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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
Sean said "The ending narration appears to challenge the viewer to discover a hidden secret about the film. This would necessarily be ..."
If u check out the last 1:59:44 you see that there is bubbles coming out of Angier’s mouth… Does that mean the person that Borden shot and killed at the end was just another one of Angier’s Clones???
Another thing I’ve noticed within the movie is that the twin who is hanged (Fredrick for all means and purposes) has a slightly different eyebrow. His right eyebrow has a line through it whereas the other twin (Albert) does not.
His name is Alfred, olivia the assistant calls his Freddie or Fred (short for Alfred) not Albert. so we know for sure one of them is Alfred, Freddie is the same person its just a nickname olivia calls him. the other brother we have to assume is named Fallon, they just take turns being eachother
So I have a question. On the night of his final performance, how does Angier know not to come out to the audience and to fake his “death” that night? Ok, this is what I thought at first: When that scene is shown at a certain point in the movie, there is a viewpoint from the balcony which is where the transported Angier would be, and we hear muffled shouts and inaudible pounding, coming most likely from the drowning Angier below the stage. So I thought at first that this would be his signal to not come out, then it dawned on me that the drowning Angier is drowning and making noise and pounding probably every night but this is the only night the transported Angier chooses not to come out, how does he know? Borden had gone to see the show numerous times, and it’s not like there was anyone who could have told the transported Angier in time that Borden on that night was going under the stage and that it was time to finally “kill” himself and frame Borden. Any ideas?
same question bugs me too
I have just one question. Why was Cutter not freaked out at the end when Borden comes to get his daughter as Borden? If I understand the timeline correctly, this is the “now” moment, after Borden has been in jail and subsequently hanged, and this final scene would be the last chronological event. Cutter just gives him a nod, wouldn’t he have the same reaction as he did when he met Lord Cadlow at his house? A “you’re supposed to be dead!” reaction? He must have known Borden/Fallon’s ‘secret?’ Or didn’t he?
Does Sarah know that Borden/Fallon was two different people?
No; that’s why she killed herself. She couldn’t understand or handle Borden’s duality. He loved her yet he was indifferent to her.
there are other things i don’t get. Cutter was helping the Bordens so he must have known their secret right? Or is it when he found out what Angier was doing then he set out to help the Bordens or “one” of the Bordens? I also think about when Angier first demonstrated his trick to Cutter and ackerman what did he do with the other clone then? Was there 3 of them for awhile? I think Cutter was disgusted with the fact that Angier was drowning himself or clones thats why he told him that drowning was agony and it finally clicked in Angier’s head that what he was doing was wrong. I still agree with my previous comment that the whole point of the movie was not the magic at all. That the most important things in life were love and family i think thats why Cutter helped one of the Borden brothers he wanted to see both the obsessed men be put out of their misery. This movie is a lot like inception people are so obsessed with the magic they don’t get the true meaning of the film. People were so obsessed with the ending of inception about whether it was a dream or it was real that they missed the point. The point at the end of inception was dream or not it didn’t matter just spend the time u are given with the people you love. Same with this movie.
thats the beauty of nolan movie. they have ridiculously interesting concepts which bend reality but still seem realistic, and deep down they even relate to human nature and emotions. they are always the full package
I think that the Bordens were indeed twins. They gave Angier the tesla clue not knowing what really happens but just to throw Angier off so he’ll spend a long time working on tricks. I think the Bordens thought that Tesla’s trick was a fail and a waste of time and they knew Angier would be obsessed with it. I don’t know what cutter meant at the end and they showed all the top hats. Something puzzles me tho about the whole Tesla thing why didn’t he just come out and tell Angier that the machine makes clones??? They all seemed very suprised when Angier found all the hats so that makes me think that Tesla’s intention was not to make clones at all but just to make someone disappear because didn’t Alley say they kept trying to make the hat disappear but it wasn’t going anywhere? So the whole point of the machine was to really make a “transported man” like u could transport yourself elsewhere but instead it makes clones? I dunno. I think the whole point of the movie was that you had 3 magicians, 2 of which were brothers and working together and then the 3rd who was working alone. 2 of the magicians were obsessed with what the other was doing Angier and one of the Bordens, the other Borden didn’t care. It all boils down to the fact that Angier and one of the Borden’s were so obsessed with eachother that they lost all touch with reality in their obsession to show the other one up and the other Borden knew that it didn’t matter only family and loved ones matter in the end. Angier and one of the bordens didn’t care about anyone but themselves.
