WOW! Nolan has done it again with yet another mind blowing movie This will leave us thinking for a while.. Want to watch 4 weeks EARLY and access our UNCUT reactions? AND Vote for what Movie we watch next over on Patreon! www.patreon.com/spartanandpudgey
Great reaction. Yes, its a twin. Spartan is spot on. Robert was driven by obsession. He paid homage to his dead wife by drowning and not knowing which he would be. Bordin didn't know because the twin who did it said it was the normal knot, but the other twin swears there's no way it must have been the other knot. Which is why he doesn't know because he doesn't know if his twin was lying or not. His twin is still a person, despite playing the same person. Its like you both are playing spartan, but pudgy might do something only pudgy know. And now spartan need to believe pudgy. He's supposed to represent Tesla and Edison. Alot of people know Edison discredited Tesla and took some of his work. Its supposed to be the direct parallel to Robert and batman, how they both love the science (magic) but copied and sabotaged each other. It was only later in society Tesla was acknowledged as genius but during the time, everyone thought he was crazy.
The second time watching this movie is SO much better than the first. The boy at the beginning watching the bird die in the magic trick. “Where’s his brother?” The boy gave the whole movie right there
Also, it showed the bird that dies falling through a trap door into the table for that early magician's trick... just like Angeir falling through the stage and dying for his trick.
Not just that but they literally went out and found a "twin" at the bar to do the trick with Angier. Had they continued to work with that guy and sobered him up, Angier wouldn't have had to go to Tesla. But of course, that would have been too simple and like Cutter said, you want to be fooled.
He sent him to Tesla to bankrupt him, Bordon didn't expect that Tesla could actually make a machine that could do "something" like his trick. That was an accident, a coincidence, which was why Bordon was caught off guard and couldn't figure out his trick.
@@sovex9331 I wish that had been it because I didn't like the addition of using a real historical character but having him create a FICTIONAL SCI-FI device. It was contradictory and a too easy solution for a plot twist.
you could still argue fallon was a clone(likely by a tesla machine in its early stages where it was assumed it didnt work at least by tesla) since what borden couldnt figure out was how there was seemingly only 1 man doing it all unlike his trick
“We were two young men at the start of a great career. Two young men devoted to an illusion. Two young men who never intended to hurt anyone." - Alfred wasn't referring to himself and Angier here, but to himself and his brother. Such subtle yet quite inspired writing.
What I don't understand. Why, is there no way to open this thing from the outside? Obviously, there is a way to open it from the inside, so she can escape. So why can't it be open from the outside in case of such an emergency? Never made sense to me.
@@EchanteDante Had to google that (not from the US). But that's not what I meant. Why can this hatch be opened from the inside, but not from the outside? And Michael Caine's character was caring about safety and stuff, hence the discussion about the knot. And this is a dangerous trick, where many things can go wrong. I just find it hard to believe, that they wouldn't make sure, they can get the person out of that canister quickly, whenever something isn't working as planned. Even back in the days. Maybe it's a little thing and not important, but for me that scene was never really believable.
@Riddler0603 You're right, to a point. We can't ascribe Cutter's action to raw panic. He was standing there with a stopwatch and an axe, so clearly this was the predetermined backup plan. However, I believe he followed that plan without thinking and was working on bad assumptions. The axe is an all-purpose "get her out of there ASAP," but it wasn't a fast enough solution. They may have never tested it so they may have been assuming it would be quicker than it was -- or maybe it worked fine in a calm test, but here she was panicking so didn't have as much breathing time. As for opening the device from the outside being more effective, they could absolutely have done that, but only because in this situation WE know that the failure was in not getting her hands free from the rope. The trick lock would have still functioned fine -- but they didn't know that. Trying to open that wasn't part of the emergency procedure because they didn't want to waste time trying to open a mechanism that may have been the point of failure. I'm sure that, in hindsight, they would change the procedure so one man tries the lock while another simultaneously starts whacking with the axe.
