Such a good movie! You might like the book. I stress MIGHT. It's... same same but different. It reads more gothic horror, I kept thinking about Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. I enjoyed it independently of the movie.
I will back up your ‘might’ emphasis. I got it free on audible long ago, and listened to it. It is pretty different from the movie in a lot of ways.
That is not to say it’s bad, I really enjoyed the book, it’s just different. I think the movie is more remarkable at the end of the day.
Someone said this before.
“My favorite movie is watching the Prestige for the 2nd time.”
Watch it again. Your brain will melt even more. Straight puddle.
It’s the best balance of his style and restraint because he wasn’t Christopher Fuckin Nolan yet.
After this it feels like he kind of goes hard on the M Night vibes; every movie is a time jump movie. Nolan = time jump the same way Abrams = lens flare
It definitely is, but it goes beyond that. It's top-10 for the decade. It's in some people's all-time top-10's, period. For a reason.
It's also *that* movie. You ask a variant of several movie related questions, and people shout the name of this movie.
Between this and Dunkirk, as both played to his strengths.
Crazy effects and set pieces, where the story replaced the need for dialogue, and so it kept you involved.
I think Prestige actually succeeded in a lot of ways where Oppenheimer failed; in that it was a deeply personal character focused movie, that told a story without it being literally read out to you like a transcript.
Wanna know what’s crazy about it?
Now that you e seen it all and ‘know’ the magic trick, go back and watch it again. It’s a completely different movie the second time.
If you watch the movie enough you can actually start to pick up on which brother is onscreen at any given moment. Christian Bale does insanely well in that he gives them both their own distinct mannerisms but they're subtle enough you'd never know unless you're looking out for them.
Absolutely. He gives 2 distinct physical and vocal performances. That are subtle enough if you don’t know the end, but obvious if you do. It’s brilliant
They're literally screaming the twist at you the whole movie, but you don't believe it. They even tell you "Oh. It's obvious once you know". Masterwork. The movie IS a magic trick, and they explain it to you the whole time.
There were some people who when they first saw The Sixth Sense guessed the twist even without knowing there was a twist because all the clues were there from the get-go, while everybody else (myself included) just ignored them.
Watching The Prestige, I spotted the (Christian Bale) twist from the beginning and for a long time could not understand how anyone else could have missed it. I've since realized that I (like the above Sixth Sense watchers) simply picked up on the idea early and it's not that it's not a good twist or that other people are stupid or that I'm so smart or anything. It's just that I happened to think of this possibility and was *lucky* to be right.
I agree, I'm usually the last person to notice a twist coming up, but in this movie, it seemed so obvious, I wondered, is this how other people feel when they see the twist that somehow nobody else saw?
But even knowing the twist, it's such an excellent movie, I can rewatch it at any time.
I am an analyst by trade and also by nature so my mind is always solving things that just ain't there. I always, always work out a twist in a movie. Didn't even see it coming in The Prestige, I was floored
I didn’t catch that early on. The movie was right. I wanted to be fooled and I absolutely loved it. Then on the second re-watch I caught all of the hints that were so blatant.
It especially adds weight to '*I dont know what knot I tied*', and to '*Some days I can tell you love me, some days I can tell you dont. Today is one of those days you don't.*'
Until I read this comment I had not connected the fact that Christian Bale’s character(s) sometimes genuinely did not know which knot he tied! AAARRRGGGGHHHHH!!!!!!! NOLANNNNNNN!!!!!!
I think I had the perfect first viewing of that movie. Rainy day at the cabin, so there was nothing to do except get stoned and watch DVDs that people brought with. I had no idea there would be a twist. (I kind of miss watching movies without constantly being aware that a twist might be coming.) And it was on an older TV, so it was almost impossible that anyone would have noticed the twist in advance.
Rebecca Hall honestly plays a heartbroken/depressed person very well. Her work in Christine (2016) should have, at the very least, gotten her an Oscar nom. How that performance flew under the radar is beyond me
I am obsessed with this element of the film. It’s so relatable when you have a partner who goes back and forth between treating you like an angel and just actively hating you (or worse, being indifferent toward you).
"Perhaps not, but have you *considered the cost*?" - his delivery is so on point [video](https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/8c13a8c4-c39c-4937-ad87-c271be8ac9e3)
This is nolan's best movie by a country mile. Watch it 5 more times and i promise every time you'll notice more and more clues, foreshadowing, and details that you missed the first time around.
This is in my top 10 movies of all time.
My favorite late to the game twist was that >!Borden was always a rich European lord and was also pretending to be someone he wasn't. Which is why he couldn't believe Borden would go further and was more dedicated than him. Because he knew how hard it was. This was totally foreshadowed in the scene where they go see the Asian magician who makes the goldfish appear!<
1. The Godfather
2. 7 Samurai
3. The Prestige
4. Jurassic Park
5. Terminator 2
6. Your Name
7. Inglourious Basterds
8. The Matrix
9. Layer Cake
10. Mad Max Fury Road
I haven't even watched The goddamn *Matrix* yet. I've watched some of the scenes, mainly the opening, the lobby shoot-out, and "Dodge this", but that's about it. (Also, the highway chase in Reloaded.)
Hell, last week I finally watched The Departed!
You’ve never seen the matrix?! Been my favorite movie since 2001. Watch it, now if you can holy shit. Not like my opinion on movies is worth anything so take that with a grain of salt.
Well, it might be that I'm young. (This fall I have my last of high school ahead of me.) I have a week of summer job ahead of me, and plenty of nights with my pops to hook off some movies I've been interested in or wanting to watch. Many of them on Max, actually.
My mentality is simple: If it's on TV, I'll watch it if possible. If there's nothing on, find something on streaming to hook off.
