Lord Of Illusions (DVD)

...the beginning.

Lord of Illusions is based on one of Clives many short stories, this one being "The Last Illusion" from the amazing Books of Blood. When i first heard of this film i was overjoyed that Clive had once again been brought to the screen.

The short story is a blessing to read as Clive once again takes us into the depths of our imagination and pulls out ideas that only he could conceive of.
...
...All the characters are present with the talented Scott Bakula playing the detective Harry D'Amour alongside Famke Janssen as Dorothea Swann.

The story is a 'Faustian' tale set against the backdrop of a religious cult. Confused ? Well its easy to see why. Simply put Faust sold his soul to the devil and the devil came collecting. In this version Philip Swann is part of a religious cult and "sells his soul" for real magic. He ... more

I guess a good place to start is at the beginning.

Lord of Illusions is based on one of Clives many short stories, this one being "The Last Illusion" from the amazing Books of Blood. When i first heard of this film i was overjoyed that Clive had once again been brought to the screen.

The short story is a blessing to read as Clive once again takes us into the depths of our imagination and pulls out ideas that only he could conceive of.

The film however just lacks that certain something. All the characters are present with the talented Scott Bakula playing the detective Harry D'Amour alongside Famke Janssen as Dorothea Swann.

The story is a 'Faustian' tale set against the backdrop of a religious cult. Confused ? Well its easy to see why. Simply put Faust sold his soul to the devil and the devil came collecting. In this version Philip Swann is part of a religious cult and "sells his soul" for real magic. He becomes an illusionist and uses his new found skill to become one of the worlds best but is seen as squandering his gift so the "devil" comes to collect. Swann fakes his own death in a spectacular Falling Swords routine in a bid to escape, and so the story begins.

To where the story goes next just gets a little silly and unbelieveable. The plot becomes totally full of holes and has too many sub-plots to list.

i Origionally watched this film in the hope that is was like the story i loved to read. however, i was most dissapointed. As ever it was all change for the big screen. This film is a prime example of why short stories should remain so. Everything about the book screamed great but the film lacks all of the things that make reading a pleasure. There is imagery in words that the big screen doesn't capture and the characterisation of Harry D'Amour is totally off the mark. If you have read The Last illusion then please do not watch the film. I would possibly consider reading the novella that this film is available as, in the hope that my faith in the story could be restored, as well as putting my finger on what the film lacked.

The flim drags out from begining to end and at times the actors just look a little bored. Clive is certainly a hard man to love. His direction of this film was, at best, average. The actors didn't seem convinced of the story and it showed. I remember watching Hellraiser for the first time and was totally blown away by what i saw. This possibly was because it was make or break for a young director and his small group of friends who put every effort into portraying what they loved and believed in. I think the 11th and 12th Commandments for holywood should be "Thou shalt not rest on ones laurels" and "Book to film conversions should never be done"

I'm sorry Mr Barker but while I am in total awe of your writing and you make my imagination gurgle and burp I cannot recommend this :(

Possible the best Faustian like tale would be Angel Heart by Alan Parker. 

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