In what must have been my fifth time viewing this movie, I think I found it’s quite obvious which brother is which in at least most of the scenes. We’ll call the one who loved Olivia and died Frederick and the one who loved Sarah and survived Albert.
There are certain moments in the film where it’s pretty clear which is Albert and which is Frederick. The most prominent being if “Alfred” loved Sarah “today.” As stated above, Albert loved Sarah and Frederick did not. Another certainty is who was in jail (and was hanged) and who survived, which, as also stated above, were Frederick and Albert, respectively. Within those scenes, I believe certain characteristics made the two otherwise identical brothers stand out from each other. Frederick seemed to be the more crass, vulgar, get-his-hands-dirty, obsessive magician of the two. Albert seemed to be the more calm, measured, (relatively) clean one. With that assumption in mind, Frederick was more involved in the rivalry with Angier than Albert and was possibly the brother shown in the early flashback when the men were plants. In Angier’s death scene, Albert says Angier’s efforts were a waste, but Angier refutes that claim and says Albert really doesn’t know. These support the assumption that Frederick was the brother who was obsessed with Angier.
Towards the end, when Angier debuts his Tesla machine, you see two separate scenes where Alfred is arguing with Fallon about the trick. Frederick is angry and obsessed with figuring it out, and Albert just wants to call it quits and leave Angier alone. This is supported by the last conversation the brothers have in the prison, when Frederick says to Albert (in disguise) that Albert was right and he should have left Angier alone.
It would make sense to kill off the two rivals (Angier and Frederick) who dirtied themselves in their quest for one-upsmanship and spare Albert, who had a daughter to raise.
What do you think? Are there any holes in my theory?
the holes in your theory are the fact that you made up two characters, Albert and Frederick. none of those are characters in the movie, alFRED (Not alBERT) is the name of one of them, Im guessing you got Frederick from when olivia calls him FREDDIE, nick name or short for alFRED. so 1 of them is named Alfred, the other is fallon, we dont know if thats the other brothers name for sure. Alfred is the one with the daughter, though both of them take turns being him, the one named alfred is the one with the daughter and if the other brothers name is really fallon, then fallon loves olivia. they just both take turns being eachother, they’re twins. in the end the real Fallon is killed (assuming thats his name) and Alfred is left to live with his daughter and kill Angier. read your comment again you keep switching between albert, frederick, alfred and fallon. doesnt make sense
are you calling them Frederick and Albert Just to distinguish between the two, your should probably pick better names beceause Albert can be confused with Alfred and Frederick, Freddie.. which is the same as Alfred its just his nick name. if your differentiating between them, use joe and tim… much easier
There is only 1 big plot hole I think in this movie. Regarding your final clue: “2:01:59 – Angier shoots the first clone in a flashback” – it was the stationary clone nearest the machine who got the gun and survived. Then at the end, he says he did sacrifice a lot since every night when he wasn’t sure if he was the prestige or the sacrifice.
Whether it actually teleported the original and replaced with a clone on the same spot – that’s another possible matter.
IF the original were teleported – then he is already a clone who killed the original.
ELSE if the original stays on the spot – he’s killed the original after the first act.
IN EITHER case, he killed the guy standing nearest to the machine by drowning. Hence he should have been aware he’d killing himself each night for certain or he is already dead. Hence Borden killed a clone at the end since the original Angier already killed himself at some point.
You have to remember that both Angiers think they’re the real one.
Oh yea and one of the clues is more of a theme than actual clue:
“9:23 – “But where’s his brother?” Sarah’s nephew asks Borden, foreshadowing that Borden has a brother.”
The boy noticed that the bird was actually getting crushed to death in the trick. Hence he says this when Borden trys to console him with another bird.
