Film The Prestige

[DoctorShop]

I loved this film. Definitely in my current top 10. I thought that Hugh Jackman gave a sub par performance, which was disappointing. I also had a bit of an idea on how it would end. I still enjoyed the film immensely though.

Five stars

 

[tambourine-man]

I watched this based on the recommendations in this thread.

Sorry to be a lone dissenter here... but I thought it was drivel. I know how Nolan scored a hit with his non-linear storytelling in Memento, but it doesn't work in this film. The story is occurring in four different times and I feel that the 'reveal' elements of the film suffer because of it. I found it sluggish, predictable and a little convoluted.

Scenes that should of been "oh wow... wasn't expecting that" nuggets of art were instead "ummm... what?" moments tinged with a bit of "right... and? Isn't that obvious?". :D

Neither Jackman's or Bale's characters had any features that made me want either to succeed. As such, I really felt little desire to see who 'won' at the end...

Spoiler: the prestige

...although the truth of 'the secret' was pretty obvious once it became clear that Bale's character did not have access to a similar Tesla machine.

Speaking of which... I would have liked more explanation about Tesla and his machine

To sum up... I didn't bother to pause it when I went for a pee.

 

[Hillbilly Dan]

Greatest twist ending I've ever seen.

 

[junctionalfunkie]

Good flick. Bowie was great.

 

[Jackal]

Film: The Prestige (2006)

Turn of the century magicians in London locked into a battle with each other over a deadly secret

Directed by Christopher Nolan. I am getting this this afternoon and really looking forward to it.

Any critiques?

 

[tribal girl]

Someone didn't do their homework.

http://www.bluelight.ru/vb/showthread.php?t=276049&highlight=The+Prestige

 

[Jackal]

Ah. I checked the index, but must have missed it

 

[madhatter09]

crazy ending. good movie all around

 

[casademagro]

I am a huge fan of Christopher Nolan and this film is simply brilliant. I still have trouble with the ending and the whos and whats of what is going on with the machine that apparently clones.

 

[thujone]

Yeah the cloning machine is a mindfuck. I like the film but it felt like Inception where the first half was leading up to something brilliant and by the halfway mark the plot decides to commit harakiri and settle for something less that wraps everything up within the remaining runtime. I really wonder what Nolan could do if someone gave him the opportunity to turn a good plot into a miniseries instead of forcing them to be aborted before they can reach their full potential.

 

[casademagro]

Yes I agree totally. It was as if he was playing with matches and had to put the fire out when the fun just began. I loved the whole twin brother aspect and using doubles, but I couldn't figure out if the cloning thing was real or just another trick, maybe that's the point.

 

[freddy47]

I thought the film ended perfectly. It is by far my favorite Nolan film (well this and Memento are pretty close).

From how I see it the machine isn't a "cloning" machine in the traditional sense of the word. What the machine does is duplicate everything you put in. So he was essentially making exact duplicates of himself as opposed to cloning which would have made just a genetically identical version of himself. He was pretty much committing suicide every night while his duplicate lived on. It isn't a trick it is supposed to be "science" or at least that is how I see it.

 

[casademagro]

That makes sense to me Freddy, didn't think of it that way.

 

[L2R]

the whole pain thing about drowning wigs me out

and please search or use the index in future. the original thread is here
http://www.bluelight.ru/vb/threads/276049-Film-The-Prestige

 

[hydroazuanacaine]

^thanks.

 

[hydroazuanacaine]

^all the sudden there are five of you. you all share the exact same past. who gets the car?

if i remember correctly, the stakes are even bigger than an automobile. someone gets to sleep with scarlett johansson.

 

[Volundr]

I still don't understand this film. If he had the magic machine from Tesla, then why did he have a tank to die in? Why did he have to die at all if it did replicas? Why couldn't use the machine on stage and then everyone would think it was "Magic" cause it was?

He would kill each previous version of himself, so there was only ever 1 of him in existence (except for a split second). I think the magic isn't about being 'magic' it is about performance and showmanship, and he created the perfect performance and trick in doing this. If he revealed this machine half the wonder of the act would be lost.