A Friendship That Became a Rivalry...A Rivalry That Became a Battle.Rival magicians in turn-of-the-century London battle each other for trade secrets. The rivalry is so intense that it turns them into murderers. The title refers to the product of a successful trick.DVD Features:Available Subtitles: Spanish FrenchAvailable Audio Tracks: English (Dolby Digital 5.1) French (Dolby Digital 2.0) Spanish (Dolby Digital 2.0)The Art of the Prestige GalleryThe Director's Notebook: The Cinematic Sleight of Hand of Christopher NolanSystem Requirements:Run Time: 130 minutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA UPC: 786936705157 Manufacturer No: 05065100
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The Prestige attempts a hat trick by combining a ridiculously good-looking cast, a highly regarded new director, and more than one sleight of hand. Does it pull it off? Sort of. Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman play rival magicians who were once friends before an on-stage tragedy drove a wedge between them. While Bale's Alfred Borden is a more skilled illusionist, Jackman's Rufus Angier is the better showman; much of the film's interesting first half is their attempts to sabotage--and simultaneously, top--each other's tricks. Even with the help of a prop inventor (Michael Caine) and a comely assistant (Scarlett Johansson), Angier can't match Borden's ultimate illusion: The Transporting Man. Angier's obsession with learning Borden's trick leads him to an encounter with an eccentric inventor (David Bowie) in a second half that gets bogged down in plot loops and theatrics. Director Christopher Nolan, reuniting with his Batman Begins star Bale, demonstrates the same dark touch that hued that film, but some plot elements--without giving anything away--seem out of place with the rest of the movie. It's better to sit back and let the sometimes-clunky turns steer themselves than try to draw back the black curtain. That said, The Prestige still manages to entertain long after the magician has left the stage--a feat in itself. --Ellen A. Kim
