Khalifa Jayy
Banned
My favorite movie of all-time, right up there with The Matrix, depending on how I'm feeling that week. Thanks for reminding me to watch it again.
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The Prestige became a decade old this week. Where's the love here?
- Thread starter chaobreaker
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OmegaSmash
Member
So they were actual
and not
? I never understood that bit, but I feel that the movie hinted towards that.
twins
clone twins
Top 2 Nolan movie alongside Memento. One of those few movies I didn't expect much going into it but loved it when I finished it. My only issue with it is the whole
but I get that the point of the movie isn't the how it's the why.
Extremely rewatchable for me. "Which knot did you tie???" "I don't know..." Still sends chill up my spine.
cloning machine thing
Extremely rewatchable for me. "Which knot did you tie???" "I don't know..." Still sends chill up my spine.
Sidewinder
Member
Prestige is his best movie just after Batman 2, love it!
Extra Sauce
Member
I wouldn't say it's a shame considering how many great movies have yet to receive the Blu-ray treatment at all... unless the transfer is bad?
Memento being out of print for ages (at least in Canada) is more problematic.
SciencePilot
Member
Great film. IMO Nolan's best. Lots of people don't seem to understand the ending though, unfortunately.
They are actual twins, not clones. But the cloning machine does work. The point is that the one guy needs to use real magic in order to match the other guy's fake magic. (sorry I forget what the main characters names are)
Favorite Nolan movie and a top 10 personal favorite overall. Prestige and Memento are the only two Nolan films where they don't fall apart after the second act. He has a real problem with sticking the landing.
Bale's characters were twins, yeah. Hence the need for one to cut the other's finger off, so they would still match.
demosthenes
Member
What? No.
Bale was two legit normal human beings that were twins.
Jackman used the machine to make clones.
Its not even just that. Its about how obsessed and far gone people can get that they do insane things to become famous and the "best" at what they do. The cloning machine is insane but the real crazy part is that the Borden twins played the role of a single man for decades and most likely their entire adult life if not even longer just so they could have a trick that no one else would be able to do. They sacrificed their individual lives to become a single incredible magician. This in turn drives Angier to incredible and totally overboard lengths to overcome them without even realizing what the trick Borden was pulling actually was.
Charles Brandon
Member
Do you know what a locked-room mystery is? It was a form of detective story in the 19th and early 20th century. The classic example is a murder that takes place in a room that is locked from the inside and only the victim is within. How then was the crime committed? The term became a catch-all for stories written about "impossible" crimes and their solutions. They were very popular but there were certain solutions that were considered too trite and hackneyed and facile to be satisfying. Most notably the use of hidden panels and identical twins. How could Mr X have killed Mr Y when he was on a ship to America at the time [long story with many superfluous details] answer? He had a secret twin. groan.
You seem to be missing the point that because of how far out the answer is that it ruins things when in fact the entire story relies on how crazy a solution Angier had to come up with to beat the trick pulled off by Borden. Yes its a "deus ex machina" but that is what he had to do to overcome Borden. The movie is about what obsession does to people more so than crafting a totally realistic or straight forward narrative that needs clean easy answers.
True Savior
Member
A great example of Nolan's virtuoso style of filmmaking that was too minimized when released because the intricate structure is hidden behind a more recognizable past-present editing with different narrators . He usually doesn't play with recurrent imagery in his movies but he uses it here extensively to reinforce the elliptical natural of the entire thing. It's an extremely skillful movie in terms of form. And a great example of how to tackle book adaptations.
teruterubozu
Member
What? There must be a LTTP The Prestige thread here every few months. If anything it's discussed ad nauseum.
adamsappel
Member
This is one of my outlier films. I don't like it (David Bowie is cool, though), but I realize I'm in the minority and it might just be me. I thought the ending was ridiculous and unearned.
Charles Brandon
Member
No I do get that. I understand that. However, I still feel that the plot, the message, the theme of the film is massively undermined by having one half of the plot of the ending be a trite cliche and the other half being a massive load of codswallop. I understand that the depth of the impact of the ending is due to the fact that Angier has to go to the length of doing something preposterous and ridiculously implausible in order to match what his adversary does by dedication and slight of hand alone but, for me, the trade off is not worth it and self-defeating.
