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Ever since I posted my review of The Prestige way back when, people have been ending up on our site after searching for keywords such as “The Prestige movie explained”, “Prestige explanation”, “The Prestige movie”, “What happened in the end of the Prestige?” and “what happened at the end of the Prestige.” I’ll agree, the movie was a bit overwhelming the first time we (Christine and I) saw it in the theater, and we left asking each other a ton of questions, almost to the point where we turned around and went back in for a second showing. However, the second time we watched the movie, most of the confusing parts made perfect sense.
Since there seems to be so much confusion over what happened, I’ve watched the movie two more times (my fifth and sixth viewings), and made notes of various “clues” throughout the movie, and hopefully explain what happens in the end. So, if you’re curious or confused, read on:
We know that The Prestige is told out of order, which in itself can be partly to blame for the confusion. Christopher Nolan (the director) likes making jumbled up movies. If you’ve never seen Memento, you should check it out, especially if you liked The Prestige. So, since the movie itself is told out of order, I’ll straighten it out, which may help a bit.
The very beginning of the movie is “today”, so to speak, the murder trial part. This is what’s considered “now.” However, the majority of the movie is told through a flashback. Alfred Borden (Christian Bale) is in jail up until about an hour and fifty minutes into the movie. Borden’s in jail for murdering Angier (Hugh Jackman), in a magic trick gone wrong. All of the flashbacks are shown as Borden reads through Angier’s diary entries, which were provided to him by the assistant of Lord Caldlow.
Within the flashback (Borden reading Angier’s journal), Angier reads Borden’s journal. I think this is the part that confuses everyone. So let’s untwist the entire movie. I’ll explain in details how we come to the conclusion(s), after the explanation.
This is a summation of the events of the movie, in the order in which they happen on-screen, not necessarily the order in which they actually happened for the characters.
- NOW – Voice-over explanation of how magic tricks work. (Michael Caine’s voice-over)
Borden watches Angier drown.
Borden’s on trial for murdering Angier.
Borden goes to jail.
Borden is approached by Caldlow’s assistant (Owens), looking to buy his tricks, specifically the “Transported Man” secret.
As a show of good faith, Owens gives Borden Angier’s journal.
Borden reads Angier’s journal while imprisioned for murdering him, awaiting his death.
- FLASHBACK (Colorado) – Angier’s reading Borden’s diary, while in Colorado. Angier is in Colorado trying to figure out how Borden did his trick “The Transported Man.”
Angier tries to see Nikola Tesla, to create him a machine to do the “Transported Man” trick.
- FLASHBACK (England) – We go back to the first time Angier and Borden worked together as “plants” (people stuck in the crowd, but are really part of the show). The woman they tie up, who does the trick, is Angier’s wife Julia. Borden sets up his “masterpiece” by saying, “No one can do my trick.”
Cutter sends Angier and Borden to see the Asian magician, to see who can figure out how he does the “fishbowl” trick. Borden figures out the trick, that the Asian magician isn’t really old and fragile, that it’s part of his act, so that he can bring the fishbowl out on stage, between his legs.
- FLASHBACK (England) – Borden is performing as an assistant to Cutter’s friend. He meets Sarah, and her nephew. When Borden shows the canary to the crying boy, the boy asks, “But where’s his brother?” (Possible foreshadowing to the end of the movie)
Outside, Borden tells the little boy, “Never show anyone, they’ll beg you and they’ll flatter you for the secret.” (Another possible foreshadowing event to the end of the movie.)
Sarah goes inside her apartment, and locks the door. Borden appears inside her apartment.
- NOW - Cutter shows the judge Angier’s machine. Cutter asks if he can prevent Caldlow from getting the device. He explains it’s too dangerous, and that there is no trick, that the device is “real.”
Cutter shows the judge the tank that Angier drowned in, and that the trick lock was replaced with a real lock.
- FLASHBACK (England) – They perform the “woman escaping” trick again. Borden ties a different knot. Julia’s unable to escape, and drowns. (I know what you’re thinking, why didn’t anyone give her CPR? I wondered the same thing, and thought that maybe CPR wasn’t around in the late 1800s, but according to Wikipedia, it was.)
At the funeral, Angier asks Borden which knot he tied, he says “I keep asking myself that.”, “I’m sorry, I just don’t know.” Borden leaves, Angier yells at him “You don’t know?!”
Sarah meets Mr. Fallon, who speaks his some of his very few lines of the entire film. (I had not noticed this until just now, and am watching the movie so I can be sure these notes are accurate.) When he speaks, his mouth barely moves, and you don’t notice him speaking. He sounds so much like Borden, you assume it was he who spoke.
Sarah tells Borden she’s pregnant, his first words are, “That’s great. We shoulda told Fallon.” Foreshadowing? I think so.
He says he loves her, she replies with, “Not today, you don’t.”
- FLASHBACK (England) – Borden is performing his tricks in some little dive theater, being booed. He performs the bullet-catch, and a disguised Angier slips a bullet into the gun, and shoots off two of Borden’s fingers.
- FLASHBACK (Colorado) – Angier reads that Borden wrote “I told him the truth, that I have fought with myself over that night. One half of me swearing blind that I tied a simple slipknot, the other half convinced that I tied the langford double. I could never know for sure.”
- FLASHBACK (England) – Borden’s fingers are bleeding, again. The baby is crying, so we know this is months and months later.
- FLASHBACK (England) – Cutter invites Angier for a drink, tells him he wants to book Angier to perform. He settles on the name “The Great Danton”, and begins working on tricks. They hire Olivia (Scarlett Johansson) to be Angier’s assistant.
The Great Danton performs his tricks, Borden shows up, and repays him for shooting off his fingers by sabotaging Angier’s trick. The theater owner throws them out after a spectator gets hurt on stage.
- FLASHBACK (Colorado) – Tesla’s assistant meets with Angier, and tells him Telsa can see him. Angier tells the assistant that he wants the same machine that Tesla built for “another magician.” Tesla’s assistant shows Angier the work that Tesla’s working on.
- NOW - Borden’s daughter visits him in jail. Fallon tells Borden that they’re taking his daughter away to the “workhouse.” Borden says it’s okay to sell the secret to Caldlow, so that his daughter can be safe.
- FLASHBACK (Colorado) – Angier meets Tesla (played by a wonderful David Bowie), who agrees to build the machine that Angier wants.
- FLASHBACK (England) – Angier is putting on a disguise, to see Borden perform. We see Borden perform the “Transported Man” for the first time, and it stuns Angier to the point of obsession.
