6.2 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 2.5 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
In 1916, China was in turmoil with warlords battling against each other and Japanese conspirators lurking in the dark. One day, a mysterious man named Zhang Xian takes the capital city by storm with his mesmerizing magic tricks. He soon catches the attention of ruthless warlord Commander Lei, who is eager to please his seventh wife Liu Yin by taking her to see Zhang's performance. Unbeknownst to Lei, his favorite concubine was once the fiancée of Zhang, and approaching him to earn his trust is just the first step in the vengeful illusionist's secret agenda...
Starring: Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Ching Wan Lau, Xun Zhou, Alex Fong, Suet LamForeign | 100% |
Drama | 7% |
Thriller | Insignificant |
Mystery | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Mandarin: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Mandarin: Dolby Digital 2.0
English: Dolby Digital 2.0
English
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 2.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 1.0 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
2006 saw the nearly simultaneous release of two high profile films which had magic and magicians featured prominently in their storylines. The Illusionist was a fairly straightforward love story tucked within a rather contrived plot that included a magician attempting to secure a life with a woman well above his lower social standing. The film included one supposed “twist” that any good trick spotter should have seen coming from at least a mile off. (I should state that I was significantly less impressed with The Illusionist than quite a few people, as the film received rather good reviews and did considerable business at the box office.) A couple of months after The Illusionist debuted, Christopher Nolan’s densely plotted The Prestige appeared, a film that included so many twists and turns that it warrants (at the very least) a second viewing to unwrap its many artifices and filmic sleights of hand. Personally, I consider The Prestige to be one of Nolan’s undisputed masterpieces, a film that manages to combine a number of incredibly unexpected elements, everything from a love triangle to hidden identities to (for crying out loud) Nicholas Tesla in one stunningly original formulation. Interestingly, The Prestige was not universally admired by either critics or audiences upon its theatrical release, though it, like The Illusionist, did okay raking in the ticket sales. This may or may not be evidence that some critics and audiences simply prefer more easily accessible material, films without a surfeit of information and with flashy but easily understood tricks. It’s hard to imagine what some audiences are going to make out of The Great Magician, a high profile Chinese production that saw Tony Leung’s return to the screen after a rather lengthy absence, but which combines both a Prestige-esque labyrinth of plot elements with a surface deep, almost silly, ambience that is (to my mind, anyway) more in the shallower league of The Illusionist.
The Great Magician is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Well Go USA with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.35:1. This is often a sumptuously beautiful film, and the high definition presentation is sharp and fluid, with excellent fine object detail that really brings out some incredible elements in both the costumes and sets. Colors are lush, deeply saturated and extremely varied, black levels are solid and contrast remains strong throughout the film. The color grading here is really on the subtle side, with occasional tints of amber in some of the more glamorous locales and a slight blue edge when the film gets out into the grittier streets. The special effects (some practical, some CGI) are well blended and look quite good, helping to make the magic seem more realistic.
The Great Magician features lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and Dolby Digital 2.0 mixes in both Mandarin and English. The original Mandarin 5.1 track is quite immersive, with a number of well done foley effects that explode around the surrounds. A lot of the scenes are quite crowded, and the 5.1 track does an excellent job of creating a sense of space and community, with widely splayed effects and dialogue. One niggling complaint might be the kind of cheesy score, which often sounds like 8 bit video game music (could that possibly have been intentional?). Fidelity is excellent and there's some very appealing dynamic range.
The most surprising thing about The Great Magician is that it ends up not being very much fun. This is a film that is chock full of whimsy and opulence, but which just kind of sits there, waiting for the next tangential subplot to unfold, which in turn will quickly be replaced with yet another tangent. There's no denying how sumptuously beautiful the film is, and so for those who like to luxuriate in eye candy with very little to engage their mind or heart, The Great Magician may well be an agreeable enough time killer. Personally, I'd recommend revisiting The Prestige for the second or second hundredth time.
Le Passé
2013
La coda dello scorpione
1971
Dans la maison
2012
Ma Yong Zhen / Ma Wing Jing / 馬永貞
1997
Ci Ma / 刺馬
1973
投奔怒海 / Tau ban no hoi
1982-2020
2013
郊游 / Jiao you
2013
Tao jie
2011
밀양 / Milyang
2007
Sympathy for Lady Vengeance | Ultimate Revenge Edition | 친절한 금자씨
2005
Hak se wui
2005
Hak se wui yi wo wai kwai
2006
三度目の殺人
2017
Paranoia
1970
La piel que habito
2011
2002
Sotto il vestitio niente II
1988
Todos lo saben
2018
1981