christian bales character did actually have a duplicate, not a twin. Because Tesla had made a machine for him in the past, as Angier mentions. Thats why his diary keyword was Tesla. Either way, all of Nolans films are ambiguous. So it’s not overthinking 😂
The scene with Borden and the little boy with the bird is a very important scene! It basically explains the plot and twist of the movie which is why Borden says to the kid (us the audience) “are you watching closely”
Of course it will seem obvious when you rewatch it, the question is did it seem obvious the first time you watched it, i've watched this movie so many times i can no longer remember which plot twists i saw coming, i like to believe i foresaw most of them but then when you are truly immersed watching a movie you probably 'aren't really looking' and are instead being misdirected by Nolan's script
Yeah, I was watching this in suspense thinking they were going to get it before it was revealed bc its so obvious but thats what makes the twist so good. They give you enough for it to make sense in hindsight but not enough to guess it right away during the first watch. The little boy crying "wheres his brother?" the wife saying "you dont mean it today" & "i know what you are" "hugh jackman having a clone, the cloned cats & hats, etc
@@uggggggghhhhh exactly. On rewatch it’s so satisfying, fallon is so “obviously” Bale and all the hints throughout the film. Always expect people to catch it but no one does. I think people expect it to be more complicated so that idea goes over their heads. They “want to be fooled”
"No one cares about the secret" "Once you know it's actually pretty obvious" This movie is true about this two statements in magic, but totally subverts them in the context of the movie itself. Once you know the secret it actually gets more interesting to rewatch, to pick all the (countless) clues and foreshadows they leave along the way. Just brilliant
Pudgey is the only person who doesn’t understand the twist even when it’s been explained. That’s because she was talking over the line “…a brother, a twin…”.
@@uggggggghhhhhExcept the twin brother twist was like the last 20mins of the movie. The repeat it over and over that's the trick is, there is no trick. Its just two brothers
One thing you guys perhaps did not realize is that Angier was always Lord Caldlow, even before he became a magician. He was secretly moonlighting as a magician the whole time.
Well, that's even worse than because if he was secretly moonlighting as a magician aka having a somewhat double life as well, then the twin theory shouldn't have been such a ridiculous concept to him.
Cutter lied originally when he said drowning is like going home when Robert Angier's wife drowned to try and comfort him. But later, when Cutter realized how Angier did his clone-act, he thought it was wrong and had to be honest and say drowning is agony.
Cutter didn't tell him the truth because he thought it was wrong to hide it. He finally told him the truth about drowning because he realized Angier was a bad person for letting Borden hang and wanted to make sure Angier knew drowning would be a painful death. Cutter sided with Borden in the end.
The clone is identical to the original at the time they split. So the clone knows what the original knows, which is why he knows he’s about to die. It also means the original knows he’s killing himself over and over again. Whether the clone or the original dies, it’s the same person. Rick and Morty did an amazing episode about this called The Vat of Acid Episode.
Regarding the knot, I suspect the twin who tied the fatal knot would never willingly admit to it, and the twin who didn’t would genuinely not know. So it makes sense that either twin would answer “I don’t know.”
I don't buy that he doesn't know BS in the least. At least as it applies in real life. The twin that didn't tie the knot, would definitely ask the other twin what knot was used. If the twin that knew wouldn't tell, that means he tied the knot that he was warned to not use, because there would zero reason to hide the fact that he used the approved knot & he would just tell. So in short, the 1 twin's refusal to answer, tells the answer without telling.
@@Hazy_y Yeah right. Someone dies that could've been primarily the fault of the one twin, but they're just going to ignore that fact because it's part of an act. Also, when they live their act, they hide things from everyone else, not each other.
@@_MjG_ when did I say they hide it from eachother? Ofc they both knew which one did it and what. But why would they say it out loud? Both decided to say "I don't know" to save the one who did it.
@@Hazy_y Whether you said it or not, others here are saying the twins hid the truth from each other & that Borden or Fallon was telling the truth when he said "I don't know" to Angier, when being asked which knot. If I'm understanding correctly, correct me if I'm wrong... via your last reply, it sounds like you're saying the twins didn't hide the truth from each other & lied to Angier about it because it was part their act. If this is true, then you & I are in agreement & I don't know why you even replied to my first reply like you were disagreeing. My replying disagreement with/to @benjamin was ONLY about him (@benjamin) saying the 1 twin genuinely wouldn't know. It had nothing to do with Borden or Fallon saying "I don't know" to Angier.
57:30 one of the twins actually know which knot was tied. However, Robert asked the wrong Borden twin that’s why he said “I didn’t know”. Obviously the second twin should follow that line to not get caught and keep up the act.
He sent Angier to Tesla as a misdirection. But Tesla was actually able to build the cloning machine. That's why Borden was shocked that Angier was still alive.