Cutter says “He uses a double;” “It’s too simple,” Angier says. Olivia agrees that he’s not using a double.
Angier and Cutter start setting up their version, and find a double for Angier.
Borden buys Sarah a house. She says “I asked you about this last week, you said…”; Borden replies, “You caught me in a wrong mood.”
Angier performs his trick “The New Transported Man” with his double. They celebrate.
Angier tells Olivia to go work for Borden, to get his secrets.
Olivia goes to tell Borden she wants to work for him, and that she’s going to doublecross Angier, because he sent her away.
We learn that Borden was the one who told the double that he could demand more, which is why he begins sabotaging the “New Transported Man” trick. He tells the double “I used a double.”
Angier shows up at Olivia’s. She tells him about the disguises at Borden’s, and that Cutter was right, that he “uses a double.” She gives Angier Borden’s notebook.
Angier follows Borden, Fallon follows Angier. Cutter and Angier trap Fallon in a coffin, and bury him alive. They threaten to let him die if Borden doesn’t give them the secret to the Transported Man trick.
- FLASHBACK (Colorado) – Angier visits Tesla’s workshop for a demonstration. Tesla attempts to use Angier’s hat for the demonstration, but nothing happens – the machine doesn’t work. Angier is rushed out of the workshop.
- FLASHBACK (England) – We find out Olivia doublecrossed the doublecross.
We find out Borden loves Olivia. He says “To open myself to such a relationship, to the dangers of such an affair, I need assurances of fidelity, of love. I had to be sure. I know a way, it’s the only way to know her mind.”
Angier finds out the journal that he’s been reading was written by Borden specifically to be read by Angier.
- FLASHBACK (Colorado) – Tesla’s machine does work, and they clone a cat, which Angier finds outside, along with dozens of his top hats, which were the results of the previous tests that they thought weren’t working.
- FLASHBACK (England) – Sarah’s drinking problem continues, getting worse.
Borden asks Fallon to take the daughter to the zoo, he says that “Sarah, she knows.”
- FLASHBACK (Colorado) – Telsa’s workshop has been burnt down, presumably by Thomas Edison’s men, who were his competitors.
Tesla left the working machine for Angier, who brings it back to England and begins practicing with it.
- FLASHBACK (England) – Angier works with the machine, and clones himself.
- NOW - Borden reads in Angier’s journal, “Yes you, Borden. Sitting in your cell, reading my diary, awaiting your death, for my murder.” Angier’s journal was intended for the other to read, just as Borden’s was.
Caldlow’s assistant explains that the journal wasn’t fake – it truly is written in Angier’s own hand. Borden hands over his tricks, without the prestiges. Says he wants to see his daughter one last time, before he hands over the prestiges.
- FLASHBACK (England) – Borden and Sarah are fighting. Sarah says “I know what you really are, Alfred.” Fallon takes the daughter away, so she doesn’t hear the fighting. We assume they’re fighting over Olivia.
Sarah hangs herself at Borden’s workshop.
- FLASHBACK (England) – Angier meets with Cutter, and tells him he wants to do another show, 100 performances.
Sarah said she wanted to meet Olivia before she hung herself; Olivia wonders what she would have said.
Borden says “Part of me loved her, part of me didn’t,” in regards to Sarah.
Olivia leaves Borden, because of how cold he is about Sarah’s death.
Angier performs his “Real Transported Man,” Borden knows he falls through the stage to dissappear, but not how he transports across the theater.
Borden yells at Fallon, and asks “Why can’t you outthink him?”
Angier’s stagehands remove the tank, while Fallon watches.
Borden says, “Let him have his trick, I don’t need his secret. So, don’t go back there, leave it alone, both of us. Just leave it alone. We’re done.” to Fallon.
Bordon examines the machine, and goes downstairs and watches Angier drown. He tries to break the glass, to save him.
Cutter identifies Angier’s body, who’s now dead.
- FLASHBACK (England) – Cutter asks if he can buy the Transported Man machine. Caldlow’s assistant says that he can ask Caldlow for the machine.
- NOW - Caldlow shows up to visit Borden, with Borden’s daughter Jess. Borden says, “I’ve missed you so much, Fallon has too.”
Caldlow is really Angier, or rather Angier is really Caldlow.
Borden is confused, because Angier is supposed to be dead, which is why he’s in jail.
Borden offers to give Angier the secret to the “Transported Man.” Angier rips it up, and throws it away. Angier says “Whatever your secret was, you have to agree, mine was better.”
Borden promises to bring Jess home soon.
- NOW (Somewhere in America) – Cutter shows up at Caldlow’s house, and sees that it’s Angier.
Cutter feels guilty for helping get Borden hung.
Caldlow says he’ll ensure the machine will be destroyed.
- NOW - Borden is talking with Fallon in jail, and says, “You’ll go alone now.”
Borden says “You were right, I should have left him to his damn trick. I’m sorry. I’m sorry for a lot of things. I’m sorry for Sarah. I didn’t mean to hurt her. I didn’t. You go live your life in full now, go live for both of us.” (Another clue from earlier, when Borden told Fallon to “leave him and his trick alone.”)
Fallon says, “Goodbye”, his second line in the movie at 1:54
- NOW - They bring Borden to be hung.
Cutter helps Angier lower the machine into the basement, where his other props are.
Borden’s last word is, “Abracadabra.”
Fallon enters Angier’s theater, as Cutter leaves.
Ball bounces to Angier, Borden shoots him.
Borden emerges from the shadows, minus two fingers, and removes Fallon’s hat.
Angier figures it all out. “A brother, a twin” he says.
“You were Fallon, the whole time.” Borden replies, “No, we were both Fallon, and we were both Borden.”
Borden explains (with help from flashbacks) how they cut off two fingers of the twin after the bullet catch incident, and how it was “bleeding again.”
He also explains the situation with Sarah and Olivia – “We each loved one of them. I loved Sarah. He loved Olivia. We each had half of a full life. Which was enough for us.”
Angier explains his trick. The machine would clone him each time, and he would then kill himself, and live on as the clone. Or, in some instances, he would kill the clone. “It took courage to climb into that machine every night, not knowing, if I’d be the man in the box, or the prestige.”
Angier’s dropped latern sets the theater on fire. The theater burns down.
- NOW - Voice-over, Cutter explains the magic trick again.
Borden shows up, and picks up Jess (the daughter) from Cutter.
As Borden leaves the theater, we see the water tanks with the Angier clones in them, drowned. We assume that each night he performed the trick, he killed another of himself/a clone, and kept their bodies hidden.
