The Prestige (film)

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The Prestige

US Promotional poster for The Prestige.
Directed by Christopher Nolan
Written by Novel:
Christopher Priest
Screenplay:
Jonathan Nolan
Christopher Nolan
Starring Hugh Jackman
Christian Bale
Michael Caine
Scarlett Johansson
David Bowie
Music by David Julyan
Cinematography Wally Pfister
Editing by Lee Smith
Distributed by Flag of United States Touchstone Pictures
Flag of United Nations Warner Bros.
Release date(s) Flag of United States October 20, 2006
Running time 130 min.
Language English
Budget $40 million
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

The Prestige is an Academy Award-nominated 2006 period film directed by Christopher Nolan, adapted from Christopher Priest's award-winning 1995 novel of the same name. The film depicts the rivalry of Robert Angier and Alfred Borden, stage magicians in late 19th- century and early 20th-century London. Angier blames Borden for a tragic accident, and a competitive one-upmanship ensues in which both magicians, obsessed with creating the best stage illusion, stop at nothing to uncover the secrets of each other's acts, with tragic results.

Discarding simplistic characterizations of good and evil, the film's rivalry focuses on the duality of human nature, drawing heavily on the themes of obsession, sacrifice, and secrecy. In addition to its atmospheric re-creation of the Victorian era and the world of the stage magician, the film is noted for its nonlinear narrative structure, a Nolan hallmark also seen in Memento (2000) and Following (1998). Christopher and Jonathan Nolan's screenplay translates the complex epistolary nature of Priest's novel to the screen as intertwining flashbacks that provide foreshadowing and articulate the multilayered motifs of secrecy and deceit.

The Prestige features Christian Bale as Alfred Borden, Hugh Jackman as Robert Angier, and David Bowie as Nikola Tesla. It also stars Michael Caine, Scarlett Johansson, Piper Perabo, and Andy Serkis. The film reunites Nolan with actors Bale and Caine, both of whom worked with the director in Batman Begins, and production team regulars Wally Pfister (cinematography), Nathan Crowley (production design), and David Julyan (soundtrack). The Prestige was released on October 20, 2006, to good reviews and strong box office results.

Contents

[edit] Plot

The film is split into three storylines, each resembling one of the three stages of magic. First, there is the setup, or the "pledge," where the magician shows the audience something that appears ordinary but is probably not, making use of misdirection. Then there is the performance, or the "turn," where the magician makes the ordinary act extraordinary. Lastly, there is the "prestige," where the effect of the illusion is produced. There are "twists and turns, where lives hang in the balance and you see something shocking you've never seen before."[1]

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.
Borden ties the potentially fatal knot
Borden ties the potentially fatal knot

Alfred Borden and Robert Angier are ringers for Milton the Magician, with Cutter as his illusion engineer. Angier's wife, Julia, drowns while performing a predicament escape from a Chinese water torture cell, and Angier suspects that Borden bound her wrists with a knot that was harder for her to undo than his customary one. At the funeral, Borden enrages Angier by saying he does not know which knot he tied. The two men begin separate careers as magicians. Borden becomes "The Professor" and hires an aide named Fallon. During a parlor magic job, he meets Sarah; they marry and have a daughter, Jess. Sarah feels uneasy about Borden and his apparent fickle nature; she claims to know when he loves her and when he does not. During Borden's performance of the bullet catch, a disguised Angier again demands to know which knot Borden used. He shoots Borden with a live bullet, but because Fallon interferes, it merely severs two of Borden's fingers.