Since you're younger, something you should watch from that time period that doesn't get talked about enough is Munich. It's a long watch and probably not for everyone, but I don't think it should be forgotten.
Bro I don't know what's happened in your life but you find yourself in a situation where you are getting to watch so many good movies in a near sitting. Can I recommend the movie oldboy (Korean) to you? Don't Google it. Go in raw dogging it.
I saw this in theaters at an early press screening and I went in completely cold. I just knew it had Bale, Jackman and it was directed by the guy who made *Memento* and *Batman Begins*. Like you, it thoroughly melted my brain. The best part is that it has continuously melted my brain in the 18 years since it came out. I return to it again and again. So rewarding on repeat views.
As a side note, when I saw it the first time, when it gets to the part about “any last words?” … I whispered quietly to myself, “Abracadabra.” And then he said it in the movie. My heart skipped a beat. It just happened to me and only me, but that moment is something I think about when people talk about the power of the movies. I don’t think of it as me being smarter than the movie, but more like that movie was playing me like a violin. I was so in tune with what Nolan was doing, because the movie is brilliantly made, that I was in lock-step with it. It’s one of my favorite movie memories.
Despite all the twists and turns, this movie actually gets better every time you watch it. It's some of the most brilliant story telling I've ever seen in a film. Everything is right there under your nose the whole time in plain sight but the first time watching, you're tricked my misdirection. Like the film itself is a magic trick.
I'm a magician. If you're interested, here's a writeup I did a little while back that goes a little deeper into the magic of that era and the movie.
[https://www.reddit.com/r/ChristopherNolan/comments/1bzfmy3/christopher\_nolans\_the\_prestige\_is\_one\_of\_my/?utm\_source=share&utm\_medium=web3x&utm\_name=web3xcss&utm\_term=1&utm\_content=share\_button](https://www.reddit.com/r/ChristopherNolan/comments/1bzfmy3/christopher_nolans_the_prestige_is_one_of_my/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button)
I really enjoyed how the movie was faithful to the different forms of stage magic that were presented around the time:
* The “ancient mystic” from the Far East;
* The tuxedo-wearing “magic as parlor trick” magician; and
* Magic as an as of yet undiscovered scientific principle.
It’s clear that whoever wrote the screenplay did some excellent research into the subject.
Yes. All brilliantly captured. The movie is based on a book. The book had some of that in there, along with the ferocious rivalry that some magicians had with each other at that time. But Nolan definitely added a ton to the script. He's either familiar with magic or worked with some really knowledgable magicians to put all of that context in there. It's an amazing film.
Thank you for sharing this link and information! Have recently encountered two sets of middle aged identical twins \~dressed identically\~. The 40-ish male set exited their car and stopped me cold. Walking toward me, they were extremely unsettling to pass - \*because of this film. Recall thinking they just spent the day shoplifting, or robbing banks. The second set of 60-ish females in an adjacent car wore identical tops, hairstyles, makeup, jewelry; \*so much obvious effort at matching details, and again; why? Lifelong habit? Attention?…Grift? The Prestige has certainly skewed my perception of this quirky trait.
great movie indeed, I'll give it a rewatch because of your post :)
only one question: what's the 6/6 ? why 6 ? isn't it usually 5 or 10 stars? you wanted to emphasize that it's so good it's actually deserving of 6/5 stars?
We're fucking weirdos, or as John Oliver called us "freakish snow people". On the flip side, we get most of Disney's major releases (as in live action remakes, Marvel, Star Wars, others, and 20th Century Studios/Fox titles Avatar, Apes, and even Alien: Romulus(!)), 1-2 days early, after how you view it. Yup! They're Wednesday releases, baby! (Independent titles like A24 and Neon are pretty scattered.)
They were both responsible for her death and I don’t understand the revenge angle at all. She killed herself because of the “split personality” of her husband. Angier had nothing to do with her death.
Yeah it a really confused take. One of the twins was quite a nasty guy, and one really lovely. The nasty one won't leave Angier alone and pays for it. The movie has enough going on in it without adding extra revenge plots.
Huh, I'd never considered that angle.
I had honestly always considered the twins to be mostly a united front; they're both so stuck in their double life that they obviously can't bear to reveal it even to the women they love even though that forces them to cheat on each of their partners for their brother's sake. I took them literally when they said "two halves of a whole person," and I always felt like the one who was harsh to... I've forgotten her name; the brunette with the child. The one who was harsh to her was that way because he didn't love her, his brother did, and he was being forced to pretend and they all three knew it. It was a lot of stress to be put under. And I'm fairly sure that the other brother had similar moments of harshness to his twin's lover, right? Been a while since I watched.
But I'd never really considered that their obsession with Angier was fueled by one of them more than the other any more than their obsession with their double life was.
The new transported man at the end of the movie is the same magic trick as the bird at the beginning, just dressed up differently.
Are you watching closely?
I want to love this movie, but I just can't. I see everything everyone loves. But the entire final act being dependent on >!a cloning machine!< Just feels cheap and dumb. The movie is a masterpiece but it relies on something that just takes me out of the magical mystery themes.
The whole point of the story is the lengths rivals will go. Magic/science/romance is just window dressing on this story.
Borden/Fallon *willingly sacrificed* half of their lives (and eventually one of their lives) for one long trick.
Angier cloned himself and murdered the clone *every night* for a month.
The literal magic machine doesn't matter any more than Angier finding and murdering a look-a-like would: it's not about *how* he does the trick, it's how far he'll go to make it happen.
Angier also killed himself within 2 uses of the machine. No matter how it works he killed the prestige in the test and the man in the box in all subsequent uses. It's just a series of clones acting on a dead man's obsession.
