The Illusionist

The extras packaged for The Illusionist is pedestrian in the extreme and gives a clear indication that a special edition/extended/bonus DVD will be released at some later stage. The Director’s Commentary is surprisingly dull considering the scope of the film's plot. Neil Burger manages to provide a moderately interesting if a little limp account. This commentary would have been massively enhanced by having one or two of the main stars present, such as Ed Norton or Paul Giamatti.

The Making of Featurette is regretfully cut from much the same cloth and makes only a passing attempt at providing something interesting that complements the main feature. The interviews with the stars are heinously short and really detract from what was a very enjoyable film. As something of an independent film it may come as no surprise that the DVD isn’t generously laden with extras but in the cut and thrust of the modern movie biz this one falls well short of the mark.

There is also a blink and you’ll miss it Easter egg on the disc accessible by selecting the Play Feature option and pressing left. This will then highlight the necklace where you need simply hit enter. It has a selection of instructions for basic magic tricks with which to amuse yourself once the movie has finished and you realise the extras are rather dull.