The Prestige [DVD] [2006]

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• This item: The Prestige [DVD] [2006] DVD ~ Christian Bale

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• The Illusionist [DVD] [2006] DVD ~ Edward Norton

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Amazon.co.uk Review
The Prestige attempts a hat trick by combining a ridiculously good-looking cast, a highly regarded new director, and more than one sleight of hand. Does it pull it off? Sort of. Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman play rival magicians who were once friends before an on-stage tragedy drove a wedge between them. While Bale's Alfred Borden is a more skilled illusionist, Jackman's Rufus Angier is the better showman; much of the film's interesting first half is their attempts to sabotage--and simultaneously, top--each other's tricks. Even with the help of a prop inventor (Michael Caine) and a comely assistant (Scarlett Johansson), Angier can't match Borden's ultimate illusion: The Transporting Man. Angier's obsession with learning Borden's trick leads him to an encounter with an eccentric inventor (David Bowie) in a second half that gets bogged down in plot loops and theatrics. Director Christopher Nolan, reuniting with his Batman Begins star Bale, demonstrates the same dark touch that hued that film, but some plot elements--without giving anything away--seem out of place with the rest of the movie. It's better to sit back and let the sometimes-clunky turns steer themselves than try to draw back the black curtain. That said, The Prestige still manages to entertain long after the magician has left the stage--a feat in itself. --Ellen A. Kim

Synopsis
Director Christopher Nolan's (MEMENTO) eclectic resume gains another interesting entry with THE PRESTIGE. Set in early 20th-century London, the film centres on the bitter rivalry between two magicians who go to increasingly dangerous lengths to upstage one another. Robert Angier (Hugh Jackman, X-MEN) and Alfred Bordon (Christian Bale, BATMAN BEGINS) start out as apprentice magicians, but when an elaborate stunt goes horribly wrong, they’re driven beyond the point of reconciliation. In the years that follow, Robert grows wildly jealous of Alfred's superior talents, so in a last ditch attempt to gain some artistic ground, he sends his beautiful assistant Olivia (Scarlett Johansson, MATCH POINT) to seduce Alfred and steal his secrets.
While comparisons to Neil Burger’s THE ILLUSIONIST are inevitable--both films are set around the same time period and both deal with suspicious attitudes towards magic--Nolan's film concentrates more on the dynamic between these two characters and the rivalry that governs their every move. As the narrative twists and turns down a number of unexpected avenues, the viewer is drawn into a complex world of smoke and mirrors, where nothing is as it seems and no one can be trusted. Bale and Jackman perfectly execute their roles, winding up the tension to an unbearable degree as they wilfully enter into some dangerously competitive patterns of behaviour. Michael Caine makes his second appearance in a Nolan film, almost reprising his role of Alfred in BATMAN BEGINS by playing Cutter, Jackman's mentor; and Johansson pouts and flounces across the elaborate sets like a classic Hollywood screen siren. Stylistically, THE PRESTIGE is full of dark, gloomy imagery and a palpable sense of menace. It's not an easy film to digest, but fans of intelligent cinema will be richly rewarded with a film that delivers on both style and substance.

The Illusionist [DVD] [2006] DVD ~ Edward Norton 3.8 out of 5 stars (75)  £4.98

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Equilibrium [DVD] [2003] DVD ~ Christian Bale 4.2 out of 5 stars (132)  £3.98

