Sirus has a magic stall at Camden Market and is available for bookings (sirusmagic@yahoo.co.uk). Neil Henry and Lee Hathaway run the Magic Cave in Covent Garden (www.magiccave.co. uk) and perform at events throughout the UK. Dr Lionel Russell is a member of the Inner Magic Circle (www.themagiccircle.co.uk)

3:41min Eisenheim (Edward Norton), an illusionist, performs in a packed theatre in turn-of-20th-century Vienna. “This was the heyday of the magician,” Lionel explains. “People flocked to see magicians as there was no TV or cinema and many thought the illusions were real.”

13:21min Eisenheim plants a pip into a pot, and an orange tree grows. “They’ve used CGI to do that trick, which is a real shame because it could’ve been done for real,” chides Lee. “It was created in the mid 19th century by Robert Houdin – the man Houdini admired and took his name from,” Lionel adds. “It was originally called the ‘Indian Mango Tree’.”

22:45min In a private show for Crown Prince Leopold (Rufus Sewell) and guests, Eisenheim places a sword on the floor so that it stands upright and invites male members of the audience to pull it out of its mooring. None succeeds, except for the Prince, who gets a small electric shock. “That’s the electro magnet trick, which was also created by Houdin,” Sirus explains.

BACKGROUND

• The Illusionist

• The Illusionist - Sunday Times review

• Jessica Biel: playing hard and fast

• Tricky business

The real international man of mystery

Kevin Maher speaks to Edward Norton, star of The Illusionist and an enigma in his spare time, about the art of impenetrability

Related Internet Links

• 2007 London Film Festival coverage

• Times Online Film Trailers

37:12min Eisenheim beds Sophie (Jessica Biel), the Crown Prince’s intended. “Now that’s magic!” Lionel chuckles.

55:20min The Prince tells Sophie that he has no further use for her. “He must be drunk!” Sirus roars. “How could anyone have no further use for Jessica Biel?”

65:05min Eisenheim conjures up the head and shoulders of a man on a table top. “CGI again,” Lee complains. “That’s the straightforward pepper ghost, which is another trick that could have been done by a good magician.”

84:15min The people are beginning to think the illusionist’s magic is real, and he is arrested. “This is why I think the use of CGI is acceptable,” Neil argues. “The director is showing us how the audience really perceived these illusions at the time, so that we understand why he is the subject of police investigation.”

VERDICT

Our panel was divided: Neil saw the film as “a beautifully photographed murder mystery that involved a lot of magic”, while Lionel would recommend it to anyone but magicians. Lee and Sirus, on the other hand, found the CGI unnecessary and the film rather dull.

The Illusionist is out to buy and rent on DVD. Interview by Chris Sullivan.

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