The movie ends.
Explanation of the higher-level points:Angier’s story: Angier was really Lord Caldlow the entire time, from the beginning of the movie, to the end. He pretended to be Angier so he could perform magic, without anyone knowing who he really was.
His wife was killed in an accident, so he took out for revenge against the man he felt was responsible for it, Borden.
Angier’s trick was performed with Tesla’s machine, which cloned him. The clone would generally take over for Angier, and Angier would be killed each night, as part of the trick.
Borden’s story: Borden had a twin brother. Each of them took turns being Borden, and being Fallon (the assistant). We don’t know which one was really which one, and if their names were really Alfred and/or Fallon.
One of them loved Sarah, the other loved Olivia.
Their trick was performed using a double, exactly how Cutter said it was performed.
One of them was hung in jail, the other confronted Caldlow/Angier, and shot him, leaving him for dead. He then picked up his daughter Jess, and went on with his life.
—————–
Clues? There’s a ton of them throughout the movie. And if you want to see them all, watch the movie a second time. Every time I watch it, I find new things that I’d missed before. Here’s a list of all the clues I’ve found, and the times they occur. (The time stamp is according to the Region 1 encoded DVD, and is in minutes:seconds format)
00:45 – We see Angier’s multiple top-hats, indicating that Tesla’s machine works.
02:04 – Angier uses blind stage hands, so they won’t see the dead clones.
02:47 – Angier/clone falls into the water, and drowns.
05:22 – Fallon is seen with Jess (the daughter) in the courtroom.
14:13 – “No one can do my trick,” Borden says, indicating that he’s put his entire life into the trick.
16:41 – “This is the trick” Borden says about the Asian magician. He can pick it out so quickly, because he’s doing the same thing.
19:23 – “But where’s his brother?” Sarah’s nephew asks Borden, foreshadowing that Borden has a brother.
20:20 – “Never show anyone, they’ll beg you and they’ll flatter you for the secret,” he says to the nephew, outside the theater.
21:09 – Sarah locks the door, with Borden outside. The twin brother’s already inside.
27:14 – “I’m sorry, I don’t know” – when Angier asks Borden which knot he tied. He doesn’t know, because the brother tied the knot.
28:00 – When Sarah says she’s pregnant, Borden’s first response is, “That’s great, we should have told Fallon.” Borden reacts this way because Fallon was actually the father.
30:07 – When Borden says he loves Sarah, she responds, “Not today, you don’t.” Sarah knows that the Borden in front of her doesn’t really love her. The other one does.
33:03 – “I told him the truth, that I have fought with myself over that night. One half of me swearing blind that I tied a simple slipknot, the other half convinced that I tied the langford double. I could never know for sure.” – Borden himself isn’t sure which knot he tied. The two Bordens fight over it.
33:26 – Sarah says, “I don’t understand how it can be bleeding again,” in regards to Borden’s two severed fingers. They’re bleeding “again” because they had just been cut off of the other twin.
42:10 – Tesla’s assistant says “Two of ‘em,” in a completely unrelated conversation. But still, it’s a hidden clue.
46:44 – “I love you,” Borden says to Sarah, who replies, “Today it’s true.” This is the Borden who does love her.
48:05 – Fallon always wears gloves, to hide the fact that he’s missing the same two fingers as Borden.
51:30 – Tesla asks Angier, “Have you considered the cost?” in regards to the cloning machine. Losing one’s life every night is not an easy task.
54:55 – Cutter says “He uses a double.” It’s his simple explanation of the Transported Man trick.
56:20 – When Borden buys the house for Sarah, she says, “But we talked about this last week.” Borden says, “You caught me in a wrong mood.” She had talked about it with the other Borden.
1:04:30 – Fallon leaves when Olivia enters, so she can’t see who he really is. She would be able to tell.
1:07:58 – Borden admits to Root (Angier’s double) that, “I used a double.”
1:10:49 – “Cutter was right, he uses a double.” Olivia says to Angier, explaining about the “extra wigs” not used in the show.
1:11:10 – Olivia says, “He lives his act, don’t you see?”
1:16:52 – “How does he do it?” Angier asks Cutter, who replies, “The same way he always has.” Cutter insists Borden uses a double.
1:19:07 – “I had a terrible ordeal today,” Borden says to Sarah, as to why he’s drinking. Of course he did, he was buried alive as Fallon.
1:19:30 – “Secrets are my life,” Borden says to Sarah, “Stop performing.” she yells at him.
1:21:50 – When Fallon is taking Olivia home, he stares at her through the glass of the carriage. This is the Borden who loves Olivia.
1:22:00 – “To open myself to such a relationship, to the dangers of such an affair, I need assurances of fidelity, of love. I had to be sure. I know a way, it’s the only way to know her mind.” – Borden isn’t talking about cheating on his wife, really. He’s talking about how one Borden can be in love with Olivia, without Olivia giving away the secrets.
1:25:30 – We see Angier’s top hat duplicated, along with the handful of black cats.
1:26:38 – “I promised, did I?” Borden says to his daughter Jess, in regards to going to the zoo. The other Borden had promised to take her.
1:27:22 – “It’s so much harder when you don’t” Sarah says, in regards to the days that he loves her.
1:27:44 – “Jess wants to go to the zoo, I thought maybe you could take her,” Borden says to Fallon.
1:27:56 – “She knows,” Borden tells Fallon about Sarah.
1:28:38 – “I saw Fallon hanging around today,” Olivia tells Borden. Fallon (that day) was the one who loved her.
1:32:44 – “Olivia means nothing to me,” Borden tells Sarah. This is true; the other Borden is the one who loves Olivia.
1:33:05 – Sarah says she’s going to tell everyone what “You really are.” Borden says, “Sarah, shut up! You can’t talk like this.”
1:33:20 – Fallon carries Jess off.
1:34:07 – “Do you love me?” Sarah asks Borden. “Not today, no” he replies. The other Borden is the one who loves her.
1:38:49 – “I never loved Sarah,” Borden says to Olivia “part of me loved her, but part of me loves you.” The two separate “parts” are two separate people.
1:43:40 – “Why can’t you outthink him?” Borden says to Fallon. Fallon has no gloves on in this scene, the only time in the movie he’s gloveless, however he left hand is hidden under the table.
1:44:53 – “Both of us, leave him alone,” Borden says to Fallon.
1:49:22 – “Fallon’s missed you too, we both have.” Borden says to Jess, while in jail.