Y’all overthinking it, the end was Kane talking to us the audience saying we don’t want to see the truth(the horror and sacrifice) we want to be fooled and awed by the “magic”. Borden was twin brothers Danton was clones
clones explanation betrays the spirit of the movie, there are decent explanations on reddit that Danton's victory was convincing borden that cloning was the trick
@@julianapostate6534 The spirit of the movie is not magic and tricks, the spirit of the movie is showing how obsession blinds people, how it makes them make awful decisions and how it makes them overthink things so they can't see the answer right in front of them. People overthinking the movie are literally going against the spirit of it, they learn nothing from it. And that's what the ending dialogue is, it mocks the sort of audience members who try to look beyond and overthink the plot, ones obsessing over the magic instead of the people, the plot that was neatly wrapped up and was about people.
Thank you for saying this. So many people ask “which one is the real one?” They’re BOTH the real Angier with the same personality, memories, etc. It’s a hard concept to grasp, but that’s what it is. There is no more distinction between “original” and “clone”. Just that one gets killed and the other survives
We know that but as viewers we got to know one particular one, so we want to know which one he is. Even if all the hats are the same, if you keep wearing the same one it'll have more meaning to you than the others.
@@kevincastro8617 Yes, they're identical, but either one is the original and another is a clone or they're both half clone. The machine has to construct a copy, there's simply not enough matter to make 2 people otu of 1 person, one of them has to be made by the machine, or they both are partly original, partly made.
@@Lilithly when the machine is turned on, does it matter if the “original” is the one that stays in the same place or if the “original” is transported and a copy is left in his place? we don’t know but if you could interview each of them, they will both say they’re the original. Which means they’re both the original. That was the whole point for that line by Tesla saying “they’re all your hats”
The magician on stage during the rope knot scene is Ricky Jay, RIP, doing a cameo and did consulting on the movie to get the historical look and feel right for how theater magic was performed. He was a great historian and performer of the craft in his own right, a nice touch to see him there.
Guys!! I’ve been saying this movie is literally the greatest movie of all time! The twist and turns this movie takes you through is so incredible! The movie itself is an actual making trick. When Borden says throughout the movie, “are you watching closely ?” He’s literally asking us as the audience to pay attention because the movie requires it. Entangling the mess with your brain! Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman deserved Oscar’s for this work and this is Christopher Nolan’s best film in my opinion! 11/10 perfect!
@austindmilligan couldn't agree more. When people state Your Opinion...with their opinion, it's like are you dense? That is the whole point of any comment saying what one thinks...it is always your opinion..jfc
The ending shows all the clones he drowned. At one part of the movie at the end Angier said he will perform the trick for exact number of times, they had certain number of containers to drown his clones. The end shows all the containers with the drowned clones.
I don't think Sarah knew that her husband was twins, she was just able to read him/them well enough to sense when it was Alfred (he was sincere in his love for her) and when it was Fallon (he was just playing the part). That's why she thought he was having an affair, etc. I'm unclear whether she figured out his/their secret by the end, but it kind of sounded like she did. And can you imagine? You suddenly discover that half the time you've spent in a relationship with your partner, it's actually been their sibling pretending to be them. And how far did that go in private? Like, did they kiss? Sleep together? Change, shower, etc in front of one another? That realization would be horrible and feel like such a violation. The part about Angier not knowing if it was him who would die is always an interesting subject. I've seen a lot of people theorize that it's a 50/50 chance whether he teleports or drops into the tank and he never knows which it'll be, but I actually think it's simpler than that. No matter how many times you do the trick, the guy who comes out the other door will NEVER have fallen into the tank and drowned (or else he wouldn't be coming out the other door). He would have the memories of walking into the first door and coming out the second door every time. The problem is that nobody knows how the machine actually works: Is the first Angier being teleported to the second door and leaving a clone in his place to drop and drown, or is the first Angier dropping into the tank every night while a clone appears at the second door? For Angier, that uncertainty means that each time he does the trick, he doesn't know if he's always walking into an agonizing death, leaving a copy (who has never experienced death) to take over for him until the next performance, when that clone then drowns and a new clone takes over for the previous clone, over and over and over. Personally, I suspect that the machine leaves the original in place and creates a copy a short distance away, meaning that Angier is having one final performance every night, each one capped off by a horrible drowning death. That's his sacrifice for the trick. That's the "cost" Tesla refers to when he advises him to destroy the machine. Every night, Angier has to be entering that trick thinking, "Am I about to experience dying?" That would be rough. Is he murdering his clones night after night, or is he experiencing a never ending string of self un-alivings? An extra irony is that, if it's the second choice, then the Angier that starts the trick never gets to experience the audience applauding (the same problem he had when he tried to use the double) because he's too busy drowning. On the subject of Thomas Edison: Edison was a businessman who reportedly wasn't afraid of getting his hands dirty and stealing some patents to be known as the most successful inventor (in kind of a parallel with our main characters, who were each willing to get their hands dirty and steal tricks to be the best magician), but a lot of the animosity between Tesla and Edison is myth. Tesla actually worked for Edison's company for a while, eventually quitting because he wasn't being listened to and he got screwed out of a promise $50,000 for improving Edison's dynamos. Apparently, after he made the improvements, he was told that the $50k was just a "practical joke" and he was instead offered a $10/week raise. Later, Edison was working on DC electricity but it had the problem of there not being any infrastructure to transfer it long distances, meaning electricity would be limited to cities. Tesla, on the other hand, was working on AC electricity, which could be transferred long distances - making it available to everyone - but had a reputation for being dangerous (another parallel to the movie?) and starting fires. Tesla worked to show that AC was not actually dangerous and could benefit everyone, but Edison - who was heavily invested in DC - did everything he could to discredit Tesla, including trying to put the stink on AC by holding demonstrations in which he would electrocute animals (there's famous footage of one of Edison's demonstrations where he electrocutes an elephant, which, for me, is enough reason to think of Edison as a dick). One of Tesla's labs did burn down (not sure if it was the Colorado Springs lab or the NY one), but there's no evidence that Edison was behind it like in the movie. Supposedly, the fire started in a dry-cleaning business downstairs from Tesla's lab, possibly from the cigarette of a careless security guard. Of course, history is full of stories that are told by the victor so it's totally possible that Edison was behind it and did it to sabotage Tesla's work with AC, radio, etc. For now, that's just a conspiracy theory that gets tossed around though. Either way, after the fire, Edison let Tesla use his labs to continue his work, so that would actually be a point in Edison's favor (unless he was just trying to keep him close so he could see what he was up to and steal some inventions). Originally, Tesla idolized Edison. He even said about meeting him: "The meeting with Edison was a memorable event in my life. I was amazed at this wonderful man who, without early advantages and scientific training, had accomplished so much." But, over time, the two men grew to not like each other very much because they were both very smart-but-egocentric guys who didn't like other egocentric people. Plus, Tesla was a germophobe and Edison was reportedly not super clean. According to Tesla's autobiography: "[Edison] had no hobby, cared for no sort of amusement of any kind and lived in utter disregard of the most elementary rules of hygiene." Another thing Tesla said about Edison in his autobiography: "His method was inefficient in the extreme, for an immense ground had to be covered to get anything at all unless blind chance intervened and, at first, I was almost a sorry witness of his doings, knowing that just a little theory and calculation would have saved him 90% of the labour. But he had a veritable contempt for book learning and mathematical knowledge, trusting himself entirely to his inventor's instinct and practical American sense." So, I'm not sure that the stuff in the movie was based off of Edison stealing the lightbulb from someone so much as it was just sort of a play on the mythology of Tesla (who is built up as an almost magical, almost alien super genius by fanbois who believe his work was suppressed by the government for being too advanced, etc) and a possibly exaggerated version of Edison's ruthlessness and willingness to steal other people's work, combined with a sprinkling of their eventual dislike for one another and the competition between their competing forms of electricity.
Yep that's why she was surprised when he told her he decided to buy the place. Her previous conversation with the twin (who wasn't in love with her) he had said it was a bad idea
9:26 Them talking about the old man getting into the carriage with the fishbowl foreshadows the big reveal of the whole movie and I missed it my first time through. Bird scene, that's his brother. 19:26 Voice and mo-cap actor for Gollum / Sméagol I don't know which knot. I'm pregnant, oh my Go... we should have told Fallon I love you, not today Finger bleeding again Just some of them and it's crazy how all this is put in front of the audience within the first of the movie.
Oh, and Alfred Borden wrote in the diary that he argued with himself over and over about what knot he tied. Knowing that they are twins, he was actually arguing with his twin brother about what knot the brother tied. Meaning, Angier was reading the diary of the one who didn't tie the knot. After he tied the knot and they argued, for whatever reason, probably shame, the twin brother never admitted what knot he tied. So the other twin didnt actually know.