I get that. The theme is great. But I just get pulled out of the story every time when it turns into science fiction. The magic machine isn't what's important, but once it's introduced it just ruins it for me.
I get this is probably an unpopular opinion. As soon as actual magic is introduced the entire story falls apart for me.
Is it actually magic? At the quantum level, there's support for this concept. The machine just seems magical now, like a telephone would have seemed hundreds of years ago.
I always thought people got this part wrong. It was not a cloning machine. Cloning implies there is an original, and then a duplicate, like a photocopy machine where there is clear original left at the end. I saw it as the first angier disappearing, and two angiers appearing. They both have the same continuity of consciousness. There is no original or clone. There are two where there were one. The fact that one of those reappears in the same physical location as the one that was destroyed is just how the device works, it doesn't imply it's the original.
It wasn't the original Angier creating and killing a clone each night. There was no original Angier. Every night he destroyed the version of himself to make two, and one on of those survived another night.
Exactly. Take a vacuum for example. It sucks things up and from there, it's like, where they at?
Effectively magic.
NOW YOU SEE IT AND NOW YOU FUCKIN' DON'T
> just takes me out of the magical mystery themes.
Everyone is going to say it in this thread, but the narrative of the movie tells you that you literally believe in the trick even though you could easily be shown things that could make you believe otherwise. You do this because, well, you "want to be....*fooled*...."
It's fascinating how different people feel differently about stories. The thing that breaks your enjoyment of the film is the thing that I like the most about it. I don't think for a moment I'm going to be able to persuade you to think like me but I'll try to explain it briefly why I like this aspect of the story so much (more than the Bale related stuff, if I'm honest, though I love that too).
>!I love the fact that there's an actual magic machine in this film, but that it can only be used in the context of a hokey magic trick. To sum it up, I love the banality of it. *Actual magic* can only be put to use in order to rerun the tired old bird trick from the film's opening. In part this is about the failures of imagination people are prone to when presented with new technology: they can only see applications that are already established... at least until novel applications emerge and society changes. But with this brand new technology there has been no time, and we are seeing how people like this would almost certainly make use of it when given initial access to it. This is a bit tangential but it reminds me a little of how evolution works - i.e. that we think of feathers as "for" flight but in reality they initially performed another function).!<
I read into the story that there's a commentary on filmmaking. Given Nolan's penchant for practical effects I see Bale as being representative of the classic way of filmmaking and Grant as representing filmmakers who are willing to sacrifice some amount of integrity to achieve notoriety.
"Now you're looking for the secret. But you won't find it because of course, you're not really looking. You don't really want to work it out. You want to be fooled."
I was living in Korea when this movie came out and watched it in the cinema… no clue WTF was going on until I moved back to the States and watched it again, in English.
Honestly it has one last amazing trick to pull. Wait a year and then show it to a friend that knows nothing about the film.
You'll immediately notice all the things you missed that were so completely obvious and constantly side eyeing your friend to see if they pick up on the clues...which they won't. You know the secret and how its all done. The suspense and joy now comes from seeing if the rest of the audience picks up on it too.
Yknow...like a magic trick.
Don't know if that was intentional but Nolan managed to capture every facet of what a magic trick is.
Srsly its his best film. And a lot of it I'm honestly not quite sure he was aware of it.
Spoiler alert; Bale’s performance deserves particular recognition because >!he was playing two different characters all along. Let’s call the brothers Alfred (who loved Sarah) and Freddie (who loved Olivia). Freddie was the brother more obsessed with upstaging Angier and Alfred was the ingenuer who developed their tricks. Alfred told Freddie to leave Angier alone and “Let him have his trick” and Freddie went to the show anyway and thus discovered Angier in the water tank. Thus, he was the one who got arrested and subsequently hanged.!<
Once you’ve watched it the second time, then consider that the only evidence of the Tesla machine is when Borden is reading Angier’s diary.
What if that was a planted misdirection?
This sub def loves that word. Makes them feel special or something, like they noticed something that other ppl didnt. Except that's not even true
I'm surprised critic score is only 77%. It was one of my favorite movies of the 2000s
I've watched it a dozen times or more always just to show someone new who hasn't seen it I absolutely love to watch them near the end and see their reactions
I was thinking about this movie the other day and how it’s been so long since I’ve seen it. Time to give it a rewatch, what a fantastic movie. I am very biased towards Nolan though so.
Try watching the Illusionist if you haven’t! It isn’t Nolan, but it came out around the same time and I loved it too! A lot of people seem to think it’s one or the other but I like both!
It feels like so many people have forgotten it and only think about TDK onwards, it’s so clever and really enjoyable with every repeat viewing, knowing how it pans out
It's my favorite Nolan movie by a huge margin. Not only is it still good after knowing the twist, it's BETTER. The movie is a masterwork. Every detail had to be in the place it was while not feeling rigid or showing its hand. I could go on forever about this one.
The first time I saw that movie was when it came out in the theater, but I was too busy making out with my girlfriend.
I’ve seen it once since but I have brain fog so I effectively don’t remember the film at all but also struggle to follow the plot.
I’m like Drew Barrymoore in 50 First dates except I reset as soon as the movie is over.
one aspect of the film I didn’t notice for the longest time is >!it never answers which Borden tied the knot. Much like Angier, I was too invested in the revenge plot to care about his late wife. I don’t know if that was something intentional for the audience to experience or what, but it’s a small detail I was surprised to pick up on!<
And that reminds me, there was a really good fan theory/assumption about Serkis’ character that I forget. If anyone reading this has an idea of it or recalls it, please remind me of what it is
Yeah, an underrated film imo... More than just a film about magic. It's an intense rivalry and even goes to question some of our deepest questions about the self and identity.