1:54:03 – “You were right, I should have left him alone. I’m sorry. I’m sorry for a lot of things. I’m sorry about Sarah” – Borden says to Fallon from jail. At this point, Fallon was the Borden who loved Sarah. The “I should have left him alone” is a big clue, which goes back to 9 minutes earlier, when Borden tells Fallon to leave him alone. At this point, they’re switched. The Borden who said “leave him alone” is now Fallon.
1:54:11 – Borden tosses the red bouncing ball to Fallon, just like he did in the act.
1:57:30 – Fallon enters Angier’s theater.
1:58:08 – The red ball bounces to Angier.
1:58:30 – Fallon comes out of the shadows as Borden.
1:58:43 – Angier figures it out, saying, “A brother. A twin. You were Fallon the whole time.” Borden replies, “No, we were both Fallon, we were both Borden.”
1:59:54 – “We each loved one of them”, Borden explains how they loved Sarah, and Olivia
2:01:59 – Angier shoots the first clone in a flashback, and explains how he cloned himself for the trick to Borden.
This movie is fantastic, and I highly recommend you check it out, if you haven’t already. If there’s anything I missed, or something that doesn’t make sense, please leave a comment, and I’ll do what I can to address it for you. I hope this helps clarify some of the questions you’ve had about The Prestige, I know it was a lot of fun to write, and it’s always great to get to watch the movie over and over again.
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12/25/2012
Carter said "Josh
I could be wrong but angier could have noticed the disguised Borden inspecting the machine (when angier asks if members ..."
One possible explanation to why Borden game Angier the code, TESLA.
1st, Borden’s diary was meant to trick Angier, hence Borden used the password TESLA to craft the notebook.
2nd, Borden was, at that point of time, unknown to the public, hence he wants to trick Angier to go for a long trip, so that Borden can build up his reputation in the absence of his arch-rival.
Regarding the Borden-Fallon mystery, I guess it doesn’t matter anymore. Whether they are a pair of natural twin or a pair of artificial clones doesn’t affect our understanding of the film.
However, IMHO, they are natural twins, as before Tesla came out with the cloning machine, Borden has already got his transported man trick.
They are definitly twins, for Borden never new the secret to Angier’s trick until the very end. Also, the Tesla code could have been to explain the electrifying rods above the doors when he performed the transported man, for he says Tesla is the method, not the secret/trick.
How do people possibly believe that it’s the created clone who dies each night? Every time the machine is used the duplicate is created a few yards away, in the case of the theater, at the balcony. The clone becomes the new Angier for the next night and so on; you witness the Angier doing the trick fall through the trap door into the tank, that’s not the clone because that night’s clone wasn’t made yet..
Borden didn’t know about the machine and he had a real brother, not a clone. If he knew about Tesla’s machine he would have figured out how Angier was doing his trick. Borden gave to Angier the name “Tesla” because Tesla was a well known scientist at this time and something more: people thought of him as a magician, a man who could amaze them with unbelievable new technologies, and many rumours started spreading about imaginary devices that he had built (even today many people talk about Tesla weapons etc). So Borden knew that Angier would be obsessed and he would spend a fortune and much time in America. Plus, he would have been tricked by him and he would be furious when he realised that. So that would be enough for Borden and I think that the Borden-clone explanation isn’t right.
The thing that bothers me the most though is that Angier had to commit suicide every night. I can’t believe that, as when we saw him falling in the box, he looked quite surprised and terrified, and he was asking for help from Borden. Why would he do that if he wanted to commit suicide? One could answer: because Cutter lied to him telling him that drowning was like going home and when he fell in the box he realised how painful it was. Yet, it doesn’t make sense to me when I think that Angier wanted to kill himself every night. He could just hide under the stage and shoot the clone when the show was over. Why suicide? It’s not clever and surely I wouldn’t have done that! I think the movie tells us that this is what he was doing (suicide every night) but I think that the script of the movie wasn’t clever enough in this part. Why can’t we think of that possibility? Each of us has seen endless movies with a plot full of flaws. Why this one can’t have one and we have to find the perfect explanation for every aspect of this movie? Nolan can make mistakes too, he is not a god, don’t forget that.
Some other thoughts: What if one of the clones decided that he didn’t want to kill himself one night? 100 clones had to agree to their killing and that is a little silly for me to accept it. I also can’t understand why Angier said that every night he didn’t know if he would be the man in the box or the prestige. That isn’t correct. We saw that the machine made clones a few meters away from the original, and the original stayed in his place. So how could he be the prestige? Only his clone could be on the stage. Not him. And a final thought: What if he created a clone (when he was testing the machine) to start this suicide game, while he retired as lord Cudlow? So there could be 3 Angiers every night (Lord Cudlow a.k.a. the original Angier, and a clone who was cloning himself on stage to make a second clone). I guess we’ll never know!
He wanted to kill himself every night because of the lingering mourning of the death of his wife. We see only days after her death a scene of him trying to drown himself and once Cutter tells him its like going home, he thinks he is doing nothing wrong by drowning the clones. He is “bringing them home” and it is a way for him to deal with his sorrow. He thinks he is doing something good, until he finally realizes at the end, the pain he caused.
Nobody cares about the man in the box.
There is no cloning, its all a trick, theres plenty of clues to that, everyone seems to be oblivious to this..crazy
Angier’s double they used half way thru the movie is the one who drowns, there is no clone and in the end Cutter puts him back in the water tank..he is the only body we see, the rest are random bodies. Even Angier himself looks surprised he cleans the glass of one of the tanks and says ‘The man in the box’…as in it doesnt matter who is there (its all for show to full Borden just like those tanks taken away form the theater every nite)..he wouldn’t look surprised if he put those bodies there but we know that Cutter moved all of Angiers props there so he filled the tanks with random bodies.
The last narration by Cutter also suggests that audience wants to believe it instead of finding the truth while showing the hats – which means Angier was fooled by Tesla who planted the hats just like Borden is fooled in the end when he is looking around seeing the tanks full of fake doubles. Angiers sole purpose is in his last speech before he dies, saying he lived to show magic and seeing the look in their eyes (while looking at Borden) and he succeeds because Borden believes Tesla machine is real.
If he killed a double every show why does he tell Cutter before the final show ‘I dont want you behind stage on this one’ that means he didnt kill a double every show.