OP is working on his "Bloodborne doesn't get enough credit" thread right now
Prestige is great, Illusionist is great, what a time to be alive. I dunno how people can watch The Prestige and still not get what's going on. I thought it was pretty clear.
OP is working on his "Bloodborne doesn't get enough credit" thread right now
Prestige is great, Illusionist is great, what a time to be alive. I dunno how people can watch The Prestige and still not get what's going on. I thought it was pretty clear.
It was robbed.
Listening to the soundtrack..so haunting and amazing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTnIeS20m3g&list=PLB6FADF02471D4C51
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTnIeS20m3g&list=PLB6FADF02471D4C51
The film was one of the earlier Blu-ray releases, so it's using a pretty old transfer on an older codec as it is.
It's more that Disney really hasn't given the film nearly as much love as WB has done with the films he's made for them. Hell, Following has been treated a lot better, and that's basically a student film. They would do well by a lot of people to license it out to another company to give it the treatment it deserves.
Rest
All these years later I still chuckle at what a fucking moron that guy is.
I thought it was pretty middle of the road. The only really interesting part was Hugh Jackman's character being frustrated at being one-upped and trying to figure out how somebody else was doing his trick better. It was too slow though, almost to the point of being boring.
Robot Pants
Member
Can't explain to how much I adore this movie
Darth Pinche
Member
The Prestige and The Fountain are two of my litmus test movies. If a friend does not like them or hates them, they get downgraded to acquaintance.
My only issue with regards to plot and the truth about
is:
Great film though!
the Borden twins
When Borden reveals that Tesla is the keyword but also his method. It's generally understood that he says this as means of misdirection; to send Angier on a wild goose chase, and that he didn't know that Tesla could build an actual functioning clone machine.
But, isn't it a bit bloody coincidental/ironic for Borden to lie and falsely name someone who can deliver the Transported Man, and then have that very same man actually be able to do it? It's the one thing that makes me slightly question the biological twins belief, but actually just feels more like an inconvenient plot contrivance.
But, isn't it a bit bloody coincidental/ironic for Borden to lie and falsely name someone who can deliver the Transported Man, and then have that very same man actually be able to do it? It's the one thing that makes me slightly question the biological twins belief, but actually just feels more like an inconvenient plot contrivance.
Great film though!
AlteredBeast
Fork 'em, Sparky!
Geoff doesn't get what the movie was actually about...
shira
Member
The cypher was Tesla.
Loved it on the first two watches, hated it on the third. I think there were two major points of real fuckery:
1.
2.
1.
After Angier is given the cypher to Borden's diary, he deciphers it into another notebook. Then, for lame and cheap dramatic effect, he's seen reacting with shock to the table-turning passage. From the translation. That he wrote himself.
2.
Nothing from the point of Angier's first cloning made any sense at all. As soon as there were two of him, he could do any variant of the transported man he wanted. He could copy Borden's, or appear in the crowd if he wanted. He didn't actually have to create a copy and kill himself over and over. And as soon as there were two of him, it should have become obvious to Angier that there must have been more than one Borden. Likewise, the Bordens were in complete despair at Angier's transported man, declaring "WE'RE DONE. WE'RE FINISHED", but they can so easily just do the same goddamn trick. The second one appearing in the crowd instead of the other side of the stage is apparently so difficult to accomplish, yeah? And the illusion is so much more impressive than the Bordens that everyone loses their shit? Right
Triggerhappytel
Member
I love the film and it's definitely one of Nolan's best - probably top three with Memento and Inception for me. One thing that's always puzzled me though is that I'm sure it's the 'real' Borden (Sarah's husband) in prison towards the end, and yet somehow the brothers seem to switch places so he can be with his daughter. How does this happen?
Charles Brandon
Member
I know what the film is about.
Don'tBeWeird
Member
In my top 5 of all time.
Best Nolan movie.
Best Nolan movie.
Razgriz-Specter
Member
Favorite movie of all time.
SaganIsGOAT
Junior Member
I love this movie.
