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Illusion

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Illusion

PG-13

Released Oct 23, 2004

1h 46m

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

36%

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11 Reviews

87%

Popcornmeter

500+ Ratings

Donald Baines (Kirk Douglas) is a legendary filmmaker in the twilight of his life. Slowly dying, he watches his life's work in a private screening room, but he is haunted by the sacrifices he made for his art, and especially by the rejection of Christopher (Michael Goorjian), his illegitimate son. One night, the ghost of a long-dead movie editor transports Donald to an old theater, where he sees three visions of his son's life and gets a final chance to make a change in that life.

Moira MacDonald

Seattle Times

There's a sincerity to the filmmaking here that's at times quite touching: Illusion presents a portrait of true love that's as picture perfect as the sunny spring garden in which we see Isabelle.

Rated: 2.5/4

Feb 24, 2006

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Mick LaSalle

San Francisco Chronicle

Douglas does his best acting while watching and reacting to what he sees on screen. If this ends up being his cinematic swan song, it will not have been a bad way to go.

Rated: 2.5/4

Feb 17, 2006

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Luke Y. Thompson

New Times

No doubt the director worked with what he could get, and was extremely fortunate that he could get an icon of the screen to bless his project.

Mar 16, 2006

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Mike McGranaghan

Aisle Seat

One of the worst dramas I have ever seen. In fact, this movie is so dramatically inept that I wanted to tear my eyeballs out.

Rated: 0.5/4

Mar 8, 2006

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Rory L. Aronsky

Film Threat

Unavoidably, there are some sugary moments and clichs such as rain-soaked kisses and outlandish "artistic" stage performances, but [Illusion] keeps hold of that just-another-day-in-Hollywood feeling.

Rated: 3/5

Feb 26, 2006

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William Arnold

Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Several of its transitions are glaringly contrived, and its morality tale never quite comes together to be the shattering spiritual experience it wants to be.

Rated: C+

Feb 23, 2006

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Audience Member

Clever, beautiful movie and a testimony to what cinema should be.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/08/23

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Audience Member

Excellent movie want to own

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/21/23

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Audience Member

The acting had me constantly rolling my eyes, and for a movie that is so centered on a great film maker, the film making was awful. Very contrived.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

01/31/23

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Audience Member

Very good love story. I can watch this again and again

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/05/23

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Audience Member

Touching tear-jerker, self-involved movie director's life flashes before his eyes

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

02/01/23

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Audience Member

This was a movie that I can only explain as a new John Hughes movie with a twist. I really enjoyed both the performances of Kirk Douglas and Michael Goorjian. The whole film was surreal, but it was very creative in the way it moves the plot along.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/19/23

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Michael A. Goorjian

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Michael A. Goorjian

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Synopsis

Donald Baines (Kirk Douglas) is a legendary filmmaker in the twilight of his life. Slowly dying, he watches his life's work in a private screening room, but he is haunted by the sacrifices he made for his art, and especially by the rejection of Christopher (Michael Goorjian), his illegitimate son. One night, the ghost of a long-dead movie editor transports Donald to an old theater, where he sees three visions of his son's life and gets a final chance to make a change in that life.

Director: Michael A. Goorjian
Producer: Kevin Weisman
Screenwriter: Michael A. Goorjian, Chris Horvath, Tressa DiFiglia
Distributor: Entitled Entertainment
Production Co: Entitled Entrtainment, Illusion Productions, Maldoror Productions
Rating: PG-13 (Some Violence)
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 23, 2004, Original
Rerelease Date (Theaters): Feb 17, 2006
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 12, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA): $9.3K
Runtime: 1h 46m
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital

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