Siegfried & Roy: The Magic Box (1999) User Reviews

Definitely worth watching!

[athari-p · 7/10 · 22 August 2012]

I've never been to Las Vegas, I've never seen S&R show, and all my knowledge about them comes from Father of the Pride series. Still, this movie was definitely worth watching and very enjoyable.

By today's standards, the movie lacks in graphics and in scientific approach. I would have so much preferred to watch it without all these ridiculous and silly "effects" which may have been impressive a decade ago, but now look cheap. Special effects should help viewers immerse in the movie, not exist by themselves. But this knowledge comes with time and a decade ago these effects were the way to go, so I'm not to blame the authors. Another problem is that today everyone knows that there's no such thing as a "white lion breed", so what S&R did isn't environment preservation in any way.

But... the way S&R treat their animals and interact with them warms my heart. I don't advocate using animals in circuses, but I know for sure S&R love them and never treat them badly (just google for "Make sure no harm comes to Montecore").

The way S&R portray their childhood memories, children's perception of the world is interesting and fun to watch. This is as documentary as Simba's singing I Just Can't Wait To Be King in The Lion King is. But still, it's fun.

The music, the narration are top notch too.

The sad thing about the film is that there's a very high quality IMAX filmstrip lying somewhere, but we won't get to see it...

Seen it, was nice but not spectacular.

[antoniong · 6/10 · 4 December 2006]

My wife and I are big fans of S&R. We used to see there show one a year during our really holiday which we (almost) always spend in the US. So when I discovered this DVD both of us felt the urge :We must have this!" since we have about everything one can get from them.

That said. It was nice to see and I wouldn't have wanted to miss it but all in all it was a disappointment. There are no 3D effects, worse I distinctly have the feeling that they simply copied a VHS tape to DVD! It looks just as grainy as all my own VHS -> DVD movies.

So those that have really enjoyed S&R I would advise them to certainly buy it (cost me less than 5 dollar!) but don'g get your hopes set too high.

It's too bad they didn't make this movie disappear

[Shiva-11 · 4/10 · 18 May 2000]

I expected the flash and dazzle that makes theirs the most popular show in Vegas, but was treated instead to a painfully boring introspective of their lives - does anyone really care about their childhoods or their boyhood pets or the bad relationships they had with their parents? No! Still, this takes up more than half the film.

I went expecting to see some vivid illusions and good 3-D effects and they deliver neither -the special effects are sparse, middling and don't break up the monotony.

With luck this feature will disappear from theatres - the sooner the better (at least it won't be coming out on video anytime soon).

Siegfried and Roy Give Meaning to Prosperity in thier first IMAX Film

[levondanorman · 10/10 · 28 June 2001]

Siegfried and Roy's first autobiographical sketch on film comes with state of the art graphic effects and a touching story about the lives of two of the most greatest performers alive. In their story they challenge the obstacles that came from postwar Germany and the strenuous tasks of making it in show business. Furthermore the film adds a touch of beauty to the meaning of fufillment of lives goals but gives a new understanding to the word success, for not only is it acheived by believing in onself it is the outcome of years of preserverance.

Very impressive 3-D movie!!!

[clark-7 · 10/10 · 5 June 2001]

I have read the other negative comments about this film and I must say I strongly disagree! I thought it was an interesting story with GREAT 3-D visual effects. Anyone who is interested in magic and the life of magicians would really enjoy this film. I think it is unfair to criticize this production as though it was some sort of fictional movie. It is simply telling the life story of two great modern performers of magic. My niece loved the beautiful 3-D effects and wanted to see it again!

Also, it is true that the two are gay and that the movie avoided mentioning it, but who cares? I actually think it was a wise choice to keep certain "personal" elements out of the story.

If you get a chance to see this movie and want to experience some of the best 3-D effects ever produced, by all means see it!! It is very impressive to say the least!

GREAT FILM!!!! A+ all the way!!!!!!!

[tnudo · 10/10 · 9 August 2002]

This is a must see for any Siegfried and Roy fan!! The effects are extraordinary, and the sound has never sounded better in an IMAX film!!

