The Illusionist Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.0
Overall		3.5

The Illusionist Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman June 24, 2019

Despite the manifest structural ingenuity of Memento, and equally manifest pleasures (and challenges) from any number of other outings like Inception, Interstellar and The Dark Knight Trilogy, The Prestige is probably my favorite Christopher Nolan film. The sheer audacity of the film’s narrative, combined with such presentational conceits as the more or less “complete reveal” that the film’s opening few seconds offers (something weirdly similar to the shuffling comic book pages in some Marvel outings), not to mention a series of fantastic twists along the way, has managed to keep me engaged through countless re-viewings, something that is certainly pretty remarkable for any film, let alone one with this film’s arguably outré sensibilities. Perhaps for that reason, I’ve always considered The Illusionist, which debuted in cineplexes just a few weeks before The Prestige in 2006, and which bears at least some surface similarities to the Nolan piece, an "also ran" which has always struck me as a kind of Prestige “wannabe”. That’s probably at least a somewhat unfair assessment and/or comparison, as became clear to me when I revisited The Illusionist again after several years in this new Blu-ray edition from MVD Visual. The Illusionist is a significantly different property, one with different (perhaps less ambitious) aims, but one with its own “voice” and a rather sumptuous physical production, including Academy Award nominated cinematography Dick Pope that mimics (in the words of writer and director Neil Burger) a vintage “hand cranked” ambience. The Illusionist may not have the “mind blowing” propensity of Nolan’s film about magicians, but it delivers some solid entertainment value on a somewhat more limited, and perhaps at least slightly more predictable, scale.

The Illusionist received a previous Blu-ray release back in 2010 from 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment. Those wanting a plot summary can consult my colleague Casey Broadwater’s The Illusionist Blu-ray review for details. While not really germane to the plot mechanics or even his assessment of the film, Casey’s review also contains a patently hilarious “conversation” between himself and another film fan discussing The Prestige and The Illusionist. Casey’s review is additionally a good resource for screenshot comparisons between the two versions.

The Illusionist Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Illusionist is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of MVD Marquee Collection, an imprint of MVD Visual, with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. Casey gave solid if not totally spectacular marks to the Fox release, and in my continuing series of "different reviewers, different scores", I personally might have upped the video score on the Fox release by a half point or so. The MVD release is often very similar if not outright identical to the Fox release, with the same kind of (intentionally) jaundiced grading that tends to give flesh tones in particular a rather sickly appearance, though the MVD release is arguably just ever so slightly brighter overall, something that may help to elevate fine detail levels at times. Detail in general is rather pleasing throughout, despite the stylistic conceits that Casey identifies in his review. Despite being granted a BD-50, and presumably more disc "real estate" for the compressionist, there are some minor issues with banding that occur during the sequences that have the strongest "flicker" appearance. It's very minor, and tends to just look like individual ripples at times, but I noticed it on several occasions.

The Illusionist Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

As with the video element, I probably would have scored the Fox release's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track at the same 4.0 level I'm scoring this one. Casey is correct to point out that this film isn't the whirlwind of surround activity that The Prestige often was, but there is significant placement of effects in the side and rear channels, not just in several outdoor scenes, but even in some of the crowded "performance" sequences where Eisenheim struts his stuff. Dialogue is always rendered cleanly and clearly throughout, and there are no problems of any kind to report. Unlike the Fox release, this MVD Visual outing does contain subtitles.

The Illusionist Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment Blu-ray release contained no supplements on the Blu-ray disc, but I'm assuming the two EPKs and commentary listed below are the same things Casey mentioned were on the DVD version of the film included in that package. (This release has no DVD.)

• The Making of The Illusionist (480i; 3:58)


• Jessica Biel on The Illusionist (480i; 1:29)


• Audio Commentary from Writer/Director Neil Burger can be accessed under the Setup Menu.


• Trailers includes The Illusionist (1080p; 2:28) along with trailers for several other releases from MVD.

The Illusionist Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

If you, too, are a fan of The Prestige and haven't yet seen The Illusionist, my personal advice is to try to divorce the two properties, even if they were both films about turn of the century magicians who encounter some unexpected obstacles with some supposedly starcrossed romantic angles to boot. The Illusionist is the manifestly more "literal" film of the two, and needs to be accepted on its own merits, which are considerable, if arguably smaller scale than what the Nolan film offers. One way or the other, this is a very interesting film from a stylistic standpoint, and the cinematography especially is one of its chief allures. This MVD release looks and sounds pretty similar if not outright identical to the Fox release of almost a decade ago (!), but it at least includes a few supplements and subtitles. Recommended.