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SOURCES:
Jonathan R. Olson, "Nolan’s Immersive Allegories of Filmmaking in Inception and The Prestige" (From: The Cinema of Christopher Nolan) Columbia University Press (2015)
Kwasu David Tembo, "On the Work of the Double in Christopher Nolan’s The Prestige" (From: The Cinema of Christopher Nolan) Columbia University Press (2015)
Pamela McClintock, "How Christopher Nolan's Crusade to Save Film Is Working"
www.hollywoodreporter.com/news...
5 Films That Influenced Christopher Nolan, by PremiumBeat
www.premiumbeat.com/blog/5-fil...
Christopher Nolan, "Films of the Future Will Still Draw People to Theaters" -- Wall Street Journal
www.wsj.com/articles/christoph...
The dialogue, "Do you love me". "Not today" felt mediocre initially but has a whole different meaning when you watch it the second time.
I have watched it 3 times all in same day
@@strangerui4009 i watched it twice back to back
Oh shit
@@polarski2 that's my reaction tooo 😭
This is one of many of those little hints and instances
Once you re-watch this movie, the "But where's his brother?" line has a whole new layer of meaning and a whole new layer of sadness.
Oh my god it does
Duje Vuković why?
Wesley Andrews Borden's twin brother (the one that loved his assistant not his wife) is hanged at the end of the movie, while the other twin survives. Angier kills his clone(brother refers to this as well) every time he performs a magic trick, leaving everyone thinking that he teleported and no harm was done, but every time this trick is performed, his clone is killed.
Nicole Song no its the clone that lives and he dies. Right?
Actually he states in the film, that he didn't know whether he was dying or his clone was dying, and that's why he was so afraid. Either it teleported him leaving a clone behind, or teleported a clone. Truthfully though, he dies either way since the first time he tests the machine he leaves a gun for the man in the machine to use, while in his shows, it is the man in the machine that is drowned.
One scene that has stuck with me is the “You don’t know?!”-scene. This scene didn’t make sense to me until the very end (obviously). The brother at the funeral wasn’t the one who tied the knot. This brother feels remorse, guilt and shame for what his brother did. He truly doesn’t know which knot it was, because it wasn’t him. It was his brother.
Wow I missed this one, thank you!
Wait so who even wrote Christian bales diary. Which twin was it
@@sebastianmcmillan3276 they both wrote it. That's why Angier says it's so hard to follow the diary bc it feels like a divided mind.
Vikash Samaga clever lad. There’s so much little information that u miss in the first viewing
Why did they keep switching though, why not have one twin with one wife and the the other twin with the other girl. Or the same twin that tied the killing knot go to the funeral, why switch the twin?? Whats the point in them switching constantly throughout the film???? Fantastic Film however as is always the case with Nolan.
What's so phenomenal about that opening shot, is you're essentially being given an answer to a question you don't even know to ask yet.
Yeah , similar to interstellar
Halfway through the film when I realized what was happening with the machine, I realized the very first shot is the prestige. Granted I had learned about the failings of teleportation, which this film exploits brilliantly.
So many good movies do this, it's quite common and it's a device from literature. It's called foreshadowing. In this movie it's quite heavy-handed and not at all subtle
@@embracethemystery stfu
@@embracethemystery there is a difference between foreshadowing and showing you ta part of the film you havent got to yet
In the second half of the movie, Borden tells Follen that the "little lady wants to go to zoo" and I thought to myself, well he promised his daughter that HE will take her to zoo, then why is he asking Follen to do so ? Man Nolan keeps telling you the secret so many times during the course of the movie but you just don't look for it
Bruhhhhhh
Because you want to be fooled.
That's cause you wanna be fooled.
Are. You. Watching. Closely? 😉
Abracadabra
I like how Batman is about a single person (Bale) trying to maintain two different personalities while prestige is about two people (both played by Bale, again!) trying to maintain a single personality. Damn you Nolan!
🤯 Mind blown!
This is also the case with the prestige. Angier and Caldlow are two personalities played by one man while Bordon is one personality played by two men.
waaaw 🔥♥
The Prestige is kind of Nolan's underrated masterpiece. I really really wish he would go back at least once to something small like this and Memento.
You can't go back to being unknown once you reached that high success. If he would make memento today everyone would treat it like a blockbuster movie.
Blockbuster or not it's still a masterpiece.
nah look at M.Night Shyamalan
The Prestige is way way bigger than Memento
Isn't though
A similar bit of foreshadowing to the bird scene: “When I’m done with him he could be your brother.” “I don’t need him to be my brother; I need him to be me.”
Such bloody great re-watch value, this movie!
Cutter knew alfred's secret
curiously, the little boy foreshadow the whole plot "He kills him", "But where his brother?"
XerosXIII that's the point
Wow I get it now!
I can't believe you said this, when it was obviously why he brought it up.
just stating the obvious :P
Foreshadowing takes guts and confidence not to give away the movie.
The quote near the end is also meta, because it applies to both magic and film: "You never understood why we did this. The audience knows the truth. The world is simple, it's miserable, solid all the way through. But if you could fool them, even for a second then you could make them wonder, and then you got to see something very special. You really don't know. It was the look on their faces."
Hugh's delivery was golden
It’s about fooling us making us think the crackly machine worked as a clone machine but it didn’t and the clones were wax doubles
@assaultinggravity8985 Forgive me, as I just finished watching this masterpiece for the first time an hour ago, but how could the machine not have actually worked!?
