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- Mirror, The (1974)
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- Do The Right Thing (1989)
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- Pink Flamingos (1972)
- Ox-Bow Incident, The (1943), Or 28 Angry Men
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- Spring in a Small Town (1948)
- Drive (2011)
- Vinyl (1965)
- Seconds (1966)
- Rosemary's Baby (1968)
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- In The Heat of the Night (1967)
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- Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
- 1001 Club - Skyfall (2012)
- 1001 Club - When Harry Met Sally... (1988)
- 1001 Club - Rain Man (1988)
Prestige, The (2006)
Genre: Fantasy Period Drama (USA, UK)
Starring: Hugh Jackman (X-Men • The Fountain), Christian Bale (The Secret Agent • The Machinist)
Directed By: Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight • Memento)
Overview: At the turn of the century, two magicians develop a rivalry that becomes ever more dangerous, with each man trying to pry the secrets out of the other.
Feel free to click here to skip the spoiler bit at the beginning.
Click here to skip the spoiler: The film ends with the big reveal that the true science behind Angier's magic was more true magic than science. In the film's conclusion we learn that Tesla's Machine creates a live double. The solution to making this trick 'magic' is the same as the one with the bird in a cage - the live double, or The Prestige - must be killed. Angier solves this problem well and in doing so, also manages to frame his rival, Borden, for the murder of Angier's Prestige, which in turn causes Borden's life to be taken and thus, Borden's own Prestige is killed. Now, Borden's secret twin brother can no longer recreate the trick that made him rich and famous, 'The Transported Man'. When the film ends, screenplay writers Jonathan and Christopher Nolan have the opportunity to serve poetic justice, to allow Borden to gain access to the Tesla Machine, to allow him to undo the evil Angiers did unto him and make for Borden an even truer twin than ever he had, one that would love his wife every day, perhaps even the he opportunity for making TWO doubles, something that could make 'The Transported Man' trick truly more magical than it had ever been. In the original novel, the physics of the Tesla Machine were different, and many aspects of the film were quite different than the novel. With the Nolans taking so many liberties with the source material, why they never opted for an ending with full-circle story arcs that included these elements of justice and rebirth is surprising, as I saw it as an obvious and more rewarding conclusion, especially for Borden's character, someone who spent his life being a mirror image of himself. In a twist as sudden as the big mystery reveal, it could have made Borden the lucky one, the good guy even. In short, a conclusion I'd much have preferred.
Throughout my life, magic never wowed me too much. Whether live or on TV, when the air of mystery began, I would shift into solution mode, even as a child. Rather than following the white-gloved hand with the blooming flower or the flash of light, I would watch the other hand, the assistant, the stage, always looking for the "How" over being impressed by the showmanship. All that to say: magic is not that interesting to me, because I sometimes have a knack for knowing the trick before it has even begun. The Prestige was no exception. The film was not as exciting as I had hoped. It didn't mystify me, and the reason for that was that I knew the mystery before the trick. That mystery was Christopher Priest, author of the original novel. I read his book, his wide-open book of secrets.
My favourite shot of the film
Performance: 8 Cinematography: 8 Script: 8 Plot: 8 Mood: 8
I'm going to disagree with you on this. I didn't know the secret going in, and I found this movie very disappointing at the end. I was intrigued and into it up until the last 15 minutes or so, and the whole thing unraveled. It's spoiler-ific to explain why, so I won't here, but essentially, this film fails for me not on a magic level, but on a human behavior level.