The Prestige
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The Prestige

Year:
Duration:
130 min
Genres:
Drama | Mystery | Thriller
IMDB rate:
8.5
Director:
Christopher Nolan
Awards:
Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 6 wins & 21 nominations
Details
Country: USA
Release Date: 2006-10-20
Filming Locations: Spring Street Towers - 650 S. Spring Street, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA
Earnings
Budget: $40,000,000
Opening Weekend: $14,801,808 (USA) (22 October 2006)
Gross: $53,089,891 (USA) (8 February 2007)
Cast
Actor
Character
Jamie Harris
Jamie Harris
The Prestige
Scarlett Johansson
Scarlett Johansson
The Prestige
Hugh Jackman
Robert Angier
Christian Bale
Alfred Borden
Michael Caine
Cutter
Piper Perabo
Julia McCullough
Rebecca Hall
Sarah Borden
Samantha Mahurin
Jess Borden
David Bowie
Nikola Tesla
Andy Serkis
Alley
Daniel Davis
Judge
Jim Piddock
Prosecutor
Christopher Neame
Defender
Mark Ryan
Captain
Roger Rees
Owens
Monty Stuart
Stagecoach Driver
Ron Perkins
Hotel Manager
Ricky Jay
Milton
J. Paul Moore
Virgil
Anthony De Marco
Boy (as Anthony DeMarco)
Chao Li Chi
Chung Ling Soo
Gregory Humphreys
Policeman
John B. Crye
Voice
William Morgan Sheppard
Merrit (as W. Morgan Sheppard)
Sean Howse
Man
Julia Sanford
Elegant Lady (as Julie Sanford)
Ezra Buzzington
Ticket Hawker
James Lancaster
Moderator
Olivia Merg
Jess Borden as Toddler
Zoe Merg
Jess Borden as Toddler
Johnny Liska
Scalper
Russ Fega
Man in Hotel
Kevin Will
Man in Hotel
Edward Hibbert
Ackerman
Christopher Judges
Burly Stagehand
James Otis
Blind Stagehand 1
Sam Menning
Blind Stagehand 2
Brian Tahash
Blind Stagehand 3
Scott Davis
Carriage Driver
Jodi Bianca Wise
Glamorous Assistant
Nikki Glick
Housekeeper
Enn Reitel
Workman 1
Clive Kennedy
Warder
Rob Arbogast
Leonard (as Robert Arbogast)
Chris Cleveland
Will
Basilina Butler
Bar Maid (uncredited)
Erin Cipolletti
Dancer (uncredited)
Ernest Heinz
Rudy (uncredited)
Tim Pilleri
Piano Player 1 (uncredited)
Wendy Rosoff
Dancer (uncredited)
Gary Sievers
Stagehand (uncredited)
Inna Swann
Handkerchief Lady (uncredited)
Deanna Lynn Walsh
Woman on Carriage Bus (uncredited)
Jesse Wilde
Man in theatre (uncredited)
Did you know?
Trivia
Angier's double mumbles a few lines from a speech while rehearsing on stage before his first performance. What he's saying is actually the words of Harry Percy (Hotspur) from William Shakespeare's Henry IV, when called to appear before the king and explain his failure to turn over prisoners after a recent battle in Scotland. Apparently Hugh Jackman has used this speech in previous auditions. Presumably it was believed that having the double deliver a few lines from Shakespeare would lend him an actorly air, as his character is in fact a dissolute stage actor.
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Sarah's line "I know what you are" was not in the script. Rebecca Hall said that she felt terrible right after she said it, thinking she had given away the ending.
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Borden's infant is played by one of director Christopher Nolan's children.
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Goofs
Mr. Alley refers to Nikola Tesla as "Doctor". However, Tesla received his first doctorate in 1908, several years after the events depicted in film take place.
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In one of the earlier scenes of the movie, Alfred and Robert are seen in the dressing room after one of their performances together. Robert puts on a brown vest and crosses the room, and in the next shot he is seen pulling it on over his shoulders once again.
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When Angier puts on his vest he buttons it up while talking to Julia then the shot switches. After it goes back to him he is buttoning up his vest again.
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Quotes
Sarah: I know what you really are. And Alfred, I can't live like this.
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Robert Angier: Would I be the man in the box or the prestige?
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Burly Stagehand: Hey you! Where do you think you're going?
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Faq
Q
Where does the new matter for the duplication come from?
A
The question is not answered or even alluded to within the film. Some theories that have been suggested are that the new matter could be created from the machine by converting electricity that powers the machine into mass. The new matter could be pulled from the "air" (that doesn't exist) or some alternate universe / quantum reality. It is even possible that the machine transmutes some of the mass from the destination (or the machine) into new material. Some viewers have suggested that Angier could be split into two identical beings, each with half the matter of the original Angier. Others have suggested that the machine may just be a prop in an illusion done by Angier, and that the scene with the double being shot is merely Angier thinking of lying to Borden about the machine as the scene is shown in flashback.In the end, there is no provable physics that would account for this duplication. But this is not really the gist of the whole film. The idea is that people will see "Magic" where they want to; as Cutter tells Jess, "You want to be surprised." The average person will not care or understand the reason, especially anything remotely scientific, behind a magic trick. This is why the science (not that there is any) is skirted when it comes to transportation. People don't care. The main point is fooling them. It may also be an allegory for the way in which Tesla's very real science about alternating current as superior was hamstrung by Edison and Westinghouse, in their greed, thus reducing a very real physics application (which we now use universally, by the way), to a parlor trick. Just so, Cutter (by sympathising with Borden?) eventually dismisses Tesla's machine and Angier's "Transported Man" as tricks.
Q
If Tesla was so short of funds, why didn't he simply use the machine to duplicate precious items like gold, jewels, or banknotes?
A
This is never answered in the movie, nor is it even a part of the film. Just because the real Tesla died poor, however, does not mean that the fictional Tesla did. In the fantasy world of the movie, perhaps Tesla did use a Tesla machine to live in the lap of luxury or provide funds for research for the rest of his life. He had the perfect source; all he had to claim was that he had a gold mine. The movie indicates that people had come to this area at this time for gold prospecting. Duplicating banknotes would have been not only been illegal but unethical since banknotes have no intrinsic value. Duplicating gold, jewels, or other items with intrinsic value would neither be illegal nor unethical. Another possibility is that this is a clue that machine did not duplicate at all, but was just a prop that Tesla sold as a con. One other explanation is that the process of creating such a machine was so unpredictable that he would be simply unsure whether he could create another. The duplication aspect was a glitch rather than being part of the design. The one duplication machine that he had ultimately did not belong to him.
Q
What were Borden's last words?
A
Right before Borden is hanged he says "Abracadabra", a subtle comment to the audience. He is referring to the 'magic' which unfolds in the very next scene, when Borden's twin appears in front of Angier.
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Photos from cast
Jamie Harris Scarlett Johansson
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