Music From The Film The Illusionist features an original score by acclained modern minimalist composer Philip Glass. Glass' renowned restrained, yet elegant style has captivated audiences around the world for years. "The soundtrack to The Illusionist is a driving force to the movie," comments director Neil Burger. "There are many scenes and sequences without dialogue and it falls to the music to tell the story." Glass recorded the original score with a large orchestra, which results in an emotionally driven and epic soundtrack.Glass' sophisticated music has been featured in numerous movies throughout his career, earning him many awards and critical praise.
Award winning writer/director/actor Edward Norton stars alongside Jessica Biel and Paul Giamatti in The Illusionist.
Unlike his popular score for 2002's The Hours, which was intimate and performed by a small ensemble, the music Philip Glass came up with for The Illusionist is quite opulent. Its old-world ambiance befits Neil Burger's movie, a suspenseful period piece set in 1900 Vienna, but the score, performed by the Czech Film Orchestra, easily stands on its own as well. Glass's trademark waxing and waning is present of course--the most Glass-esque tracks include "The Orange Tree" and "The Secret Plot" (in which delicate brushed drums drive the beat against a dull pounding echo). But most rewarding is finally hearing non-stereotypical actions/suspense cues: "The Accident," "A Shout from the Crowd," "The Search" or "The Chase" make you wish Hollywood thought outside the box more often, and called Glass instead of the usual go-to guys when in need of a composer for big-budget action flicks. --Elisabeth Vincentelli