"You're the lucky one today", says Borden to the little bird. FORSHADOWING
When you actually think about how many parts of the story are foreshadowed by this scene it becomes all the more impressive
It also foreshadows hugh jackman’s character who has no idea which version of him is going to die when he does his trick
White Noise what’s weird about that is that it was always the one going in that dies. Except for the very first time.. that time the guy going in shoots the other. My personal theory: it’s both him. Just in their own respective body
My favourite thing about this movie is they actually got the only man worthy of playing tesla.
The Tykjen Starman being Starman
It's not an actor, it's TeslaBowie
They found him inside a meteor
@@andrewmcadam3357 lol
Tesla Death Ray oh yes
The canary scene, with the kid realizing that the magician killed "its brother"... it had never even occurred to me that this minor plot point was actually a metaphor for the entire movie. Mind = blown.
+Mick D Could go either way. ;) By the way, I think "analog" is the correct term when taking the context into consideration..
+Kurtis C. Not quite, that's just Angier's trick being mirrored, but Borden's observation of the chinese man's trick is the metaphor for the entire movie. He's blatantly telling Angier his trick (that his entire life has been a lie), but thanks to misdirection, he doesn't even notice. The film's title and introduction even echo this misdirection, by implying that it's all about The Prestige (Angier's trick), when in reality it's all about The Pledge (Borden's trick).
Good observation. "Are you watching closely?" is also the first line in the film. That btw, everyone should keep in mind when watching the news.
He didn't just say it. He referred to the bird as a "he" which made it even more powerful
Did his brother get hanged?
The whole movie is a magic trick. It has a pledge, a turn and a prestige.
+Folarin You took the words out of my mouth... or my keyboard. :D
Folarin Nolan will not be truly appreciated until he's dead. The man is an absolute legend
even when he's dead he'll be appreciated
I HAD THE SAME THOUGHT, bless you
I just watched it and that's exactly what I thought, it's like Inception, the movie is like a dream, it starts in the middle of the action, you don't know how you got there and it ends abruptly, it's like waking up
I love how angier starts out as saying "I don't wanna kill no doves" but in the end he is fine with killing his clone every act
That also shows how far gone he became in his obsession. Not wanting to harm a dove, to drowning his clone every act
one thing that i still have doubts about is does angier clone before every act and have the clone be the showman while he hides upstage or is the clone made right during the act and the box be placed upstage from which the clone come out, the latter scenario leaves the original angier to be the showman and the one who dies in every act. If this were true then that would mean that the original angier is long dead after the first showing of the act and the machine is capable of even cloning the memories and concionsness of the former angier into the clone, which is freaking mind blowing. This makes angiers addiction for fame and notoriety even more sinsiter to go as far as deliberately killing his original self in each act, Strafing farther and farther away from the original angier after each and every act. Am i the only one considered this possibility. Cuz the clone is made when the electricity strikes the original but the movie makes it seem like that the original angier is preserved til the very end and is the one who is killed of by fallon .
Isn't he killing himself and isn't the clone the one who lives on
@@anuroopkm3181 If you interpret the machine as really working, my understanding is that "they are all Angier", you couldn't tell them apart. Also, there is a scene were Angier drowns himself in a sink until he sees his wife, maybe he was kind of obsessed with trying to understand what she felt
5:33 look at this scene. Before Angier got shot by burden he told borden that him and his clones kept switching and he didn’t know whether he was going to be the victim or the prestige. Which angier do you think this is?
I watched this movie the first time, I am so confused.. Then came the ending, I was mind blown.. I watched it the second time in the next day (my life is dull, got nothing better to do), I noticed that Bale's characteristics changed from time to time, indicating that the twin switched their places.. You can tell by the second time watching this.. You wouldn't noticed it the first time... The one that gets sentenced to jail was really hot tempered, while the survived one was really calm.. So amazing..
Yeah Bale's performance in this film is absolutely incredible.
Nolans movies all have great actors. It's unfair to the rest that one gets all the praise.
@Hafidz Murshidie and keep rewatching over and over and over again and every single time you will spot something new. Something you didn't notice before. The movie is about magic tricks yet the best part is that the whole movie is actually a one big magic trick. Nolan is a magician.I have seen this movie at least 30 times and always get rewarded at the end. That is how good this movie is. true masterpiece for me :)))
@@tonyle4540 Now, take the time to read the book which this is based on. Be amazed again, differently.
@@kengruz669 dont be that guy
"But what happened to his brother". I have seen this movies about 10 times I think and I never made that connection.
+PauLtus B Really? It was blindingly obvious to me, as a clue to the entire rest of the movie. Funny how people notice such different things from the same piece of work... .
neuralmute I am really surprised I noticed it now. I thought I knew most there was to know about the movie.
I think it just might be the most powerful scene in the movie, thinking metaphorically. The first time I saw it, my stomach tried to jump out of my body... And I can't say anything about The Prestige without mentioning the genius of casting David Bowie as Nikola Tesla, particularly with our recent loss of the greatness that was Bowie. Sometimes you need a brilliant madman to play one so perfectly.
neuralmute I wasn't aware it was Bowie at first. I just knew I loved Tesla in that movie. The man was great at taking on different faces.
