{"id":1660,"date":"2008-12-13T15:29:28","date_gmt":"2008-12-13T22:29:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/studentfilmreviews.org\/?p=1660"},"modified":"2008-12-13T18:40:54","modified_gmt":"2008-12-14T01:40:54","slug":"the-prestige-christopher-nolan-2006-usa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/studentfilmreviews.org\/?p=1660","title":{"rendered":"The Prestige (Christopher Nolan, 2006): USA"},"content":{"rendered":"

Reviewed by William Conlin<\/a>. Viewed on DVD.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

A magic act consists of three acts. First is the \u201cthe pledge\u201d, where the magician shows the viewer something ordinary and non-magical. Then comes \u201cthe turn\u201d, where the magician changes your outlook on the situation. The final act is called \u201cthe prestige\u201d and at this critical moment, a magician must make the viewer question reality itself to be successful. In Christopher Nolan\u2019s The Prestige<\/a><\/em>, the viewer not only goes through all three acts of a magic trick, but they are also taken on a brilliantly crafted cinematic journey.<\/p>\n

When up and coming magician Robert Angiers (Hugh Jackman) looses his wife during an on-stage trick gone wrong, he sets his sights on the man responsible for causing the accident, Alfred Borden (Christian Bale). With little regard for their friends and colleagues (Michael Caine and Scarlett Johansson), Angiers and Borden begin a rivalry that costs time, money and human lives as both struggles to out perform the other. The only question is, who can outsmart the other?<\/p>\n

This film plays out just like a magic trick. The pledge and the turn leave you guessing while the prestige will shock you and make you question everything you\u2019ve just seen. Jonathan and Christopher Nolan\u2019s screenplay uses their distinctive style of nonlinear storytelling to advance the plot through two different time periods while keeping the viewer on the edge of their seat. I especially enjoyed how the Nolan\u2019s approached the ideas of obsession and power and all the dangers that come with it.<\/p>\n

Nolan\u2019s talent for directing is complimented by excellent technical aspects. The Victorian era of magic and all its mysteries are perfectly shown through Wall Pfister\u2019s cinematography while David Julyan\u2019s score reflects the mood perfectly. Another highlight in this film is David Bowie\u2019s short but memorable performance as Nikola Tesla, the turn of the century scientist who revolutionized how we use electricity.<\/p>\n

Although you may think that once you know how this film ends it\u2019s not worth seeing again, but I found that on this, my second viewing, it is just as enthralling and worthy of additional viewings in the future. But be aware, this is definitely not a film to casually watch. To properly enjoy it, you must give it your undivided attention for missing the slightest moment may leave your very far behind in your understanding of the film on the whole. In my opinion, if you are interested in an engaging and entertaining thriller, all you have to say is abracadabra and try to figure out The Prestige<\/em>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Reviewed by William Conlin. Viewed on DVD. A magic act consists of three acts. First is the \u201cthe pledge\u201d, where the magician shows the viewer something ordinary and non-magical. Then comes \u201cthe turn\u201d, where the magician changes your outlook on the situation. The final act is called \u201cthe prestige\u201d and at this critical moment, a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":59,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[67,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1660","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-dvd","category-films"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/studentfilmreviews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1660","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/studentfilmreviews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/studentfilmreviews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/studentfilmreviews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/59"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/studentfilmreviews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1660"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/studentfilmreviews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1660\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/studentfilmreviews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1660"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/studentfilmreviews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1660"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/studentfilmreviews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1660"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}