Angier performs as "The Great Danton," with Cutter's assistance. He employs Olivia to distract the audience. When Angier performs the vanishing bird cage illusion, a disguised Borden sabotages the trick, damaging Angier's reputation. Borden soon astonishes crowds with "The Transported Man," in which he bounces a ball across the stage before stepping into a box and instantly reappearing from a second box on the opposite side of the stage to catch the ball. The new illusion amazes Angier and Olivia. Obsessed with besting Borden, Angier hires a double and steals Borden's trick, with a slight variation, as "The New Transported Man." The double enjoys the applause while Angier can only listen from below stage. Unhappy at missing the applause and obsessed with figuring out Borden's version of the teleportation illusion, Angier sends Olivia to steal Borden's secrets. Although Olivia provides Angier with Borden's enciphered diary, she falls in love with Borden and double-crosses Angier, allowing Borden to sabotage Angier's act, permanently crippling Angier's left leg by removing a crash mat. In return, Angier and Cutter capture Fallon, releasing him in exchange for the key to Borden's illusion. Borden gives Angier one word, "TESLA," and suggests that it is not merely the key to the transposition cipher of Borden's notebook (which Olivia had brought to Angier) but also the key to the illusion.

Angier travels to Colorado Springs to meet Nikola Tesla and learn the secret of Borden's illusion. Tesla constructs a teleportation machine that resembles a magnifying transmitter, but the device initially fails to work. Angier learns from Borden's notebook that he has been sent on a wild goose chase. Feeling he has been cheated, he returns to Tesla's lab, but discovers that the machine creates and teleports a duplicate of any item placed in it. Tesla's rivalry with Thomas Edison forces Tesla to leave Colorado Springs soon after that, but he leaves Angier an improved version of the machine. In a letter, however, he warns Angier to destroy it.

Angier tries out Tesla's machine
Angier tries out Tesla's machine

Sarah's relationship with Borden takes its toll, driving her to drink. Borden's apparent erratic behavior and a suspicion of an extramarital relationship between Borden and Olivia leads her to hang herself. Angier returns to London to produce a final set of 100 performances of his new act, "The Real Transported Man." He insists that Cutter remain front stage for these shows and that only blind stagehands help backstage. In the new illusion, Angier disappears under huge arcs of electricity and instantaneously "teleports" 50 yards from the stage to the balcony. Borden is baffled but spots a trap door. After a show one night, Fallon follows Angier's stagehands. They move a large, concealed water tank across town to an abandoned building. Borden attends Angier's performance again. He slips backstage and discovers a locked water tank with a drowning Angier inside. Borden tries to save him, but Angier drowns. Cutter catches Borden, who is convicted of murder on circumstantial evidence and sentenced to hang.

In prison, Borden reads Angier's diary from Colorado which notes that Angier hopes he will rot in prison for his murder. Jess will become a ward of the state unless he gives up the secret of his illusion to a certain Lord Caldlow. He is forced to oblige, but refuses to reveal all unless he can see Jess before his execution. When Lord Caldlow visits with Jess, Borden realizes that he is Angier. Beaten, Borden gives him a note containing the secret of the original Transported Man trick, but Angier rejects it, discarding it without reading it. When Cutter meets Angier again, he realizes the grim cost of Angier's obsession when he sees he has adopted Jess. Borden is subsequently hanged.

Cutter accompanies Angier to the abandoned building where the water tanks containing the dead duplicates are stored, and helps him store the teleportation machine. After learning of the dead, replicated Angiers, Cutter leaves in disgust, silently acknowledging the arrival of Borden, who shoots Angier. Borden reveals that he and "Fallon" were twins who lived as a single individual, alternating lives as needed: one twin loving Sarah and other loving Olivia. For the original illusion, a twin acted as the double. They were so committed to the illusion that they amputated the other twin's fingers to match his brother's injury; they also suffered the loss of Sarah as a result of their dedication to the illusion. Similarly, flashbacks recount (only to the audience) Angier's method: that each time he disappeared during his illusion, he fell into a locked tank and drowned, and the machine created a replicate who teleported to the balcony and basked in the applause. Each tank stores a drowned replicate of Angier for each time that he has performed the trick. Before leaving, Borden looks back at the aisles of tanks and then leaves Angier to die as a fire begins to consume the building. Afterwards Borden reunites with Jess.

Spoilers end here.

