BONUS REVIEW! "The Prestige" Celebrates Its 20th Anniversary This Year!
- Matt Palmer
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
Starting this week, I will be working on an additional bonus review that I would have exclusively available on Facebook and this website! I am current planning on having a bonus review with every review slate I work on, except for when time constraints are a little tight, such as during the seasonal film festivals. So, for this bonus review I took a look at the 2006 film, "The Prestige," which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year!
"The Prestige" is a period thriller set in Edwardian London where two rival magicians, partners until the tragic death of an assistant during a show, feud bitterly after one of them performs the ultimate magic trick - teleportation.
His rival tries desperately to uncover the secret of his routine, experimenting with dangerous new science as his quest takes him on the brink of insanity and jeopardizes the lives of everyone around the pair.
"The Prestige" is, without a doubt, one of the best psychological films I have ever seen and I always try to RE-VISIT the film as often as possible when it's available on streaming. The 2006 psychological drama/thriller is celebrated for its incredibly brilliant misdirection, mind-bending twists and immense rewatchability.
This film is treated just like a magic trick itself. The overall narrative is jam packed with clues that make repeat viewings extremely rewarding, as you always notice new details on a second or even third watch. There's also a darker, human element of the story as well, as it explores how far people will go to outdo a rival and the heavy personal cost of that obsession.
The nested timelines and the non-linear story-telling means the film does actually "play
fair" by hiding the twists in plain sight from the very first scene, which can also prompt the viewer to immediately re-watch it to catch the hidden clues.
I won't be spoiling anything about the ending or the countless twists and turns that the film delivers (just in case you haven't seen the film), but the film's ending is still one of the best endings I have ever seen! The conclusion delivers a masterclass in narrative misdirection. It successfully pulls off a cinematic magic trick that rewards viewers for paying close attention.
The overall response to Christopher Nolan's 2006 film "The Prestige" is overwhelmingly positive. Audiences and critics alike consider it a masterpiece of psychological suspense. It's also widely celebrated for its intricate, puzzle-like plot, twist ending and deep exploration of obsession, sacrifice, and the dark lengths of human rivalry.
The word "prestige" originally meant a trick, from the Latin "praestigium", meaning "illusion".
The editing includes one hundred forty-six time jump cuts, in which the next shot either flashes back or skips ahead to another time period of the storyline. This averages to almost one timeline jump per minute of movie.
Nikola Tesla was a world-renowned inventor, physicist, and engineer. For a while, he conducted electrical experiments at his lab in Colorado Springs, where he was also known for his eccentric behavior.
Sir Sam Mendes wanted to do this movie as his follow-up to American Beauty (1999), which had just been nominated for seven Academy Awards. Another offer came from Newmarket Films on behalf of writer, producer, and director Sir Christopher Nolan, of whom author Christopher Priest had never heard. Priest was prepared to close the deal with Mendes when a VHS copy of Nolan's Following (1998) was delivered to his house by motorcycle (Memento (2000) was still in post-production). Priest was impressed, and chose Nolan (in part to also support a new filmmaker over an established one).
The protagonists' initials Alfred Borden and Robert Angier form the acronym ABRA. This sequence references the traditional incantation abracadabra frequently associated with stage magic. The production utilizes this nomenclatural detail to reinforce the thematic focus on illusionist traditions.
Daniel Davis, who plays the judge, arrived on set in character speaking with a British accent, and claimed that Sir Christopher Nolan responded with bewilderment when he revealed to him that he was actually an American. Davis is best known for his role as Niles the Butler on The Nanny (1993), where he also had a British accent.
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