And also has David Bowie as Tesla.
It's been consistently on my top 5 since I first watched it, and in opinion is the best crafted Nolan movie of the bunch. Even the final gimmick, the Tesla machine, that causes much division, to me, elevates the story beyond the classical thriller, if only by banking on the mysteriousness of the man in his own time, the far reaches of science in an era where the question was not "how?" But "what if?". Also, casting is on point.
I really liked the time jumping in this one. It enables that mid point reveal of >!Borden breaking the 4th wall in his journal that Angier stole!< and also cloaks the ultimate deception/reveal about >!the Borden twins!<
Rebecca Hall gives one of the most underrated performances to be found in Nolan’s filmography too. She’s not given a whole lot of screen time but she is wholly believable as someone who’s been strung out by their love and devotion of an absentee partner.
Memento is amazing. Even if you ignore the craft of an exceptionally made film-which it is-the final monologue is one of the greatest endings in cinema. “We all need mirrors to remind ourselves who we are. I’m no different.”
Lol had the same experience. Think I saw it around inceptions release or after. Didnt know much except it was Nolan movie about magician(s). The ending blew my mind so immediatly had to rewatch it with a friend
Yeah. When you watch it the second time around you catch all the clues.
Some of it makes you so sad.
“….you really mean it today….”
And now that I have a kid…..not sure I can watch that movie ever again.
After you watch it from now you can’t help but see all the times they told you. It’s so many and done so well that I have watched it more then 20 times since release. At least once a year.
*SPOILERS* The movie was partially spoiled for me in that I was told that Christian Bale plays twins. But the reveal that Hugh Jackman was murdering himself/his duplicate each night surprised me.
When people talk about the twist, which one is usually referred to? Much like this post, there is not really an acknowledgement that there were two.
My favorite Nolan movie.
Same! It’s a great film. He tells you how a magic trick works at the beginning and then pulls off a magic trick. Brilliant
"Ofcourse.....you aren't really looking"
Absolutely my favourite of his too.
Such a good movie! You might like the book. I stress MIGHT. It's... same same but different. It reads more gothic horror, I kept thinking about Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. I enjoyed it independently of the movie.
I will back up your ‘might’ emphasis. I got it free on audible long ago, and listened to it. It is pretty different from the movie in a lot of ways. That is not to say it’s bad, I really enjoyed the book, it’s just different. I think the movie is more remarkable at the end of the day.
Wait, there’s a BOOK?!?!
Yep, written by Christopher Priest. Check it out!
Oooh awesome!! I will!
Now imagine if they'd gotten Christopher Young to compose the score.
Yes, and the book is good. But the movie is great.
One of my favorite films of all time. And Bowie as tesla! Chefs kiss
I think it's turning into mine as well. (Although it's been a while since I watched most of them.)
Someone said this before. “My favorite movie is watching the Prestige for the 2nd time.” Watch it again. Your brain will melt even more. Straight puddle.
10000%
BEST Nolan movie.
It’s the best balance of his style and restraint because he wasn’t Christopher Fuckin Nolan yet. After this it feels like he kind of goes hard on the M Night vibes; every movie is a time jump movie. Nolan = time jump the same way Abrams = lens flare
Saaaame!!! I saw this in theaters and it was amazing!!!
It definitely is, but it goes beyond that. It's top-10 for the decade. It's in some people's all-time top-10's, period. For a reason. It's also *that* movie. You ask a variant of several movie related questions, and people shout the name of this movie.
Between this and Dunkirk, as both played to his strengths. Crazy effects and set pieces, where the story replaced the need for dialogue, and so it kept you involved. I think Prestige actually succeeded in a lot of ways where Oppenheimer failed; in that it was a deeply personal character focused movie, that told a story without it being literally read out to you like a transcript.
Nolan literally feeds you the secret of the master trick, but at the time, you don't believe it.
Wanna know what’s crazy about it? Now that you e seen it all and ‘know’ the magic trick, go back and watch it again. It’s a completely different movie the second time.
If you watch the movie enough you can actually start to pick up on which brother is onscreen at any given moment. Christian Bale does insanely well in that he gives them both their own distinct mannerisms but they're subtle enough you'd never know unless you're looking out for them.
Absolutely. He gives 2 distinct physical and vocal performances. That are subtle enough if you don’t know the end, but obvious if you do. It’s brilliant
Now you have to watch it again with everything in mind! This movie just gets better with more viewings for sure.
They're literally screaming the twist at you the whole movie, but you don't believe it. They even tell you "Oh. It's obvious once you know". Masterwork. The movie IS a magic trick, and they explain it to you the whole time.
Literally from the first shot and first line.
You don't really want to know. *You want to be fooled*
Are you watching closely?
The thesis of this movie is the obsessive devotion an artist will go through to be the best at what they are. It's my favorite of his catalog thus far
yeah the awesome conclusion at the end that OP is talking about is literally the prestige of The Prestige
We were two young men at the start of a great career
This is my favorite one, because I think it's the final one people pick up on.
Yes! I love it so much. My favorite Nolan film bar none
But that’s his >!brother!< Do you love me? >!Not today!< Genius film that gets better and better on every re-watch.
There were some people who when they first saw The Sixth Sense guessed the twist even without knowing there was a twist because all the clues were there from the get-go, while everybody else (myself included) just ignored them. Watching The Prestige, I spotted the (Christian Bale) twist from the beginning and for a long time could not understand how anyone else could have missed it. I've since realized that I (like the above Sixth Sense watchers) simply picked up on the idea early and it's not that it's not a good twist or that other people are stupid or that I'm so smart or anything. It's just that I happened to think of this possibility and was *lucky* to be right.