You made one error in your analysis:
The twin (Borden/Fallon) that survives at the end is not the little girl’s (Jess) father. This twin was Olivia’s lover and not the biological father of the little girl.
oh wait – my bad >_> I got mixed up!
1:54:03 – “I’m sorry for Sarah. I didn’t mean to hurt her. I didn’t.”
He is clearly the Borden who raged at Sarah and caused her to commit suicide -this is the Borden who was actually Olivia’s lover. Hence he tells Olivia that he doesn’t love her – “not today”.
So the Borden who lived (outside of prison) was Sarah’s lover and real father of the girl… I was originally convinced at prison Borden’s desperate goodbyes to his daughter – but maybe that was just an act (or an uncle’s affection).
Yeah you have to remember that both Bordens shared the same life. Although each loved a different woman, they both cared for the daughter.
I don’t think so, because as he’s being taken away, the Borden being hung says “sorry about Sarah” also, he says that he is the one who loved Sarah
Okay that information on times 1:32:44 and 1:34:07.. it was ONE Borden that was arguing with Sarah, as Fallon carried Jess off.. He says “Olivia means nothing” meaning he loves Sarah.. and then says “No, not today” meaning he loves Olivia.. That statement above doesn’t make sense.
There is no spoon. ahem… Clones, I meant clones…
There are no clones. Tesla’s machine was never more than a fancy light show. Angier’s “Real Transported Man” was performed using a double just like every other version of the trick.
Angier knew Borden had come to the final show. While the double was on stage introducing the final trick, Angier moved the water tank into position under the trap door. The double, expecting to fall into a cushion just like in every other show, was as surprised as the rest of us when he landed in the tank.
All the other BS about cloning was simply misdirection for Borden and for us. If you remember, it all came from Caldwell’s (Angier’s) notes that were specifically written for Borden to read while he was waiting in jail.
Seriously, If the machine did actually create clones, why create and kill one every night rather than create one perfect replica of yourself to use as a double? Especially, if you expected the clone to live while you died?
That’s just plain foolishness.
Check out my entire theory:
http://plus.google.com/111874616084161818442
Because Angier already had experienced working with a double. Remember Root? And people will freak out if they see two Angiers running around. Angier doesn’t have Borden’s experience in keeping the twins’ identity an illusion as one person.
We all saw the water tanks under the stage anyway.
And remember the bird trick? Where it had to die, and another bird takes its place? That’s what Angier’s version of the Transported Man is like.
Throughout the movie, we are repeatedly presented with two essential elements required by a great magician. These two elements are what have always set Borden above Angier as the better magician.
1. Total devotion to your art. You have to live the act. We see the first example of this with the Chinese magician, who has spent years pretending to be crippled in public all to be successful on stage. We see it again when Olivia starts working with Borden. When Angier and Olivia are fighting right after Borden hijacks Angier’s performance, Olivia tells Angier that Borden uses a double – She found makeup, glasses, wigs… Angier tells Olivia that it is misdirection left there for her benefit. Olivia says, “All the time? He doesn’t know when I’m looking.” Angier replies, “All the time, Olivia. That’s who he is. That’s what it takes. He lives his act. Don’t you see?”
2. You have to be willing to get your hands dirty. We see this right at the beginning with the canary that gets crushed in the cage. When Angier hooks up with Cutter after his wife’s death and gets ready to start performing again, they start working on their acts. Angier says, “I don’t want to kill doves.” cutter replies with, “Then stay off the stage. You’re a magician, not a wizard. You gotta get your hands dirty, if you’re gonna achieve the impossible.” Later, Angier shows he is indeed starting to become willing to get his hands dirty when he abducts Fallon and buries him alive. Borden even compliments him on the fact, both at the cemetery, and again when Angier (as Caldlow) visits Borden in jail.
@Joebs:
1. Remember Root? Exactly! Angier hooked up with Root again. Root was his double, but this time, they both were serious about getting it right. That is why Angier was gone for two years before coming back to start performing again. They were doing some serious practicing, and returned determined to live the act as well as Borden did.
