Siegfried & Roy: The Magic Box

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...

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

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.

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.

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!!