The Illusionist

Near the end of the film, Chief Inspector Uhl is in Prince Leopold's office.

In the close-up scene when the two argue, you can clearly view the boom mic, going from one character to the other, in the reflection on the brass table lamp.

Choreographer Marleen Pennison, Movement Coach for the film, is incorrectly credited as "Maureen Pennison".

Wires are visible overhead in both scenes at the railroad station.

They're part of a catenary system, which powers electric locomotives.

Austria did't have electric trains at the time.

At around the 20:17 mark, When Inspector Uhl is inspecting the props backstage, Eisenheim has his arms at his side during their conversation.

Then suddenly he is facing the inspector at a different angle and his arms are crossed.

The coins the Illusionist gives the poor children each have a ring surrounding a differently colored disc.

The technology to make those coins is only a few decades old.

They're Czech 50 heller coins, introduced in 1993.

When police officers 'offer a drink' to Eisenheim, you can see on the building in the background lightning rod of modern design.

When Inspector Uhl is investigating Eisenheim's latest illusion of summoning spirits, one of his aides shows an early turn-of-the-century movie projector portraying a color/sepia-based image of a person.

Turn-of-the-century film was often hand-colorized using stencil methods.

Georges Méliès's fantasy shorts used that method.

Several genuine color film technologies were also in use by the early 1920's.

When Norton's character gives the coins to the street urchins, the first coin is visible in his hand before the trick.

When Inspector Uhl finds Leopold to tell him of Sophie and Eisenheim's relationship, Leopold asks "What where they doing? Touching? Kissing? Fornicating?" His face is only shown when he says "fornicating", but he mouths a completely different word.

(see Trivia) Leopold shoots something before his conversation with Uhl.

While they are talking, the object is dragged off screen (lower right).

It's far too rigid and light to be an just-shot animal.

Eisenheim's eye color is different as an adult than it was as a child.

When Eisenheim is arrested, his arms are at his side and crossed at the exact same spot during his arrest at the beginning of the show (current time) and the flashback.

You can see Eisenheim's shadow at 1:28:35, but he is supposedly an illusion.

At 1:29:03, when he is standing, his shadow is gone.

At the train station, the green trains have large, white, bold lettering in Helvetica, a font invented in 1957.

In a scene in Leopold's office, the overhead light banks are clearly visible the top of the frame.

When giving a private exhibition to the Crown Prince and assembled nobles, Eisenheim explains the legend of King Arthur and the Sword in the Stone, referring to the sword as Excalibur.

Though popular culture does commonly refer to the sword as such, Excalibur was actually a different sword, given to Arthur by the Lady of the Lake after the sword he pulled from the stone was broken.

The whistle on the train leaving the station sounds much like an American locomotive whistle, rather than the typical high pitched European steam whistle.

When Uhl opens The Orange Tree folder in the theatre and sees the plans for the locket for the first time, there is a hole in the center of the sheet of paper.

When Uhl is in the stables and looks at the plans a second time, the hole has disappeared.

Chief Inspector Uhl regularly addresses Crown Prince Leopold as "Your Highness" which would never have happened.

This is the way to address a Duke.

Leopold would always have been addressed as "Your Imperial Highness".

Duchess Sophie von Teschen reveals to Eduard that Crown Prince Leopold intends to win over the Hungarians by aligning himself with her family.

In reality, the Duchy of Teschen was part of the Austrian half of the Empire, so even if the Crown Prince had married her, it would not have had that much of a impact on the Empire's Hungarian citizens.

The blood from Sophie was on the right side of the horse yet her wound is on the left side.

But, as she rides the horse out of the stables, she is slumped over the right side, her left side pressing against the right side of the horse.

As Eisenheim puts stacks of notes into his leather briefcase at the bank, a silver zipper is visible on the bag.

Some early prototype of zippers did exist, but were not in common use well into the 20th century.

After the Crown Prince Leopold commits suicide, you can clearly see him breathing as his stomach moves up and down.

Even when someone commits suicide by shooting himself in the head, the heart will usually beat for a few more seconds since it is controlled largely by a nervous system internal to the heart.

The person is also usually able to take a few more breaths before the entire body shuts down completely as long as the breathing center of the brain is undamaged.