And in the first scene where Angier is reading it, it says "We were two young men at the start of a great career. Two young men devoted to an illusion. Two young men who never intended to hurt anyone." Borden wasn't talking about himself and Angier, he was talking about himself and his twin.
I just noticed Cutter asking "do you think it was her?" was immediately followed by a cut to her adjusting the gas lights (the origin of the term 'gaslighting' comes from manipulating the intensity of gas-fueled lights and then lying about it, in order to make your significant other question their perception of reality).
Also. There’s soooooo many great things in this movie you can find a new one every time. I didn’t realize until this watch that the scene at the very beginning, where Michael Caine is explaining the three phases of a trick, it is literally the moment before Borden walks in at the end and his daughter sees him. Genius movie.
What's funny about this movie is that its telling you plain and simple what the brothers are doing, how the trick is done and all that. But ''YOU WANT TO BE FOOLED'' which they say at the beginning and at the end. It really fascinates me how Nolan(s) created this story knowing that the audience would constantly (almost like Robert) look for the trick, or for clues, when really it was right there in front of us the whole time.
@@janellelives5158Not at all, a lot of people have seen this and it's reviewed quite well. Its very appropriately rated. "Underrated" would be momento which not many people have seen or even know is a Nolan film.
When I saw this in the theater, before Christian Bale's character hangs, I whispered to myself, "Abracadabra," feeling that's what I would say in contempt. Hearing the delivery sent chills down my spine. Nolan is brilliant.
I think you guys might have missed at the end where Alfred says to Angier “We each loved one of them. He loved Olivia, I loved Sarah.” Basically confirming that the twin who died was kind of the shittier twin who was yelling at Sarah constantly, cheating with Olivia and most likely not the father of the little girl.. also the one who snuck backstage to see Angiers trick..
Nolan is easily my favorite director, and rewatching his films is always rewarding. Memento is my favorite, and I think you guys would have a blast with that one.
@@darkglass1 pretty sure they’re about my age, I’m 29. My parents are just young Gen X and raised me with the classics 🤷🏻♂️ Labyrinth was one of my favorite movies growing up
When you realise that Angier could have made just one clone and then done exactly the same thing as Borden and just taken it in turns, but his avarice in wanting to be on stage for every reveal and not the man in the box, so he commits murder every night…
He could do that but the reason you've given is not the only one. I think of it as the 4th reason. The major reasons are these (but not only): 1st - it's highly disturbing what Tesla/him as a magician accomplished with the machine. It's not natural and that's why he immediately shot the 1st duplicate (or his duplicate shot him). Sidenote: it doesn't matter who shot who cause essentially it's the same thing cause they are both the same man. 2nd - He already was discovered and mocked for using a double by his very enemy/opponent before. So leaving one of them alive would mean he could be exposed again. Hence "I win cause my trick is the best one" during the jail visitation scene. 3rd - He found some solace in dying the same way every night as his wife (as a form of punishment/purgatory) - inferred from the failed suicide attempts/punishment scene with the sink after her death. That's at least true until the moment of drowning, which was not like "going home" but "agony" as revealed at the end, hence why the one drowning was asking for help. The other that lived/the prestige went one continuing to think of it as peaceful way to go every time. 4th - what you said. I found the cloning part of the film very disturbing. It's very Lovecraftian + coupled with his ambition and used very well as juxtaposition film technique to the "natural"/twins way. Don't get how, in this instance Spartan & Pudgey + some other aren't so disturbed by it.
@@6kembe4orba a very thorough and thoughtful analysis! Sometimes you can miss or misremember parts of the film when you’re watching a truncated reaction version, I need to watch it properly again 😅
Also, he was hell-bent on taking his revenge on Borden, so he set it all up knowing that Borden would eventually come and sneak backstage and be framed for his murder. I think that was a huge motive as well
It wasn't about his avarice... He didn't want a clone. His whole goal was to frame Borden for "his" murder. And he didn't know when Borden would show up, so he just needed to keep doing the trick until he finally framed him. Everyone knew that they had a long time feud and would believe it.
I love how the end says that the viewer doesn't want to understand it and how they want to be fooled and pudgy and spartan immediately say they don't get it and think there's something more that they're missing (like in a magic trick)
What I like best about the movie is (beside David Bowie) that is shows what a good actor Hugh Jackman is..he is often only reduced to the Wolverine thing and people forget what a great actor..and even waaaaay greater stage broadway performer that guy is. That guy won Tonys for a reason
I feel like only people under 30 think of Jackman as reduced to Wolverine. He's been in so many great roles, put in so many excellent performances, but they're nowhere near the same wheelhouse as Wolverine so the mainstream younger demographics probably don't crossover into his other films too much.
