*** Official The Prestige Discussion Thread (1 Viewer)

[Cory S.]

WB has the international rights to distribute. Technically, through Newmarket Films, Nolan brought the film over to Touchstone.

So, more than likely, it'll be Disney through Touchstone handling the DVD. But like you said, here's hoping WB has those rights.

 

[Quentin]

Good call on SLEUTH, Haggai. Quite superior.

In fact, even the semi-remake DEATHTRAP with Michael Caine and Chris Reeve is superior to this one.

 

[Patrick Sun]

I'm glad I wasn't the only one. Talk about a disappearing act!

 

[Andrew Bunk]

Considering she doesn't make an appearance until at least 1/4 of the way into the movie, I felt like she wans't really an integral character. As such, once her purpose is served, I don't think we need to see her at the very end.

 

[Tim Glover]

She was VERY integral to the film. Her character deserved better.

And I wanted to see her again too

 

[Patrick Sun]

So, how did Angier dispose of all those dead Angiers in his run of 100 performances?

 

[BrettGallman]

It showed at the end that they were kept in the water tanks. The last shot showed a duplicate in the water tank, and there were a ton of other tanks in the shot, so that's how he did it. That was the point of the last half hour or so, because the opening leads you to believe that Borden kills Angier by moving the tank into place, when Angier had been doing it all along to get rid of the duplicates. One of the many twists and turns of the film.

 

[Chris Atkins]

I thought he only did a weeks worth of performances with the Tesla machine?

 

[DustinLC]

Hey, great discussion as well as good analysis!

Now, when Angier did his last performance where did the prestige version go? Did he know in advance to not appear? If so, how and why? I also assume that after so many performances, people would look for him to appear elsewhere, so how did he get out without being noticed?

 

[Brent Bridgeman]

Personally, after thinking about it a while, I think that the person that drops into the tank everytime is the "original" Angier, and it is a doppleganger who appears and lives. It was obvious the first time that he used the Tesla machine that the "copy" instantly realized that the "original" was reaching for a gun to shoot him, so he knew the gun was there and had all of the exact same memories as the "original", up to the time he flipped the switch.

So, when Angier mentioned how Borden had no idea of the sacrifice, I believe he was referring to committing "suicide" for every performance and letting the "copy" live and be the next "original". He did have a pretty grim visage as he stepped onto the platform (of course this could just be showmanship).

 

[Tim Glover]

I should probably see this again...

 

[Jason Harbaugh]

That's how I thought it was. Even though he still looked surprised and 'wanted to live' once in the tank, that would just be anyone's normal reaction.

Great movie, although it was almost too easy to figure out what was going on and what was going to happen. So while I was never surprised by any outcome from about a quarter of the way in, it was still fun to watch their performances. Plus it always a plus to see Colorado mentioned.

Was that the Broadmoor he was supposed to be staying at in Colorado Springs?

 

[Mike Graham]

Following the movie's logic, the person who steps into the machine is transported and a duplicate appears in their place.

So when Angier first stepped into the machine in Tesla's burned out warehouse, he was transported across the room and ended up getting shot by his clone. That clone went on to kill 100 others as he was transported across the room...

 

[Chris Atkins]

Most definitely, Tim...in fact, 32 times should be just right.

 

[Chris Atkins]

I'm not sure that's right, Mike. A clone is different than a duplicate (subtly so, mind you). I think both the "original" and the "new" Angier would have the exact same memories. Otherwise, how would the "prestige" version know that he was, in fact, the prestige, and then play to the audience?

 

[BrettGallman]

I think this actually makes a lot of sense. It explains how the duplicates know exactly what to do, how they'd have the same memories, etc. It would also serve as a nice parallel to how the two brothers (portrayed by Bale) lived their life: both acting as each brother at different times, making the ultimate sacrifice to their craft, whereas Angier just "cheats" and steps into a machine to get his duplicates.

 

[Tim Glover]

 

[Ken Chan]

Since the very first shot shows all those hats, it's possible to figure out what's going on. There are plenty of other clues, like "do you love me today".

This is the classic Star Trek transporter dilemma. When you materialize, are you "just a copy" or "the real thing"? Answer: it doesn't matter. Everyone else thinks you're you. Even you think you're you. The only person it would have mattered to is the guy who stepped into the thing in the first place. Either you cease to exist (i.e. die), and a whole new exact copy is created in your place, or you are "transported" intact. Although how can you really tell the difference? The only way to know for sure is if there is an afterlife in the typical sense, and you know you've died, and you see your copy running around living what used to be your life. And more and more copies of you keep showing up every time you transport. Dr. McCoy would appreciate the irony.

The fact that Tesla's machine creates a copy just kicks that up a notch, and makes things a lot messier. It's not a clone in the sense produced by our current science, but it is a clone in that it is an identical copy. If you could somehow tag the individual molecules you could definitively say that either (a) they stay in the device, and a copy is created elsewhere; (b) they are transported, and a copy is created in the device; or (c) they vanish entirely, and two copies are created. There's also no guarantee that the machine works the same way each time. So yes, it definitely takes guts.

 

[Brent Bridgeman]

Could you explain that? I didn't get that impression from anything said or done in the movie. Did I miss it?

 

[Ray H]

It's an homage to "Casablanca", where Sam, Rick's faithful friend, kinda just disappears.

Personally, I never thought she was an integral part of the film either. I like Scarlett, but her role was more like a tertiary character. I wouldn't be surprised to find out her departure scene/explanation was cut in favor of focusing on Angier & Borden.