The Prestige
Published August 11, 2013
Film info
- Title The Prestige
- Director Christopher Nolan
- Year 2006
- Run time 2hrs 10m
- Genres Drama, Mystery, Science-Fiction
- Tagline Are you watching closely?
As two friends and magicians just starting to learn their art, Rupert Angier and Alfred Borden become bitter enemies after a sudden tragedy. Now, as the two devote their lives to a rivalry played out on the London stage, the sacrifices each makes to continue an ever-more deadly cycle of revenge will lead to fame and to tragedy.
Live Blog
| Time | Comment |
|---|---|
| 1:44 | Magic and all its inner workings are very in vogue at the moment. |
| 3:51 | Michael Caine is Jonathan Creek! |
| 13:59 | “We can’t use a plant for every trick.” “There’d be no seats left for the punters.” |
| 20:35 | “The secret impresses no one, the trick you use it for is everything.” |
| 24:33 | There’s something about magic that makes me very uncomfortable. |
| 29:33 | He has an odd way of trying to calm his girlfriend/wife down. It’s safe but it’s also dangerous. |
| 35:44 | “You’re a magician, not a wizard.” |
| 38:51 | I might start calling myself The Great Christine. |
| 43:11 | The Tesla name does give a little thrill of excitement. |
| 46:26 | With a top hat and purple coat, Hugh looks a bit like Willy Wonka. |
| 50:33 | It’s David Bowie!! |
| 52:20 | What were the casting guys thinking when they went: “We need a famous German scientist. Who can play that?” “David Bowie!” |
| 59:47 | But in real life, you don’t get to have yourself on the same screen as yourself. |
| 1:03:23 | I managed to take Bowie seriously for about two frames. Now it’s just Major Tom. |
| 1:10:09 | That’s what happens when you criticise someone’s showmanship. |
| 1:26:38 | If he thinks science works like that, and he wants to use that in his trick, we’d end up with a million Hugh Jackmans running around. I could deal with that. |
| 1:36:33 | Obsession is a young man’s game, eh? |
| 1:39:07 | It would have been so awesome if he’d finished the sentence “The truth is I…” with “…m Batman.” |
| 1:51:15 | “Whatever your secret was, we have to agree, mine was better.” |
Conclusions
This film appeared in the iTunes charts because they put it up as 99p film of the week, and we looked at it, baffled as to why we’d never heard of it. With Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale, there’s two great leads, and directed by Christopher Nolan should also be pretty good!
Ruined! This was such a good film right up until the very last scene, where it crashed and burned. What had been mystery, magic and great twists, turns, flashbacks, flashforwards and everything in between, turned into something completely different with just the one big reveal. There was a review in the critics section on Wikipedia that sums it up: “I love a good science fiction story; just tell me in advance.”
Also… I laughed almost every time David Bowie came on screen, which can’t be a good thing.
**Rating: **2/5
Rating: 2 / 5