Blu-Ray Review: Sylvain Chomet’s Mesmerizing ‘The Illusionist’

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CHICAGO – I could (and will) watch “The Illusionist” over and over again. It is a stunning, gorgeous, mesmerizing experience. When the history books are written, I don’t think we will EVER have as strong a group of nominees in the Oscar category for Best Animated Film as we did last year when “Toy Story 3,” “How to Train Your Dragon,” and “The Illusionist” stood tall. All three would have won in many other years.

Blu-Ray Rating: 4.5/5.0

Of course, MILLIONS more people have seen the other two nominees in that category, which only means that you’re more likely to have a lovely experience ahead of you than when those two hit HD. This is a touching, lyrical gem of a film that deserves a much wider audience. And the HD/Blu-ray release of the film is stunningly well-transferred. You could freeze many frames of this film and hang your TV on the wall and have it mistaken for art. Sadly, the special features are extremely lackluster with just a few silent pieces showing stages of the animation. Not one interview. No commentary. Not even a narrator on the behind-the-scenes pieces. Or perhaps a piece on the controversy around the film? Nothing. It’s too bad.

Sylvain Chomet, the director of the highly-acclaimed 2003 “Triplets of Belleville,” adapted “The Illusionist” from an unproduced script by the legendary Jacques Tati (“Mon Oncle,” “Play Time”). After reportedly being given the script by Tati’s daughter, Chomet took it and turned it into something of a tribute to the iconic auteur. Tati apparently intended to make the film with his daughter, although there has been some controversy in the international community as to Tati’s true intentions. (He also had a daughter who he abandoned very young and some have read the piece as more for her than Sophie.)

The Illusionist was released on Blu-Ray and DVD on May 10, 2011
Photo credit: Sony Pictures Classics

The less you know about “The Illusionist,” the better. And, on a plot level, there’s really not much to it. It’s more of a mood piece about an over-the-hill magician watching his time come to an end as he introduces a young girl named Alice to the world in front of her. For this girl, magic and wonder aren’t just on the stage. They’re everywhere. Whether or not “The Illusionist” is a love letter to one of Tati’s daughters, it plays like a love letter to all young people about to realize the magic of the real world.

This is a much more lyrical (and superior) piece than “The Triplets of Belleville.” Where that film was refreshingly zany, “The Illusionist” is far more restrained. It is a gentle, quiet tale with visual treats more than a riveting plot or deep character development. And those visual treats pop off your screen with one of the best HD transfers for an animated film I’ve seen all year. Thank God that “The Illusionist” looks this stellar. I would have been crushed if it was given a lackluster treatment.

A great movie with a perfect transfer makes it much easier to take the lack of special features. Just enjoy the film itself. Over and over again.

By BRIAN TALLERICO Content Director HollywoodChicago.com brian@hollywoodchicago.com