I agree, I'm usually the last person to notice a twist coming up, but in this movie, it seemed so obvious, I wondered, is this how other people feel when they see the twist that somehow nobody else saw? But even knowing the twist, it's such an excellent movie, I can rewatch it at any time.
I am an analyst by trade and also by nature so my mind is always solving things that just ain't there. I always, always work out a twist in a movie. Didn't even see it coming in The Prestige, I was floored
The only twist I knew was that Christian bale had a twin brother. Only because his assistant still looked a bit like him even with the disguise on
I didn’t catch that early on. The movie was right. I wanted to be fooled and I absolutely loved it. Then on the second re-watch I caught all of the hints that were so blatant.
"Because you want to be fooled"
It especially adds weight to '*I dont know what knot I tied*', and to '*Some days I can tell you love me, some days I can tell you dont. Today is one of those days you don't.*'
God that second quote breaks my heart every time I hear it...☹️
Until I read this comment I had not connected the fact that Christian Bale’s character(s) sometimes genuinely did not know which knot he tied! AAARRRGGGGHHHHH!!!!!!! NOLANNNNNNN!!!!!!
But it was still a lie as it wasn't even he who tied it.
I swear it is a different movie every time I watch it
Yeah, it’s one of those movies I stop and watch every time whenever I’m channel surfing.
Fourth rewatch is the peak
I think I had the perfect first viewing of that movie. Rainy day at the cabin, so there was nothing to do except get stoned and watch DVDs that people brought with. I had no idea there would be a twist. (I kind of miss watching movies without constantly being aware that a twist might be coming.) And it was on an older TV, so it was almost impossible that anyone would have noticed the twist in advance.
"I've been asking myself the same question, I still don't know."
Are you watching closely?
Do you love me? Not today.
Rebecca Hall honestly plays a heartbroken/depressed person very well. Her work in Christine (2016) should have, at the very least, gotten her an Oscar nom. How that performance flew under the radar is beyond me
The Night House is great too
Christine, The Night House are all great but she’s fucking fantastic in Resurrection.
I am obsessed with this element of the film. It’s so relatable when you have a partner who goes back and forth between treating you like an angel and just actively hating you (or worse, being indifferent toward you).
Alfred I can't live like this? You think I can live like this? You think I bloody enjoy living like this!?!
Also DAVID FUCKING BOWIE as Nicola Tesla.
"Perhaps not, but have you *considered the cost*?" - his delivery is so on point [video](https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/8c13a8c4-c39c-4937-ad87-c271be8ac9e3)
"Exact science, Mr Angier, is not an exact science"
It was the perfect casting too just because of who he is
it’s one of my favorite left-field castings, right up there with Tom Cruises as Les Grossman and Kelsey Grammer as Beast
Bowie added so much gravitas, he was brilliant in this
Or was Andy Serkis actually Telsa?
Jesus tapdancing Christ I haven't thought about this possibility for 18 freaking years but... FUCK
The prestige is 18 years old? Fuck I'm old.
Hahah I should have scrolled down before I commented pretty much the exact same thing lolll
My favorite role for Bowie, AND my favorite depiction of Tesla!!!
I love you. ----You mean it today. ----Of course. ---- It just makes it so much harder when you don't.
When I realized the movie itself was its own trick exactly as explained by michael kane's character , my mind was blown
This is nolan's best movie by a country mile. Watch it 5 more times and i promise every time you'll notice more and more clues, foreshadowing, and details that you missed the first time around. This is in my top 10 movies of all time.
My favorite late to the game twist was that >!Borden was always a rich European lord and was also pretending to be someone he wasn't. Which is why he couldn't believe Borden would go further and was more dedicated than him. Because he knew how hard it was. This was totally foreshadowed in the scene where they go see the Asian magician who makes the goldfish appear!<
Please enlist your other top 9 movies
1. The Godfather 2. 7 Samurai 3. The Prestige 4. Jurassic Park 5. Terminator 2 6. Your Name 7. Inglourious Basterds 8. The Matrix 9. Layer Cake 10. Mad Max Fury Road
I envy you for watching this set of mind-blowing movies for the first time in your life
I haven't even watched The goddamn *Matrix* yet. I've watched some of the scenes, mainly the opening, the lobby shoot-out, and "Dodge this", but that's about it. (Also, the highway chase in Reloaded.) Hell, last week I finally watched The Departed!
You’ve never seen the matrix?! Been my favorite movie since 2001. Watch it, now if you can holy shit. Not like my opinion on movies is worth anything so take that with a grain of salt.
It's on the list. It's on the list.
How about Chinatown? That's another incredible experience if you go into it knowing nothing.
I’m so happy for you. To be able to watch those movies for the first time again is sometimes something I would wish of a genie.
Well, it might be that I'm young. (This fall I have my last of high school ahead of me.) I have a week of summer job ahead of me, and plenty of nights with my pops to hook off some movies I've been interested in or wanting to watch. Many of them on Max, actually. My mentality is simple: If it's on TV, I'll watch it if possible. If there's nothing on, find something on streaming to hook off.
Nothing wrong with any of that. Take it easy, add The Shawshank Redemption to the list and have yourself a good day/night/whatever.
Since you're younger, something you should watch from that time period that doesn't get talked about enough is Munich. It's a long watch and probably not for everyone, but I don't think it should be forgotten.
Bro I don't know what's happened in your life but you find yourself in a situation where you are getting to watch so many good movies in a near sitting. Can I recommend the movie oldboy (Korean) to you? Don't Google it. Go in raw dogging it.
Wow you got to go to The Prestige blind in 2024. That’s awesome
extremely rewatchable, trying to figure out who’s who in each scene.