I can bring a lot of other examples. There is no Tesla Machine. Angier got screwed over and then wrote in his diary that it worked to fool Borden. Also Borden would never send Angier to Tesla if it worked, it was a wild goose chase in the 1st place that was part of the trick
I think you are wrong here. Although it can’t be proved that the machine is real, I think it is much more in keeping with the tone of the film – and much more interesting – if we believe Tesla’s magic machine really is magic, that Tesla is a wizard and not like these mere magicians. (As an aside I don’t think Borden knew what Tesla’s machine could do. I think this is the hinge of the plot and inescapably a bit contrived.)
The fact that Angier doesn’t want Cutter to see backstage is not a proof that his trick is a fake – it could just as easily be to protect the cynical engineer from the magical (and gruesome) truth.
If the Tesla machine is fake, then what is the purpose of the scene with Cutter and Ackerman in the theatre before the final run of shows – and how could Angier take up with his double again (remember, he would be needed in this scene, and presumably every performance) – wouldn’t it be insanity to expect the entirely unreliable double to keep quiet this time?
If the machine is fake, then the foreshadowing of the final trick in the bird cage trick doesn’t work; there is no real sacrifice. I think there is a really powerful irony in the conscripting of a magical machine into what is effectively a parlour trick – where one “bird” is killed and another “bird” appears to delight the audience… but think of the cost!
This brings me to the final point. I can’t see what incentive Angier has to make Borden believe his Tesla machine is real in the final scene. Think of all the effort he would have had to have gone to: I think it would be very, very time consuming to find that number of “random bodies” and to dress them etc… all to trick Borden in the final scene. But wait – how on earth did he know Borden was going to turn up in the final scene? He didn’t. So there is no reason he would go to such crazy lengths to trick him. I believe that those tanks are filled with dead Angiers. He kills himself every night. Isn’t that much cooler, AND also makes more logical sense?
To me, it does not. I believe you have the one thing wrong – you are assuming that the water tanks would have to be filled either with random bodies, either with Angier’s clones. I believe what Angier ment when he asked Borden to ‘look around himself’ in the last scene, is that he wanted to show him that all the water tanks in the basement are in fact empty, except one – which had Root’s body in it.
Too me the key clue for this is the narrating scene with the pile of hats in the yard, where Cutter says that “you’re not really looking”, the obvious. The simple life, solid way through.
I don’t know if you’re retarded or trolling. You witness the cat get cloned in real time, and you witness Angier use the machine on himself taking precaution with the handgun and shooting the spawned clone, you witness him perform his trick more than once at the end, having 100 shows.. I’m completely baffled as to what film you were watching. He couldn’t possibly have gotten to the balcony NUMEROUS TIMES without cloning himself which he was shown to do ON SCREEN. He didn’t want Cutter backstage because what he was doing was disturbing and he didn’t want to incriminate Cutter in his plot to frame Borden, and he hired blind stage hands so they didn’t see the corpses. He talks about sacrifice in the end and committed suicide on a nightly basis to suffer like his wife did, while letting the new clone take over as him ad nauseum.
Thank god I found this comment. I thought that having actual magic (or else some sc-fi thing that is really historically inaccurate to what tesla could do, requiring a serious body of knowledge in fields not even discovered yet.) was a massive cop out. I felt it ruined the movie and paranormal stuff always do. The lost series, the new scooby doo’s with real magic instead of classic scoob. All hack stuff I thought Nolan to be above. If he was going to Harry Potterise it shouldnt be set in the real world that makes an effort to show magic tricks are not real.
Anyway i do have something to add. I think just like at the end of inception the ending was not meant to have an answer. the closing narration part means that the woo-woo nuts will accept the ending as it suits personal beliefs, and the science nuts will look for an answer in the film, which it ambiguously provides, and which I have just done by searching for an answer online. Awesome stuff. On a related note THE THREE BATMAN FILMS ARE THE THREE PARTS OF THE TRICK AND THE THIRD MOVIE WILL BE THE PRESTIGE, BATMAN WILL DIE OMFGWHAARGLL. Thinl about it after the second part it is said by michael cane its not enough to simply dissapear. At the start of the third batman has. CLEVER GIRL
You got all wrong, mate.
there is clear evidence that the guy that drowned isn’t Angier.It’s the double.What’s the clue?Well look at Angier’s chest in that scene where he is talking to his wife,than look at “his” dead body and see the difference
The most crazy and pretty twisted part of this movie is that Angier was willing to fall into that tank filled with water and kill himself all for the sake of “the prestige.” That’s what this movie is about. Heck, that’s what this movie is called. Its all about what each man was willing to do for the sake of the awe of the crowd. And Angier wins the battle for “the prestige” by far. He was so obsessed that he was willing to kill himself each time knowing that his clone would carry out the rest. The clone would be “the prestige.” The clone would be Angier, and he would have to make the same twisted decision yo kill himself each time the “real transported man” was performed. And it was all in the name of “the prestige.” Remember at the end as Angier is dieing, he describes “the look on their faces” as being the reason he did it all.
The question that we all really should be asking is: “What am I looking for?” Are we all just looking for a thrill? Or looking to give a thrill to people? Angier was willing to kill himself. Some people do crazy things for thrills and even seeking the thrill of others. What is this desire we have for this? Why do we have it? What will ever really satisfy this desire within us? My answer: nothing but God can ever satisfy this deep longing and desire we each have. And He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to die for us. Not in a sick, twisted way like Angier, but in a sacrificial way so that each of us might be saved from our own sick and twisted ways. Jesus was the only man to ever have it all right. He was the only perfect man. And the greatest prestige of them all is that “He is God, but became a man.” Wow! Don’t you see what He did for us? He lived. He died on a cross. And then He rose again from the dead all in the name of love for each of us! The question is why? Why would God love us so much to do this? Why would the most amazing, infinite Being want to save human beings, much less become one of us and die. I really can’t answer that question other than to say “He did it all for love.” He loves us so much that He was willing to give up His life for us! Angier was willing to give up his life for the thrill of the faces, but Jesus was willing to give His life for the thrill of giving life. He knew that His death would bring those that believe the most thrilling life they have ever experienced here on this earth. And that life is eternal. That is the thrill we are all seeking. We are all seeking to be thrilled, but not every one will get to experience the thrill of meeting God face to face in heaven. Our own sin separates us from the thrill of heaven. But that’s why Jesus did what He did for you and for me. So that we would one day leave this earth and spend eternity with Him in heaven. If you are still seeking this thrill and have never experienced true satisfaction in this world, do not fret. Many have tried, and many have failed. Many have lived in luxury. Many have lived in worldly thrills and pleasure. But I’m here to tell you, nothing will ever satisfy your desire for thrill like God can. That’s what He’s offering you through the death of Jesus. Angier offered his audience a thrill that was mind-boggling and pretty awe inspiring, but God is offering you a thrill that will never die. Its a thrill of His love and life that will never perish. You may die here on this earth, but your soul will go on for eternity in one place or the other. Make sure the place you are going is heaven. Make sure you have the thrill of eternal life. Give your life to God. Believe on Jesus and what He did for you. He died for you for more than a momentary thrill. He died for you to have eternal life. Its very simple. Just believe. He loves you. God loves you. He cares more for you than a magician. He loves you more than realize. “The Prestige” is that He does.
noob
I don’t think he is committing suicide. He wanted the prestige. This is clear when Angier first does the trick with Root as his double. He wants to be the one receiving the applause, so it is the clones he is killing off. Tesla set out to make a transporting machine, so I believe this machine transports Angier, but also leaves a clone in his place.
