MovieChat Forums > The Illusionist (2006) Discussion > I need some help with this movie

I need some help with this movie

posted 14 years ago by skiddyfresh
4 replies | jump to latest

Okay, first off, I am not dumb. I'm fairly intelligent, but parts of this movie have got me twisted.

1. After they find Sophie in the water, the doctor says to Uhl "There is something you do need to know." What was it?

2. The mirror trick. How was it done? And why was it so significant in the flashback montage Uhl had at the ending that explained it all?

3. The Pepper's Ghost trick. I understand it being done on stage, but what about the kid that was walking around? And Eisenheim was able to pull this off with the Uhl and another officer on stage and they actually thought it was him until their hands went right through him?

Sorry if these are silly questions. Magic isn't my field of study, although I am definitely intrigued now.

[–] 14 years ago

[deleted]

[–] leoguy7 14 years ago

Thank god I'm not the only one who realized this movie dropped the ball. I would go one step further as to say "this movie did NO job of presenting the illusions". The only difference between myself and the original poster is that I'm not humble enough to have considered that I might be dumb but realized quite instantly that the director must have been pretty dumb if he didn't consider this a problem when making a movie that's supposed to be about stage magic.

[–] mirta1 14 years ago

"There is something you do need to know."

That the gem was in the fold of her clothes.

[–] dragon70 14 years ago

2. The mirror trick appearing in the flashback isn't about the trick itself. I believe it's about the dialog "what does it mean to die?" which Eisenheim poses to the crowd during the original scene. I believe this alludes to the idea that Sophie didn't really have to die, just appear to die, for the Crown Prince to be framed.

According to the director's commentary, the mirror trick would have been done with a two-way mirror where behind the mirror would be two people in red cloaks who would be illuminated as to be seen by the audience through the glass/mirror but the mirror would still retain its reflective quality as well.

I understand that the illusions in the film in their basic forms were accurate to the time but the director exaggerated the illusions for the film. I believe he wanted audiences to wonder if Eisenheim had special powers or was just an illusionist as he alludes to that in the director's commentary on the DVD.