2. Root was the one who landed in the tank and died on the final performance (just like the canary in the beginning). Angier was finally willing to get his hands dirty, and sacrificed Root in order to destroy Borden.
http://plus.google.com/111874616084161818442
And don’t forget that Borden was the one who gave Angier the password and the method: Tesla.
in order to keep sarah happy why did fallon not be borden whenever he was with sarah, why did they switch around when it came to being with sarah? when it came to the women why did they not keep it so the woman borden/fallon loved was the woman he was with.?
also quite confused about the scene in the restaurant when borden comes from a show drunk with fallon and olivia and olivia keeps calling borden freddie in front of sarah? and then sarah says ‘freddie?’ when olivia leaves with fallon, borden says ‘well that’s my name’ and she says ‘not at home’ and borden replies ‘well i’m not always at home am I???
there is also the other scene when borden is with olivia and she calls him freddie, is that fallon’s real name?does she not wonder why borden is called alfred and freddie?
hope these questions make sense, just watched the film again and trying to drag myself out of the confusion. don’t know if I’m missing something
Red, I agree with you about the Borden brothers keeping it straight when it comes to the women. But I guess that was all part of the sacrifice for their art, which is a theme of the movie. But “Freddie” is a version of Alfred, like Jimmy is a version of James.
Also interesting to note is that in the book, the brothers are actually named Albert and Frederick, who form “Alfred” together. Frederick loved Olivia, who called him “Freddie.” Albert later asks Olivia NOT to call him that.
Borden/Fallon are not clones– neither of them knows what Angier’s secret is. When Borden asks Fallon “why can’t you out-think him,” it’s clear Borden does not know. Later in the scene he tells Fallon to “let him have his trick” and to “leave him alone.” Then, when the two are conversing in the jail, Borden says these lines back to Fallon saying “you were right,” indicating that the two had switched roles from the former scene, and that the “former” Fallon (now Borden behind bars) didn’t know either.
Also, the Angier clones have the same awareness and knowledge as the “originals.” The line “not knowing if I’d be the man in the box, or the prestige” indicates that it was arbitrary, or moot, which one he became. There were always two complete Angiers, one of which had to be killed off. The “final” Angier was the one who survived his final trick, which was performed by the one who survived the previous one, and so on. Angier never actually had memory of drowning, because “he” never did. He was always THE PRESTIGE.
It’s a fascinating and unsolvable riddle about the continuity of the soul.
Ok, so just some simple explanations that work without contradictions for me. Firstly, there is no indication anywhere that Tesla and Borden knew each other. Sure, Borden wrote ‘Tesla’ in his code, but that was clearly as a misdirection, as he admitted in his diary, meant to confuse Angier. As to how Borden was aware of Tesla’s name in order to use it as a key, there’s a scene in the film where both Angier and Borden attend the scientific expo demonstrating Tesla’s AC current. From here, Borden knew about Tesla and could just use it as a key for a diversion.
Secondly, Fallon and Borden don’t have to be clones. There is no indication of this in the movie. Rather, there is evidence to the contrary. As someone earlier pointed out, Fallon and Borden living double lives would explain how Borden was able to determine the secret to the Chinese Magician’s act so quickly, as he lived a double-life himself.
Lastly, the mechanics behind Angier’s magic trick. Each night at the performance, he cloned himself to another place, and used a trapdoor to kill himself, so that there were not duplicate clones. This is evident when he has his last discussion with Borden and talks about how he needed great courage every night to die. This also explains the last scene quite nicely, as they are simply the dead bodies of all the clones. The tank always closed to ensure the person in it died, it just so happened that that night Borden was there, and Angier’s clone chose not to re-appear in front of the audience, in order to implicate Borden in his murder.
As to the bubbles in the tank at the last scene, as Wes mentions, they came from the shirt-collar area and are explained by the fire generating air bubbles in the water.
BRILLIANT movie!
