I interviewed producer Gale Anne Hurd about the DVD release of THE INCREDIBLE HULK.

Next for Gale is the December theatrical release of Marvel’s PUNISHER: WAR ZONE for Lionsgate and Sony Pictures Entertainment, starring Ray Stevenson as Frank Castle, scheduled for release on December 5, 2008. Stevenson is best known for playing Titus Pullo (and Cleopatra’s sperm donor for her child with Julius Caesar – a bizarre bastardization of history) in HBO’s fabulous series, “Rome”. The film also stars Julie Benz, best known as Dexter’s girlfriend Rita. Gale has produced more than two dozen feature films that have generated billions of dollars of revenue. Her other credits include THE TERMINATOR, ALIENS, and ARMAGEDDON.

I watched the single-disc edition DVD that included only the Commentary and Deleted Scenes.

Universal is also releasing a three-disc special edition DVD that includes a Leterrier/cast commentary and extensive behind-the-scenes featurettes; the Blu-Ray edition also adds interactive features that allow viewers to examine background material while watching the film.

Both the Special Edition DVD and Blu-ray releases include over two hours of bonus extras, including an exclusive, never-before-seen alternate opening and a digital copy of the film that is iPod, PC or MAC compatible.

After watching the terrific 2.35:1 widescreen aspect ratio transfer, I watched the movie again with commentary by director Louis Leterrier and co-star Tim Roth. Most fans of movies consider the DVD commentaries as film-school-at-home and Louis and Tim do not disappoint. In fact, Tim, contrary to the roles he is known for, is very funny. I asked Gale about having Norton, Roth, and Hurt, three intense actors, working together. Gale said it was a pleasure to work with such committed actors and said that Hurt waited 4 hours to do off-camera dialogue for a co-star! She also said that Norton was very helpful working with Liv Tyler.

When I specifically mentioned how Roth’s warm personality emerged in his conversation with Louis, she said he was not only very funny, but is a big family man. That certainly comes across as he continually mentions his children. Gale said that Roth only took the part after consulting with his children. Roth was their first choice for Emil Blonsky, Hulk hunter and nemesis, The Abomination.

Gale said that Norton was particularly proud of the greening of the production. He and the production worked with carbonfund.org on offsetting some of the carbon footprint of the production. They tried to reduce paper use by doing more electronic paperwork. They also made a lot of the film in Toronto, Canada, where there are good low-sulfur diesel rules and no idling rules with vehicles.

The DVD retains the brilliant colors and very good CGI effects intact. Along with the Commentary, there are the Deleted Scenes, the majority of which are of Banner in Rio and give a fuller picture of his dreary, self-imposed isolation. There is also an extended scene between Ross and Blonsky.

The Hulk is no do-gooder. Bruce Banner (Edward Norton) hasn’t gotten that far yet. He’s grappling with a voluntarily administered gamma radiation dose that activates his R-complex brain stem. It has unleashed a jumbo-jet charged, testosterone-fueled id. The gamma radiation transforms him into a behemoth of a monster when he gets mad. Where would civilization be without the R-complex?

The evil military-industrial complex, under the tutelage of General Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross (William Hurt), works with Banner and his colleague Dr. Elizabeth “Betty” Ross (Liv Tyler) to make a superior fighting soldier. Banner offers himself as Patient Zero. They didn’t bother tinkering with monkeys.

With professional athletes breaking world records, high schoolers doing steroids, and HGH as easily available as ecstasy, who doesn’t want to be super-human? Technology is the new savior.

Banner soon realizes he’s the perfect military creation and escapes to the slums of Rio de Janeiro. He has been working at a bottling factory and living in monk-like squalor.

A random drop of Banner’s blood falls into a soft drink bottle, gets shipped off to the U.S., and the hunt for him gets hot! Now, Ross knows exactly where Banner is. It is an unlucky setback for Banner, since he has been working with a mysterious contact via the internet who has been helping him to find an antidote. To capture Banner, Ross calls in Emil Blonsky (Tim Roth).

