The Prestige - Film of the Weekend

[mcshane in the 79th]

I was just going to record it and watch it tonight, but ended up watching it all last night. Was a mistake though as I was quite tired and it ruined the ending as I didn't follow it completely (I'm blaming tiredness, but I'm probably just not clever enough to understand it on the first watch).

 

[skipper734]

Very watch-able. 7/10. The trouble with it is, there is no good guy. They are both as bad as each other, or are all as bad as each other. I preferred the 2006 The Illusionist in the same vein.
Morning Uncle.

 

[bluestt]

The Illusionist is way better than The Prestige. Doesn't help that I can't take anything Hugh Jackman does seriously...

 

[highway61]

4 decent films i agree. for me i have them in this order, but as i say, just my opinion
1The Dark Knight
2Batman Begins
3Inception
4Memento

yet to view The Prestige

 

[Uncle Spielberg]

Hi. I would say that the film of the weekend was infact John Carpenter's, Starman which is one of the most underated films of all time. A great screen partnership of Jeff Bridges and the lovely Karen Allen with a superb Oscar nominated performance from Bridges as the Alien in a humans body. Beautiful love story. One of my top films ever. 8.6

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=buHd38K_LjM

 

[Cheeky Monkey]

The Illusionist is way better than The Prestige. Doesn't help that I can't take anything Hugh Jackman does seriously...

Agree, The Prestige for me is very dull film whereas The Illusionist is a great watch and in a completely different league.

 

[sam86]

The Illusionist is way better than The Prestige. Doesn't help that I can't take anything Hugh Jackman does seriously...

Agree, The Prestige for me is very dull film whereas The Illusionist is a great watch and in a completely different league.

+1.

 

[DJ Leon]

*spoiler alert*

I have a question about The Prestige. Borden is accused of murder when he's caught by Cutter next to the drowning version of Angier. Was this a set-up or an accident? If it was by accident, then how did the other Angier know no to follow through with the prestige? If it was by design, did I miss the bit in the film where this plot is alluded to. I'd seen the movie before, but was a bit confused when watching it last night.

 

[mcshane in the 79th]

*spoiler alert*

I have a question about The Prestige. Borden is accused of murder when he's caught by Cutter next to the drowning version of Angier. Was this a set-up or an accident? If it was by accident, then how did the other Angier know no to follow through with the prestige? If it was by design, did I miss the bit in the film where this plot is alluded to. I'd seen the movie before, but was a bit confused when watching it last night.

***SPOILERS***

I think he had it planned all along that he would frame him for the murder. I do need to see the film again to tie up a few loose ends in my mind

 

[Acker79]

*spoiler alert*

I have a question about The Prestige. Borden is accused of murder when he's caught by Cutter next to the drowning version of Angier. Was this a set-up or an accident? If it was by accident, then how did the other Angier know no to follow through with the prestige? If it was by design, did I miss the bit in the film where this plot is alluded to. I'd seen the movie before, but was a bit confused when watching it last night.

*spoiler alert continued*



It's not actually nailed down whether that was Angier's (Jackman) aim or not. When he talks about the trick with Cutter (Caine) he talks about wanting to do a trick that Borden (Bale) can't ignore, but later when talking to Borden in prison he mentions that he only wanted to prove he was the better magician. Limiting the run to 100 performances would also force Borden into acting, if he was going to, but it's never made clear if Borden ruins the 100th performance or an earlier one.

As for how he'd know, there is a gap between Angier disappearing, and him appearing to the audience on the balcony. In that gap on the night Borden is caught, we see a shot from the balcony and in that shot we can hear Borden yelling under the stage.

Angier appears instantly, but always appears in shadow and waits before making his appearance to take the applause. This would allow him to know if Borden was below on any of his performances (because of the commotion), but it also sells the trick. That gap makes people think that what they are seeing is illusion (while having tea with Tesla (Bowie) he mentions how if people thought what he did on stage was real they would scream (specifically citing sawing a woman in half).

There are some major differences to the book so this might not mean much, but for what it's worth, in the book Angier never intended to frame borden, just perform the ultimate version of the trick. Also in the book, Borden doesn't get framed for murder, he escapes, and Angier tracks him down and gives him such a shock he has a heart attack.

 

[mcshane in the 79th]

Agree, The Prestige for me is very dull film whereas The Illusionist is a great watch and in a completely different league.

I enjoyed the Prestige so will definitely be looking out for the Illusionist if it's even better

 

[Acker79]

The Illusionist is way better than The Prestige. Doesn't help that I can't take anything Hugh Jackman does seriously...

I thought the illusionist was terrible, utterly predicatable, and dull. However, I've found that people who saw the illusionist first prefer it, and people who saw the prestige first prefered that. But that's only from a small sample size of the people I know who saw both.

 

[Acker79]

I was just going to record it and watch it tonight, but ended up watching it all last night. Was a mistake though as I was quite tired and it ruined the ending as I didn't follow it completely (I'm blaming tiredness, but I'm probably just not clever enough to understand it on the first watch).

I've rewatched it many times, each time finding something new to appreciate, a new clue, a new meaning, or something that just adds to the depth of the complexities in it.