I would like to adress a few confusions that some of you are having. I am a HUGE fan of this film and have seen it a countless amount of times. I’ve noticed that ALOT of you believe that Borden’s twin(Fallon) came from Tesla’s cloning machine. I believe this to be false and here is why. Borden and his twin knew about Tesla because Borden (or atleast one of the twins) went to the scientific convention (the one where the public freaked out from Tesla’s static machine) that Angier was also at so he saw Tesla’s work and became interested in it. This is the most likely reason for why he made “Tesla” his code word. He was curious about Tesla’s work and nothing more. Also, Tesla and Ally (Tesla’s assistant) both confessed to never have previously built a machine for Borden. This happens when Angier goes to see Tesla, right before Tesla first shoots sparks at Ally’s cat. Angier says something along the lines of: “I thought you already made one of these machines before!” to which Ally says: “I never said that I had.”
[...] http://www.moviesnobs.net/the-prestige-explained/ [...]
Ok so…
Why did one of the twins tie a different knot? Basically what I’m asking was the death accidental?
They wanted to make the show better, with more risk. Julia & Borden wanted to tie the harder knot, but Cutter and Angier thought she might not be able to escape it, which is what happened.
The other Borden (apparently) didn’t care about tying the harder knot, he always tied the simpler one. When Angier asked “Which knot did you tie?” Borden responded “I don’t know” because he wasn’t the Borden who tied the knot that killed Julia.
Yes, indeed it was accidental as the twin who tied the knot differently (later) did not knew that it may cause an accident. Only the first twin knew about that.
Yes, indeed it was accidental as the twin who tied the knot differently (later) did not knew that it may cause an accident. Only the first twin knew about that.
P.s It is an awesome movie! :)
So ive only just watched this movie! My brother did try to get me to watch it last year but I could tnot get into it. It was showing tonight and so I thought lets do this! Now I wish I hadnt! Not that its not a good movie but sooo many questions. Well ok not that many, I get the whole ending flash back thinfg, what got me is the very bit chris t mentioned. Something HAS to be up what with cutters naration and the last shot on the clone, it means something! And noone knows what, thats annoying.
I dont believe borden is a clone, I think the tessla thing was meant to be a misdirection to get angier out of town for months, but it just happened the trick backfired, which kind of kept happening throughout, as the machine worked better than bordens trick. However it is intriguing as maybe tessla was not entirely clueless, he did speak a lot about obsession and how it takes over your life and he begged angier to destroy the machine, so either there was some history with borden or that was kind of a summation of bordens life, he and his brother giving it up for the magic.
Its extremely clever with so many elements intertwined and lives intermingling and no definitive answers. Perhaps quite simply its like cutter said, we are looking for something more that doesnt exist. In short, the real angier robably drowned like his wife which. Is why he became so obsessional, maybe it was his knot she couldnt escape from and thats why borden didnt know if hed caused the accident, because he hadnt. The ultra competitve borden died leaving fallon with his daughter, which is what he wanted all along
The bubble I saw appeared from the shirt-collar region, not from the mouth of the figure inside the tank. Perhaps this was due to the fires creating heat inside the tank, or it was created when the figure in the tank was placed inside. Either way, I don’t think it’s because the figure is alive and breathing. I agree w/ the Borden clone theory; makes sense he would give up the “Tesla” secret, and that only one “brother” was driven to discover Angier’s trick. Namely, was he really being transported or was he being cloned, and if so what was happening to them?
I believe at the end, Lord Caldlow dies for real. He never appeared onstage for his transport act; one clone drowns and another appears a certain distance away, never suspecting the next time the trick is performed, HE will drown. Just my guess, but it works for me.
But how did Borden/Fallon know to give Angier Tesla’s name? That makes me think Borden had originally went to Tesla and gotten himself cloned once and Fallon is single clone. Could it be that one of the Borden/Fallon brothers is a clone and they call each other brother?
How Borden/Fallon knew about Tesla is the only part that confuses me.
I have just watched The Prestige a second time. I took note of clues I caught the 2nd time around, and compared them to your notes here. I noticed a few that you left out. I also noticed a few mistakes with your article.. I’d love to bring these to your attention & tell you the clues I noticed. I would post them here in this comment, but I’m so tired, I stayed awake late to finish the movie for a 2nd time, and I took medication to help me sleep, so I can barely stay awake to type this comment, and I don’t have time to sort through my notes & type something presentable at the moment…
So please, contact me. You have my email.
