FemaleFirst.co.uk: DVD: The Prestige [DVD] [2006]

The Prestige [DVD] [2006]
enlarge	Director: Christopher Nolan Actors: Christian Bale, Piper Perabo, Scarlett Johansson, Hugh Jackman, Michael Caine Studio: Warner Home Video Category: DVD List Price: ~~£17.99~~ Buy Used: £1.50 as of 21/11/2009 14:08 GMT details You Save: £16.49 (92%) New (17) Used (41) from £1.50 Seller: green1981 Rating: 123 reviews Sales Rank: 3161 Format: PAL Language: English (Original Language) Rating: Suitable for 12 years and over Region: 2 Number Of Discs: 1 Running Time: 125 Minutes Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2 Dimensions (in): 7.3 x 5.4 x 0.6 EAN: 7321902106472 ASIN: B000K7LQS8 Theatrical Release Date: 2006 Release Date: March 12, 2007 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days


Similar Items: The Illusionist [DVD] [2006] Memento [2000] [DVD] Deception [DVD] [2008] Equilibrium [DVD] [2003] The Fountain [DVD] [2006]


Editorial Reviews: Amazon.co.uk Review iThe Prestige/i 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 iBatman Begins/i 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, iThe Prestige/i still manages to entertain long after the magician has left the stage--a feat in itself. i--Ellen A. Kim/i

