THE ILLUSIONIST (2006) (Blu-ray)

The Illusionist is a very engaging film as it unfolds, but as time is spent away reflecting upon the story, it doesn't hold up once the trick has been revealed, like most illusions.

Set in 19th century Vienna, Austria, Eisenheim the Illusionist (Edward Norton) is arrested by Inspector Uhl (Paul Giamatti) during a performance, where he appears to be conjuring ghosts, for threats against the Empire and disturbing public order. The crowd is angered.

Uhl reports to Prince Leopold (Rufus Sewell) about Eisenheim and the majority of the film becomes a flashback. As a young boy (Aaron Johnson) Eisenheim meets an elderly man who performs tricks and this is where it is alleged his interest in magic began. He also makes the acquaintance of Sophie, an upper-class girl whose family isn't happy about her cavorting with the son of a cabinetmaker.

The story jumps forward 15 years as Eisenheim the Illusionist brings his act to Vienna. He astounds audiences with his illusions, including Uhl, who informs Eisenheim he is an amateur magician himself. Prince Leopold attends a performance and when Eisenheim asks for a volunteer, Leopold encourages his fiancée, who turns out to be Sophie (Jessica Biel). They later have a clandestine meeting in a carriage, but are unable to escape the notice of Uhl's men. Eisenheim is invited to conduct a command performance and shows up the prince in front of his guests. Sophie wants to be with Eisenheim but escaping the prince will be tough. He's a powerful man, possibly next in line to be emperor, and Uhl and his men are vigilant.

What's happens during the remainder of the story is captivating as it plays out, and revealing it would ruin a number of surprises for viewers, but once the conclusion is reached, it turns out a good portion of it is unnecessary. The motivations of some characters and their natures come into question, which doesn’t seem to be what the film is about.

I want to revisit The Illusionist with the full knowledge of the story to see what my reaction will be. Luckily, there is so much done right. The performances are very good. The cinematography of Dick Pope is marvelous. I particularly love how the look of the flashbacks evokes old movies with a flicker around the frame edges and hints of sepia. Their production team does a great job evoking the time. Philip Glass delivers a very good soundtrack that is worth owning on its own.

I did take issue with some of the digital effects used during some tricks. They stand out as artificial and ruin the illusion of the moment. Since all tricks were based on authentic ones, I would have preferred to see them executed.

The Blu-ray offers nothing but the film and three audio options, which are DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and Dolby Digital 5.1 in English and French. Not even captions or scene selection, which seem odd choices. The soundtrack is dialogue heavy and comes mainly from the front speakers. Glass's score and some ambient effects, like the theater audience, augment the scenes through the surround. Effects of horse hooves move across the front channels.

The video is presented with a 1080p/MPEG-4 AVC encoded transfer at an aspect ratio of 1.78:1. The film's color scheme uses very rich hues, sunny and bright during outdoor daytime exteriors, dark and saturated for the remainder. Norton's blue eyes pop off the screen and Eisenheim's brown stage background is rich. Blacks are deep and inky. Many scenes have great contrast and exhibit very good shadow delineation. Textures and details are well defined from actor's faces to the marking and jewels on the Prince's sword.

The features are only available on the DVD that is paired with the Blu-ray, another frustration. Writer/director Neil Burger is engaging as he offers commentary and this belongs on the Blu-ray. "The Making of The Illusionist" (7 min) and "Jessica Biel on The Illusionist" (2 min) are two EPK pieces that don't provide much beyond the talent involved trumpeting the project.

While the parts of The Illusionist are greater than their sum and the makers of the Blu-ray made some poor decisions, I enjoyed the film while I was watching it and think it's worth investigating.

Article first published as Blu-ray Review: The Illusionist (2006) on Blogcritics.

SIDEWAYS (Blu-ray)

Sideways is the fourth film from the brilliant comedic team of director Alexander Payne and his writing partner Jim Taylor, whose screenplay, adapted from Rex Pickett’s novel, won the Academy Award. Released in 2004, it tells the story of wine connoisseur/potential novelist Miles (Paul Giamatti) who has taken his best friend, former soap-opera star Jack (Thomas Haden Church) away for a week to Santa Barbara wine country before Jack’s wedding. However, Miles' plans of male bonding are sidetracked by Jack's philandering ways. Flying wingman does have its advantages as Miles gets a chance to become better acquainted with Maya (Virginia Madsen), who works at a restaurant he frequents.

A review of the film is located here, but like a fine wine, Sideways remains just as good with age. Upon this repeat viewing, I again laughed hard throughout and found no flaws in the story that is crafted upon masterfully realized characters the writers and actors make appear as real, believable people before our eyes.

The video leaves something to be desired in its transition to high definition. Throughout the film, there’s a lot of grain in the image, sunny scenes and light sources are slightly blown out, and the shadows engulf more of the image than expected. It is presented in a 1.85:1 ratio and the whole film appears to be shot with a limited depth of field that creates a soft focus, particularly the backgrounds.

The English audio is only available in 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, but is wasted on this dialogue-heavy soundtrack. The surround doesn’t offer much other than occasional ambiance and music but it is very slight.

The special features are all the same ones from the previous DVD release although they have not been upgraded. There is a short behind-the-scenes feature, seven deleted scenes presented with an introductions from Payne to explain the reasoning behind the decisions to cut them, and a very funny audio commentary with Giamatti and Church riffing together about the film.

Sideways is one of the funniest films of the decade, but the Blu-ray leaves a lot to be desired. It should be seen by all, but if it's going to be owned, the DVD might be the better choice in the long run.