[edit] Cast

Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman as Borden and Angier
Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman as Borden and Angier
  • Hugh Jackman as Robert Angier: An aristocratic magician with a talent for performance.
  • Christian Bale as Alfred Borden: A working-class magician with an understanding of magic.
  • Michael Caine as John Cutter: The stage engineer who works for Angier.
  • Rebecca Hall as Sarah Borden: Borden's wife.
  • Scarlett Johansson as Olivia Wenscombe: Angier's assistant.
  • David Bowie as Nikola Tesla: The real life inventor who creates a device for Angier.
  • Piper Perabo as Julia McCullough: Angier's wife.
  • Andy Serkis as Mr. Alley: Tesla's assistant.
  • Ricky Jay as "Milton the Magician": An older magician Borden and Angier work for at the beginning of the story.

Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale were negotiated with in October 2005.[2] Both men read the script and were interested, with the latter reteaming with his Batman Begins director. Nolan felt Jackman in particular had the right charisma to play the showmanship of Angier.[3] Michael Caine and David Bowie then came on board.[4] Nolan approached Bowie specifically, as he had a quality different to most actors being a musician first and thus created an unusual presence. Scarlett Johansson was cast due to her personal interest in the project.[3]

To train for their roles, Jackman and Bale were instructed by Ricky Jay and Michael Weber in various magic tricks, though they were not given full details but simply told how to pull off a shot. Nolan instructed both actors to not read the book, although Bale ignored his advice.[5]

[edit] Production

Julian Jarrold's and Sam Mendes's producer approached Christopher Priest for an adaptation of his novel The Prestige.[6] Subsequently, producer Valerie Dean brought the book to Christopher Nolan's attention.[7] Priest was impressed with Nolan's films Following and Memento,[6] and the project was optioned by Aaron Ryder of Newmarket Films.[7] The writing process was a long collaboration between the Nolan brothers, occurring intermittently over a period of five years.[8] In the script, the Nolans emphasized the magic of the story through the dramatic narrative, playing down the visual depiction of stage magic. The three-act screenplay was deliberately structured around the three elements of the film's illusion: the pledge, the turn, and the prestige. "It took a long time to figure out how to achieve cinematic versions of the very literary devices that drive the intrigue of the story," Christopher Nolan told Variety. "The shifting points of view, the idea of journals within journals and stories within stories. Finding the cinematic equivalents of those literary devices was very complex."[9]

Although the film is thematically faithful to the novel, two major changes were made to the plot structure during the adaptation process: the novel's spiritualism subplot was removed, and the modern-day frame story was replaced with Borden's wait for the gallows.[7] Priest approved the adaptation, describing it as "an extraordinary and brilliant script, a fascinating adaptation of my novel."[7]

In early 2003, Nolan planned to direct the film before the production of Batman Begins accelerated.[10][5] Following the release of Batman Begins, Nolan started up the project again, negotiating with Bale and Jackman in October 2005.[2] Filming began on January 8, 2006,[11] and wrapped in March.[12] Nolan built only one set for the film, an "under-the-stage section that houses the machinery that makes the larger illusions work,"[13] preferring to simply dress various locations and sound stages in Los Angeles to stand in for Colorado and Victorian England.[14] Shooting locations include the Los Angeles Theater, Koreatown, Downey Studios, Warner Brothers Studios, Colorado and the backlot of Universal Studios.[15] Nolan kept up the quick pace of production by shooting with handheld cameras, in contrast to most period pieces,[14] and didn't even light some scenes, relying instead on natural light on location.[5]

Touchstone opted to move the release date up a week, from the original October 27, 2006, to October 20, 2006.[16] The song "Analyse" by Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke is played over the credits.[17]

[edit] Themes

See also: Nikola Tesla in popular culture, Swampman, and Identity and change
Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