PauLtus B Well, Tesla was pure genius, and Bowie was pure genius. And neither were quite entirely of this world. Could there be a more perfect match?
Criminally underrated film.
Agree
so ytue..when I saw it, many times, I had many friends watch it, who also were blown away by iy..I understand the film, but I remember with the hats shot what Michael Caine's voiceover...that is a huge method...now I have been told we r being shown a trick thruout the movie..is that where u go into the time and space explaination?
I wouldn't say underrated, just underviewed. I don't think I know someone who gives this movie less than an 8.
I am sorry but this movie is not Underrated , some of my friends overrate it too . I enjoy this movie , I love it when movie is more than entertainment and gives you something to study
Yes, I think I meant to say it's not as widely viewed as Nolan's other movies. But I get the impression people don't rate it as much as Memento, Dark Knight and Inception, probably because it's so underviewed.
Damn.. Now I have to watch The Prestige again.
Airma D Noctis cx in the chat
Ikr
Read the book, too.
Just realised that Borden discovered the old Chinese man's trick because he and his brother were pretty much doing the same thing: living the lie on and off stage
This is one of the most underrated films of all time. Rewards rewatching over and over.
absolutely
SPOILER ALERT! (Don't read the rest of this if you haven't seen The Prestige) Totally agree. I love the idea of the cloning machine twist. This movie is a scifi pure and simple, it's set up that way from the beginning. I think it bothers people because Nolan did such a fantastic job of setting up the reality of the world first that they insist that the scifi elements are tacked one. But when you think about it, that's what all great scifi does. Unlike fantasy, scifi crafts a world that you can related to and then sprinkles in something bizarre. I think that's why scifi is so closely regard to psychological horror and also makes a great platform for social commentary.
Underrated? Its widely considered one of the better films made
I agree, but it's not often mentioned and some people hated it. I think it's brilliant on so many levels. Nolan fanboys often put his other movies ahead of this with no mention, but I think it's his best (of what I've seen).
Yeah, having Bowie play Tesla was great. I just love how the entire movie unfolds. I remember when this (and the illusionist) both came out I thought they were going to be corny magician movies, but wow, was I ever surprised. Every time The Prestige was on TV when I flipped channels, I couldn't take my eyes off it. The Illusionist was pretty good too (and I'm no Ed Norton fan)..but not as good as this one.
People talk about how this movie is easy to pick apart, but I agree with the narrator, it doesn't matter, this movie is brilliant, no matter how predictable the "turns" are. Because ultimately it's not about being "surprised," but rather, it's about being amazed at how it all plays out. A magic act is nothing, without the performance to support it.
and we're taught that as well because at first Alfred can't put on a solo show
It should also be noted that true surprise twists or turns make for awful movies because it means the movie doesn't make any sense. Most adults have seen hundreds, if not thousands of movies and there's an implicit structure and language to them that has been established over the last 100 years within cinema and before that over thousands of years of story telling, throwing away all that structure and rules to be surprising or "fresh" is awful film making. It's a fine line between making what will happen too obvious to the audience versus not setting it all up properly. In some sense the most experienced audience members should know what will broadly happen in any given scene past the set up for the movie. And if you don't set it up then the twist might as well be that aliens invade earth at the mid point of the movie or one of the characters wakes up at the end and it was all a dream.
The machine never worked, wax doubles
I was legitimately confused at how Borden got into Sarah's house so quickly on the first date
“Real magic”
That's the one scene that makes me think ''Really, that should have given it away". It was just so impossible. But I just accepted it at the time, and I haven't met anyone else who didn't.
When u watch second time, u just get baffled, about that scene
Just watched this movie tonight and I think the reason why you give this scene an easy pass is because you never know how close to reality and the “possible” it is keeping to and how much they’re faking through “movie magic” (ie. editing) to give the illusion of magic for the sake of the plot. So you’re never sure exactly how much weight to put on the plausibility of matters and whether you should question them or not. That and then the movie also steers completely into fiction when Angier gets his Tesla cloning machine at which point anything is possible in this now fictional world the movie is portraying and so all you can do is sit back and take everything as it is shown to you as trying to apply any real world logic to figure out ahead of time what is happening is an absolutely pointless exercise with the movie being able to do whatever it wants to achieve the end effect of surprising you.
100%. I guess I just chalked it up to "movie magic"@@craiggallagher4461
The Prestige was entering 6th Sense levels of mind-trickery. I could hardly stand it at the last scene. A part of me knew the story was fictitious, but I still felt completely sold on the characters from start to finish. I wanted to believe that what was happening was real, and the cinematography never impeded on how the story unfolded. I don't understand what made this movie so magical (pun intended) but I need more movies like this in my life.
Totally agree with you. I can't belive i only watched it for the first time last year. I just hope Nolan keeps on making amazing movies like these and that other film makers take note. Im sick of remakes and sequels and superhero movies. We need original movies like this.
Very well said.
Just a matter of opinion, but I don't think The Sixth Sense held up especially well on a second viewing. I think it cheated in some key spots, and despite it being the more popular film I don't think this comparison does The Prestige any favors.
@@happysaffa8871 unfortunately Nolan said he'd produce 10 pieces of work (TV series or films) only, and by now I think he made 8 so there's not much left to be seen from Nolan I hope he change his mind coz i'm a die hard fun of him
@Logan Sorry dude. But you shall never have. This is the best movie ever made. There is no movie that you can even closely compare to this phenomenal art. This is a masterpiece of all the masterpieces. This is the prestige of the cinematography.