After his initial encounter with The Hulk, Blonsky is jealous. He wants a mega-dose. Of course, General Ross is no fool! He kept a few doses for “a rainy day”. If these guys want to be guinea pigs, it’s a good idea. Blonsky happily becomes The Abomination.

The casting of Norton is perfect. And, as Tim Roth continually says in the Commentary, working alone, as Norton must do as Banner, is very hard for an actor. You have no one to play off of.

There is a mood Leterrier has created, with the actors, that elevates the source material. There comes the time when they have to deliver the CGI and they do. The Hulk and The Abomination destroy a city. The Hulk looks pretty damn good and the final fight will make diehard fans and new fans satisfied.

The Special Edition DVD and Blu-ray releases include the following: Alternate Opening, The Making of The Incredible Hulk: An in-depth look at the making of the blockbuster film, featuring interviews with Edward Norton, director Louis Leterrier, and producers Avi Arad, Kevin Feige and Gale Anne Hurd and the entire cast and crew. The documentary covers the film’s innovative take on the character, look and storyline, as well as the casting process, production and profile of director Louis Leterrier; Becoming The Hulk: This featurette focuses on Edward Norton’s approach to the iconic role and the incredible visual effects employed by award®-winning studio Rhythm & Hues to create the character on screen; Becoming The Abomination: From the first motion-capture session to the visual effects at Rhythm & Hues; viewers go behind the scenes with actor Tim Roth and watch as he transforms both his mind and body into the super villain known as The Abomination; and Anatomy of a Hulk Out: Behind-the-scenes looks at three of the movie’s most exciting action sequences.

Movies are like buses. You wait for ages and then two come along at once. Take, for example, DEEP IMPACT and ARMAGEDDON (cobbled together these two would have made a decent movie, which separately, neither of them did), or ROBIN HOOD PRINCE OF THIEVES and Bergin’s ROBIN HOOD. Strangely, or perhaps magically, it’s the same with movies about late 19th century magicians. In September/October 2006, within ten days of each other, we had THE ILLUSIONIST and THE PRESTIGE (see Victoria’s review), both tales of rivalry, revenge and the quest to discover the secrets behind the magic.

Childhood sweethearts Eisenheim and Sophie, peasant’s son and aristocrat respectively, are forbidden to meet because of the class difference between them. Eisenhiem travels the world and returns to Vienna a world-renowned stage magician. Sophie by this time is betrothed to Crown Prince Leopold. Leopold is fascinated by Eisenheim’s ‘tricks’ and orders a private performance so that he might demonstrate his cleverness to his peers by exposing Eisenheim. The magician however turns the tables during this ‘demonstration’, and, having been made a fool of in front of his colleagues, and especially Sophie, Leopold enlists Inspector Uhl to discover the secrets behind Eisenheim’s magic and/or shut him down. Tragedy eventually and inevitably strikes and Eisenheim turns his skills toward the thwarting of Leopold’s political plans and his complete downfall.

The film is beautifully shot and the period is captured superbly. There were a few slow passages but the ensemble cast work well together, particularly Sewell and Giamatti. Norton does have moments of looking spaced out rather than enigmatic, but the ending was totally satisfying and, to me at any rate, completely unanticipated, which makes a pleasant change.

A superior film in my view to THE PRESTIGE, which veered into Mary Shelley/science fiction territory, whereas the magic in THE ILLUSIONIST is simply that – illusion. Like the movies themselves, all smoke and mirrors.

Recommended.

BRYAN’S ILLUSIONIST REVIEW

THE ILLUSIONIST takes place in the early 1900′s; a period in time that has always fascinated me with the public’s choices for entertainment. Adults would fill elaborate theaters that were lighted by gaslights and get so emotional from the show that they would yell-out questions, praise or insults to the performers. I was immediately reminded of my own personal favorite from this time, a French vaudevillian who performed under the stage name of Le Petomane. He performed between 1887 and 1917, which is around the time this film takes place. While classic writers who are required reading in present day college were bringing in salaries of four figures, Le Petomane was bringing in a staggering five-figure income from his nightly performances. How did Le Petomane bring in more change than Dickens and Poe put together, you may be wondering? Very easily with controlled and trained flatulence. I could go on and on about this true underrated maverick performer, but this is neither the time, nor the place. I guess I only bring him up because with my twisted mind, I can’t help but wonder… where is HIS movie? Somebody get me producer James Ivory on the phone so I can pitch this valuable film idea. It is, after all, a period piece.

