The Prestige

[Darius]

Today was the beginning of a good yet annoying (in a good way) feeling for me.

I was with my friend today and I decided that we could go see a movie. Eventually, we came to the decision of watching "The Prestige" after seeing it's trailor; it looked alright.

The movie...well, after a certain point, I kept constantly thinking, I was contemplating on what would happen or what could happen and what the hell was happening. There were so many things going on...you'd even have to backtrack at some points to get some things...

Anyways, after watching the movie, I was locked in a state of thinking; the movie had fascinated me.

The annoying feeling that I had spoken about earlier was because of the constant thinking I had to deal with. This was the second kind of thing I had come to view that made me think a lot if not more than Eva itself.

This movie...Well, I don't want to spoil anything for those of you who haven't seen it and if you haven't but aren't thinking of watching it...Then change your mind! I never usually recommend things because I never feel that the things I recommend to people are good...But this is beyond good, it's amazing.

Now, for those of you who have seen it, that's why this thread is here; discuss to your hearts content =D.

So now, I say this for future posts and for people who haven't seen the movie:

WARNING: Possible SPOILERS!

Enjoy the show...

[The Eva Monkey]

Official Trailer: http://www.apple.com/trailers/touchstone/theprestige/

My review for the student paper:

For me, The Prestige was a movie that I was sold on from the moment I first saw a trailer for it. And after seeing the film, I have to say that the film did not disappoint one bit. Aside from a few flaws, The Prestige was a well crafted film that I could see myself watching again and again. Based upon the 1995 novel by Christopher Priest, The Prestige was directed by Christopher Nolan, who some may know for his previous films Memento and more notably Batman Begins. Starring are Hugh Jackman as Rupert Angier, Christian Bale as Alfred Borden, Michael Caine as Harry Cutter, and to my surprise, David Bowie as Nikola Tesla.

Like Nolan's other films, The Prestige does not follow a consistent linear storyline. The film contains two intertwining convergent storylines. The first storyline begins with the death of Rupert Angier (Hugh Jackman), apparently at the hands of Alfred Borden (Christian Bale), who is subsequently incarcerated and put on trial. From here, the film goes back to a point roughly in the middle, with Angier's travels to America to seek out Nikola Tesla, one of the most under-represented scientific geniuses in history, who should be known for invention of or foundation for alternating current electric power, robotics, radio, ballistics, computer science, nuclear physics, and theoretical physics. During his encounters with Tesla, Angier spends his time decoding Borden's encrypted journal, as he attempts to discover the secret behind Borden's greatest trick, "The Transported Man".

As he reads through the journal, we go even further back to the beginning, when Angier and Borden were merely part of a larger act, often acting as audience members to participate in the stage acts in order to suspend disbelief. Upon the death of Angier's wife, believed to have been cause by Borden's negligence, the two split into their own acts. A life-long feud ensues, ultimately peaking with Borden's act, "The Transported Man", in which he is transported instantly through a set of doors on opposite sides of the stage. Angier becomes obsessed with this feat, and even duplicates the feat with the use of an assistant who he bears an uncanny likeness with.

The plot focuses on a back and forth rivalry, as each of the magicians directly competes with one another, even so far as to sabotage the performances of one another. As the plot progresses, elements of mystery present themselves, creating suspense and intrigue, and more than one mind blowing plot twist create an ending that is unexpected and shocking to the viewer.

The Prestige has a lot going for it, an up and coming director, an unconventional story structure, a good cast, and beautiful cinematography. And then there is the subject matter, which isn't abundant in films. The film is set in the victorian era, has elements of steampunk, and surrounds stage magic. These elements are combined within this movie to create a truly unique world for the story, and as a result, it feels very fresh.