"Studying film doesn't kill its Magic... it feeds that magic back, into the real world!"
More like nonsensical pretentious gibberish.
Bazerk Explain.
Because it doesn't make any sense. It doesn't explain why the film is good, he's just saying random shit that sounds smart.
Nah he’s right. For a while I couldn’t watch a movie without always thinking about the actors and realizing how weird it would be to be taking part. But when a movie does it well you don’t even think about it
@@BadGrief you not understanding the sentence doesn't make it nonsenscial.
What I find interesting about the Angier trick is that the first time he kills the one a few metres away and for the trick he kills the one still in the machine. No matter which way round it is, the original Angier is killed at some point, but we never know and in a sense it doesn’t matter, because both are just as much him, and whoever survives has not only murdered himself but is forced to wonder which version will survive.
Nope that was Root, no one was ever cloned the machine didn’t work
@@Davidweedlove In which case TWO doubles were killed. One shot, another drowned.
@@Davidweedlove Nah, don't buy it.
That “where’s his brother line” makes Jackman’s character’s wanting to not kill birds for the trick seem far more important. And makes Bale’s character’s killing of the bird more interesting
This is good!! ^^
It's strange to me that Jackman's character doesn't want to kill doves, but is okay with killing himself countless times
@@somecommenter4256its himself, its the same thought of hurting yourself doesnt matter as long as you dont hurt others. Its not the same
After all these years, I still can't bear the fact that Departed won 4 Oscars and Prestige none.
No way. It should've _at least_ won best editing.
Dying Morality the departed was terrible
Oscars go to worthy films, not great ones.
@@thebacons5943 Compared to the original, Infernal Affairs... I agree.
The Bacons It was a solid film. I think it was a small apology & nod to Scorsese saying “We’ve fucked up for decades. Sorry about that” Raging Bull, Taxi Driver, Goodfellas, Gangs of New York and arguably The Aviator. A few snubs here & there & pure day light robbery. It shouldn’t be like that but... yeah
Hugh Jackman was so good in this movie.
One of his best roles, to be sure
@@HORSESNDOGS9 My favorite scenes of his acting are from when he played Angier's double
His death scene delivery is pure acting
Thank you
So was Batman
Nolan practically gives away his clue like crazy, i remember the scene when Fallon was trapped in a coffin by Angier and Cutler But in the 4 people dinner scene between Borden, Fallon, Olivia, and Sarah, it's Borden that said "i invented a new trick that i was buried in the coffin and then Fallon will dig me" although it was Fallon who supposedly being trapped and Borden who dig him
I picked up on that when rewatching that scene as well, it also explains why he was so irrate when he arrived at dinner because it was actually him who nearly go buried alive and not Fallon. Noticing the mood/personality changes between the twins across different scenes is mind blowing to realise. So effective and also so well acted by Bale.
@@callumo8156 when i first watch Prestige i was like "what is Borden's problem?, sometimes he is a sweetheart sometimes he is an arse" and then when the revelation came and Angier said that he rejected Cutler's theory because he thinks that's too easy i was speechless
I love how the bird trick with the one bird dying and the other one showing up at the prestige parallels the magic trick at the end with one Hugh Hackman dying and the other one showing up in the prestige. Brilliant.
Ricky Carrillo it's also a metaphor for Alfred Borden "where is his brother?"
Never paid attention to that one small scene that foreshadows Christian Bale's doppelgänger, his twin. "What happened to its brother?"
The movie dives deep on the themes of obsession (the extent to which Angier was willing to go to uncover Borden's trick) that eventually led to his downfall and sacrifice (the price Borden paid for a good trick). What the Prestige does in addition to what was already mentioned in the video was become a metaphor for the rivalry between Tesla and Edison. Both wizards of science, highly intellectual and innovative leads that essentially produced magic in the form of science that whose relationship consisted parallel to Borden's and Angier's, featuring harsh rivalries, sabotaging, slander, essential bullying, secrets and stolen ideas/tricks. (Though in The Prestige, these acts are pretty much shared). Angier obsessed over Borden's secrets, similarly to how Edison obsessed over Tesla's. But while Edison was rich, famous and well-regarded at the time, Tesla sacrificed all these in trade for discovering areas of science that would've stunned our world today (such as allegedly finding a way to provide free energy to the world), if it not for most of his work being destroyed, hence forming the enigma Tesla is today.
ferinate101 idk if this just a random thought or if it was intended, but "Angier" is one letter away from "Anger." I wonder if that was another connection to the obsession. That his anger lead to obsession?
@@HORSESNDOGS9 Damn. Never thought about this. But since you have pointed this out I would say it is on purpose. It is Christopher Nolan. He has been playing tricks with us the whole movie. I guess this is just another one. Thx for the insight :)))
@@HORSESNDOGS9 and it just made me think about Borden and burden :)))))))
@@tonyle4540 omg... that a crazy
@@tonyle4540 Sorry to burst your bubble, but Nolan had nothing to due with that. The Prestige film is based on the book "The Prestige" by Christopher Priest. Angier and Borden were names he gave them in the book. Jonathan Nolan, Christopher Nolan's brother, adapted the screenplay.