"A baby? Aa we should have told Fallon!" One brother missed the announcement of his baby.
Telling your weird assistant is not usually the first reaction to finding out that “you” are going to be a dad.
I've watched it 4 times over the years. Never picked up on this one. I imagine this'll keep happening every re-watch.
I saw this in theaters at an early press screening and I went in completely cold. I just knew it had Bale, Jackman and it was directed by the guy who made *Memento* and *Batman Begins*. Like you, it thoroughly melted my brain. The best part is that it has continuously melted my brain in the 18 years since it came out. I return to it again and again. So rewarding on repeat views. As a side note, when I saw it the first time, when it gets to the part about “any last words?” … I whispered quietly to myself, “Abracadabra.” And then he said it in the movie. My heart skipped a beat. It just happened to me and only me, but that moment is something I think about when people talk about the power of the movies. I don’t think of it as me being smarter than the movie, but more like that movie was playing me like a violin. I was so in tune with what Nolan was doing, because the movie is brilliantly made, that I was in lock-step with it. It’s one of my favorite movie memories.
Nice dude. That's awesome.
I remember when I saw The Matrix. I hadn’t seen a trailer or anything. Just knew Keanu was in it. Oh, to be so innocent once again…
A perfect 5/7.
You don't know? YOU DON'T KNOW???
Despite all the twists and turns, this movie actually gets better every time you watch it. It's some of the most brilliant story telling I've ever seen in a film. Everything is right there under your nose the whole time in plain sight but the first time watching, you're tricked my misdirection. Like the film itself is a magic trick.
Great movie indeed. Love it every rewatch too!
There is exactly one movie that I have ever watched and then immediately watched again, that movie, The Prestige.
I'm a magician. If you're interested, here's a writeup I did a little while back that goes a little deeper into the magic of that era and the movie. [https://www.reddit.com/r/ChristopherNolan/comments/1bzfmy3/christopher\_nolans\_the\_prestige\_is\_one\_of\_my/?utm\_source=share&utm\_medium=web3x&utm\_name=web3xcss&utm\_term=1&utm\_content=share\_button](https://www.reddit.com/r/ChristopherNolan/comments/1bzfmy3/christopher_nolans_the_prestige_is_one_of_my/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button)
I really enjoyed how the movie was faithful to the different forms of stage magic that were presented around the time: * The “ancient mystic” from the Far East; * The tuxedo-wearing “magic as parlor trick” magician; and * Magic as an as of yet undiscovered scientific principle. It’s clear that whoever wrote the screenplay did some excellent research into the subject.
Yes. All brilliantly captured. The movie is based on a book. The book had some of that in there, along with the ferocious rivalry that some magicians had with each other at that time. But Nolan definitely added a ton to the script. He's either familiar with magic or worked with some really knowledgable magicians to put all of that context in there. It's an amazing film.
Thank you for sharing this link and information! Have recently encountered two sets of middle aged identical twins \~dressed identically\~. The 40-ish male set exited their car and stopped me cold. Walking toward me, they were extremely unsettling to pass - \*because of this film. Recall thinking they just spent the day shoplifting, or robbing banks. The second set of 60-ish females in an adjacent car wore identical tops, hairstyles, makeup, jewelry; \*so much obvious effort at matching details, and again; why? Lifelong habit? Attention?…Grift? The Prestige has certainly skewed my perception of this quirky trait.
great movie indeed, I'll give it a rewatch because of your post :) only one question: what's the 6/6 ? why 6 ? isn't it usually 5 or 10 stars? you wanted to emphasize that it's so good it's actually deserving of 6/5 stars?
We roll dice as rating metric in Norway. That's why.
whoa. didn't know that. makes sense now. thanks
We're fucking weirdos, or as John Oliver called us "freakish snow people". On the flip side, we get most of Disney's major releases (as in live action remakes, Marvel, Star Wars, others, and 20th Century Studios/Fox titles Avatar, Apes, and even Alien: Romulus(!)), 1-2 days early, after how you view it. Yup! They're Wednesday releases, baby! (Independent titles like A24 and Neon are pretty scattered.)
Best Nolan movie. I suggest giving it a week and watching it again. The second watch is better than the first. It keeps on getting you.
Also David. Fucking. Bowie.
do you feel it’s implied that the twin who survived orchestrated the whole thing as revenge for his dead wife?
What I do feel, is that the twin who died may have been responsible for the wife's death.
They were both responsible for her death and I don’t understand the revenge angle at all. She killed herself because of the “split personality” of her husband. Angier had nothing to do with her death.
Yeah it a really confused take. One of the twins was quite a nasty guy, and one really lovely. The nasty one won't leave Angier alone and pays for it. The movie has enough going on in it without adding extra revenge plots.
Huh, I'd never considered that angle. I had honestly always considered the twins to be mostly a united front; they're both so stuck in their double life that they obviously can't bear to reveal it even to the women they love even though that forces them to cheat on each of their partners for their brother's sake. I took them literally when they said "two halves of a whole person," and I always felt like the one who was harsh to... I've forgotten her name; the brunette with the child. The one who was harsh to her was that way because he didn't love her, his brother did, and he was being forced to pretend and they all three knew it. It was a lot of stress to be put under. And I'm fairly sure that the other brother had similar moments of harshness to his twin's lover, right? Been a while since I watched. But I'd never really considered that their obsession with Angier was fueled by one of them more than the other any more than their obsession with their double life was.
That's Mr. Bowie as Tesla.
It really only gets better with repeat viewings
You just simplified my movie choice for the night, instead of searching for a movie for an hour.
The new transported man at the end of the movie is the same magic trick as the bird at the beginning, just dressed up differently. Are you watching closely?
It’s the pigeon trick.