There are some criticisms that have been made, which I feel compelled to comment upon. The first is in regards to the characters, as some critics have stated that the characters are undeveloped and ultimately spoil the movie. They are partially right, as the characters do not have an extensive backstory that explains to the viewer how they became the person that they are. In the case of Angier, this is not so true, as the events of the movie cause him to develop into a sort of anti-hero. In the case of Borden, this is more true, as he is a bit undeveloped as an antagonist. But in his case, he is a character of secrecy, and that secrecy is fundamental to his character. Revealing his true nature in an omniscient fashion would ultimately spoil the film as a whole.

The other criticism is the story structure, which I will agree, is somewhat convoluted. But in this instance, I feel it is a strength. Audiences are too used to being spoon-fed, and should be forced on occasion to think and deduce certain things in regard to the story. Story telling has the purpose of entertainment, but it also has the power to challenge it's audience, and in that regard, The Prestige does splendidly. The Prestige will play a sleight of mind on you, it will trick you, it will on occasion confuse and confound you, much like the magic it concerns. This is in my opinion one of the film's strong points. It is not like a typical movie with a concise middle, beginning, and end, and it is my sincere hope that you've had one too many of those types of movies, and you want something different. For that reason, I highly recommend The Prestige, I found it to be a thoroughly enjoyable film that one can revist in order to further unravel the mystery of it's fantastic subject matter.

ZOMG Bitches, it's David Bowie!

[Hunter21]

Very nice review Monkey. Makes me look foward to watching it this upcoming Friday.

ZOMG Bitches, it's David Bowie!
...Picture Removed...

:shock: ... you got to be kidding me :shock:

[The Eva Monkey]

:shock: ... you got to be kidding me :shock:

Nope. I didn't believe it at first. But if you look at the eyes, you can tell. It is David Bowie.

[Darius]

I'm just letting you guys know that this post has SPOILERS...I won't say this ever again since I find it unecessary.

**
You know what I think? I think that somehow Bordon master schemed all of the the things that happened. It was probably when he made the transported man. I say that because he probably knew that Angier would want to know and all those things would happen. He put Tesla's name on the paper and he didn't even have anything to do with Tesla (other than knowing what he did)...So maybe everything up to the part where Angier frames him for (his clone's) death was somehow planned by him.

Also, when I backtracked, I realized that even before they split up, Bordon was switching places with his brother right? "He's living the trick".
That's most probably why the real bordon didn't know which knot was tied.

That also explains what Sarah (Bordon's wife) kept saying when she said something along the lines of him "not meaning it" or "meaning it" when he said he loved her.

Ultimately though...I got a little confused at the ending; Angier seems like an antagonist from all that revenge and and obsession that he had...but when Bordon shot him and they were talking...they both seemed to be good...Anyway's what I was confused about was that last second at the end when you see Angier's body. That was one of his dead clones or was it the real him who was hiding or something?

It's so cool how the movie made you think...Like you Aaron, I was hooked by the mere sight of the trailer. But i was so happy near the end of the movie when I came to conclusions by myself...I rarely get that or figure things out because some things are just plainly obvious in movies. But a little while before Bordon was framed, I somehow knew what Angier's plan was. Now, it may have been obvious so some people, but to others, it may not have been...So Im just proud. I find it cool actually =D.

[Hunter21]

Saw this movie last night and I agree with the people who say it is great. It is very interesting and while the story telling has an interesting cadence to it, it is not so screwy that you can't eventually figure out what happens when. The best thing about the movie is that you will leave the theater talking about it. It is a great conversation starter and works great as a date movie as it will give you something to talk about afterwards. Plus the acting was very good which is something I can't say about a lot of movies now days. The only detraction for me, most likely because I grew up in the eighties, was every time Bowie came on the screen it kind of messed with my mind because that is not the Bowie I remember and since when can that dude act?

(Personally I give it the best date movie of the year award but my girl said she liked Devil Wears Prada better.)

[Darius]

I totally agree with everything you say. Especially when you say that you'll leave the theatre talking about it...Hell, I did! I spent about a few hours in the car quietly thinking to myself...lol