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The Illusionist - Page 2

post #16 of 29
6/9/09 at 11:40pm
THE PRESTIGE was actually about something, like all of Nolan's pictures. In this case, the cost of greatness and the necessity of sacrifice for achievement. THE ILLUSIONIST, like many studio films (though it was independently financed) had the pretense of being about something, but it wasn't. I hope THE PRESTIGE will be rediscovered; it may be Nolan's masterpiece. Even though it doesn't have the disappearing pencil trick.
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post #17 of 29
6/10/09 at 12:02am
Quote:
In this case, the cost of greatness and the necessity of sacrifice for achievement.
Well that was a pretty superficial summary. If you actually can reduce a movie into a short, one sentence thematic statement, it's probably a shallow movie.
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post #18 of 29
6/10/09 at 12:10am
If you can't reduce a meta-theme into a short, one sentence thematic statement, it probably isn't meta. OTOH, if you are struggling to explain what a movie is about at it's heart, and you waffle around talking about 5 different things, it probably isn't really about anything.
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post #19 of 29
6/10/09 at 12:14am
Quote:
Originally Posted by dport86 View Post
the disappearing pencil trick.

Ta Da!
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post #20 of 29
6/10/09 at 2:35am
i had no idea that was david bowie as tesla
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post #21 of 29
6/10/09 at 2:39am
Thread Starter 
The Illusionist was a lovely fairy tale and the Prestige was a dark, ambitious movie that ultimately collapsed under the weight of it's own Sci-fi conceit.
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post #22 of 29
6/10/09 at 3:23am
The Illusionist was watchable, but predictable and nothing about it was really special. It would have been a total failure if not for Giamatti and Norton, and perhaps even Biel, if only as eyecandy.
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post #23 of 29
6/10/09 at 12:09pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by MrG View Post
I saw The Illusionist a while ago and enjoyed it, but I've never seen The Prestige. I'm going to have to add it to my Netflix queue.

How similar are they? Are we talking Deep Impact/Armageddon similar, or are they just both period flicks with plots that happen to revolve around magic?

No, they're aren't really the same movie, just two movies set in the 19th century and about magic. The reason I like The Prestige more is because it's (slightly) less conventional, and there are two mysteries (with two corresponding twists) throughout. The Illusionist has a more conventional structure and story. They're both good, though. I certainly don't mean to disparage the second; I simply prefer the first.
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post #24 of 29
6/10/09 at 1:07pm
My vote also goes to The Prestige. Thematically I found it more satisfying; The Illusionist, though enjoyable, was a bit too much sci-fi for me. I really enjoyed how The Prestige incorporated Nikola Tesla, one of the most under appreciated scientist/inventors of all time.
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post #25 of 29
6/10/09 at 1:33pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by dport86 View Post
If you can't reduce a meta-theme into a short, one sentence thematic statement, it probably isn't meta. OTOH, if you are struggling to explain what a movie is about at it's heart, and you waffle around talking about 5 different things, it probably isn't really about anything.

Some movies are just complex enough to resist sales-pitch type reductions. You can say what Last year at Marienbad is about (according to you) but it barely conveys what the movie is.
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post #26 of 29
6/10/09 at 1:42pm
^ I would go so far as to say that ANY moderately good movie falls into that category. Both of these were good movies, though not masterpieces. Reducing a movie to a tag line, or some similar thing you might have used to sum up assigned reading in grade 9 english class, doesn't do it justice.
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post #27 of 29
6/10/09 at 1:47pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by dv3 View Post
The Illusionist, though enjoyable, was a bit too much sci-fi for me.

There was no "sci-fi" to speak of, in The Illusionist.
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post #28 of 29
6/10/09 at 1:53pm
Saw them both and liked The Illusionist better. I can definitely see the appeal of The Prestige.
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post #29 of 29
6/10/09 at 2:26pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Fuuma View Post
Both movies were passable, but the Illusionist was less ambitious which might have been a good idea considering what the Prestige ended up being...

Never seen the Illusionist, but the Prestige made me go "Geezus fuck. Down a notch please." Bowie was great though.
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