@@Trepanation21 His stage performances are nuts..I would argue that the whole movie thing is great, but you should always watch him on stage because then he raises it to a whole other level
Watch the fountain with Hugh Jackman, was out around the same time as this, these 2 films made me a Hugh Jackman fan where I didn't like him as wolverine (just not an x men fan not against wolverine)
I’ve watched this movie dozens of times and the more you watch it the more you realize Nolan is constantly telling you the answer but has you focus on something else. Also, there is a good twin and a bad twin! The bad twin is hung and the good twin reunited with his daughter.
Tesla was a real historical character (considered a genius who was ahead of his time). Nolan said that had always thought of David Bowie for the part because he also fit that description. He was surprised when Bowie agreed to do it...& was blown away by how Bowie "became" the character. So much so that many viewers didn't realize it was Bowie!
In my opinion this is the most well written and directed movie I’ve ever seen. There are no plot holes! It’s so intricate it’s mind blowing. Even the main characters initials spell out ABRA(CADABRA) Alfred Borden & Robert Angier
"I'm probably going to be lost in the first 5 minutes..." No, that's TENET. Looking forward to you guys getting your brains melted by that one. I'm still recovering.
One of his greatest? You're talking about a direct with blockbuster after blockbuster after blockbuster. Critical acclaim after critical acclaim after critical acclaim. Oppenheimer, Inception, Interstellar, Dunkirk, Momento, Insomnia, TDK... Besides Tenet thats all he makes are great films
If the teleported Algiers is a copy with all memories intact, then the original died the first time he performed the act. Every Algiers thereafter is a copy.
Pudgey your overthinking both makes you confused unnecessarily at times but also it allows you to hilariously guess the twist so quickly with some confidence "this whole movie a trick in 3 parts" Just awesome LOL
I never understand how no one can tell that its christian bale as the brother earlier. I remember when I first watched this in a cabin with friends years ago, the first time I saw him I noticed and we figured out it had to be a relative
If you are interested in the backstory about Tesla, The Current War is a 2017 biographical drama film about the rivalry between Thomas Edison, Nikola Tesla, and George Westinghouse over which electrical system would power the United States in the 1880s. The film stars Benedict Cumberbatch as Edison, Michael Shannon as Westinghouse, and Nicholas Hoult as Tesla.
You guys are my favorite reactors! So happy you have boarded the Nolan-train, there are so many amazing movies that just leave you thinking about them for days afterwards, Can´t wait for more amazing movies and reactions! Love from Norway:)
I've waited almost 20 minutes at the end in your analysis for the bird symbolism/foreshadowing. I was so happy when after the Pudgey Story and the word "boy", the face of our Spartan became really focused and guessed that beautiful aspect of this film.
How the trick works is whomever is in the machine ends up in the box. Tesla built not a transport device but a duplication device. So for the trick, you step in the machine, you get duplicated but you fall into the tank and die and your replicatant takes your place. At the end, it was a warehouse full of water tanks and each on had a body in it.
Or in the first duplication he tried alone, was it the clone that shot the original that was transported? Both would have similar thoughts after such a crazy experience but only one was trying to say "I'm the...." what? The original?!? Could he know? The original must pay the 'cost' of the trick & be the one to die is what Tesla alluded to. Robert wants to always be the transported one but he was immediately killed. I think it was always a clone of a clone of a clone after that. And when you start making copies of something you always start to get errors & deletions. Material & data get lost. Hence how Robert keeps getting more and more desensitized to what 'he' is doing.
@@orphanedhanyou They would both think they're the original because they both have the same memories, experiences, personality. And technically they both are, but if we think of it in terms of the original doesn't move and a clone is created nearby, then the first time he did it, the "original" was in the machine still and grabbed the gun, but yeah, every time after that it would have been the "original" dying, and the "clone" was the prestige.
32:27 (speculation): Borden says "the keyword is the method", referring to his trick which later turns out to be the twin method. Since we know the keyword was “TESLA” this could imply, that Borden might have created his twin brother Fallon with Teslas machine some time ago. But in difference to Danton he never used the machine again.
