Just finished watching "The Illusionist"
August 7th, 2006
Just finished watching the film. There are many aspects to touch upon. The first thing you notice about the film is Neil Burger (Director) used what can only be described as an old hand crank movie camera look. Burger did a Q&A afterwards and discussed this in detail. He mentioned how, since this was a period piece, he wanted a dream like experience like you were watching an old film.
To accomplish this, they used a combination of filters, chemically treating the film and filters applied in post-production to create a very dreamlike look.
He described it as “the feel that it’s a black and white film that has been hand colored” and it did have that feel. Very muted colors and the camera focus and exposure went soft and dark towards the edges. There was also a strong use of the diffuse filter and even more desaturation in the film for many of the flashback scenes. Very well done.
All and all, it was a very entertaining film. Burger was extremely polite and the audience enjoyed his Q&A. Here is a link to the film’s official site: http://www.theillusionist.com/
Without giving away too much of the plot, Ed Norton plays a magician with seemingly supernatural powers. Norton’s character is thrust into a battle of wits with the police inspector after a crime is committed. I’d highly recommend the film for both it’s content and artistic cinematography. Truely a work of art.