Edward Norton portrays Eisenheim, a brilliant entertainer and master magician. In his youth he fell in love with a beautiful young aristocrat. The girl’s family runs him out of town because of their differences in social structure. Eisenheim masters his talents and relocates to the great city of Vienna. He opens a show at a local theater and it becomes a huge success. Among his fans is Chief Inspector Walter Uhl, (Paul Giamatti) an intelligent detective and a self-proclaimed amateur magician. He enters Eisenheim’s theater to inform him that the Crown Prince Leopold (Rufus Sewell) is planning to visit one of his upcoming performances. On the night of his visit, Eisenheim chooses the Prince’s fiancé as a volunteer for one of his illusions. He is surprised to see that she is his old childhood friend Sophie (Jessica Biel), the only woman he has probably ever loved. The two attempt to rekindle their romance for one another. Unfortunately, the Crown Prince Leopold is not the type of person a woman can just leave. He has way too much power and ego to be treated in such a way. While Inspector Uhl is a great detective and may very well be ahead of his time with his crime investigation techniques, he is slightly corrupt and dedicated to the Crown Prince with promise of a promotion when the Prince becomes King. The Prince insists that Uhl tear Eisenheim apart by proving that he is a fraud, and a thrilling game begins between Eisenheim and Uhl. One trying to convince people that what you are seeing is real and the other trying to disprove everything you are seeing. Two experts at their professions constantly trying to stay one-step ahead of the other.

Director Neil Burger’s film is a unique piece of work for my tastes. It’s one of those films that attempt to pull the carpet out from under you with its surprise ending. The big problem is that the finale is not very unexpected at all. A surprise ending to me should come from out of nowhere and require a second viewing. When a failed attempt at such an ending happens, it usually makes the film as a whole unworthy of your time. However, while I figured out the conclusion, the ending wasn’t disappointing. THE ILLUSIONIST has a ton of things going right for it. The most important two things are the two leading actors, both Yale graduates and both with entirely different acting techniques. I like Edward Norton, but Paul Giamatti is one of the best, and one of my favorite, actors working today. An actor who is not a pretty-boy getting by on looks, he has massive talent and has broken out of the supporting actor role respectably. I mean this as a sincere compliment and he deserves every second of it.

While the majority of THE ILLUSIONIST is excellent fare, I found tiny little scenes staying with me and they made the film highly recommendable. The hallway to Prince Leopold’s office where every square inch is filled with antlers and taxidermy trophies and is filmed with Uhl’s strange reaction. The story of Eisenheim’s chance encounter with a traveling magician while a young boy and the legendary proportions that story has acquired, where the people retelling it can’t distinguish fact from fiction. Chief Inspector Uhl’s harmless, yet undying obsession with Eisenheim’s illusion called The Orange Tree. Eisenheim running into four poor, begging children and instead of just giving them a free hand-out, he performs a little magic show while at the same time making sure the children get to eat, at least for that night. The unmentioned respect Eisenheim and Uhl have for one another. All these small details add up and make the development of these two classic characters a joy to watch.

The cinematography by Dick Pope was nominated for an Academy Award this year and he deserved it. The film has the look of the early 1900′s. The shadowy lighting he employs gives off the feeling you are watching a performance lit with gaslights. He even pulls out the old iris fade in/out trick and conveys filmmaking at its most primitive early stages. The score by Philip Glass is excellent and memorable.

Basically, the whole cast and crew is firing on all cylinders and should be quite proud of their film. The thing is, without the characters of Eisenheim and Uhl or the actors who portrayed them, I’m not so sure I would have enjoyed the film as a whole. I would love to see the character of Chief Inspector Uhl return for another film. Perhaps he could take his debunking talents to France and prove Le Petomane’s flatulence performance is simply the old hand in the armpit gag.

MAX’S ILLUSIONIST REVIEW