I had the pleasure of seeing The Illusionist in theaters and I was amazed at how much you can derive from a film that has little to no dialogue. The story follows an aging magician who is finding that his craft is quickly becoming obsolete, still he perseveres. One day he crosses Path’s with Alice, a young girl who genuinely believes that the magician truly is magical. After his performance is over in her town he ships out unknowingly followed by Alice, who eventually reveals herself to him. The two quickly form a friendship. The magician feels vindicated by Alice’s belief in his craft and quickly begins to think of her as a daughter. Unfortunately Alice is on the verge of womanhood and her journey of discovery will eventually lead her to abandon faith in such things as magic. While the film was all together a curious bit of entertainment that warmed hearts and put smiles on our faces the films finale says it all about everything the film covers. It’s both sad and beautifully realized.

QUALITY:
The Illusionist is a film about discovery but also about the beauty of innocence and the way in which the film is artfully crafted continues along those lines. The city in which Alice and The Illusionist make residence looks beautifully defined and sharp in HD which makes its pop-up book appearance seem all the more glorious. The trains that pass through town are amazingly fluid and reflective surfaces take on amazing life like texture. For examples see the water under the bridge the train travels over or the glass case that holds posters for the venue The Illusionist works at. That was simply mind blowing. Color is amazingly rich and bright and black levels are deep, never waning. The Illusionist is simply a pristine presentation. Audio is an equally fantastic English 5.1 DTS-HD MA that is wonderfully balanced to give you the best immersion possible for this story and its visual pairing. Mind you the film is practically without dialogue but it does offer up great environmental aptitude with its surroundings of cars, trains, and music.

BONUS FEATURES:
Surprisingly the bonus features are more silent then the film which makes them a bit of a bore. Don’t get me wrong its nice to see The Animation Process: A Rare Look at the Line Tests and Progression Sequences and all it has to offer as far as giving you a raw look at the animation, but it’s dead silent. The Making of The Illusionist is also a silent partaking and runs very short three and  half minutes. The disc is supplemented with some interesting behind the scenes bits but prepare to make conversation while watching them unless you like sitting in a silent room.
~The Making of The Illusionist.
~HD Trailer
~The Animation Process: A Rare Look at the Line Tests and Progression Sequences.
~HD Before and After Animation Sequences.
~DVD Copy
~BD Live