the prestige

[tweeds]

i thought it was a brilliantly crafted movie. i didn't like it at all though but it's very good. chris nolan is a wonderful director and the plot movement was excellent, but in its sentiment the movie made me very ill...

although the tricks were amazing. apparently the early vanishing bird cage tricks were done with live birds and collapsing cages. although i didn't get how christian bale touched off the catch that collapsed the cage, killed the bird, and cut off the lady's fingers. the cranked backpack mechanism is supposed to draw the cage up the sleeve, yes? but how does the bird remain safe in a collapsing cage?

[poly800rock]

i wanna see it.

[rocker4life]

i thought it was a brilliantly crafted movie. i didn't like it at all though but it's very good. chris nolan is a wonderful director and the plot movement was excellent, but in its sentiment the movie made me very ill...

although the tricks were amazing. apparently the early vanishing bird cage tricks were done with live birds and collapsing cages. although i didn't get how christian bale touched off the catch that collapsed the cage, killed the bird, and cut off the lady's fingers. the cranked backpack mechanism is supposed to draw the cage up the sleeve, yes? but how does the bird remain safe in a collapsing cage?

i just watched and i think the bird remains safe coz theres a thread thats attached to the door cage , the mechanism opens it and drags the bird along out

[snugglepony]

saw it on opening night and left the theatre SO stoked!
with the exception of hugh jackman's monologue at the very end, the acting was absolutely stellar. not a flawless movie, but i'll probably pay to see it again once it hits the beer theatres...

[Westbrook]

Has anyone seen the Illusionist? I heard it was great but haven't had a chance to get to see it yet.

Surprising that 2 magician movies would come out in such close proximity. Anyone seen both? Compare/contrast...Analyze themes, motifs...At least 4000 words, you have 60 minutes, begin....now.

[snugglepony]

gotta wait a few years, but i'm pretty excited about the jonathan strange & mr. norrell film (http://imdb.com/title/tt0468500/), too...

[englandmj7]

Yep, I enjoyed it as well. Great acting by Michael Caine and Christian Bale in particular. And Scarlett, oh Scarlett.....that magnificent rack........

[MICK]

I've seen both movies, and have to say that both were really well done... David Blaine could learn a thing or two from these dudes!

[poly800rock]

the held out the fountain so hugh jackman wouldn't have 2 movies out at the same time...so it better be good.

[tweeds]

am i the only one who's seen too much scarlett in the cinemas recently...? in prestige her character seemed almost like an afterthought.


i'm fussing over the bloody tricks more than i am the plot.

[poly800rock]

i hate her.

[diamonds]

i really really loved this movie

[diamonds]

although the tricks were amazing. apparently the early vanishing bird cage tricks were done with live birds and collapsing cages. although i didn't get how christian bale touched off the catch that collapsed the cage, killed the bird, and cut off the lady's fingers. the cranked backpack mechanism is supposed to draw the cage up the sleeve, yes? but how does the bird remain safe in a collapsing cage?
spoilers :P


remember how the string was attatched to the birds leg? I'm pretty sure the bird was supposed to fly away as the cage was pulled out from underneath it

[englandmj7]

am i the only one who's seen too much scarlett in the cinemas recently...? in prestige her character seemed almost like an afterthought.


i'm fussing over the bloody tricks more than i am the plot.

Her role in this movie was VERY minor.....I don't think she has been overdone yet, but goddamn, it certainly has been a good year for her.

[1995chardx]

yeah it was a great movie...but goddamn dont guys think the "clone" thing was kinda OD?

[englandmj7]

Ha hah, yeah, but I liked how they actually tied in applicable scientific references into making it (although it was still completely ridiculous) such as Tesla's facility being in Pikes Peak, CO, his beef w/ Edison, and proving that earth was a conductor, etc. It made it seem less ridiculous since they backed it up with a real-life "mad genius".....

[tweeds]

**spoilers

the hats bit really scared me a bit though, i started thinking round about then that the movie was rapidly going off on a different path through the woods...not that the whole eye for an eye thing wasn't dark and twisted, but the science really drove things up a notch even if it required a bit of suspension of disbelief to work. especially the locked water tanks...really makes you ask "what price success"

[1995chardx]

spoiler also

** so Bale's character...is that just a look-a-like or is it his twin brother?

[tweeds]

twinnie, they shared a half life each for both their entire lives. it's amazing, and amazingly freaky.

[englandmj7]

spoiler also
** so Bale's character...is that just a look-a-like or is it his twin brother?

twinnie, they shared a half life each for both their entire lives. it's amazing, and amazingly freaky.

Well, I have seen arguments for both sides and there are points which support both. I personally felt that Bordon (Bale) had already accessed Tesla's services (as Angiers had a conversation with Tesla's asst. about making "the same" machine they made for "another magician"). The reason they didn't make it right away and kept asking for more funding/time is because they needed the money/time to keep their research going. Obviously, the clone was made before Bordon lost his fingers, which would explain why they had to cut the twins off later to match.....eh, I dunno. Anyways, another factor to consider is why a twin would spend his entire life in the shadows for the benefit of his brother? Surely, they couldn't BOTH have the passion to be magicians.

