The Prestige (2006)

After a tragic accident, two stage magicians engage in a battle to create the ultimate illusion while sacrificing everything they have to outwit each other.

Director:

Christopher Nolan

Writers:

Jonathan Nolan (screenplay), Christopher Nolan (screenplay)

Stars:

Christian Bale, Hugh Jackman, Scarlett Johansson

Top Rated Movies #47 | Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 6 wins & 38 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Hugh Jackman	...	Robert Angier
Christian Bale	...	Alfred Borden
Michael Caine	...	Cutter
Piper Perabo	...	Julia McCullough
Rebecca Hall	...	Sarah
Scarlett Johansson	...	Olivia Wenscombe
Samantha Mahurin	...	Jess
David Bowie	...	Tesla
Andy Serkis	...	Alley
Daniel Davis	...	Judge
Jim Piddock	...	Prosecutor
Christopher Neame	...	Defender
Mark Ryan	...	Captain
Roger Rees	...	Owens
Jamie Harris	...	Sullen Warder

Storyline

In the end of the nineteenth century, in London, Robert Angier, his beloved wife Julia McCullough, and Alfred Borden are friends and assistants of a magician. When Julia accidentally dies during a performance, Robert blames Alfred for her death, and they become enemies. Both become famous and rival magicians, sabotaging the performance of the other on the stage. When Alfred performs a successful trick, Robert becomes obsessed trying to disclose the secret of his competitor with tragic consequences.

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Plot Keywords:

rivalry | illusion | obsession | magician | secret | 

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Taglines:

A Rivalry That Turned Deadly.

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Certificate:

K-11

Details

Country:

USA UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 January 2007 (Finland)

Also Known As:

El gran truco

Filming Locations:

Spring Street Towers - 650 S. Spring Street, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$40,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$14,801,808, 22 October 2006

Gross USA:

$53,089,891

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$109,676,311

Company Credits

Production Co:

Touchstone Pictures, Warner Bros., Newmarket Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

130 min

Sound Mix:

SDDS Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This is a magician's variation on Duel. Instead of scheming writers going after each other; fighting over the same woman; we have dueling magicians going after each other.

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Goofs

When Angier and Root, both played by Hugh Jackman, are in a circular tracking shot together, Angier wobbles up and down slightly, revealing him to be the inserted visual effect.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Alfred Borden: Are you watching closely?

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Connections

Referenced in Face Off: Welcome to the Jungle (2011)

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Soundtracks

Analyse
Written by Thom Yorke (as Thomas Edward Yorke)
Performed by Thom Yorke
Courtesy of XL Recordings

User Reviews

This was an amazing movie!

This was the best movie I have seen in at least the past two years. Most movies have me leave the theater feeling like I wasted 8 dollars or so. So many movies lately have left me feeling like I wasted away precious hors of my life that could have been spent doing better things. Yet this movie was truly a masterpiece and kept me guessing the whole time. The acting was superb and so was the plot. I usually can predict the outcomes of movies pretty early on. And usually I can see the twist the writer planned. With this movie I was still left wondering into the last 5 minutes of the movie. I can't wait to own this on DVD.