Customer Reviews: Showing reviews 1-5 of 123 1 2 3 4 5 6 ...25 Next » Magic with an ending that will make you want to watch again...and again July 15, 2007 Hugh Garske (Maidenhead, UK) 19 out of 20 found this review helpful This movie may just renew your interest in magic and also give you an insight into what goes on behind the scenes from technical, psychological and marketing points of view. Of the two main characters, Christian Bale is the better technically whereas in one of his best roles Hugh Jackman's character is the consummate performer. Their working relationship soon dissolves and they end up as fierce competitors with no scruples. br / br /The movie itself performs a couple of expected and unexpected magical acts and overall takes us to the boundary of true and false magic and presents us with the notion that we enjoy being deceived just as long as we get a sense of knowing how it may have been done. br / br /Christopher Nolan pulls off another gem. "The secret impresses no one. The trick you use it for is everything" April 29, 2007 bel_78 (Buenos Aires, Argentina) 36 out of 39 found this review helpful "The Prestige", based on a novel by Christopher Priest, is a movie that surprised me. I had heard that some people liked it, and that some people hated it, but I didn't expect "The Prestige" to be the kind of film that makes you want to watch it again immediately, just to be certain you didn't miss anything. And that is exactly what happened in this case... br / br /This film, directed by Christopher Nolan, is a drama set in late 19th century London that has some ingredients that can only be described as fantasy. All the same, the spectator won't be able to shake off the feeling that what he is watching is real, due to the excellent way in which the actors, the director and the scriptwriters managed to bring Priest's novel to life. br / br /The title of this movie has to do with one of the three acts of which every outstanding magic trick consists. The first act is "The Pledge", when the magician shows you something seemingly ordinary. The second act is "The Turn", when the thing that seemed ordinary is turned into something extraordinary. The last act is "The Prestige", the act that crowns the magic trick and makes it unique. Magicians live and die for "The Prestige", and that act is somehow at the center of this story. br / br /The main characters in this film are two magicians, Alfred Borden (Christian Bale) and Rupert Angier (Hugh Jackman), that due to a tragedy go from friendly rivals to fierce enemies. The quest of each one of them is to best the other, no matter the cost, notwithstanding the means. Who is the best magician, who can really achieve "The Prestige"? And will he live to boast about it? br / br /On the whole, I can say that I thoroughly enjoyed watching this movie, and that I would gladly watch it a third time. Highly recommended... br / br /Belen Alcat wow November 21, 2006 J. Molineaux (uk) 15 out of 16 found this review helpful this is one of the best films I have ever seen, and certainly the best film of 2006. The acting is exemplary and the story line is superb. Just when you think you've worked out the twist and are sitting smugly waiting to be proved right, the story moves beyond this easy ending to a final twist you'll never see coming unless you've been really watching carefully. There's no surprises it's all in the film but what a punch it packs. If you only see one film see this one Mind twisting masterpiece November 28, 2006 Ms. J. M. Wilkinson (Berkshire, UK) 22 out of 24 found this review helpful This is a fantastic film and keeps you transfixed for the whole time. at the end you want to go back and see it again to fill in the subtle twists and hints to the puzzle. Acting great, watch it but be prepared to use your brain in working things out. The end gives you the answer but leaves you trying to work it all out! br /A must-see film!! Inside the Magic Circle January 30, 2007 Steps (Luxembourg) 20 out of 22 found this review helpful Ask yourself if you liked Memento. If yes, carry on reading, if no then skip to the final paragraph. Ask yourself if you liked Insomnia (the Pacino/Wiliams/Swank remake not the Norwegian original). If yes, keep reading, if not skip to the penultimate paragraph. Now did you enjoy Batman Begins if yes... you get the drift. br / br /Christopher Nolan has a signature style. He likes to contort time and space. He enjoys keeping audiences guessing right up until the end. Even, albeit to a lesser extent, in his take on the Batman legend. It would seem that such trickery would go arm in arm with a tale based around two rival Victorian illusionists. And to a degree it does. Though The Prestige does manage to craftily avoid simple pigeonholing, it is a complicated tale requiring effort and patience. That said, not unlike The Usual Suspects and The Sixth Sense it will be best to avoid the t*sspots who can't keep the twists and turns to themselves before you nestle down with your popcorn and nacho's. There shall be no spoilers here. br / br /What can be discussed is the premise and it follows thusly: br / br /Christian Bale stars as Alfred Borden an ambitious and talented illusionist, performing as The Professor in small non-descript theatres. Technically gifted, Borden lacks any sense of scale, presence or spectacle. Hugh Jackman plays Rupert Angier, the more flamboyant but less skilled magician The Great Danton, who sells out larger auditoriums, yet craves more fame. Both learnt their trades, side by side as assistants (plants) to an older mentor and their rivalry quickly grew from boyish competition to something far more dangerous. br / br /After a spectacular illusion by The Great Danton goes sour, Borden is tried and jailed for the apparent murder of Angier and what follows is a mind bending series of flashbacks, flash forwards and double takes. We've seen this before of course with Memento, but here there is no simple inverse narrative to grasp on to. The jailed Borden acquires Angier's diary and reads with both bemusement and anger his foes thoughts. Within one of these flashbacks it transpires that Angier had previously stolen Borden's own diary in an attempt to best his current trick and we are then launched into a further flashback. And this is all before David Bowie turns up as a mad scientist. Confused? Good. br / br /Take The Prestige at face value and it shouldn't work, but start thinking outside the given box and it manages to perform on many levels. This is a slow burn production, with flashes of violence and science fiction but however stylized the delivery is The Prestige would fail if the characters were not believable. Fortunately Nolan gets the best out of his ensemble. Bale, as the nominal villain, is as solid as ever with his role being the more introverted and impassive foil for Jackman's grandstanding magician who will go to great lengths to be the best. Despite the two sharing very few scenes their rivalry is carefully balanced between awe, appreciation, hatred and jealousy. br / br /It's refreshing that Nolan doesn't spoon feed his audience, instead adopting an approach that, not unlike Michael Caine's opening monologue (The Set Up, The Performance and The Prestige), is as reliant on misdirection as it is on its study of retribution, revenge and obsession. br / br /The Prestige is bound to split audiences between those that grasp the non-linear time structure and those that struggle (or can't be arsed) to put the pieces together themselves. Nolan's framing is deliberately skewed, exterior locations are shrouded in mist and the largely handheld interior scenes are forever roving, forcing you to concentrate. Drawing you in and effectively tricking you. br / br /To borrow from the movies tagline `Are you watching closely?', in order to get the most of Nolan's tricky genre defying web of jealousy and revenge, you'd better be. br / br / Showing reviews 1-5 of 123 1 2 3 4 5 6 ...25 Next »

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