The story starts with two boys, who sneak backstage after a performance of Siegfried and Roy when they discover a box, that magically (naturally:) takes them back to the childhood of Siegfried and Roy, furthermore the boys have become Siegfried and Roy as kids. It is a brilliant film that takes you from their humble beginnings, to where they are now - Las Vegas' finest!!

A great film that will leave you wishing that the 47 minutes in length that it is, was longer. A great film for everyone, but for fans - A MUST!!

The very best of IMAX 3D and Visual Effects

[HannoverHouse · 10/10 · 29 June 2004]

Only the IMAX format and 3D photography could match the impressive grandeur of a Siegfried & Roy performance, and director Brett Leonard ("Virtuosity") delivers the goods in this visually stunning extravaganza. Balancing a retrospective story on the genesis of the world's most famous magic duo with performance footage of astounding feats, "THE MAGIC BOX" is a powerful film that makes it ideal for DVD collectors. Academy Award winner Anthony Hopkins lends further elegance and panache' to an already perfect creation. It's easy to see why Siegfried & Roy have generated over one-billion dollars in total box office revenues for their world-famous shows. Now that the future of their performances is in jeopardy of permanent retirement, the value of this film achieves historic significance. Check it out, the 3D effects will knock-your-socks off!

I Saw Their Show 3 Times

[byungdohsuh · 9/10 · 22 July 2007]

If you have seen their show you will love this DVD. If you have not seen their show it will mean little to you. The DVD includes some of the illusions seen in the show and their early life story. I am seeking a pal versionof their other DVD's e.g. Siegfried and Roy at the Mirage and it must be a Region 2 version. I have been unable to unlock my player to cope with a region 1 DVD version of this " Mirage " disc. I would appreciate any information as to where I can get a region 2 disc. Luckily I got the magic box in region 2 from Holland. I have seen other reviews with some very harsh comments but the picture quality along with the special effects are excellent quality.

Credits mistake

[davidjamesrenshaw · 8/10 · 6 December 2007]

There is a mistake on the credits of this movie that I would like to set straight.

Kaelee Brown (sp) is listed as the Visual Effects Coordinator for this film. That is incorrect. I was the VFX Coordinator on the film, but failed to get the credit because I quit prior to the completion of post-production. Kaelee Brown was the girlfriend of Unit Production Manager, Neal Allen. Kaelee came on for a few weeks in the end and got the credit because of that connection. Due to the fact that this was a non-union shoot, I had no recourse to get the credit changed. I have attempted to contact both producer Michael Lewis and Director Brett Leonard, but the production company (L-Squared) is no longer in business, and they will not answer e-mails.

I am no longer in Visual Effects, but it would still be nice to be credited for the 16-hour days I put in on the shoot.

Why I quit is another story involving Visual Effects Producer, Kymber Lim, who has gone on to much success - and I'm sure her lying and back-stabbing has helped. That's why I left.

It is a pretty cool flick, though. Even if you're not an S&R fan.

DJR

Inadvertent Masterpiece!

[ivalscifi · 10/10 · 12 November 2014]

This is that rarest of objects, an inadvertent masterpiece. From the stentorian tones of Anthony Hopkins announcing the story as if Siegfried and Roy are the second coming to the weirdly gay German end, it's a must see. Incredible design, beautifully shot, it makes the trivial important and completely elides the essential - (Nazi parent past anyone?) I recommend it to anyone who has the chance to see it it. I saw it over ten years ago by mistake and it still resonates in my mind. It's as if a group of highly skilled filmmakers unconsciously made a brilliant folk art object. When you watch it, you keep asking was someone in on the joke? And the answers keeps coming back, no, but why is this movie so brilliant?

Best in its original Imax format.

3D Codpiece!

One of the funniest bad movies you're likely to waste 10+ bucks on

[dheidel · 15 June 2000]

OHHHHH! This movie is outrageously awful. And yet, it is also bound to have you laughing for the whole film. No, film implies that it has merit. This is not a film. This movie has no merit at all.