The thing that bothers me is that Alfred is so obsessed with figuring out his trick, but he knows Angier used a double in the past. Why wouldn’t he just assume this is another double (or the same double as the previous time)?
This was a great movie, despite some holes. I would definitely watch it again.
The most crazy and pretty twisted part of this movie is that Angier was willing to fall into that tank filled with water and kill himself all for the sake of “the prestige.” That’s what this movie is about. Heck, that’s what this movie is called. Its all about what each man was willing to do for the sake of the awe of the crowd. And Angier wins the battle for “the prestige” by far. He was so obsessed that he was willing to kill himself each time knowing that his clone would carry out the rest. The clone would be “the prestige.” The clone would be Angier, and he would have to make the same twisted decision yo kill himself each time the “real transported man” was performed. And it was all in the name of “the prestige.” Remember at the end as Angier is dieing, he describes “the look on their faces” as being the reason he did it all. The question that we all really should be asking is: “What am I looking for?” Are we all just looking for a thrill? Or looking to give a thrill to people? Angier was willing to kill himself. Some people do crazy things for thrills and even seeking the thrill of others. What is this desire we have for this? Why do we have it? What will ever really satisfy this desire within us? My answer: nothing but God can ever satisfy this deep longing and desire we each have. And He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to die for us. Not in a sick, twisted way like Angier, but in a sacrificial way so that each of us might be saved from our own sick and twisted ways. Jesus was the only man to ever have it all right. He was the only perfect man. And the greatest prestige of them all is that “He is God, but became a man.” Wow! Don’t you see what He did for us? He lived. He died on a cross. And then He rose again from the dead all in the name of love for each of us! The question is why? Why would God love us so much to do this? Why would the most amazing, infinite Being want to save human beings, much less become one of us and die. I really can’t answer that question other than to say “He did it all for love.” He loves us so much that He was willing to give up His life for us! Angier was willing to give up his life for the thrill of the faces, but Jesus was willing to give His life for the thrill of giving life. He knew that His death would bring those that believe the most thrilling life they have ever experienced here on this earth. And that life is eternal. That is the thrill we are all seeking. We are all seeking to be thrilled, but not every one will get to experience the thrill of meeting God face to face in heaven. Our own sin separates us from the thrill of heaven. But that’s why Jesus did what He did for you and for me. So that we would one day leave this earth and spend eternity with Him in heaven. If you are still seeking this thrill and have never experienced true satisfaction in this world, do not fret. Many have tried, and many have failed. Many have lived in luxury. Many have lived in worldly thrills and pleasure. But I’m here to tell you, nothing will ever satisfy your desire for thrill like God can. That’s what He’s offering you through the death of Jesus. Angier offered his audience a thrill that was mind-boggling and pretty awe inspiring, but God is offering you a thrill that will never die. Its a thrill of His love and life that will never perish. You may die here on this earth, but your soul will go on for eternity in one place or the other. Make sure the place you are going is heaven. Make sure you have the thrill of eternal life. Give your life to God. Believe on Jesus and what He did for you. He died for you for more than a momentary thrill. He died for you to have eternal life. Its very simple. Just believe. He loves you. God loves you. He cares more for you than a magician. He loves you more than realize. “The Prestige” is that He does.
I understand everything in the movie except one thing. First to clarify IMHO:
1) The “brothers” were clones. They were cloned way before the “hand got shot off” incident, therefore forcing him/them to cut off the others’ fingers. He gave him the name “TESLA” knowing it would probably lead to calamity.
2) I think that the old British guy that helped “Lord C.” turned on him because he figured out that he was drowning his clones.
3) The blind stage hands were a nice touch.
FINALLY this is the “prestige” – notice they PAUSE at the end showing Lord C. / Angiere BREATHING bubbles, eyes open. Perhaps the “prestige” IS being the man in the box! I think Angiere survived it, Inception style, you’re left guessing, just like “real” magic shows (David Copperfield, suck on that!) – and PS- I’ve seen D. Copperfield live and met the man (very hairy arms and very weird guy) – saw him in St. Petersburg, Russia. I was part of the production team. These guys take their secrets SERIOUSLY! I know how David does about a third of his tricks, because when you work backstage, you “see” things and certain “illusions” become… well, like the movie says, “once the secret is out- it’s nothing” – thing is, if i posted so much as ONE of his “tricks” he could OWN my ass. JUST FOR WORKING WITH HIM I had to sign a “confidentiality” agreement. Worse yet, if you get assigned to work BACKSTAGE (always the same people for each “region/country/area” – you have to sign ANOTHER agreement basically saying that you agree to incarceration and a WHOPPING five million dollar fine for ANY disclosure and, yes, this is how crazy the TOP magicians are, your FAMILY has to sign over their houses, cars, everything they own sort of like “Mob collateral” – strangest thing? THIS IS LEGAL! Magic “tricks” are the most protected intellectual property in the industry. I WISH I could tell you how he can make a BUILDING disappear or be in one place and then another (just like the movie) in under 10 seconds – we’re talking half a football field in 10 seconds, and NO he doesn’t use a double. OK I think I’ve said enough. I want my parents to keep their home. :) Just keep in mind, most “Serious” magicians are like JACKALS over their “secrets” and this movie is pretty d#!N accurate in terms of what a magician will go through to be the best, acquire new tricks, and MOST IMPORTANTLY, keep THEIR tricks SECRET! This isn’t an “Easy” business, even for a lowly stagehand. To be honest, though, as long as you aren’t kissing his magical ass or asking about his tricks, David is a really cool guy to hang with in person. A little eccentric, but I suppose that’s the price you pay- and anyways, don’t they always say the difference between eccentricity and insanity is…. $$$MONEY$$$! :) So there it is.