The rivalry between Borden and Angier dominates the film. Obsession, secrecy, and sacrifice fuel the battle, as both magicians contribute their fair share to a deadly duel of one-upmanship, with disastrous results. Angier's obsession with beating Borden costs him Cutter's friendship, while Borden's obsession with maintaining the secrecy of his twin leads Sarah to question their relationship, eventually resulting in her suicide; in the end, Angier and Borden both lose Olivia's love because of their obsessions. Their struggle is also expressed through class warfare: Borden as The Professor, a working-class magician who gets his hands dirty, versus Angier as The Great Danton, a classy showman whose accent makes him appear American.[18] Film critic Matt Brunson observes a complex theme of duality exemplified by Angier and Borden, noting that the film dispenses with simplistic notions of good versus evil characters.[19]

Not content to be confined to the fictional landscape of The Prestige, the rivalry is further conveyed in the external world of stage magic. Angier's theft of Borden's teleportation illusion is only one of many stolen tricks among fellow magicians. Chung Ling Soo's production of a large goldfish bowl from an empty cloth was stolen from rival magician Ching Ling Foo, whom Borden and Angier watch when they are still friends. Both Borden and Soo performed the dangerous bullet catch: Borden loses two fingers, but the real Soo lost his life. Outside the film, similar rivalries include magicians John Nevil Maskelyne and Harry Kellar's dispute over a levitation illusion.[20] Gary Westfahl of Locus Online also notes a "new proclivity for mayhem" in the film over the novel, citing the murder/suicide disposition of Angier's duplicates and intensified violent acts of revenge and counter-revenge. This "relates to a more general alteration in the events and tone of the film" rather than significantly changing the underlying themes.[21]

David Bowie as Tesla
David Bowie as Tesla

Nor is this cutthroat competition limited to prestidigitation: engineering "wizards" Nikola Tesla and Thomas Edison engaged in a rivalry over electrical current, which appears in the film in parallel to Borden and Angier's competition for magical supremacy.[22][23]

Den Shewman of Creative Screenwriting says the film asks how far one would go to devote oneself to an art. The character of Chung Ling Soo, according to Shewman, is a metaphor for this theme.[7] Film critic Alex Manugian refers to this theme as the "meaning of commitment."[24] For example, Soo's pretense of being slow and feeble misdirects his audience from noticing the physical strength required to perform the goldfish bowl trick, but the cost of maintaining this illusion is the sacrifice of individuality: Soo's true appearance and freedom to act naturally are consciously suppressed in his ceaseless dedication to the art of magic.

For Manugian the central theme is "obsession," but he also notes the supporting themes of the "nature of deceit" and "science as magic." Manugian criticizes the Nolans for trying to "ram too many themes into the story."[24]

Spoilers end here.

[edit] Response

The Prestige received a strong, 74% "fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes, compiled from 170 reviews. Claudia Puig of USA Today described the film as "one of the most innovative, twisting, turning art films of the past decade."[25] Drew McWeeny gave the film a glowing review, saying it demands repeat viewing,[26] with Peter Travers of Rolling Stone agreeing.[27] Richard Roeper and guest critic A.O. Scott gave the film two thumbs up.[28][29] Killer Movie Reviews called the film's tension "gut-wrenching" and acclaimed Nolan for "maintaining a perfect sense of wonder throughout". KMR gave the film a rating of 4/5.[30] Todd Gilchrist of IGN applauded the performances of Bale and Jackman whilst praising Nolan for making "this complex story as easily understandable and effective as he made the outwardly straightforward comic book adaptation (Batman Begins) dense and sophisticated... any truly great performance is almost as much showmanship as it is actual talent, and Nolan possesses both in spades."[31] CNN.com and Village Voice film critic Tom Charity listed it amongst his best films of 2006.[32]

On the other hand, Dennis Harvey of Variety criticised the film as gimmicky, though he felt the cast did well in underwritten roles.[33] Kirk Honeycutt of The Hollywood Reporter felt that characters "are little more than sketches. Remove their obsessions, and the two magicians have little personality".[34] Nonetheless, the two reviewers praised David Bowie as Tesla, as well as the production values and cinematography. The AICN reviewer known as "Vincent Hanna" notes that "It is good and worth seeing... but somehow it feels like a mild disappointment at the same time".[35] On a simpler note, Emanuel Levy has said: "Whether viewers perceive The Prestige as intricately complex or just unnecessarily complicated would depend to a large degree on their willingness to suspend disbelief for two hours." He gave the film a B grade.[36]