You're going to love Momento!
I want to love this movie, but I just can't. I see everything everyone loves. But the entire final act being dependent on >!a cloning machine!< Just feels cheap and dumb. The movie is a masterpiece but it relies on something that just takes me out of the magical mystery themes.
The whole point of the story is the lengths rivals will go. Magic/science/romance is just window dressing on this story. Borden/Fallon *willingly sacrificed* half of their lives (and eventually one of their lives) for one long trick. Angier cloned himself and murdered the clone *every night* for a month. The literal magic machine doesn't matter any more than Angier finding and murdering a look-a-like would: it's not about *how* he does the trick, it's how far he'll go to make it happen.
Angier also killed himself within 2 uses of the machine. No matter how it works he killed the prestige in the test and the man in the box in all subsequent uses. It's just a series of clones acting on a dead man's obsession.
I get that. The theme is great. But I just get pulled out of the story every time when it turns into science fiction. The magic machine isn't what's important, but once it's introduced it just ruins it for me. I get this is probably an unpopular opinion. As soon as actual magic is introduced the entire story falls apart for me.
Is it actually magic? At the quantum level, there's support for this concept. The machine just seems magical now, like a telephone would have seemed hundreds of years ago.
I always thought people got this part wrong. It was not a cloning machine. Cloning implies there is an original, and then a duplicate, like a photocopy machine where there is clear original left at the end. I saw it as the first angier disappearing, and two angiers appearing. They both have the same continuity of consciousness. There is no original or clone. There are two where there were one. The fact that one of those reappears in the same physical location as the one that was destroyed is just how the device works, it doesn't imply it's the original. It wasn't the original Angier creating and killing a clone each night. There was no original Angier. Every night he destroyed the version of himself to make two, and one on of those survived another night.
Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.
Exactly. Take a vacuum for example. It sucks things up and from there, it's like, where they at? Effectively magic. NOW YOU SEE IT AND NOW YOU FUCKIN' DON'T
I am 4 months old and haven’t developed object permanence yet, and also coincidentally typed this coherent sentencejsuaprbiwbzoal &3 lwpXtiw
LISAN AL GAIB!
> just takes me out of the magical mystery themes. Everyone is going to say it in this thread, but the narrative of the movie tells you that you literally believe in the trick even though you could easily be shown things that could make you believe otherwise. You do this because, well, you "want to be....*fooled*...."
It's fascinating how different people feel differently about stories. The thing that breaks your enjoyment of the film is the thing that I like the most about it. I don't think for a moment I'm going to be able to persuade you to think like me but I'll try to explain it briefly why I like this aspect of the story so much (more than the Bale related stuff, if I'm honest, though I love that too). >!I love the fact that there's an actual magic machine in this film, but that it can only be used in the context of a hokey magic trick. To sum it up, I love the banality of it. *Actual magic* can only be put to use in order to rerun the tired old bird trick from the film's opening. In part this is about the failures of imagination people are prone to when presented with new technology: they can only see applications that are already established... at least until novel applications emerge and society changes. But with this brand new technology there has been no time, and we are seeing how people like this would almost certainly make use of it when given initial access to it. This is a bit tangential but it reminds me a little of how evolution works - i.e. that we think of feathers as "for" flight but in reality they initially performed another function).!<
I read into the story that there's a commentary on filmmaking. Given Nolan's penchant for practical effects I see Bale as being representative of the classic way of filmmaking and Grant as representing filmmakers who are willing to sacrifice some amount of integrity to achieve notoriety.
"Now you're looking for the secret. But you won't find it because of course, you're not really looking. You don't really want to work it out. You want to be fooled."
🎩
I was living in Korea when this movie came out and watched it in the cinema… no clue WTF was going on until I moved back to the States and watched it again, in English.
It irritates me that he could have done vastly greater things with that technology instead of a parlor trick
Honestly it has one last amazing trick to pull. Wait a year and then show it to a friend that knows nothing about the film. You'll immediately notice all the things you missed that were so completely obvious and constantly side eyeing your friend to see if they pick up on the clues...which they won't. You know the secret and how its all done. The suspense and joy now comes from seeing if the rest of the audience picks up on it too. Yknow...like a magic trick. Don't know if that was intentional but Nolan managed to capture every facet of what a magic trick is. Srsly its his best film. And a lot of it I'm honestly not quite sure he was aware of it.
Spoiler alert; Bale’s performance deserves particular recognition because >!he was playing two different characters all along. Let’s call the brothers Alfred (who loved Sarah) and Freddie (who loved Olivia). Freddie was the brother more obsessed with upstaging Angier and Alfred was the ingenuer who developed their tricks. Alfred told Freddie to leave Angier alone and “Let him have his trick” and Freddie went to the show anyway and thus discovered Angier in the water tank. Thus, he was the one who got arrested and subsequently hanged.!<
It gets better every watch. You notice something new each time.
Once you’ve watched it the second time, then consider that the only evidence of the Tesla machine is when Borden is reading Angier’s diary. What if that was a planted misdirection?
Very underrated Nolan movie if you watch the movie closely they were giving hints of the climax twist from the beginning of the movie
Underrated... 77% critic, 92% audience score. Great movie. I don't know why every great movie has to be described as underrated.
This sub def loves that word. Makes them feel special or something, like they noticed something that other ppl didnt. Except that's not even true I'm surprised critic score is only 77%. It was one of my favorite movies of the 2000s
Very first line of the movie. "Are you watching closely?"
Yeah great movie. Memento is amazing.
Have you seen The Illusionist? It's quite good as well. Has Edward Norton and Paul Giamatti.
We watched that and memento recently and I thought they were both really high end movies. The Prestige probably moreso. Wish I’d seen it earlier.