I love this movie! It’s definitely the OG guy who drowns everytime. The first time he shoots the clone. The remainder of the times he drowns and the clone is the prestige. A lot of discussion has gone on about this, but if you watch the building of the machine. The final test with the cat… Andy Serkis took the collar off the cat, and the cats by the top hats had collars. So everytime he goes into the machine he drowns. Which makes cutlers comment about drowning cut deeper. He said it was like falling asleep to ease him over his wife’s passing, but wanted him to know how painful it was for him everytime.
I think this is probably right, but--if you think about it--if it makes a clone appear somewhere, then who's to say that it doesn't make the original appear there--instead--and make a clone appear in his place? It seems possible that the one in the field of effect of the machine is the clone, but that's not the simplest explanation. Ockham's Razor would dictate that we assume that it is as you say, so that's more probably (in the sense of epistemic probability, not ontological probability) the case.
@@Real_LiamOBryan I think the tell again is the cats. When you are shown the cat being “cloned” it has a collar. Then Serkis removes the collar and the cat runs off. But the cat it meets by the hats has a collar on. Therefore it’s implied the clone is the one transported and the original stays. I don’t believe this action was done without caution or thought.
@@scubasteve2903 That literally changes nothing, both have the collar during the cloning and transportation, the collar being removed after cloning does not impact the dilemma of which is the original.
I recently rewatched The Prestige, amazing movie. What surprised me is that the twist(s) really aren't hard to foresee, as they say in the movie all you need to do is pay attention and not be misled by the movie (like in the scene with Angier drowning in the water tank).
There are two personalities. One is always cool, soft spoken and the other one is more of the hot head and always angry. The time Sarah said I knew because she can comfirm that Borden/Fallon is having an affair with Olivia and she doesn't know his husband is a twin. The twin bought the machine from Tesla just for the extreme electricity effects of it, nothing more. Angier got tricked by the twin and request a specific type of machine based on the schematic diagram je passed to the Tesla's butler. If you watch again for the 2nd time after knowing the ending, you will realize there's really a lot of clues seeded along the way.
This is my favorite movie, I remember watching it years ago and it really got me into film. The ending isn't as deep as you may be making it out to be. "You want to be fooled." Is just talking about human nature, and more specifically to this movie, talking about Angier's obsession with Borden's trick. At some point he stops caring about the truth, what really motivates him is just the mystery of it. Similar to how people go to magicians in the first place, we wouldn't go if we knew all the answers, we want to be fooled.
Since Wolverine, Batman, Black Widow, and Maya Hansen (from Iron Man 3) are in this magical spectacle, it’s interesting to note that there are two Alfreds (Michael Caine and Andy Serkis) from the Batman universe. Interestingly enough, Fallon’s brother turned out to be named Alfred, as well. Therefore, in The Prestige, the movie itself is a magic act. There is a magician’s code that all magicians have held close to their hearts throughout the centuries: never reveal their magic act, under penalty of death. This is why The Masked Magician hides his face when he reveals tricks in his act. In The Prestige, the twins were magicians performing as one person and never revealed their secret identity to even those closest to them. Borden’s wife developed trust issues because she was driven crazy by not knowing if her husband truly loved her, ultimately leading to her suicide. Additionally, the twins didn’t know who tied the knot on Robert’s wife, which ultimately led to her death, because the twin they asked was not the one who had done it.
HANDS DOWN ONE OF THEE BEST MYSTERY DRAMAS OR MYSTERY THRILLERS EVER!! THE CAST IS PHENOMENAL! The sets, costumes, the cinematography, etc ALL OF IT TOP NOTCH!! All of the magic scenes are sooo much fun too!! I do not understand how this isn’t ALWAYS on lists for the best movies of all time or best movies for the last 2 decades.
The final line of wanting to be fooled I interpret as we the audience wanting cheap thrills without having to look at any toxicity that may come along with it. Basically using entertainment as distraction rather than analysis. The two competing philosophies in the final scene feel like Nolan arguing with himself. Do you make are to be meticulous and craft something perfect or do you do it to make an audience happy. It’s his wrestle as a film maker.
@@TheJerbolthey are twins but clones. They had to fake being both, but Sarah was never asked "Fallon" if he loved her. She was only asking Alfred so half the time he truly didn't love her & the other half he did.
@@orphanedhanyou again, that makes zero sense. They're twins, not clones, who have shared one life since they were young. They alternated playing Fallon or Borden. C'mon, they spell it out in the movie
The old Chinese man with his fish bowl trick is a hint, a foreshadow, for obsession and dedication for his Magic trick by living their life like that all the time ... all the time , like Borden & Fallon
WOW! Nolan has done it again with yet another mind blowing movie This will leave us thinking for a while..