In terms of fans of the book, Howard Waldrop and Lawrence Person of Locus Online called it "a great film," with Person asserting it's actually better than the book.[37] However, while fellow Locus reviewer Gary Westfahl reviewed the film favorably, he said "the novel was subtle and complex, while the film is blunt and simplified."[21] Author Christopher Priest saw the film three times as of January 5, 2007, and his reaction was "'Well, holy shit.' I was thinking, 'God, I like that,' and 'Oh, I wish I'd thought of that.'"[38]

The film earned $14,801,808 on opening weekend in the United States, debuting at #1. As of March 3, 2007, its domestic total gross is over $53 million, with another $50 million earned from box office grosses overseas, amounting to a worldwide total of over $103 million.[39] With 39,046 votes, the film has a weighted average of 8.2/10, occupying the IMDb Top 250 at #164. The film received nominations for the Academy Award for Best Art Direction and the Academy Award for Best Cinematography.[40]

[edit] DVD release

The Region 1 DVD is by Buena Vista Home Entertainment, and was released on February 20, 2007, and is available on standard and Blu-ray formats.[41] The Warner Bros. Region 2 DVD was released on March 12, 2007.[42] Special features are minimal, with the documentary Director’s Notebook: The Prestige – Five Making-of Featurettes, running roughly twenty minutes combined, an art gallery and the trailer. Nolan did not contribute to a commentary as he felt the film primarily relied on an audience's reaction and did not want to "demystify" the story.[43]

