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The Illusionist

The Illusionist is an Academy Award-nominated 2006 period drama written and directed by Neil Burger and starring Edward Norton, Jessica Biel, and Paul Giamatti. Based loosely on Steven Millhauser's story "Eisenheim the Illusionist", The Illusionist tells the story of Eisenheim (Norton), a magician in turn-of-the-20th-century Vienna.

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

A young boy falls in love with a girl that is way above his social standards along with the art of magic. Although the parents forbid them of seeing each other they cannot be split apart. Until one day they were found together and the boy was sent off. He became a magician and traveled the world. She fell in love with another man, the Crown Prince. The two got engaged but the boy, Eisenheim, finally meets back up with the girl and uses his powers to free her from the royal house in Vienna. Written by thecaseymac

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. All other shots were at Barrandov Studios in Prague.

As of August 27, 2007 the film has earned worldwide box office receipts of $87,372,631, with $39,868,642 of that amount earned in the United States.Since it has been released on DVD, it has earned another $35.99 million in rental revenue (as of May 6, 2007).

The Illusionist received mostly positive reviews. Rotten Tomatoes classified it as 76% "certified fresh" with 168 reviews (as of August 3, 2007). 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.

On Box Office Mojo.com Brandon Gray said it had the most impressive box office total of 2006.

Awards

About the Actors and Actress

Edward Norton

Edward Harrison Norton (born August 18, 1969) is a two-time Academy Award-nominated, Golden Globe-winning American film actor and director. His acting credits include roles in the films Primal Fear, American History X and Fight Club.

Edward Norton moved to New York City and began his acting career in Off-Broadway theater. Moving into film, Norton cut his teeth playing a series of dark, grotesque characters, quickly launching him into the spotlight, beginning with 1996's Primal Fear. In the film, he took on the role of Aaron Stampler, a deeply disturbed young man accused of a brutal murder, for which he won a Golden Globe and an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. In 1998, his portrayal of a reformed neo-Nazi in American History X earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor and his role as a card shark pitted him opposite Matt Damon in 1998's poker-playing hit Rounders. He packed on 30 pounds (15 kg) of muscle for his role in American History X but neglected to maintain the physique after production. His blockbuster performance alongside Brad Pitt as the misanthropic narrator in the 1999 adaptation of Chuck Palahniuk's cult novel Fight Club, however, exponentially expanded his growing cult fan base.

In 2002, He starred in Spike Lee's 25th Hour as a drug dealer living his last night before going to prison. The film was praised by critics, particularly for its examination of a post 9-11 New York City, but was released during the holiday season and suffered in the box office. He played himself in a cameo role in the experimental comedy show Stella, and won critical acclaim for his role as the leper king of Jerusalem in Kingdom of Heaven. In 2006, he starred in the independent movie The Illusionist, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and later became a sleeper hit when it was released theatrically in August.

Norton has also done uncredited script work on some of the films he has appeared in, specifically Frida and The Score. In 2000, he made his debut as a director with Keeping the Faith. He will also direct his film adaptation of the novel Motherless Brooklyn.

On April 16, 2007, it was confirmed that Norton will play the role of Bruce Banner in the upcoming movie adaptation of the Incredible Hulk, to be released in 2008.

Paul Giamatti

Paul Edward Valentine Giamatti (born June 6, 1967) is an Academy Award-nominated American actor. He began acting in films during the 1990s, appearing in several supporting performances, and came to fame in the early 2000s, after his roles in the well-received films American Splendor, Sideways and Cinderella Man.

Giamatti's most acclaimed performances were in lead roles in American Splendor (2003) and Sideways (2004). He was nominated for a Golden Globe for the latter (but did not win), but was not nominated for an Oscar in one of the most mystifying and well-publicized snubs in recent Oscar history, made more baffling since Sideways received nominations in several other noteworthy categories.

Giamatti received his first Academy Award-nomination for Best Supporting Actor in 2005 for his role in Cinderella Man (a nomination that, while deserved, was generally considered a kind of apology for the snub of the previous year). He was also nominated for a Golden Globe and won the SAG award for Best Supporting Actor for the film. However, he lost both the Golden Globe and the Academy Award to George Clooney in Syriana. (Upon winning the Golden Globe, Clooney commented in his acceptance speech that he had expected Giamatti to win the award that evening.) Giamatti has also been nominated for and won several critics' awards.

The actor has been nominated for 35 separate awards between 2001 and 2006, and has won 22 of them. All of his nominations except one were for American Splendor, Sideways, or Cinderella Man; the exception was a Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Big Momma's House.[6]

Giamatti was considered for potential nomination for a Razzie Award on two separate occasions, once in 2003 (Worst Supporting Actor, Big Fat Liar) and again in 2007 (Worst Actor, Lady In the Water). Both times, however, he was ultimately left off the final ballot.

Jessica Biel

Jessica Claire Biel (born March 3, 1982) is an American actress and former fashion model best known for appearing in several Hollywood films such as Summer Catch, the remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and The Illusionist, as well as for her early television role of Mary Camden in the long-running family-drama series 7th Heaven.

Biel's first big break came when at 14 years old she landed the role of Mary Camden on the WB TV Series 7th Heaven. The family drama from Aaron Spelling and Brenda Hampton became the most popular (and remains the longest running) series on the fledgling network. Jessica's film career also began at age 15 when she played alongside Peter Fonda in his Golden Globe winning performance in Ulee's Gold (1997). Aside from acting, Jessica became a spokesmodel for L'Oreal cosmetics in 2002.

In 2000, Biel posed "topless" in a layout of Gear magazine, although she did not actually appear nude. It was nonetheless controversial because she was only 17 at the time of the shoot. Her frustration and fear about being typecast was one of the reasons that led to her decision. She blamed her saintly image on 7th Heaven for limiting her film career, including losing a lead role in American Beauty, which eventually went to Thora Birch. Jessica also hoped that by posing she would get out of her 7th Heaven contract, which she accomplished. She later said she regretted posing for the magazine and regards it as a learning experience. Jessica returned to 7th Heaven full time for the 2001—2002 season and then focused her attention on her movie career and has made minimal TV appearances since then. In 2002, she also had a role in the film The Rules of Attraction based on a novel by Bret Easton Ellis.