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120 Reviews 5 star:  (61) 4 star:  (35) 3 star:  (15) 2 star:  (4) 1 star:  (5)           Average Customer Review 4.2 out of 5 stars (120 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Most Helpful Customer Reviews   35 of 37 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars "The secret impresses no one. The trick you use it for is everything", 29 April 2007 By  Bel Alcat "bel_78" (Buenos Aires, Argentina) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    "The Prestige", based on a novel by Christopher Priest, is a movie that surprised me. I had heard that some people liked it, and that some people hated it, but I didn't expect "The Prestige" to be the kind of film that makes you want to watch it again immediately, just to be certain you didn't miss anything. And that is exactly what happened in this case... This film, directed by Christopher Nolan, is a drama set in late 19th century London that has some ingredients that can only be described as fantasy. All the same, the spectator won't be able to shake off the feeling that what he is watching is real, due to the excellent way in which the actors, the director and the scriptwriters managed to bring Priest's novel to life. The title of this movie has to do with one of the three acts of which every outstanding magic trick consists. The first act is "The Pledge", when the magician shows you something seemingly ordinary. The second act is "The Turn", when the thing that seemed ordinary is turned into something extraordinary. The last act is "The Prestige", the act that crowns the magic trick and makes it unique. Magicians live and die for "The Prestige", and that act is somehow at the center of this story. The main characters in this film are two magicians, Alfred Borden (Christian Bale) and Rupert Angier (Hugh Jackman), that due to a tragedy go from friendly rivals to fierce enemies. The quest of each one of them is to best the other, no matter the cost, notwithstanding the means. Who is the best magician, who can really achieve "The Prestige"? And will he live to boast about it? On the whole, I can say that I thoroughly enjoyed watching this movie, and that I would gladly watch it a third time. Highly recommended... Belen Alcat Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)   19 of 20 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars Inside the Magic Circle, 30 Jan 2007 By  Steps "steps_lowe" (Luxembourg) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    Ask yourself if you liked Memento. If yes, carry on reading, if no then skip to the final paragraph. Ask yourself if you liked Insomnia (the Pacino/Wiliams/Swank remake not the Norwegian original). If yes, keep reading, if not skip to the penultimate paragraph. Now did you enjoy Batman Begins if yes... you get the drift. Christopher Nolan has a signature style. He likes to contort time and space. He enjoys keeping audiences guessing right up until the end. Even, albeit to a lesser extent, in his take on the Batman legend. It would seem that such trickery would go arm in arm with a tale based around two rival Victorian illusionists. And to a degree it does. Though The Prestige does manage to craftily avoid simple pigeonholing, it is a complicated tale requiring effort and patience. That said, not unlike The Usual Suspects and The Sixth Sense it will be best to avoid the t*sspots who can't keep the twists and turns to themselves before you nestle down with your popcorn and nacho's. There shall be no spoilers here. What can be discussed is the premise and it follows thusly: Christian Bale stars as Alfred Borden an ambitious and talented illusionist, performing as The Professor in small non-descript theatres. Technically gifted, Borden lacks any sense of scale, presence or spectacle. Hugh Jackman plays Rupert Angier, the more flamboyant but less skilled magician The Great Danton, who sells out larger auditoriums, yet craves more fame. Both learnt their trades, side by side as assistants (plants) to an older mentor and their rivalry quickly grew from boyish competition to something far more dangerous. After a spectacular illusion by The Great Danton goes sour, Borden is tried and jailed for the apparent murder of Angier and what follows is a mind bending series of flashbacks, flash forwards and double takes. We've seen this before of course with Memento, but here there is no simple inverse narrative to grasp on to. The jailed Borden acquires Angier's diary and reads with both bemusement and anger his foes thoughts. Within one of these flashbacks it transpires that Angier had previously stolen Borden's own diary in an attempt to best his current trick and we are then launched into a further flashback. And this is all before David Bowie turns up as a mad scientist. Confused? Good. Take The Prestige at face value and it shouldn't work, but start thinking outside the given box and it manages to perform on many levels. This is a slow burn production, with flashes of violence and science fiction but however stylized the delivery is The Prestige would fail if the characters were not believable. Fortunately Nolan gets the best out of his ensemble. Bale, as the nominal villain, is as solid as ever with his role being the more introverted and impassive foil for Jackman's grandstanding magician who will go to great lengths to be the best. Despite the two sharing very few scenes their rivalry is carefully balanced between awe, appreciation, hatred and jealousy. It's refreshing that Nolan doesn't spoon feed his audience, instead adopting an approach that, not unlike Michael Caine's opening monologue (The Set Up, The Performance and The Prestige), is as reliant on misdirection as it is on its study of retribution, revenge and obsession. The Prestige is bound to split audiences between those that grasp the non-linear time structure and those that struggle (or can't be arsed) to put the pieces together themselves. Nolan's framing is deliberately skewed, exterior locations are shrouded in mist and the largely handheld interior scenes are forever roving, forcing you to concentrate. Drawing you in and effectively tricking you. To borrow from the movies tagline `Are you watching closely?', in order to get the most of Nolan's tricky genre defying web of jealousy and revenge, you'd better be. Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)   17 of 18 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars Magic with an ending that will make you want to watch again...and again, 15 Jul 2007 By  Hugh Garske (Maidenhead, UK) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)    This movie may just renew your interest in magic and also give you an insight into what goes on behind the scenes from technical, psychological and marketing points of view. Of the two main characters, Christian Bale is the better technically whereas in one of his best roles Hugh Jackman's character is the consummate performer. Their working relationship soon dissolves and they end up as fierce competitors with no scruples. The movie itself performs a couple of expected and unexpected magical acts and overall takes us to the boundary of true and false magic and presents us with the notion that we enjoy being deceived just as long as we get a sense of knowing how it may have been done. Christopher Nolan pulls off another gem. Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this) Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review › See all 120 customer reviews...		Ad feedback   Most Recent Customer Reviews 5.0 out of 5 stars Very good. An excellent film intriguing plot very twisty tale that keeps you on the edge of your seat Michael Caine is a very good actor. Read more Published 1 month ago by Lcparker 5.0 out of 5 stars Prestidigator This is an impressively staged and mounted film and the acting substantially backs up this director's vision. Read more Published 1 month ago by technoguy 5.0 out of 5 stars Decieving from start to finish "The Prestige" is one of those movies that comes along every so often that immediately afterwards, you have to watch again. Read more Published 2 months ago by reading fool 4.0 out of 5 stars "The man stole my wife. I'm going to steal his trick" After the death of a magician, we get to see the backstory leading up to this event - and beyond... ... Read more Published 3 months ago by DangermouseZilla 5.0 out of 5 stars Stunning Magic This film combines the stupendously attractive cast with a clever plot that really does make you want to re-watch it immediately. Read more Published 5 months ago by Teddy M 5.0 out of 5 stars Are you wathcing closely? THE PRESTIGE is based upon a novel by Christopher Priest. Having not read the novel, I cannot compare the two, however if the book is half as good as the film version, then it... Read more Published 5 months ago by Brida 5.0 out of 5 stars Mysterious and consistent drama that really does make you wonder Working in the magic industry has turned Alfred (Bale) and Angier (Jackman) into bitter enemies that are threatening their professional and personal lives. With J. Read more Published 6 months ago by Stampy 5.0 out of 5 stars A Movie Worth Watching Closely 100 years ago, there were two fledgling magicians. Both Robert Angier (Hugh Jackman) and Alfred Borden (Christian Bale) are the plants in an audience who help a magician with his... Read more Published 7 months ago by Mark Baker 5.0 out of 5 stars Twists, turns and a haunting ending This is a story of envy, revenge and obsession and its not until the end that the penny drops and you see what has been going on all the way through. Read more Published 7 months ago by Ms. Heather Pearson 2.0 out of 5 stars the prestige vs. the illusionist - no contest I was totally spellbound by the illusionist, brought out around about the same time as this film, so it was with slight anticipation that I watched this, expecting that it... Read more Published 8 months ago by Ms. F. I. Macdonald Search Customer Reviews Only search this product's reviews › See all 120 customer reviews...

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