One of my favorite films of all time. Beautiful.
If you really pay attention to this movie it's truly a Masterpiece! Every single element in this movie is perfect. You're given Just enough clues to mislead you to think about one thing but it's really something entirely different. "Slight of Hand" if you will. I LOVE this movie. My mother and I went and seen it when it comes out. I thought it was just going to be another "Magic Movie" but it wasn't I was blown away by everything in this movie. My mother and I STILL talk about this movie to this day. She has her theory about it. and I have Mine.
What are your theories?
yeah, what are your theories? i love discussing theories about this film and generally the nolan films (my favorite director of all time)
Scrody McBoogerballs sleight*
Machine doesn’t work
Rest in peace,David Bowie
BleakVision did you know Bowie originally refused to do it and Nolan flew out to his home and told him he was the only man he pictured in the role and that only *his* larger then life persona would give believability to the character?! I mean, now that's serious!
But David Bowie looks absolutely nothing like Nikola Tesla, He could have at least hired someone who looked a little like him IMO.
It rankles seeing stupid people commenting "stop being pretentious"/"stop using big words" getting so many upvotes. It's nobody's obligation to dumb down for you, if you want to enjoy it, try learning.
Being pretentious is not the same as being smart. Ex: Coen brothers. You got a bit confused there.I got you covered
Gonzesse You're not wrong, but the people my comment refer to are clearly mistaking smart for pretentious.
+Sonofa Preacherman I find if baffling there are people in the comment section who are forcing themselves to watch a video/listen to a person they're clearly not enjoying. No one is doing this to them against their will. It's their choice to do click on the link, wait for the video to load, and listen to the audio. Life is just way too short to waste it on making oneself worked up/unhappy with someone's choice of words or how they phrase a sentence.
Sonofa Preacherman He goes off on the most useless of tangents sometimes. Especially at the end of this video.
Sonofa Preacherman I didn't even notice that he's using big words
I'm fairly new to your channel, but it's quickly becoming one of my favorites. Your insights are fantastic! And the Prestige is one of my favorite films as well.
I love both of your channels!
+Jason Lee Same
I was about to say almost the exact same thing.
I just recently found this channel and I'm amazed at the quality of the video, I'm supervise this guy isn't at 1 million subs already
stop being supervise and start being surprised
lol
True
Klyde Klyde justice has been made
+Bruno Rodrigues "Served," not "made." Justice has now been truly served.
The bird murder scene made me want to see the movie... I don't know why.
PlayCreatively it's an extremely good movie, don't take your eyes off the screen!!!!!
if you blink, you miss it.
PlayCreatively It's one of my personal all-time favorite films. Don't miss out on it!!!!!
garner montgomery Well if you say so. It looks intriguing!
if you wanted to see the movie you shouldn't have watched this video -____- alot of spoilers in it already.
This is by far my favorite Nolan film
Yep, that one, together with Uncharted 4.
+Sophia V I do believe Nolan's masterpiece is Inception. But The Prestige is a craftsman at his best.
Sophia V for me it's memento and this one.
Nah, Memento beats them all
Jerel Damon Yeah. But Inception's concept was taken from Paprika a Japanese animated movie by Satoshi Kon.
EDIT: Mike D'Angelo's reply on Twitter: twitter.com/gemko/status/702604690161184768 Reposting in the main thread: Hello, everyone! I DID NOT read [the AV club article] article before making this video. I didn't know it existed. When people started posting it, I clicked over and couldn't quite believe it. After reading through I see certain similarities, but I think the key point is totally different. I'm talking about Nolan's desire to make a meta-cinematic comment on film itself. This article is talking about how Nolan uses different techniques to hide the twist of the film. Also, we discuss different scenes. The headlines match, which was a total surprise to me. I spent last night trying to figure out what the best headline would be and this popped into my mind. I mean, it's a common phrase. I hope this clears things up. I wish this was more juicy, but seriously I had no idea this article existed.
Since the article was written so recently, it's possible that you came across a preview/thumbnail of the article online (e.g Facebook) without reading it but while still being subliminally influenced/inspired by the title and theme. It then gave you the idea for a video about the film. This happens far more often than we think, and people who make adverts now how to abuse this trick very well. Don't worry about it. Great video.
Totally merciless timing. When people started posting it, I clicked on the link and I was like, 'oh crap', then I looked at the publish date and I was like 'oh crap'. Then I read it and was like, 'well this is totally different than my piece but have I just awoken an internet beast?!' I honestly had zero clue of the existence of this article, but I'm genuinely worried that people won't believe that. Ugh.
+Nerdwriter1 I find it weird how a lot of people in the comment section discredit/devalue your video due to that article. When you compare the reaction people have for something like this, to how they react when artists copy photographs for photo realistic paintings. Both your video and the painting holds their own display of skill yet your video holds a much greater creative expression (idea itself, how you link the ideas etc). Yet the photo realistic painting is usually put on a pedestal by the masses and when someone hears an article with the same name posted around a similar time people jump to the assumption of intellectual theft and become angered. I believe and see the differences in the article and video however even if it was copied, your videos are so well made that you deserve a lot of credit, regardless.
+Nerdwriter1 dude, is your channel, is your work, is your time. some people just need to be mad at stuff. if you explained yourself and defended your work, that is all. at the end of the day, you do all the hard work, not them.