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ According to an interview with Christopher Priest, the terminology of the "Prestige" was invented; Priest picked the word "prestige" because of its similarity to "prestidigitation". See the Christopher Priest interview.
  2. ^ a b Michael Fleming, David S. Cohen. "Meet the men of magic", Variety, 2005-10-02. Retrieved on March 5, 2007.
  3. ^ a b Chris Carle. "Casting The Prestige", IGN, 2006-10-12. Retrieved on March 5, 2007.
  4. ^ Chris Gardner. "'Prestige' project for Scarlett", Variety, 2005-12-08. Retrieved on March 5, 2007.
  5. ^ a b c Dan Jolin. "You Won't Believe Your Eyes", Empire, 2006-09-29, pp. 134-140.
  6. ^ a b Toy, Sam. "Magic marker", Empire, 2006-09-29, pp. 137. Retrieved on November 13, 2006.
  7. ^ a b c d e Shewman, Den. (Sept/Oct 2006). Nothing Up Their Sleeves: Christopher & Jonathan Nolan on the Art of Magic, Murder, and The Prestige. Creative Screenwriting. Vol. 13:5.
  8. ^ Stuart McGurk. "How I made... The Prestige: Christopher Nolan", The London Night In, 2007-03-12. Retrieved on March 13, 2007.
  9. ^ Cohen, David S.. "Adapted Screenplay", Variety, 2006-12-18.
  10. ^ Michael Fleming. "Nolan wants 'Prestige'", Variety, 2003-04-16. Retrieved on March 4, 2007.
  11. ^ Box office/business for The Prestige (2006). Internet Movie Database. Retrieved on March 4, 2007.
  12. ^ The Prestige - Greg's Preview. Yahoo!. Retrieved on March 4, 2007.
  13. ^ Lawson, Terry. "'Batman' stars team in 'Prestige': Actors learned to perform magic for their roles", Detroit Free Press, 2006-10-17.
  14. ^ a b Carle, Chris. "The Prestige Edit Bay Visit", IGN, 2006-09-20. Retrieved on October 5, 2006.
  15. ^ The Prestige Filming Locations. imdb.com. Retrieved on March 7, 2007.
  16. ^ "The Prestige Changes the Date", Canmag.com, 2006-07-23. Retrieved on October 5, 2006.
  17. ^ Erik Henriksen. "Ye Olde Dueling Magicians", The Portland Mercury, 19 October 2006. Retrieved on October 23, 2006.
  18. ^ Murray, Rebecca. Christian Bale Talks About "The Prestige" - Page 2. About. Retrieved on November 1, 2006.
  19. ^ Brunson, Matt. Film/Now Showing. Connect Savannah. Retrieved on November 3, 2006.
  20. ^ Kawamoto, Wayne. Film Review: The Prestige. About. Retrieved on November 1, 2006.
  21. ^ a b Westfahl, Gary. Seeing Double: A Review of The Prestige. Locus Online. Retrieved on April 5, 2007.
  22. ^ Difrancesco, Teresa. "Jonathan Nolan on writing The Prestige", Movie Web, 2006-10-20. Retrieved on October 31, 2006.
  23. ^ "'Prestige' is magical", Arkansas Times, 2006-10-26. Retrieved on October 31, 2006.
  24. ^ a b Manugian, Alex. "Movie Review: Not dazzling, but still fascinating", The Harvard Post, 2006-11-03. Retrieved on November 3, 2006.
  25. ^ Puig, Claudia. "'The Prestige': Magical, marvelous filmmaking", USA Today, 2006-10-20. Retrieved on March 4, 2007.
  26. ^ McWeeny, Drew. "Moriarty conjures up AICN's first review of The Prestige!", Ain't It Cool News, 2006-10-13. Retrieved on October 15, 2006.
  27. ^ Travers, Peter. "The Prestige", Rolling Stone, 2006-10-20. Retrieved on March 4, 2007.
  28. ^ Richard Roeper and A.O. Scott. Ebert & Roeper.
  29. ^ A.O. Scott. "Two Rival Magicians, and Each Wants the Other to Go Poof", The New York Times, 2006-10-20. Retrieved on February 16, 2007.
  30. ^ "The Prestige", Killer Movie Reviews, 2006-10-15. Retrieved on October 15, 2006.
  31. ^ Gilchrist, Todd. "Elevating movie magic to new artistic heights", IGN, 2006-10-15. Retrieved on October 20, 2006.
  32. ^ Charity, Tom. "The best (and worst) films of the year", CNN.com, 2006-12-28.
  33. ^ Harvey, Dennis. "The Prestige", Variety, 2006-10-13. Retrieved on October 15, 2006.
  34. ^ Honeycutt, Kirk. "The Prestige", The Hollywood Reporter, 2006-10-16. Retrieved on October 15, 2006.
  35. ^ "The Prestige baffles Vincent Hanna, but is that a good thing?", Ain't It Cool News, 2006-10-13. Retrieved on October 15, 2006.
  36. ^ Levy, Emanuel. "The Prestige", Emanuel Levy.com, 2006-10-15. Retrieved on October 15, 2006.
  37. ^ Waldrop, Howard, and Lawrence Person. Movie Review of The Prestige. Locus Online. Retrieved on October 24, 2006.
  38. ^ Dawn, Randee. "Source material", The Hollywood Reporter, 2007-01-05. Retrieved on March 4, 2007.
  39. ^ The Prestige (2006). Box Office Mojo. Retrieved on March 3, 2007.
  40. ^ "79th Oscar Nominations Announced", Empire, 2007-01-23. Retrieved on January 23, 2007.
  41. ^ Woodward, Tom. "The Prestige", DVD Active, 2007-01-08. Retrieved on January 20, 2007.
  42. ^ Gould, Chris. "The Prestige", DVD Active, 2007-01-16. Retrieved on January 20, 2007.
  43. ^ Gilchrist, Todd. "The Pledge, The Turn, The Prestige, The DVD", IGN, 2007-02-20. Retrieved on February 26, 2007.

[edit] External links

The Films of Christopher Nolan
Following (1998) • Memento (2000) • Insomnia (2002) • Batman Begins (2005) • The Prestige (2006) • The Dark Knight (2008)
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