The only thing left out is that I think that borden gives angier the tesla name so he can go do the same thing. The borden that did this might actually just want an end to it all. He also claims it as his trick because he already cloned himself. Also in the beginning when borden first brings up his big secret trick to his wife he says the world isnt ready for that yet which implies that they cant know about the cloning machine. The reason people question the fact that the obsessed borden wants to know how angier is doing the trick is not how he is doing it but what he is doing with the clones he is creating. Since I feel that the clone thats obsessed is a clone that is why he tries to save the angier clone thats being killed.The clone also seems to be drowning and saying why.
from a literature point of view i don’t think the “brothers” were clones, they were actually brothers. thus leading to Angier saying “twin brother” at the end, but Borden had set out that they would be using each other and swapping round way before the hand being shot off. All of the hints throughout the film lead to this, such as everyone just saying he uses a double, Angier at the end stating that it was his brother and the two brothers split personalities (such as their lvoe for two different women etc). But it is a debatable topic!
Thank you, thank you, for explaining this movie to me. I was obsessed with it because I couldn’t figure it out. I bought the movie so that I could watch it and re-wind it as often as necessary to try and figure it out. I KNEW that Tesla’s machine really worked (you can tell because of all of the hats and rabbits), but I couldn’t figure out the “twins” part of it, and now it makes (almost) perfect sense! Man! That’s one twisted plot! I love magic, so this movie is special to me — wonderful story!!!
I loved the movie also, great revenge/competition story,but one thing bother me,..why would anyone who owns the most incredible machine that can clone, use it for a lame disapearence act ?
First of all, it doesn’t make sense to me that Borden would be blamed for Angier’s death. All the audience or authorities know is that the trick didn’t work. Why would they automatically blame Borden for this? Also, can someone tell me why Angier’s assistant is in on the whole thing and looking after Borden’s daughter? Are both Bordens still alive since it shows him picking up his daughter then immediately after it shows him again next to all the tanks? Is this the same Borden or did the one who got sentenced to death survive somehow? AHHH
NOT SURE IF ALFRED HAD A TWIN OR A CLONE. RIDDLE ME THIS ? IF IT HAD BEEN A CLONE….THEN WHEN WAS IT MANUFACTURED (AT TESSLA’S WE PRESUME)? BEFORE HE HAD HIS FINGERS SHOT OFF ? IF SO, THEN THEY WOULD HAVE TO CUT THE FINGERS OFF THE OTHER . OR DID HE HVE THE CLOME MADE AFTER THE FINGERS INCIDENT ? BUT THEN HE WOULD NOT HAVE FOUND IT NECESSARY AS THE CLONE WOULD NOT HAVE NEEDED TO HAVE THAT AMPUTATION. BUT, IF THEY WERE IN FACT BROTHERS THEN THE FINGER REMOVAL WOULD HAVE BEEN A NECCESITY ! CAN’T REALLY BE SURE HERE ???
Im pretty sure i understood most of it straight away, i just came here to tidy up my opinion and make sure. But i have 1 question, are you sure that Bolden and Fallon were ‘twins’ and not clones because when Angiere is given the code word for Boldens Diary he writes down ‘TESLA’. So i was thinking maybe Bolden had seen Tesla and had gotten himself a clone and from there the illusion began. I might be missing something but to me this kinda sounds like it fits more. Little help?
I can see the possibility for both twins and clones. Bolden gives Angiere the name TESLA, which might indicate that Bolden knows about the cloning machine and because he uses a double he could have used the machine to “create” his double. On the other hand, Bolden (or Fallon) can’t figure out Angiere’s trick an obsesses over it, which eventually leads to his demise. If either Bolden or Fallon had used TESLA’s maching and knew about the ability to clone ones self then why can’t he figure out the trick? After all, he gave Angiere the name. If Bolden and Fallon were clones they would have never ended up in jail because they wouldn’t have been so eager to investigate how the trick is done. Therefor, I believe Bolden and Fallon were indeed twins and just sent Angiere on a wild goose chase, which actually turned out to provide the ability to clone.
On another note, Angiere or his clone dies every night when he performs his trick. That is why the blind men wheel out that big tank every night and hide it and also why when Angiere talks about “sacrifice” at the he says something to the point of not knowing if he was going to be the one who died in the tank.
there are some holes in your explanation of the movie you didn’t explain the part where Borden gives Angie Tesla’s name (possibly hinting that Borden has no brother and that Fallon is his clone) and you said that Borden was the one who told Fallon to let Angie have his trick and leave it alone then later you go onto explain how Bordon was being walked away to his jail cell telling Fallon that he was right and that he should have just let Angie have his trick (this is when you said Fallon had his second line in the movie). This can’t be correct because Bordon was the one who initially told Fallon to leave Angie alone meaning that Fallon was the one who was hung not Bordon. I think. Tell me what you think I want to understand this movie.
The end of the movie where it says “You want to be fooled.” Is not trying to say that you think its magic and that’s really a trick. Its supposed to mean, you think its fake but really its magic.
By this time in the movie we guess that Angier is cloning himself, because of the scene where he shoots himself, and the scene where it shows all the duplicated hats.
The end confuses people because it is supposed to “Finally reveal” the trick, which was Angier is really cloning himself. But since we already inferred that we think that there has to be something more.
For those of you who still don’t believe its a clone. Theres the cloned hat scene, the scene where Angier shoots himself, and all the tanks filled with Angier at the end.
Even though we can only see one Angier in a tank we can assume the other tanks are also full and are clones and not doubles. We know this because if Angier was using a double and decided to kill him on the night that Borden snuck under the stage, there would only be one Angier (Lord Corblo) and one double (man on the slab). But because there are 3 men: Man on the slab, man in the tank, and Lord Corblo we can assume they were clones because there are not going to be be 2 people who look enough like Angier to be doubles unless they were actually clones :)
In my opinion Angier really did get cloned. I will explain to you why.
Firstly, take into consideration a point that was brought up earlier in this discussion. If both parts of the movie where one magician is reading out of the other’s journal. (Borden reading about Angier’s time in Colorado while Borden is in prison. And Angier reading about Olivia betraying Angier and becoming Borden’s mistress)is just lies to confuse the other, than the whole story falls apart.