True Savior
Member
He gave him a credible clue after watching Telsa act and his theatricality, so Angier can go around the world and stop piss him off. He believed him. It was actually effective. But Telsa did what everybody thought was impossible (including naturally Borden).
What did he mean by this?
Member
Finally catched this movie. Love literally everyone in it but I hated the movie with a passion.
Nothing in terms of costume design and makeup or even from the technical standpoint of camerawork lended itself to the nonlinear narrative. My friend suggested it was confusing on purpose like a magic trick! Bullshit.
Furthermore, the writing was so juvenile and I found myself rolling my eyes continuously in the 3rd act as characters meticulously called back to lines from the 1st act (sometimes one line right after the other) as if the characters remember conversations from 4, 5, 8, 10??? years ago.
And the twist? What is there to be said about that asinine ending. For how few dramatic magician movies are made, did they really have to ruin it with science fiction crap? Nevermind the other completely unfeasible twist of the really really REALLY committed magicians.
Nothing in terms of costume design and makeup or even from the technical standpoint of camerawork lended itself to the nonlinear narrative. My friend suggested it was confusing on purpose like a magic trick! Bullshit.
Furthermore, the writing was so juvenile and I found myself rolling my eyes continuously in the 3rd act as characters meticulously called back to lines from the 1st act (sometimes one line right after the other) as if the characters remember conversations from 4, 5, 8, 10??? years ago.
And the twist? What is there to be said about that asinine ending. For how few dramatic magician movies are made, did they really have to ruin it with science fiction crap? Nevermind the other completely unfeasible twist of the really really REALLY committed magicians.
Did they plan that shit out the goddamn womb
The SciFi crap was essential for telling the story. Something insane was needed to defeat the teleporting man trick and it builds off the themes of obsession. A character had to literally meet a "wizard" to get a machine that broke the laws of physics to out do what is basically a long con parlor trick.
Skiptastic
Member
People talk about it here all the time when they talk about Christopher Nolan.
It's a fucking great film.
It's a fucking great film.
Gouty
Bloodborne is shit
The movie is about men who were so driven and obsessive in their pursuit of greatness that they were willing to destroy themselves, or at least their humanity to achieve it.
Alternatively it can be viewed as a movie about FUCKING DUMB CLONES MAGIC SO DUMB WUT TWO CATS DAVID BOWTIE
Alternatively it can be viewed as a movie about FUCKING DUMB CLONES MAGIC SO DUMB WUT TWO CATS DAVID BOWTIE
Michael Caine's best Nolan performance as well.
The point is that Angier is such a piece of shit that when he clones himself both of the Angiers(for they are the exact same person) immediately jump to killing the other in a fit of self preservation(you see this as Angier brings a gun to his first cloning).
As the man himself says "It took courage... it took courage to climb into that machine every night... not knowing... if I'd be the man in the box... or the prestige." Angier is a man whose grief, anger, and obsession caused him to murder/suicide himself 100 times over and all because he ignored the obvious solution to Borden's "The Transported Man".
As the man himself says "It took courage... it took courage to climb into that machine every night... not knowing... if I'd be the man in the box... or the prestige." Angier is a man whose grief, anger, and obsession caused him to murder/suicide himself 100 times over and all because he ignored the obvious solution to Borden's "The Transported Man".
The Bale twist was an excellent twist, one of those you should see coming but Nolan works so fast you don't have time to think. And it repaints your entire understanding of certain scenes, especially and obviously with Scarlett Johannson's character.
The Jackman twist works not because the cloning machine working is this huge revelation but because it showed just how far gone he was that he (the original, or the clone who lucked out from the previous show, almost doesn't matter) would risk being the one who ended up in the tank.
The two twists pave the way for an emotional climax in that through the twists you end up sympathizing with Bale and being alienated from Jackman.
The Jackman twist works not because the cloning machine working is this huge revelation but because it showed just how far gone he was that he (the original, or the clone who lucked out from the previous show, almost doesn't matter) would risk being the one who ended up in the tank.
The two twists pave the way for an emotional climax in that through the twists you end up sympathizing with Bale and being alienated from Jackman.
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