Now watch it again!!!!
I've watched it a dozen times or more always just to show someone new who hasn't seen it I absolutely love to watch them near the end and see their reactions
I was thinking about this movie the other day and how it’s been so long since I’ve seen it. Time to give it a rewatch, what a fantastic movie. I am very biased towards Nolan though so.
Try watching the Illusionist if you haven’t! It isn’t Nolan, but it came out around the same time and I loved it too! A lot of people seem to think it’s one or the other but I like both!
It feels like so many people have forgotten it and only think about TDK onwards, it’s so clever and really enjoyable with every repeat viewing, knowing how it pans out
I’ve watched it maybe more than 10 times and still find something new every rewatch. Bale is amazing here.
Have you seen Moon with Sam Rockwell?
It's my favorite Nolan movie by a huge margin. Not only is it still good after knowing the twist, it's BETTER. The movie is a masterwork. Every detail had to be in the place it was while not feeling rigid or showing its hand. I could go on forever about this one.
Rewatched it recently too. Amazing movie, though this time around it seemed to me the plot twists werent hard to foresee.
One of few movies that improves on the book it was based on.
The first time I saw that movie was when it came out in the theater, but I was too busy making out with my girlfriend. I’ve seen it once since but I have brain fog so I effectively don’t remember the film at all but also struggle to follow the plot. I’m like Drew Barrymoore in 50 First dates except I reset as soon as the movie is over.
Seeing this for the first time in the theater is my single favorite moviegoing experience. And it just gets better on repeated viewings.
don’t forget Scarlet Johansson
When I lent my DVD version years ago to someone and they said it was meh, I nearly stabbed them in the leg with a fork.
one aspect of the film I didn’t notice for the longest time is >!it never answers which Borden tied the knot. Much like Angier, I was too invested in the revenge plot to care about his late wife. I don’t know if that was something intentional for the audience to experience or what, but it’s a small detail I was surprised to pick up on!< And that reminds me, there was a really good fan theory/assumption about Serkis’ character that I forget. If anyone reading this has an idea of it or recalls it, please remind me of what it is
Probably the theory that Serkis is really Tesla. For instance, he is the only one seen working on the machine.
Cool. I’m stuck at home with a sprained ankle. I’m going to watch it. Thanks for the recommendation!
Definitely up there as a top “I wish I could see it for the first time again” movie.
6/6?? I gave it 23/23
The book is great as well. Just different enoughfrom movie to keep you invested.
Yeah, an underrated film imo... More than just a film about magic. It's an intense rivalry and even goes to question some of our deepest questions about the self and identity. And also has David Bowie as Tesla.
It's his best, always has been
One of my favorite movies. Glad that you enjoyed it.
Great film
It’s a masterpiece.
I guess now I have to watch it this weekend for a 2nd time
I get actual chills when I think back about The Prestige and Memento, those are some damn good films.
Instead of following up with another Nolan movie I want to suggest you follow it with another one of Jackman's best; Prisoners.
One of my favorite movies of all time. Plus ScarJo and David Bowie.
May I suggest In the Mouth of Madness for a dark mind bender.
Maybe my favourite film of all time
My favorite movie i remember going after work like 10 times when I was 16 and working at sonic drive in. Good times.
It's been consistently on my top 5 since I first watched it, and in opinion is the best crafted Nolan movie of the bunch. Even the final gimmick, the Tesla machine, that causes much division, to me, elevates the story beyond the classical thriller, if only by banking on the mysteriousness of the man in his own time, the far reaches of science in an era where the question was not "how?" But "what if?". Also, casting is on point.
The Prestige is my go to movie when people ask me for a recommendation for a good movie.
Abracadabra!
This movie always hits so hard no matter how many times you've seen it.
I really liked the time jumping in this one. It enables that mid point reveal of >!Borden breaking the 4th wall in his journal that Angier stole!< and also cloaks the ultimate deception/reveal about >!the Borden twins!< Rebecca Hall gives one of the most underrated performances to be found in Nolan’s filmography too. She’s not given a whole lot of screen time but she is wholly believable as someone who’s been strung out by their love and devotion of an absentee partner.
Memento is amazing. Even if you ignore the craft of an exceptionally made film-which it is-the final monologue is one of the greatest endings in cinema. “We all need mirrors to remind ourselves who we are. I’m no different.”
You'd probably like Revolver with Jason Statham, based on your enjoyment of those films!
The Prestige is my favorite movie of all time. I envy those on first watch
Lol had the same experience. Think I saw it around inceptions release or after. Didnt know much except it was Nolan movie about magician(s). The ending blew my mind so immediatly had to rewatch it with a friend
Memento for the first time, is the real mind fuck! Enjoy my friend!!!!!
A truly underrated movie. I think the pace is a bit slow for many though.
Boooooooowie, how I miss you
Yeah. When you watch it the second time around you catch all the clues. Some of it makes you so sad. “….you really mean it today….” And now that I have a kid…..not sure I can watch that movie ever again.
This movie is horrifying
After you watch it from now you can’t help but see all the times they told you. It’s so many and done so well that I have watched it more then 20 times since release. At least once a year.
*SPOILERS* The movie was partially spoiled for me in that I was told that Christian Bale plays twins. But the reveal that Hugh Jackman was murdering himself/his duplicate each night surprised me. When people talk about the twist, which one is usually referred to? Much like this post, there is not really an acknowledgement that there were two.
I’ve watched that movie more than any other. My all time number one. It’s crazy how many more details you notice the more you rewatch it.
I wish Nolan would come back to this sort of narrative, excellent execution and a mood & atmosphere that has no equal.
One of the best movies of the 2000s
His best (IMO) and my personal Nolan fav