The plot holes and inconsistencies are hysterical. The New York Times review mentions the line describing either Siegfried's or Roy's childhood in "Pre-post World War II Germany." Sure enough, it's there. Whatever that means, I'd love to know it. My German friends can't figure it out either.

Poor Teenage Siegfried sees a book about magic in the store window but he doesn't have enough money to buy it. Lucky for him, the exact amount of money needed floats by in a puddle. I'm inclined to think that he broke the store window and stole the book, but....

Then, Teenage Roy is caught in quicksand...outside of Bremen in Germany. German quicksand!!! That's right, only in this movie. Fortunately, the big shaggy dog saves his life and solidifies his bond with the animals.

One day, 20-year-old Roy is playing with a Cheetah at the zoo. The next day, he's smuggled the Cheetah aboard an oceanliner where Roy is working as a steward. How did the Cheetah get out of the zoo? The movie doesn't go there, but we know the truth...

It's hilarious to see the look of disgust that Siegfried has for the tigers while Roy is riding on their backs.

Poor Anthony Hopkins. Fortunately, he's made enough good movies (Silence of the Lambs, Titus (A MUST SEE!), etc.) to not be remembered for his role as the narrator in this lame waste of money (both mine and the producers').

There is so much more to say, but I forgot most of the movie because I was laughing too much. I'll close with this, however. The only possible explanation I could think of for the overall awfulness of this movie, is that the Tiger wrote the script.

The ILLUSION of Entertainment

[CineMan-24 · 1 January 2000]

The IMDB lists this one as a "documentary." It's more like a 40-minute commercial, written by Siegfried & Roy themselves. At no point do you feel you've learned anything new about these carefully coiffed slight-of-hand experts. The first half of the production spins a magical tale of how fate brought the two European artistes together and eventually made them the toast of Sin City. The last half of the film indelicately drives home the point that Siegfried & Roy's animals live pampered, un-abused existences on the pair's luxurious Las Vegas estate (the only thing that could have made this sequence more obvious would have been a subtitle that read "Take that, PETA!"). Yes, it's filled with fancy 3-D effects, not to mention all those magic tricks that have made this decrepit duo two of the biggest stars on the Vegas Strip. But the best trick doesn't even happen on the screen. It takes place at the box office before the show even starts when you're duped into forking over eight bucks for a so-called "documentary" that turns out to be forty minutes of fluff.

Any theatre that shows this should be burnt to the ground

[peufeu · 25 November 1999]

You know a movie which starts by a ten minutes long presentation of the theatre's sound system is not gonna rely too much on your central nervous system for understanding. IMAX movies belong to this kind. I knew it, yet nothing could have prepared me for the experience in deep stupidity that is the viewing of this film.

The story is told as if the audience had an IQ of 4. It is empty and vain. I wont even speak about it, it fills me with dismay.

The purpose of IMAX is to have spectacular shots. The excerpts from Sieg&Roy performances are really great and a pleasure to see, although the very nature of performance magic loses its interest on film.

However, these beautiful shots add up to a very little part, maybe 10%, of the movie time. The rest is storytelling so rotten it gives the creeps, and computer generated "stuff" that is at the same time technically awful and aesthetically extremely ugly and pointless. On the technical side, you can see the pixels in the image and the pixels in the (ugly) textures ; and on the aesthetic side, it's JUST PLAIN UGLINESS that you can witness in glorious 3-D and surround sound. I'll say it another time. IT'S A-F***IN UGLY !

One could say that, well, they intended to have that "cardboard" look for whatever artistic reason. But no. The word "artistic" cannot be associated with this film.

A troubling thing is also this repressed homosexuality which oozes fron the two "heroes" ; by the end it is pretty obvious that they probably do more than just magic together, and we dont see a single woman in the entire movie except their mothers and some dancers. And they show them living happily together with all their white tigers in their mutimillion ranch. Well well. I would have built a shrine to this director for having put out the first french kiss between two guys on IMAX close-up. But he didnt do it. He chose hypocrisy instead.

By the way, the director also directed "The Lawnmover Man", which seems fitting, in the end.