+Nerdwriter1 Hey Evan, hope you don't let this get to you too much. The internet is an unforgiving place many a time. Ironically, this is the same thematic reason why the YT Fair Use Policy is such a mess right now; people online are guilty until proven innocent...and it's bullshit. Most don't understand the amount of work, time and diligence it takes to produce quality content, especially in-depth analyses like these; and being so quick to denounce is pretty much an insult to all of that work. Anyone with enough of a brain can see that the only real potential "plagiarism" going on is the title, except they are relating to two very different ideas so even that falls short. The witch-hunting mob-mentality is powerful on the net. Almost always close-minded and uninformed, but powerful. People don't stop to actually think for a second. The video has barely been out for a day and people are all giddy to start pointing fingers and reprimand you. Disappointing. Not surprised (sadly), but utterly disappointed by many of you who fall or fell under this category. Just keep doing your thing and try not to get bogged down by things like this. Honest people will always receive well back. Keep up the quality work dude, and looking forward to the new things you've got coming.
OMG! I've watched this movie a couple of times, it's true the clues to "the trick" are everywhere. The more you watch it the more you discover them, though in hindsight. One of the greatest movies EVER.
This is still one of the greatest movies I've ever seen. One of the best plot deliveries and twists I've been witness to. In a day in age of predictable plot, this movie was a breath of fresh air in having all the clues right under your nose but still getting taken for the ride.
Anyone else notice that the canary trick at the very start of the film was basically a parallel to what eventually becomes Angier's "teleportation" trick at the end of the film? So basically they give away the whole plot in the first fifteen minutes... but you don't realize it until the end of the film.
Nolan is definitely a film director that teaches you that nothing should be taken for granted in a story.
it's from a book for god sake
@@maximea4135 I've read the book and trust me, it's really different from the movie
My mind is blown.... wow dude. Fucking. Amazing!!!!!!!
They give away most of the movie in that first shot. And yes, within 15 minutes the entire plot is told. We just don’t know it as we want to be fooled.
one of the best movies of all time
Not really.
Ryan Grille One of Nolan's best. soo, one of the best contemporary movies. close enough
+Eric Miesbauer One of the best American contemporary movies, I wouldn't list it top 50 for my favorite movies these past 10 years if we count foreign movies
Ace shinigami we get it, you like anime. go live in japan, weeaboo
neither of those things. actually I was thinking of french movies although now that you mention it there have been some good japanese movies that have come out recently
this dude just analysed and broke down the film without giving any spoilers lol
Can I just say that this film is one of my all time favorites that I'm always asking people if they've seen it. The performances of Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale respectively are powerful, emotional, passionate...and as real as they come. Borden is definitely a hardened young man that grew up with few things, a hardened realistic view of the world, an ambitious and confident persona... Robert Angier was arrogant, young, ambitious and confident...yet passionate, caring to a fault, obsessive and competitive. But his pain...all through the film was soooo palpable. "How can he not know?!"...oh, god, you feel it! you'd say it yourself...you'd totally sympathize with him, as you find yourself doing in the movie. Because you think and commit to the fact that while Borden is skilled...there's something else there we cant put our finger on that makes him suspicious...the same suspicion that Angier feels. We identify more with Borden's first girlfriend that we do even with him. How'd he do that trick? Why is he so obsessed one minute and in love the next? The appearance of Nikola Tesla in it is wonderful as I'm a huge fan. Michael Cain and his character not really choosing sides is incredible. Just...the perfect story.
but he did pick a side at the end he let Borden kill Angier. Cains character said that Borden was born to be a magician which means he either knew Borden's secret or he preferred him over Angier. Maybe he was a double agent all along and I feel like he's a parallel to the man who was rescued from drowning in his story. Maybe drowning is a metaphor for reality and he finally admits at the end that drowning is less like going home and more like misery.
Javier Pacheco No, i disagree with multiple things here, he did eventually step aside and let Borden have his revenge, but that's not picking a side, that's allowing the girl to have her father, because that was the only way she could. He couldn't have known Borden's secret, he knew the method of the trick, and that's all he looked into it. He believed Mr. Fallon was a seperate entity from Borden. But he obviously preferred Angier's stage presence and he clearly bet on Angier over Borden as he continually went with Angier...but I also think it was because he could afford Michael Caine (he was pretty big for his profession), Borden was poor so he couldn't afford to buy help, ever. the drowning metaphor was because at first he used it to comfort Angier and try to bring him back to reality from his torment and despair...but in the end there was no use for it. so he told him the grizzly truth...of which Angier was already aware of.
Ian Knight because of how notorious Bale is for being a method actor, I'm a little surprised he didn't actually cut his fingers off for the role.
"If there's one fundamental theme that suffuses his entire filmography, it's that cinema, as a shared narrative, can be a hugely powerful cultural force" No shit Sherlock.
+lptomtom lol
I swear I could watch an hour long video of you describing a glass of water and still be entertained. Keep up the great work, and I'm going to subscribe to your patreon the second I'm able to. -Rick
Tbh i think thatd be entertaining. Not just describing itself though, but it does sound hard to do. I'd try to describe along with him to see how far i can get with fully encapsulating the details and parts to it
one of my all time favorite movies, so utterly spectacular. I was lucky enough to know NOTHING about it going in.. nothing at all. Seeing this movie without any expectations was one of the greatest cinema gifts I've ever received.
such a great film, David Bowie was absolutely amazing in it also
It was strange how everything aligned perfectly for this movie. Bowie was multi talented
the "but where's his brother?" scene is so perfect when I saw that the second time I watched the Prestige I realized how much was hidden so well right in front of me
I love this movie. The existential horror of what Angier is doing hits me like a ton of bricks every time I reach that reveal.