Thanks,
Abraham.
OK, I think I finally figured out how to reconcile the clone vs twin problem. To wit: on the one hand, if Alfred/Fallon are brothers, why does one of them give Angier the “TESLA” hint? And why all the talk about Tesla having already made a machine for Borden? On the other hand, if the two Bordens are clones, why don’t they already know the secret of Angier’s trick?
The answer is (well, perhaps I should say the answer “could be”)as follows: The Bordens are indeed clones. But what I think happened is that when the original Borden (I’ll call him Borden #1) met Tesla, Tesla did not build a “transport” machine for Borden–as Angier assumes he did. Rather Tesla only used the machine to clone Borden #1, so as to give Borden a double he could use in his magic act.
Now imagine this: Borden #1 knows his clone is a clone; but the clone (we’ll call that one Borden #2) has no idea of where he comes form and is thus ignorant of any machine. It is this ignorant version of Borden–Borden #2–who is in Jail. Furthermore, it is this Borden #2 who is the one obsessed with finding the secret of Angier’s trick. Contrariwise Borden #1–lover of Sarah and father of Jess–already knows where Borden #2 comes from. And because Borden #1 already knows how Angier does his transport trick, Borden #1 tries to get Borden #2 to just give up and drop the whole affair. Moreover, Borden #1 doesn’t want to tell his “brother” that he–Borden #2–is a clone! Borden #2 therefore is duped when what he assumes to be the one and only Angier apparently drowns in front of him.
This makes sense of the mood of the last scene, where Borden #1 can be seen to be motivated to kill Angier as revenge for getting his “brother” hanged. Why? Because Borden #1 is the nicer of the two, Bordens–the family man, the less competitive version. We can assume he would truly love his clone like a brother–unlike Angier’s relations with his clones.
TRUTH
It could be true BUT…
In Angiers flashback where he get’s cloned we see that the clone seems to know what just happened, that he is the ‘clone’ because the other Angier is still in place near the gun and the ‘clone’ steps out of the other end of the machine.
This also means that Angier knows he is always the one going to die the night he performs the trick, and his clone will continue, and will die the next show, and then that clone will die the following show etc.
My theory for the movie: At one point Fallon went to tesla and got clone. Wether on purpose or not, the clone and original knew what was at stake and knew exactly how far they were willing to go. After all, they were the same person so they probably didnt even have to explain it to eachother! That is why angiers clone knew he was going to get shot.
I also lean towards the clone theory given the lack of any confirmation that they are twins. Like kwak says though, it seems like the clone immediately knows everything up to the exact moment he was cloned, otherwise Angiers’ clones would be confused as to where they were rather than bowing to the audience. If you let that slide though, it’s an interesting take.
One detail I noticed in a movie with so much attention to detail was that both Bordens have the exact same prominent mole on their nose, which clones would have but identical twins would not. Could also just mean that they didn’t feel like covering up Bale’s real mole.
There is a kind of confirmation that they are brothers, and a long standing trick.
There is a scene where Borden and Angier are observing “Chung Ling Soo” being old and weak. In reality Soo is is in fact William Ellsworth Robinson and quite the athlete (Angier is unable to copy his ability to carry the full water bowl).
Borden explains that the “real trick” isn’t what he does on stage, it’s the facade of age he maintains, never giving the game away. In the same way that he and “Fallon” are in fact twins who exchange places regularly, never giving the game away. I seem to remember Border makes distinct reference to Soo maintaining this illusion for some time.
This movie was definately confusing, but I swear, I have replayed the ending a zillion times and I swear that Angier had tricks of his own…. it almost looks as if there are bubbles coming from the mouth of one of the clones in the tank as if he were alive inside. I am not sure, maybe it is my imagination, but it just adds more to everything else. And also makes me wonder by what Cutter is saying at the end while it’s showing the clone in the tank. It’s all a mystery, I guess it’s supposed to be. Has anyone else noticed this???
Yeah. I have noticed the same, Chris. After watching the ending again and again. There surely are bubbles coming out from his mouth. This movie is overwhelming.
Have noticed! another mystery! He was still alive!