[tweeds]

well...that could be possible, but remember that either of the twins would take turns being fallon and borden, way before the transported man was conceptualised. borden tells us "the fun was not knowing when we would switch"...there's no evidence suggesting tesla worked for borden before the bullet catch days, since by the time angier sees borden and tesla together at the exposition, ostensibly for the first time, his fingers are already smashed.

the twin never spent his life in the shadows of anyone i reckon, because both spent exactly half their lives as themselves. they each loved a different woman, and each took half the platitudes for their success, and each sacrificed the same portion of their live in the guise of fallon.

i guess the whole movie is so fantastic (fantastic as in outside of common rationality) that anything is really possible. but the point of the movie for me remained the tragedy of two magicians, one more talented than the other, but both equally willing to commit their lives to bettering each other and sacrificing relationships, normality, sanity...it's so wickedly twisted.

[1995chardx]

thanks for the input guys

IMO i dont think they're clones nor twins

-IF you listen to Cutter (caine) when Angier was bitching about the transporting man. "its a double"he keeps saying that several times Angier

- If you look at Angier and his double, they actually look almost identitical, so im not suprised that Borden found one himself.

- If Borden had a clone, then why would Tesla not know his machine was working until they went outside to see all the hats and the cat.

** also, we dont even know if that was the REAL Angier at the end that got shot

Fuck this movie is badass

[englandmj7]

well...that could be possible, but remember that either of the twins would take turns being fallon and borden, way before the transported man was conceptualised. borden tells us "the fun was not knowing when we would switch"...there's no evidence suggesting tesla worked for borden before the bullet catch days, since by the time angier sees borden and tesla together at the exposition, ostensibly for the first time, his fingers are already smashed.

the twin never spent his life in the shadows of anyone i reckon, because both spent exactly half their lives as themselves. they each loved a different woman, and each took half the platitudes for their success, and each sacrificed the same portion of their live in the guise of fallon.

i guess the whole movie is so fantastic (fantastic as in outside of common rationality) that anything is really possible. but the point of the movie for me remained the tragedy of two magicians, one more talented than the other, but both equally willing to commit their lives to bettering each other and sacrificing relationships, normality, sanity...it's so wickedly twisted.

True, but also remember that long before the "Transported Man" Borden mentioned that he had an amazing trick that he was not ready to unveil yet (this was in the very beginning of the movie). I simply find it hard to believe because one of the twins would have to have been incognito their whole lives, not just half of it. Surely, when they are drawing crowds of thousands of people a day one person from their past would have known that Borden had a twin.

Either way, I love how we instantly ruined it for anyone who read this post, he heh.

:eek:

[snugglepony]

Either way, I love how we instantly ruined it for anyone who read this post, he heh.

:eek:

tweedles -- since you're a mod, maybe you should edit the thread's title to read "the prestige (SPOILERS)"

[englandmj7]

thanks for the input guys

IMO i dont think they're clones nor twins

-IF you listen to Cutter (caine) when Angier was bitching about the transporting man. "its a double"he keeps saying that several times Angier

- If you look at Angier and his double, they actually look almost identitical, so im not suprised that Borden found one himself.

- If Borden had a clone, then why would Tesla not know his machine was working until they went outside to see all the hats and the cat.

** also, we dont even know if that was the REAL Angier at the end that got shot

Fuck this movie is badass

Heh? Of course it is the real Angier....all the clones are "real." Hence the 50 tanks full of dead Angiers at the end. They have the same thoughts/feelings/everything, which is why he said it was so hard to make himself get in the tank and die every show....the clones are 100% the same. Or do you just mean that there might be ANOTHER Angier?

The whole point of the movie is that either he had a perfect twin or a clone. There is absolutely no evidence to support the fact that the dude was simply a look-alike....that would take away all the thrill. Cutter says it is a double and he is right, however, he does not know that the double is actually a literal double "twin" or "clone" (he thinks it is a dude w/ makeup, as he then proceeds to do the same for Angier).

As for the machine, as I noted earlier, Tesla might have kept Angier going and acted surprised (at the hats, etc.) because he wanted to have more time/funding to keep his projects/lab going.

Another fact I felt was strange re: being a twin as opposed to a clone is how both Bordens held such high sentiments for the daughter (because supposedly one was rash/cruel - he did get the wife to HANG herself).......if they were clones, this would easily be explained (as either would equally suffice as a father). If they were simply brothers it would be fucked up because the actual father may have died.......

[poly800rock]

just saw it, was awesome!

[diamonds]

I think I might have to see it again, that way I can look for subtle clues and shit like that.

The more I think about it the more confused I am.

[poly800rock]

i love how christan bale's last words are abracadabra. i'm giving memento another shot because of this movie...

[Cameland]

Yeah the movie was great, this thread left me even more confused though.

[spinmyworld]

defiently better than the illusionist. I love the prestige!

[diamonds]

just reminded me how cool this movie was...

[sybaritical]

Good movie ... caught it on the plane flying Bangkok-London so need to catch it again and really concentrate. I liked how it progressed from a straight thriller to mystic film noir with the introduction of Tesla's machine. When we discover the true nature of Angier's act it knocks the whole story into another orbit.

[rirawin]

Aye, caught this film while I was over here in Singapore. Best film I've seen in a long time. Bale x Nolan combo always seems to hit up a winning strike.

Bale definitely had a twin, as mentioned before, they were brothers switching their lives with each other.

[mike lowrey]

I hated the ending in this movie. I was expecting a decent explanation for all the events, for example how the other guy had a twin, that made sense. but then the other dude, nah, he just duplicated himself END MOVIE. after this several loud WTF's could be heard from the audience with THX quality sound.