It falls apart for this reason. Lets start with Borden’s diary. If Olivia never was really in love with Borden and she was still spying for Angier, then why would she not have either went back to Angier after she told Borden he was inhuman for not grieving over his wife’s death? It makes sense that Borden’s diary was all fact. The fact is Olivia really was mad at Angier for telling her to spy, so she told Borden how the trick was done and she told him who Angier’s double was. Then Borden found him and convinced him to stop doing to show with Angier.
Now lets review Angier’s diary. I do not remember the duplicated hats being in the actual diary. That was a flashback. (The fact that it is a flashback can basically prove that Angier did really get cloned). The part that was in the diary was basically just saying that Angier went to America and had Tesla make him a machine, it does not specify what kind of machine it was.
Secondly, there a few types of plot devices in this movie: Flashbacks, diary entries (when ever one magician is narrating while it shows the oposite magician reading a diary), and present tense.
People get the diary entries and the flashbacks confused. Flashbacks actually happened and are different from the diary entries. An example of the diary entries is when Angier is reading Borden’s diary about Olivia becoming his mistress. You can tell its a diary entry and not a flashback because only that part shows one mans reading the diary with the opposite man narrating when happened.
One question I have is that Cutter tells the judge that the machine is real and he believes it must be destroyed, but he also believes that there is a trap door under the stage that Angier fell into. So how does Cutter think he’s been doing the trick for the 100 shows? If he thinks the machine is real magic and works as a transporter, how would he explain the need for a trap door under the stage?
My only question is; why when “Angier” shoots the “clone” he (the clone) says wait I’m not…?
Qustion– explain me the part where Bordan gives TESLA’s name to Angie, and says this is my trick…
I would definitely agree that it’s not the Borden twins but the Borden clones. Wraps it all up much tighter.
Whats the purpose of the wooden box which Cutter says was built by real ‘wizards’?
Well I would add that you can make out which brother survives in the end, one brother (the one who loved olivia) was obessed with angiers and his trick while the other was in love with olivia and was more inclined to move on from angiers in the end. You also get this confirmed in the last seen between the twins as Borden in jail says “I’m sorry about Sarah” to Fallon. In the end the brother who love sara lived on with his daughter, or was it his twins? heh.
Mike, could it be that the film does not have a 100% correct answer? One view would be that Borden could have had a clone (the note that he gave Angier that read “TESLA”) OR the other view that Borden had a twin brother? Thus making the correct answer different depending on how each person wants to interpret it. For background, my dad believes the “brothers” side and i believe the “clone” side. We have both come to the conclusion that there is no right answer.
How does the clone know not to come out the time when Borden is under the stage? Who told the clone not to come out? It wasnt cutter so who was it? Usually the clone appears few seconds after the “Real Angier” has dropped to waterbox?
It was clearly Angier’s plan to entrap Borden at whatever performance Borden showed up for. We can assume the clones share Angier’s brain, with all thoughts and memories in tact, so it doesn’t matter whether the one who survives is the original Angier or his clone.
I think it was assumed to be his final show so borden was finally driven by obession by his last chance to learn angiers secret. I think they want you to assume that it was all part of the plan, or that Angiers wanted to disappear and return to his life as Caldlow either way so he was going to fake his death upon completion of his final show.
I thought that too. The only logical way is for angier to have been looking for and seen borden sneak on stage with the crowd. Then he would have the knowlege before being cloned that this is the night without a prestige. There is no other reason for him not to pop out at the end.
Ok, you guys do realize that Angier/Coldlow never visited Tesla and that the machine never worked because there was no machine right? You guys understand that half of the movie didn’t even happen. These guys just wrote journals to tell eachother fake stories. These guys hated eachother with that much passion.
This is not a science fiction cloning movie. Its a movie about deception and gamesmenship. Go watch it again and everytime someone opens a journal just tell yourself “this part is just fiction and is only there to deceive the reader.” The authors even admit it as in the end of their journals they each give each other the reveal and the middle finger.
I think you are right. Angier could have lied in his journal, and when he is dying. It would be a magic trick meant to fool Borden. At several points in the movie, we are told that revealing the secret behind the trick makes it boring, Cutter even says at the end “we want to be fooled”. That’s why the movie doesn’t explain that last trick. So we can choose to believe or not in tesla’s duplication device.
No. Not everything is from the journals. There’s also a third person omniscient point of view throughout the film. We bounce around among these three points of view. If you watch carefully, you can tell when which is which. In the “real time” of the film (as opposed to the order in which the film is told), once Borden finishes reading Angier’s journal, nothing at all is based on either diary. They’re both finished and revealed.
no, u r wrong. those parts are true. If u think there was no machines and all the cloning part is shit, then how do u explain in the end when borden walks out of the theatre and a thousand angiers are drowned in their water tanks. that was not part of any of the journals. or why he used blind stagemen.
then explain the water tank with a dead Angier in it, AFTER Borden shoots Angier. That scene was at the end, after both men had finished each others journals.
My question is, at the end – is Angier no more, him as well as his replicas?
Wolverine told Batman, “Hey I have a dupe machine bitch!”
And that Wolverine makes sure there’s a watery grave tank waiting right below the false dropping floor. To make sure Wolverine #2 would die and no one would lean Wolverine #1′s secret. In each of his shows.
Now Wolverine is really dead, all his replicas/doubles are dead too. I mean come on you saw Batman shoot Wolverine and then Batman checking out the joint, checking it more then twice to make sure no Wolverine replicas/doubles are snooping/hiding around the background to kill Batman.
I don’t have anything to contribute to the conversation, I only want to say that your Wolverine vs. Batman comment is f’ing hilarious (and correct, as far as I’m concerned).
yes he is dead
I think you guys are all buying into the illusion. Consider the bird its killed when the trick is done, and the magician creates the illusion that the bird is alive by producing a duplicate. Its not the clone that dies its the Angier that is on stage who dies each time the trick is performed.
Baloney. Even if only because one would rather be living as the prestige (as opposed to actually dying, or worse, as in the earlier rendition of the trick – under the stage wondering what awe looks like on people’s faces). The real question is: as a physicist, what did Tesla invent? Some vague “transporter man” machine? Some replicator? Or rather – a time machine? That’s right. There is no brother. Only one knows the truth, the other is obsessed with finding the truth. Think it over. There is no paradox. It is only corrected. (How might the physics work. Is there some law, or dare one say ethical force that governs and resolves many worlds from overlapping? Tesla spoke with conviction and caution. Who was he and what did he know?) This movie is allegory that raises questions about the nature of time, and its style tells the story with that foremost in mind, indeed with masterful effectiveness. This is not about some magicians. But you want to be fooled, don’t you?