... and one of the Borden twins has a scar over his eye, allowing you to tell them apart in any given scene.
Z4RQUON What?! Really?! Crap, you've made me want to watch it again...
SirBungly Do it! It'll blow your mind!
Z4RQUON which twin? The one in love with the wife or the one in love with the assistant?
I think it's the one who is married, just off the top of my head, because I seem to remember one of the best scenes to see it was when he was showing her nephew the trick coin.
Mind blown
And here I thought that the "hiding in plain sight" referred to (SPOILERS) . . . . . Borden's having a twin brother who was with him the whole time, and nobody noticed.
Leo King about that when My Sister saw the film she noticed that detail inmediately.
I've seen The Prestige many times, yet every additional viewing you pick up on something new the film has to offer. Its been number 1 on my all-time favourite movies list for sometime now. Thanks for reassuring why it continues to remain on top :)
JusLegit nolans best story telling
I love the way the bird scene forecasts both of the major plot developments in such a clever way. It more overtly explains Jackman's character's trick but the dialogue references Bale's. It's really great.
After watching this movie, the lines “Which knot did you tie?” followed by “I don’t know”, really just slapped me right across the face lol. That line makes so much sense now.
Another cool scene is when Borden bounces the red ball to Fallon right after saying his final goodbye in jail. It is the last tell that Fallon is a twin or double. The red ball is being passed as it was in the first "Teleported Man" trick.
The gloved hands give it away.
that scene that you said is easily missed is one of the most memorable scenes from the movie. i can't imagine how anybody would miss that
+noobb1212 I think he meant easily missed in FIRST viewing..
+No Google I don't want to use my real name yes it is. because it gives away the trick, the subject dies
+No Google I don't want to use my real name . Actually no, I have only watched the film once and I was caught by that scene because it revealed the trick. You see I never knew how the bird trick worked. Then when I saw the glass water boxes being moved away 'each night' and I understood what was happening, that the duplicates were drowning
+No Google I don't want to use my real name OK if you are gonna disbelieve me then its pointless to continue. I'm not trying to impress some YT stranger
+No Google I don't want to use my real name nope
The prestige is so good, I often forget it's a Nolan film. I kid, don't slay me.
+coquio Do you imply that Nolan is a bad filmmaker?
+Chris V. please, next time write it as " >implying nolan is a bad filmmaker" tho he is also >implying we'd slay him cuz he wrong, which we won't :D of course we won't
When I was a teenager, I was hanging out at my friend's house and his family was heading out to the movies and they brought me along. The movie was the Prestige. I'd never heard of it. Never say a poster or a trailer. I was completely and unexpectedly floored. Still might be the most memorable cinematic experience of my life.
The expression on your face, that's what he does it for
I think The Prestige may be Nolan's masterpiece. Inception was always my favorite because it really introduced me to Nolan. But The Prestige may just be his masterpiece.
"But where is his brother?" The connection did occur to me after re watching the film, but the feeling was subtle; Just Like The Scene..
I watched this movie on hbo when I was 6 and I was entranced. the older I grew, the more I understood the movie. beautiful
One of the rare novel-to-film adaptations where I enjoy both equally.
Nolan's directing looks so meticulously crafted. There's careful thought laid out for his scenes. There's something so layered and precise.
Fascinating. What you are saying may explain why Christopher Nolan films are so re-watchable. The pledge, The turn, The Prestige isn't this a description of the first, second, third acts of a few of his films?
Even though I don't understand what you are saying , I still enjoy watching your videos.
This to me is probably one of the best motion picture narrative KZhead channels on the planet out there today. Your'e intelligence, scope and range of the understanding of what is the story, how it is told and all things encompassing the art of film is really a multitude of talent t that you have, and you put it together in such a beautiful way. I am very proud and very happy to be part of your channel & am grateful young talented story tellers like yourself exist and look forward to everything you bring in coming times.
I'm honestly amazed by the skills of your narration and the brilliant choice of words, each film study gives a different feeling and a vibe that i'm watching the entire film again, but, this time someone explaining me the film. Loved your videos and will wait for more eagerly.
So basically, Angier commits suicide everytime he does the thing in hopes the other Angier continues his work?
yes
No Angier has no way of knowing if he is gonna drown or not because once you have stepped into the machine you cant tell if youre the Clone or the original. Thats what the line about how It was bravery every time he stepped into the machine. «I didnt know if i was gonna be in the box or the prestige.»
Yep also because he was told that drowning feels like going home and also he wanted to frame Borden
Guys the prestige is a magic trick itself! The machine doesn’t work! He only killed once his double (the drunk guy), so that he could make batman the culprit. The solution is under your eyes, but you donkt want to see it… the scene in which you see the machine working is only told by wolverine to batman… to keep the lie alive exactly how the chinese did with the fish bowl
Not everytime. It's a 50-50 proposition as to whether he lives or dies each time.
Loved this. It would be cool if you could do a video essay about how these seamless cuts in narrative also create these different timelines in the show Westworld (created by Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy). Love your work.
