The Prestige [4K UHD]

This is an amazing film.I had never heard of it before, but I read about it in an article about the ten best movies with twist endings and had to see what that was all about. It was a twist within a twist within a twist!Not only is the plot incredible, but the acting, the sets, the direction, the score, the whole package is first class.I was pleased to see that I didn't have to worry about awful language or overt sex scenes either.I'll have to watch it again to see what I missed the first time. It's that good.Why hadn't I heard of this one before???

I heard of "The Prestige" when it came out on DVD, but I didn't know too much about it. Saw some commercials for it here and there, but I wasn't sure if it was something that I had to see right away. It wasn't until I went to a store and saw that this was directed by none other than the brilliant Christopher Nolan (who directed my all-time favorite movie, "Memento"). That's all it took for me to buy the DVD without even really knowing what the movie was about. I didn't care. It had Nolan's name on it, and that's all I needed. I watched it the next day and couldn't believe how great this movie was. Not only that, but I ended up watching it again only a few hours after my first viewing.Unfortunately, there are so many twists and turns in this wild ride that I'll have to be brief in describing what it's about so I don't end up giving away something crucial (yeah, it's one of those where you give away one little thing, and it could possibly ruin the movie for the other person). As simplistic as I can put it the film concerns two magicians, Robert Angier and Alfred Borden. The two were quite the team and worked together splendidly until one night one of their well known tricks goes wrong and ends up costing Angier a loved one. He blames Borden for his loss and becomes obsessed with finding any means to out-show him, learn his secrets and destroy him.I know, this sounds like a typical "thriller," but that's really only a small outline of the movie. I had to keep it short and simple to avoid giving away too much. "The Prestige" works more as a drama/thriller/mystery. The entire theme of the movie is to "watch closely," and there's reason for that. You're not entirely sure what is going on until the very end, and even then you feel like you have to watch it again right away to verify what you've just witnessed. Nolan's great at playing head-games with you, and it's nice to see him dive intos that area of film again. Even though you're always trying to piece together what's going on, none of that takes away the enjoyment of watching these characters and how they interact in the environment around them. The look and feel of the film is very dark, but it looks so gorgeous.The performances from Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale and Michael Caine are perfect. Bale never ceases to amaze me in the roles he takes, as he commits himself a hundred percent every time. David Bowie even makes a small appearance in the film, and trust me when I say this, you do not see him as David Bowie on the screen. You buy into his character completely.It must be said, even though this is a PG-13 movie, it gets pretty disturbing and the overall tone of the movie is dark and cold. I wouldn't recommend it for children. The DVD doesn't offer a whole lot of features, which is a shame because I have the suspicion that they will re-release it in a "fully-loaded" edition later on (which I will have to go and buy)."The Prestige" is a total success, and then some. It's one of those movies that you have to watch more than once, and each time you see it (just like with "Memento"), chances are you're going to pick up on something that you didn't see the first time around. If you're looking for something different and unique, I strongly suggest giving this a try. It ranks up there as one of my top favorites of 2006. Nice to see that Christopher Nolan has made another fantastic movie and has proven that he's not just a one-trick pony. The movie may have a lot of twists and turns to keep you interested, but they never take away from the great story and characters.Are you watching closely? -Michael Crane

Great watch

I've said it before, but I'll say it again. Christopher Nolan can do no wrong. Teaming up again with his Batman Begins cast of Christian Bale and Michael Caine, and joined with the Scoop team consisting of X-Men's Wolverinie Hugh Jackman and Scarlett Johansson, the stellar (eye candy) cast already set tongues wagging as to whether they'll be able to live up to the hype of Nolan's long awaited movie directly challenging the other picture about Victorian magicians, The Illusionist. The Prestige is the third act of any magic trick, with the first and second acts being the Pledge and the Turn. And this movie lives up to its namesake to a T. The way the movie plays out, it's like a huge magic trick, with the audience waiting to see how it unfolds, getting the suspicion on how it's done, but yet sitting through it thorough engaged to discover how everything will be revealed and resolved. It tells the story of how two magicians, fellow apprentices turned unfortunate rivals, plod down the slow path of jealous obsession, revenge, and the deliberate attempts to go at lengths to steal each other's ideas, to go one up against the other, a fight in romance, life and the long held passionate drive to discredit each other. There are perfect explanations of the value of secrets, and how secrets can sometimes be used as tools for deceit. What I thought was valuable in the movie was the reinforcement of the notion of how "magic" actually worked. Besides the better understanding of the common body of scientific knowledge, things like having pretty assistants to distract, and having planted staff amongst the audience, somehow made me a sceptic to tricks and illusions, and try harder to spot at which stage had things undergone a sleight of hand. More importantly, it introduced me to the notion and importance of a loyal engineer behind the scenes who designs elaborate contraptions solely for the magician's use, and how having disloyal staff can indeed be detrimental to any leaks of secrets. And Michael Caine took on this engineering role as Cutter, responsible for assisting Rupert Angier (Hugh Jackman) with loyalty and conviction that they could, as a team, beat Christian Bale's Alfred Borden. I thought the cast in general were superb, with Christian Bale leading the charge. Hugh Jackman too showed that he could play a dark character, as the two leads tackled their characters' theme of sacrifice, arrogance, and ultimately redemption, especially for Rupert Angier. I thought he did what he did towards the end was a kind of penance to what happened in the beginning, hoping to kill two birds with a single stone, to exact the sweetest revenge he could possibly muster. What also was intriguing about the two lead characters was that there is no right or wrong, no hero or villain. It's always a shade of grey in what they do, and for Alfred Borden, I felt it's more for survival and the provision for family, which is a strong subplot running through the film. I just have to mention though, that Scarlett Johansson being Esquire's Sexiest Woman Alive, gets to play a flower vase role here as a magician's assistant, though her role as the pawn between the rivals added a little gravitas. The atmosphere was set up great, and so were the costumes and sets. The soundtrack was hauntingly mesmerizing, capturing the look and mood appropriately. Look out too for David Bowie's appearance as a Serbian scientist! I was floored by the deftness of how Nolan weaved and juxtaposed the non linear narrative so flawlessly. While the usual techniques is to use placeholders, or flashback sequences, colours etc, here, time is so fluid, but yet the audience will know precisely which era they're in, without being explicitly told, or working too much of the noodle. You just know, and it's just that feeling of being totally transparent with time. Even though the movie clocked in at slightly more than 2 hours, you don't feel its length at all. At the end of the movie, one quote popped into mind: Misdirection - what the eyes see and the ears hear, the mind believes. Quite apt to describe how things work out during the movie, or to describe in general, Nolan 's films so far. That added richness to lift the movie to a superior plane. Do yourself a favour, if there's one movie you absolutely must watch this week, then Prestige must be your natural choice. It's smart in delivery and slick in presentation. There is none other. P.S. Is it just me, or are notebooks a common feature in Nolan's movies?

Great movie

Excellent movie with magic and a little bit of history mixed in.