The Prestige

The Prestige
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-2008 British American mystery thriller film directed bt Christopher Nolan
-Follows the story of Robert Angier and Alfred Borden, 2 magicians in London at the end of the 19th century dangerously obsessed with outdoing the other.
-Stars Hugh Jackman as Robert Angier, Christian Bale as Alfred Borden, David Bowie as Nikola Tesla, and also stars Michael Caine, Scarlet Johansson, Andy Serkis

Did You Know?
-Borden's infant was played by one of Christopher Nolan's kids
-Nikola Tesla was a world famous physicist, engineer and inventor. He was known for his odd behavior and conducting experiments with electricity in Colorado Springs

Plot
-Alfred Borden(Christian Bale) is a magician who is being charged with the murder of Robert Angie(Hugh Jackman). Both were assistants fo "Milton the Magician"(Ricky Jay) with engineer John Cutter(Michael Caine). Angier's wife Julia(Piper Perabo) was drowned during a water cell act and Angier blames Borden. Alfred is unable to remember if he tied her with an experimental knot. They become very bitter enemies, with the intention of disrupting each other's acts. Borden becomes "The Professor" with enigmatic Bernard Fallon as his assistant while Angier becomes "The Great Danton" with a new love, Olivia Wenscombe(Scarlet Johansson) and Cutter helping. Angier is angered when Borden meets and marries Sarah(Rebecca Hall) and they have a child, a daughter, Jess(Samantha Mahurin). Angier messes around with Borden's bullet catch, costing Borden two fingers. Borden then ruins Angier's bird cage act, maiming an audience member and destroying his reputation.

-Borden suprises everyone with "The Transported Man" act, where he enters one cabinet and comes out another. Angier and Cutter fight over its possibility of performance and Cutter insists that a double is helping Borden. Angier hires a drunk actor named Root(also played by Jackman) to be his double. "The New Transported Man" astounds everyone, but Angier hates hiding under the stage as Root gets the applause. He sends Olivia to find out Borden's secret, but she falls in love with him instead. She leaves as a parting gift, Borden's secret diary of tricks to Angier. Borden manages to ruin Angier by removing a stage pad and crippling him badly, while Root is asking for more pay. Angier and Cutter bury Fallon alive to be released for the secret code to the diary.

-They find the code is "Tesla" and Angier tracks down Nikola Tesla(David Bowie) to Colorado Springs alone as Cutter leaves Angier to his obsession. He has Tesla make a copy of a teleportation device thar he thinks Borden used. Cheated by Borden after learning from the diary that he is on a quest that is pointless, Angier finds the machine works, but creates duplicates of one person. After Thomas Edison sends men to to torch his lab, Tesla leaves, warning Angier to destroy it. Elsewhere, Borden's pursuits alienate his wife Sarah, who hangs herself because she felt unloved by Borden

-Angier returns to London, shocking audiences with his "Transported Man" trick, vanishing inside the machine and reappearing in the hall. In reality, he goes through a trap door and into a water tank, drowning, while the machine creates his copy; the tanks are removed by blind stage people. Borden sees Angier drown while slipping backstage and he tries to save him, but is it is too late. Angier is dead and he is convicted of the murder. While in prison, Borden is visited by a man sent by a mysterious Lord Caldlow, who offers to care for Jess in exchange for Borden's secrets. He is given Angier's diary and finds that his conviction has been set up, and he recognizes Lord Caldlow as Angier. Instead, Caldlow rips them up, leaving with Jess. Borden is hanged after telling Fallon to live for them both

-Cutter learns what Caldlow has done, buying Angier's tricks including the machine, so he visits Caldlow to plead for it's demise. He recognizes Angier, who admits that he has always been Lord Caldlow, but pretended to be the American Robert Angier to spare his family the embarassment of a career in theatre. Cutter suddenly understands that Borden's death was plannes but accompanies Caldlow to a building to store Tesla's machine. On his way out, Cutter nods to Borden as he enters, who shoots Caldlow. Borden tells him that he and Fallon, whose real name was Freddy, were identical twins who shared their lives on stage and off. They lost fingers and shared the woman they loved, keeping the illusion they were a single man. Borden loved Sarah more than his job, and survived, while Freddy who loved Olivia, was killed. Caldlow replies that his every performance needed a living Caldlow to drown with his copy surviving to continue, repeatedly living through Julia's pain and suffering. Borden leaves "Angier" to die as fire consumes the building and Cutter reunites Borden with his daughter.

Cast

Hugh Jackman as Robert Angier / The Great Danton.
Christian Bale as Alfred Borden / The Professor.
Michael Caine as John Cutter, the stage engineer who works for Angier.
Piper Perabo as Julia McCullough, Angier's wife.
Rebecca Hall as Sarah Borden: Borden's wife.
Scarlett Johansson as Olivia Wenscombe, Angier's assistant and lover.
David Bowie as Nikola Tesla, the real-life inventor who creates a teleportation device for Angier.
Andy Serkis as Mr. Alley, Tesla's assistant.
Ricky Jay as "Milton the Magician", an older magician Borden and Angier work for at the beginning of the story.