themselves, that gravity holds things down, that people can't read each other's minds, and so on, but the "classes of impossibility" are limited.
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Date: 2007-01-06 09:43 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-06 10:17 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-06 07:18 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-06 07:27 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-06 07:49 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-06 09:29 pm (UTC)Ooo! There's at least a couple of collections of his that I want to read anyway, but I'd really like to read that story in particular.
here you go ^^
Date: 2007-01-06 09:53 pm (UTC)Re: here you go ^^
Date: 2007-01-06 10:17 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-06 07:53 pm (UTC)Millhauser is one of my two favorite authors -- his prose is amazing and the imagination behind his work is just... it's difficult to describe. I'll look around and see if I have an extra copy of the collection that features Eisenheim the Illusionist; sometimes if I run across one of his books in a used book store, I'll snap it up so that I can spread the love.
If you haven't read anything by him, I'd also highly recommend Martin Dressler, which is an amazing novel. I probably -do- have a spare copy of that one. Once I'm done digging around I'll let you know; do let me know if you're interested!
no subject
Date: 2007-01-06 09:32 pm (UTC)(Who's your other favorite author?)
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Date: 2007-01-07 03:08 am (UTC)Crown Prince Rupert's personality, his possibly subversive political interest in Hungarian autonomy, and the tragedy at Mayerling would've made him an excellent fit for the mystery in The Illusionist. I still wonder why the film bothered to manufacture its own character in lieu of a historical person who impacted history so much with his suicide.
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Date: 2007-01-07 06:06 pm (UTC)My favorite author is probably Peter S. Beagle.
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Date: 2007-01-08 03:02 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-08 03:12 am (UTC)I really recommend The Innkeeper's Song (link is to a pricier UK edition, but the used trade papers are affordable). The book that is a big touchstone for me is I See By My Outfit, which looks like it's coming back into print this spring.
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Date: 2007-01-06 08:42 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-06 09:33 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-07 05:30 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-07 05:32 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-07 05:33 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-07 05:34 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-07 05:38 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-07 03:10 am (UTC)I hadn't investigated what that's about, so thanks for the detail and the recommendation.
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Date: 2007-01-06 08:43 pm (UTC)Also, yay for The Illusionist! I'm so excited for the DVD to come out.
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Date: 2007-01-06 09:08 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-06 08:50 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-06 09:37 pm (UTC)p.s. It's called Now You See It or something *Huge Loser*
no subject
Date: 2007-01-07 01:18 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-07 02:31 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-07 02:55 am (UTC)One DVD is a minor freebie, but it is also a form of compensation for a service. I am not an agent of the IRS, nor do I play one on the Internet!
no subject
Date: 2007-01-07 02:57 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-07 03:12 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-07 09:25 am (UTC)Oh, excellent! (:rubs hands together)
I did not know "The Illusionist" was coming out on DVD Tuesday.
My usual sources failed to mention it. It's in the Netflix queue now!
Urrrrr, I don't know if I mentioned my friend Spino before, the one who picked up magic
as a hobby and became actually pretty good at it. He is the reason why "The Prestige" felt so
authentic and was so enjoyable. Anyway, he e-mailed me recently, inviting me to The Magic Castle.
One of the magicians can't meet his commitment so the Castle has booked Joel Hodgson to
fill in the gap. Yes, THAT Joel. The one with The 'Bots. Gizmonic Institute...
AND I HAVE NOTHING TO WEAR!!!
They have a dress code. I need an MiB suit stat!
I go there on the 15th.
Argh!
no subject
Date: 2007-01-07 09:32 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-07 11:58 pm (UTC)When reading, keep in mind it's a Devil's Dictionary and therefore it's deliberately cynical. What I'm trying to say is, if you're feeling depressed at the moment, save it for another day.
no subject
Date: 2007-01-08 12:04 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-08 11:07 am (UTC)The other thing I loved was that Edward Norton wanted to do all the non-FX magic himself, and I'm completely fascinated by sleight of hand. Not how it works, exactly--yes, I'm sure you palmed it or hid it between your fingers or whatever--but the way it looks.
I've always loved the seriousness with which Norton approaches even the things that many would consider inconsequential, and I think that's a large part of what makes him capable of playing such nuanced characters so brilliantly. It also gives his performances a subtlety that makes him fascinating to watch, no matter what sort of part it is, I think; it's the kind of attention to detail and the work and process behind it that really shows through.
There's a clip on the DVD site where you can see Norton roll a ball back and forth over his fingers. It's a very simple, casual gesture, but it's just beautifully done. And kind of hot.
I think I remember that from the movie! Heh, it is kind of hot; there's something about Norton that just makes him that way sometimes. You can't really say it's just his looks, there's an underlying quality that comes across with his features, often coupled with the intensity of the characters he tends to play, that gives off that effect I think.
Oh, and P.S.: WORD to everything you wrote about Biel. I was trying to think, for quite awhile after the second time I saw The Illusionist why exactly it was that I came out so impressed by her performance. And the fact is, it's not that it's Oscar-worthy, or the most amazing performance EVAR or something, but it's more that it was a great step on her part, and like you said, very good casting. So thanks for articulating that for me perfectly as well. :)
no subject
Date: 2007-01-09 06:51 am (UTC)