Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #38 in DVD
• Released on: 2007-03-12
• Rating: Suitable for 12 years and over
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 125 minutes

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.

Customer Reviews

Fantastic
Probably the best film I've seen in ages. Great acting, great direction and a plot that twists more than Chubby Checker. A little hard to follow at times but it all becomes clear at the end!

Amazing
Great film with a nice plot to get your head round, the acting as should be expected is top notch. Just a brilliant tale about loss.. buy it. :)

Decent enough...
A murder mystery with more twists than the Usual suspects, this film can get a little confusing at times due to the narrative relying on characters reading journals and occasionally characters reading journals presented through other characters reading journals... Once you get past this and in tune with the narrative style the film is dark and enjoyable with Bale his usual brilliant self and Jackman managing not to be quite as cheesy as he usually is.

The film starts as a murder mystery where a magician has been killed, supposedly by another magician, and then takes us through a series of flash backs building a rivalry and hatred between the murdered and the suspect... leading eventually to a number of twists in the plot you may or may not see coming.

All in all its a decent effort with the main weak point being the story itelf creating several more uses for electric current than we have even now. However its definately worth a watch.