Movie Debate #6: The Prestige (USE SPOILER TAGS)

[Reed Rothchild | 9,510]

Master thread here

 

 

[TDIRunner | 2,727]

10

One of my favorite movies of all time.  Fantastic replay value.  This is the first (and only) movie I've ever watched, where I immediately wanted to watch the movie again as soon as it ended.  I won't say anymore if we don't want to include spoilers, but I would love to discuss this movie sometime with others who have seen it.  

Edited February 27, 2020 by TDIRunner

[Reed Rothchild | 9,510]

I thought about saying "use spoiler tags" but I'd hate for someone to impulsively click on one and ruin the movie

[Splain | 2,560]

Great movie. I probably said "whoa" like 50 times the first time I watched it.

[DoctorEncore | 3,690]

6/10. The plot relies too heavily on a single conceit to hold up to scrutiny. Still, it's a pretty cool twisty-turny affair the first time though.

[DefaultGen | 5,400]

10/10, probably like my second favorite movie of all time.

[mbd39 | 2,017]

Great movie about passion and professional rivalry being taken to a ridiculous extreme.

I had to watch it with subtitles to fully appreciate it due to the thick accents. I hated it on first viewing because I barely knew what was going on.

 

 

 

 

Edited February 27, 2020 by mbd39

[arch_8ngel | 1,597]

Great movie that everyone should watch twice.

[doner24 | 1,195]

Really love this movie. 8.5/10 rounded up here. 

[Gloves | 11,761]

Never seen it. 

[Skorp | 383]

Never seen it, but after that trailer I want to now!

[Reed Rothchild | 9,510]

1 hour ago, Gloves said:

Never seen it. 

Running Gloves counter:

1/6

[m308gunner | 352]

9/10 based on this alone.

[acromite53 | 337]

That movie was great. Love Bowie and Michael Caine. When I watched it with my family, we would scream whenever Cristian Bale showed up with a fake moustache or beard! I was confused by the timeline at first but it wasn't too bad. I loved the twists and turns the story took. Would recommend to anybody.

[Sumez | 2,933]

Well made and entertaining movie.

The plot twist felt incredibly forced at didn't add anything to the movie, but the rest was neat.

[TDIRunner | 2,727]

6 hours ago, Sumez said:

The plot twist felt incredibly forced at didn't add anything to the movie,

I disagree, but I cannot provide an argument without spoilers.  So I'll just say nuh-uh.  

Edited February 28, 2020 by TDIRunner

[Reed Rothchild | 9,510]

I also strongly disagree

[TDIRunner | 2,727]

I see an edit in the title.  Are we talking about spoilers now?

[Reed Rothchild | 9,510]

I figure it's hard to "debate" the movie without it

[TDIRunner | 2,727]

While I've seen this movie probably 10 times, the last viewing was over a year ago, so everything isn't completely fresh in my mind.

Spoiler

 

With that said, the plot twist at the end of the movie is a big deal because it completely changes the movie on your second viewing.  Once you know what is going on, it's actually fun to try and figure out which brother is in each scene.  There are clues and hints almost every time.

• When Borden tells Sarah that he loves her and she believes him, that is the brother who actually married her.  When she doesn't believe him ("not today"), it's the other brother.  
• When Borden says he isn't sure which knot he tied, that is the brother who isn't responsible for the death of Angier's wife.  
• Because of the previous point, we also know that the brother whose fingers were shot off by Angier wasn't the brother responsible for Angier's wife's death (sucks for him)
• We see Fallon buried alive, and later see Bordon talking about a new trick where we would be buried alive.  The first time through we think that he is acting frantic because he almost lost his friend, but in reality, we was acting frantic because HE was the one who had been buried alive.  
• When Borden is telling Fallon that Sarah thinks "something is wrong," and he wants Fallon to talk to her, Fallon is the brother who is actually married to her.

There are certainly more examples, but I really want to watch this movie again to get it fresh in my mind.

Also, while I don't think it's clearly stated in the movie, I don't believe either brother cheated on the woman that each one respectively loved.  They obviously took turns spending time with them, but I don't believe it ever went further than that.

Another question I have for those who have seen the movie.  Did Sarah figure it out before she killed herself?  It's implied that she might have know, but it could also be that we went crazy from not being able to figure out what was happening.  I'm curious what others think.  

 

 

Edited February 28, 2020 by TDIRunner

[Reed Rothchild | 9,510]

Spoiler tags @TDIRunner

[Reed Rothchild | 9,510]

...ugh, I lost my mod powers on this board at some point.  @doner24 can you fix that?

[Reed Rothchild | 9,510]

Spoiler

The entire movie is a magic trick about magic tricks.  It breaks this down right off the bat.  Everything is misdirection to get you off Fallon, not pay attention to him.  He's a central character who is never explained, never in focus, never in center.  I have NEVER seen anyone catch it even though it's in plain sight.

The entire movie is also a setup to convince you Hugh Jackman is willing to pay the ultimate cost for the prestige of a trick.  This red herring "twist" is intentionally made super obvious to get your attention off of Bale.  The reveal then shows us the true sacrifice and obsession.

Spoilers, definitely don't click if you haven't seen it

[TDIRunner | 2,727]

Sorry, I misunderstood.  Looking at it now, that should have been obvious to me.  I just fixed it.

*smacks himself in the head*

Edited February 28, 2020 by TDIRunner

[doner24 | 1,195]

11 minutes ago, Reed Rothchild said:

...ugh, I lost my mod powers on this board at some point.  @doner24 can you fix that?

I think @Gloves or @B.A. need to do that.