The Prestige (2006)
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Two rival magicians in 1890s London engage in a dangerous game of one-upmanship to create the ultimate teleportation illusion.
The story
In 1890s London, two stage magicians, Robert Angier and Alfred Borden, become bitter rivals after a tragic accident during a water tank trick. As their professional rivalry intensifies, both men become obsessed with outdoing the other's performances. Angier, a showman, and Borden, a gifted inventor of illusions, engage in a dangerous game of sabotage and secrets. The conflict escalates as they each seek to master the ultimate stage magic, leading them to explore the boundaries of science and sacrifice to achieve a superior teleportation illusion that will cement their legacy in the world of magic.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
In 1890s London, magicians Robert Angier and Alfred Borden become bitter rivals after a tragic accident involving Angier's wife, Julia. Borden masters a teleportation illusion called 'The Transported Man,' while Angier becomes obsessed with uncovering its secret. Angier eventually commissions the inventor Nikola Tesla to build a machine that creates a duplicate of its subject. While Angier achieves fame with his 'Real Transported Man' act, the truth of Borden's secret is revealed: he is actually a pair of identical twins sharing one identity. One twin loved Sarah, the other Olivia; one lost two fingers, and amputated the twin's same two fingers to match; one has survived, while the other was executed. Together, they performed The Transported Man by switching places undetected, while the other hid under the identity 'Fallon'. Angier's use of Tesla's machine resulted in him creating multiple clones of himself, one of whom drowned beneath the stage each night. The film ends with Angier's death in a fire, revealing the corpses of his many duplicates in water tanks.
- First release year
- 2006
- Runtime (minutes)
- 130
- Production countries
- United Kingdom; United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Christopher Nolan
- Writers
- Jonathan Nolan · screenplay; Christopher Nolan · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Hugh Jackman · Lord Caldlow / Robert "The Great Danton" Angier; Christian Bale · Alfred "The Professor" Borden / Frederick Borden / Bernard Fallon; Michael Caine · John Cutter; Scarlett Johansson · Olivia Wenscombe; Rebecca Hall · Sarah Borden; Andy Serkis · Mr. Alley; David Bowie · Nikola Tesla; Piper Perabo · Julia McCullough
- Genres
- mystery; thriller
- Themes
- obsession; secrecy; sacrifice; duality; class warfare; nature of deceit; science as magic
- Tone and mood
- mysterious; tense
- Premise and plot tags
- magic; illusion; teleportation; rivalry; period piece
- Source material / true-story basis
- 1995 novel by Christopher Priest
- Reception
- The film received generally positive reviews from critics, with particular praise for its performances, production design, and narrative structure. It was a box office success, earning $109 million worldwide on the budget of $40 million.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 77% · scale: percentage · review count: 206; Metacritic · score: 66 · scale: 100 · review count: 36; CinemaScore · score: B · scale: A+ to F
- Awards and nominations
- Academy Award · Best Art Direction · 2007 · nomination; Academy Award · Best Cinematography · 2007 · nomination; Hugo Award · Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form · 2007 · nomination
- Production trivia
- The film features the first IMAX 70 mm film camera shot used in a narrative feature length film.; The production designer used a 'visual script' of models and drawings to design the sets.; The film's score is divided into three sections: the Pledge, the Turn, and the Prestige.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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