The Prestige
Movie, 2006, The 2000s, Set in Rival magicians, 1890s London
The Prestige is #5 of 13 in release order and #5 of 13 in chronological order in the Christopher Nolan.
The story
A mysterious story of two magicians whose intense rivalry leads them on a life-long battle for supremacy -- full of obsession, deceit and jealousy with dangerous and deadly consequences.
The Prestige recap
The Prestige (2006) pits two stage magicians in Victorian London against each other in a feud that starts with a drowning and escalates into sabotage. Christopher Nolan co-wrote it with his brother Jonathan from the 1995 novel by Christopher Priest. Robert Angier (Hugh Jackman) blames Alfred Borden (Christian Bale) after his wife Julia drowns in a water tank escape, and the two spend years wrecking each other's shows, costing Borden two fingers. Borden marries Sarah (Rebecca Hall) and debuts The Transported Man, which Angier cannot work out. Angier's engineer John Cutter (Michael Caine) helps him fake it with a drunk lookalike, and his assistant Olivia Wenscombe (Scarlett Johansson) is sent to spy on Borden but falls for him. Borden's coded diary leads Angier to Colorado Springs and Nikola Tesla (David Bowie), who builds him a machine that does more than he expected. The Prestige comes between Batman Begins and The Dark Knight in Nolan's career.
The Prestige ending explained
The Prestige ends with both men's secrets revealed. Borden is hanged for Angier's apparent murder, but another Borden then shoots Angier, who had faked his death and posed as Lord Caldlow. "Borden" was identical twins sharing one life, swapping places and posing as the assistant Fallon. Dying, Angier admits Tesla's machine made a copy of him at each show and one drowned in a tank below the stage every night. The surviving twin takes back his daughter. Priest's novel wraps the story in a present-day frame with the magicians' descendants, which the film drops.
Post-credits scenes
No. The Prestige has no mid- or post-credits scene.
Where to watch The Prestige
The Prestige is streaming on Netflix in the US. You can rent or buy it on Amazon, Apple TV, and Google Play.
Ratings
IMDb 8.5/10, Rotten Tomatoes 77%
Where it fits
- Release order: after Batman Begins, before The Dark Knight.
- Chronological order: after Batman Begins, before The Dark Knight.
Cast
- Hugh Jackman as Robert Angier
- Christian Bale as Alfred Borden
- Michael Caine as Cutter
- Piper Perabo as Julia McCullough
- Rebecca Hall as Sarah
- Scarlett Johansson as Olivia Wenscombe
- Samantha Mahurin as Jess
- David Bowie as Tesla
- Andy Serkis as Alley
- Daniel Davis as Judge
- Jim Piddock as Prosecutor
- Christopher Neame as Defender
Directed by Christopher Nolan.