Visible crew/equipment: Near the end of the film, Chief Inspector Uhl is in Prince Leopold's office. In the close-up shot when the two argue, you can view the boom mic, going from one character to the other, in the reflection on the brass table lamp.
The Illusionist (2006)
Directed by: Neil Burger
Starring: Paul Giamatti, Edward Norton, Jessica Biel, Rufus Sewell
Continuity mistake: At the start, in shots from the stage towards the audience, all of the fires are lit, but in a closer shot of the audience near the front of the stage, at least one of the fires is out. During the final illusion shown at the end, the same shot or at least very similar to the one used at the beginning shows the same mistake again. (01:28:25)
Continuity mistake: When Inspector Uhl is inspecting the theater prior to the arrival on the prince, he is speaking with Eisenheim. When Uhl says "I have been puzzling over how it works", Eisenheim is standing with his arms behind his back. When it cuts his arms are crossed. (00:20:15)
Eisenheim: My intention has only been to entertain, nothing more.
Chief Inspector Uhl: Then why are you doing this?
Eisenheim: To be with her.
Eisenheim: I thought we might end this evening with a discussion of the soul. All of the greatest religions speak of the soul's endurance before the end of life. So what then does it mean to die?
Question: How does he do the sword trick?
Question: Can you see the gemstones missing from the royal sword after Eisenheim holds it and secretly steals them? If you can still see them then Sophie must have taken them when The Crown Prince was passed out in the stable but I don't know which it is without seeing the scene.
Answer: You never see the sword closely enough to notice if Eisenheim took them during the performance. It is likely that he did not since this was a bit early in his planning (if he had started at all) and the Crown Prince could easily have noticed and replaced them or investigated that they were stolen. It is more likely than Sophie took them after the Crown Prince was passed out and then planted the green one in the stable and the red one in the folds of her dress.
Answer: I'm no expert but I honestly thought the sword was wedged in a gap in the floor by the tip of the blade and slight pressure of foot on the floorboards would have clenched 2 boards together around the sword tip and then when the pressure released the sword comes out but the 2 sides of the floor boards slice one of the jewels off! Lol when you look at the floor with the tip of the sword there's a kind of optical illusion with the woodwork pattern but I'm probably completely wrong but I thoroughly enjoy the film it is truly magic the whole thing for me anyway. Greetings from Middle Earth.
Question: It's not on IMDb so I have to ask here, first who plays the little boy who gives Uhl the "orange tree" book? Second, is there an actor who played the emperor or is the picture Eisenheim "paints" a picture of a actual emperor of Austria?
Answer: Although the story is fictional, some of the details are based on the life of Austrian Crown Prince Rudolf, only son of Emperor Franz Josef. The painting of the emperor which Eisenheim creates is an actual portrait of Franz Josef. (from IMDb).
Join the mailing list
Separate from membership, this is to get updates about mistakes in recent releases. Addresses are not passed on to any third party, and are used solely for direct communication from this site. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Check out the mistake & trivia books, on Kindle and in paperback.
Answer: The trick is done with electromagnets under the stage holding the sword upright and stuck to the floor (switched off when Leopold takes the sword). Audiences at the time would have been unfamiliar with such a technique.
Sierra1 ★