 

[mcshane in the 79th]

*spoiler alert continued*



It's not actually nailed down whether that was Angier's (Jackman) aim or not. When he talks about the trick with Cutter (Caine) he talks about wanting to do a trick that Borden (Bale) can't ignore, but later when talking to Borden in prison he mentions that he only wanted to prove he was the better magician. Limiting the run to 100 performances would also force Borden into acting, if he was going to, but it's never made clear if Borden ruins the 100th performance or an earlier one.

As for how he'd know, there is a gap between Angier disappearing, and him appearing to the audience on the balcony. In that gap on the night Borden is caught, we see a shot from the balcony and in that shot we can hear Borden yelling under the stage.

Angier appears instantly, but always appears in shadow and waits before making his appearance to take the applause. This would allow him to know if Borden was below on any of his performances (because of the commotion), but it also sells the trick. That gap makes people think that what they are seeing is illusion (while having tea with Tesla (Bowie) he mentions how if people thought what he did on stage was real they would scream (specifically citing sawing a woman in half).

There are some major differences to the book so this might not mean much, but for what it's worth, in the book Angier never intended to frame borden, just perform the ultimate version of the trick. Also in the book, Borden doesn't get framed for murder, he escapes, and Angier tracks him down and gives him such a shock he has a heart attack.

If he wasn't intending to frame Borden, then why go through with it all? Especially when Borden is seen trying to smash the tank with an axe to free him?

 

[mcshane in the 79th]

I've rewatched it many times, each time finding something new to appreciate, a new clue, a new meaning, or something that just adds to the depth of the complexities in it.

And that, in my opinion, is the sign of a great film. One you keep wanting to watch over and over in order to understand a little bit more each time. Quality stuff

 

[Acker79]

If he wasn't intending to frame Borden, then why go through with it all? Especially when Borden is seen trying to smash the tank with an axe to free him?

Angier was a very selfish performer, he wanted to be there to take the applause, to (as he explains to Borden) see the looks on their faces. He could either use the machine everytime, which allows him to perform the trick with such a stunning visual, but has the side effect of resulting in two angiers, which means he has to kill one, and Cutter had told him drowning was 'like going home', so he thought he was being merciful to himself/his copy (it's never made clear if the machine teleports and leaves a copy, creates a copy at the destination point leaving the original in the machin, or if through one method or another results in two 'original' angiers), and there was also the symmetry of sharing his wife's fate.

Or, he could use the machine once and do the trick as Borden does, with a double. But, each would believe themselves to be the original angier, each would feel he has more of a right to live Angier's life and that the other should hide in Fallon-like make up (as the other borden did), and so they wouldn't get along.

There would also be the issue of having to face yourself, not knowing which of you was "the original". That is something Angier does twice: when he tests the machine and shoots himself, and at the end before he destroys all the copies. He has blind stage hands moving the tanks each night.


He also wanted to perform the ultimate version of that trick, to perform it so well Borden couldn't top it, and perhaps just as importantly, to do a trick that Borden couldn't work out, to prove he was the better magician.

 

[Brightonfan1983]

Before Inception, before The Dark Knight, Christopher Nolan made a criminally overlooked movie based on the award winnning Christopher Priest novel of the same name, The Prestige.

Set in turn of the century, mostly in England, this is the story of two competing magicians, each making their own sacrifice as a personal rivalry drives a feud that can only end one way...

In my opinion, this is one of the best films ever made, and provides Hugh Jackman's greatest performance, with very good performances from Christian Bale, Michael Caine, and David Bowie, and bearable appearances from the beautiful pixie-like Piper Perabo, and Scarlett Johanssen. It was also the film that introduced me to Rebecca Hall.

I should mention, one complaint, which I think is wrong, is that this film "suddenly" becomes Sci-fi. There are hints from early in the film that there is an unnatural element to this film, but because (I presume) of the victorian setting people over look the hints.

This masterpiece is on BBC 2 (and BBC HD) on Sunday evening at 10pm.

I would definitely recommend it.

Before I saw this originally, I went to the cinema to see "The Illusionist" with Ed Norton, similarly about the world of magicians, and to me is BETTER that The Prestige, which was alright. But then, I'm not really a fan of Christopher Nolan.

 

[Brightonfan1983]

Very watch-able. 7/10. The trouble with it is, there is no good guy. They are both as bad as each other, or are all as bad as each other. I preferred the 2006 The Illusionist in the same vein.
Morning Uncle.

Just seen this. Agreed.

 

[Brightonfan1983]

The Illusionist is way better than The Prestige. Doesn't help that I can't take anything Hugh Jackman does seriously...

And this!

 

[Tricky Dicky]

The Illusionist is way better than The Prestige. Doesn't help that I can't take anything Hugh Jackman does seriously...

I like both films, but I agree the Illusionist is, for me, far better. The Prestige was possibly spolied a little as I guessed straight away that Fallon was his twin - I have no great insight, I just thought the first time Fallon was on screen that the make-up was so bad, it looked quite obvious to me. The Huge Jackman "drunk" guy, was rather badly acted too.