This no doubt is my favorite movie of all time!!! My jaw dropped each time I understood the clues and imageries and I look forward to watching it again and again to grasp its full beauty and Prestige! Thank you for the great explanation! Just earned a subscriber :)
Your incite on cinema is overwhelmingly inspiring! Looking at a movie from the initial plot, to the simple but power cut, and the immersive staging of camera angles let's me see movies from a whole new perspective. As a photographer I pride myself on the perfect angle, capturing a simple object in an interesting and exciting way. You explain a story the same way. By taking something the audience perceives as simple, and showing us there in more to the picture, telling us the whole story we might not be able to see. I came to your channel through your Casey Neinstat video, and it dragged me in through your unique perspective. Thank you for giving us quality content, and for all your hard work!
"But where's his brother?" WTFFFFFF I just realized its a metaphor on the twins.
Could you make a video about Memento?
This is one of the rare movies that truly gets better every time you watch it. The scene with the boy crying really got to me only recently when I rewatched it, and it kinda blew my mind. I was watching it with a friend who hadn’t seen it and I couldn’t help but grin at the movie for showing it’s hand so early in the game. Well played!
Hey Ed, really enjoyed the video. Honestly, I enjoy most all your stuff. I often feel alone in caring deeply about minutiae. Your videos remind me that I'm not alone in picking everything apart, and you have a remarkable knack for putting things back together more beautiful than you found them.
The Prestige is actually my favorite movie
My only complaint with the movie is how it tosses you from present to past without a clear way of knowing which is which in the beginning of the scene. I'm sure it could put off lots of people because of that, but although it bothered me, it's a must see!
The movie is a true masterpiece. I've watched it again soon after repeating Memento as well. Once again, I was blown away. Nolan brothers are really something. I just love how their work always leaves you satisfied, yet confused whether you got it all right.
I have to say, I have watched 3 straight videos now of yours and am having trouble stopping. I love film and your passion, knowledge, and presentation are astounding. I also agree with most of your tastes in movies, so that doesn't hurt. I know I am rambling but I want to thank you for making these videos because I appreciate how you break them down, and in such a powerful and artistic way. Thank you Nerdwriter1
I absolutely loved this! One of my favourite movies, accompanied by this incredible KZhead video. Thank you!!
The Prestige is my favorite Nolan film as well
This was fantastic, thank-you! Couldn't agree more and learned a lot. Your 'Hiding in Plain Sight' insight about the line Nolan walks between immersion and meta-cinematics is inspired.
your editing and perfect narration always sends chills down my spine. i'm so happy to have discovered your channel!
The Prestige is my favorite Nolan film as well!
"At least I think it's still there!"
I only found your channel 20 minutes ago, and I already am in love with you, such great taste for movies, and very good thoughts! A joy to watch and listen to.
Your videos remind me of my Literature classes where we seek to uncover new layers of information from what we perceive with our senses, which in my example, is sight. Analyzing movies is just on a whole different level of complexity than analyzing books, of course. I just found your channel today and I have to tell you how impressed I am with your work! Keep it up! ^^ In my opinion, your channel is one of the few worth investing in :)
Thank you for this video! I love The Prestige and your well articulated analysis makes me want to rewatch the movie. Looking forward to your next video!
Your videos are great, and this is one of the best. I wonder if Nolan's films are all pointers to the "simulation theory" of reality. He seems to frequently suggest that we (the audience/observer) consent or become a part of an illusion or simulation we are experiencing, that our memory is all we have and its wholly subjective and in interstellar even that our future selves are sending messages back through time about the structure of energy.
my future self is an idiot
still smarter than my past
RICHARD GRANNON SPARTANLIFECOACH this is deep. Are you a Russ Fan
RICHARD GRANNON SPARTANLIFECOACH mind fucking blown! Totally agree with this. Love your explanation of Nolan's films bigger picture, it's his legacy. It's like every film is a message for us for the future.
Nolan's gone on record saying he loved the underlying principles of The Matrix, the quintessential "simulation" film.
Oh my god, it's unbelievably great . I can't find any words to describe my emotions after watching it. I have never had a gift to see some hidden details of film-editing and plot, so. It's something amazing. Thanks a lot. I don't regret that I have spent Two hours of watching your videos instead of preparing for exams
God do I ever love your videos! If I ever want to get excited about film, or find something new to watch, I just pick any given video on your channel. It gives me so much more to think about before sitting down to watch the movie, and I just love it.
I like how Michael Caine's narration of the 3 act magic trick is a metaphor for the 3 act structure of the film 'The Prestige' itself.
And now I need to dig through Nerdwriter1's uploads to see if he ever had any videos on "The Tree of Life" or "The Thin Red Line". I love Malick.
Oh please Mr. Writer...... if you haven't, please do "The Tree of Life". Unfortunately, it may just be my desire to shove unappreciated beauty in the face of my friends and family whom don't get the movie.
@@alexkairis3927 four years late but I do the exact same thing with that movie
The best aspect of this movie is having to watch it again and again. You appreciate the genius of this story the more you watch it. Hands down one of my favourite movies ever. It’s a masterpiece.
One of Nerdwriter’s best. Gave me goosebumps! I have The Prestige in my DVD collection. Watched it so many times. Now I’m ready for another viewing.