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Fantastic movie! It is even better when you watch it again, so many lines of dialogue have a different meaning!
Great reaction. Yes, its a twin. Spartan is spot on. Robert was driven by obsession. He paid homage to his dead wife by drowning and not knowing which he would be. Bordin didn't know because the twin who did it said it was the normal knot, but the other twin swears there's no way it must have been the other knot. Which is why he doesn't know because he doesn't know if his twin was lying or not. His twin is still a person, despite playing the same person. Its like you both are playing spartan, but pudgy might do something only pudgy know. And now spartan need to believe pudgy. He's supposed to represent Tesla and Edison. Alot of people know Edison discredited Tesla and took some of his work. Its supposed to be the direct parallel to Robert and batman, how they both love the science (magic) but copied and sabotaged each other. It was only later in society Tesla was acknowledged as genius but during the time, everyone thought he was crazy.
If you guys ever do a rewatch reaction, this would be the movie to do it.
The second time watching this movie is SO much better than the first. The boy at the beginning watching the bird die in the magic trick. “Where’s his brother?” The boy gave the whole movie right there
Also, it showed the bird that dies falling through a trap door into the table for that early magician's trick... just like Angeir falling through the stage and dying for his trick.
Ironically, The Prestige is the time that knowing the secret (repeat watches) makes it better. The movie just blossoms on a rewatch.
Not just that but they literally went out and found a "twin" at the bar to do the trick with Angier. Had they continued to work with that guy and sobered him up, Angier wouldn't have had to go to Tesla.
But of course, that would have been too simple and like Cutter said, you want to be fooled.
Now you know why Bordens moods change a lot, because it’s literally 2 different people!
He sent him to Tesla to bankrupt him, Bordon didn't expect that Tesla could actually make a machine that could do "something" like his trick. That was an accident, a coincidence, which was why Bordon was caught off guard and couldn't figure out his trick.
Which also wasn't a lie, he did use a Tesla design in his trick, but it's just there as spectacle.
I don't think Tesla's machine was working, he was just using his double - and ended up sacrificing it to frame his own death.
@@sovex9331 I wish that had been it because I didn't like the addition of using a real historical character but having him create a FICTIONAL SCI-FI device. It was contradictory and a too easy solution for a plot twist.
you could still argue fallon was a clone(likely by a tesla machine in its early stages where it was assumed it didnt work at least by tesla) since what borden couldnt figure out was how there was seemingly only 1 man doing it all unlike his trick
“We were two young men at the start of a great career. Two young men devoted to an illusion. Two young men who never intended to hurt anyone." - Alfred wasn't referring to himself and Angier here, but to himself and his brother. Such subtle yet quite inspired writing.
12:41 "Surely you'd make the glass more easily breakable?!" Water is hella heavy, so the glass has to be strong enough to hold it without collapsing.
What I don't understand. Why, is there no way to open this thing from the outside? Obviously, there is a way to open it from the inside, so she can escape. So why can't it be open from the outside in case of such an emergency? Never made sense to me.
@@Riddler0603I mean they weren’t exactly up to OSHA code back then sooo just go with it 🤷♂️
@@EchanteDante Had to google that (not from the US). But that's not what I meant. Why can this hatch be opened from the inside, but not from the outside? And Michael Caine's character was caring about safety and stuff, hence the discussion about the knot. And this is a dangerous trick, where many things can go wrong. I just find it hard to believe, that they wouldn't make sure, they can get the person out of that canister quickly, whenever something isn't working as planned. Even back in the days.
Maybe it's a little thing and not important, but for me that scene was never really believable.
@Riddler0603 You're right, to a point. We can't ascribe Cutter's action to raw panic. He was standing there with a stopwatch and an axe, so clearly this was the predetermined backup plan. However, I believe he followed that plan without thinking and was working on bad assumptions. The axe is an all-purpose "get her out of there ASAP," but it wasn't a fast enough solution. They may have never tested it so they may have been assuming it would be quicker than it was -- or maybe it worked fine in a calm test, but here she was panicking so didn't have as much breathing time. As for opening the device from the outside being more effective, they could absolutely have done that, but only because in this situation WE know that the failure was in not getting her hands free from the rope. The trick lock would have still functioned fine -- but they didn't know that. Trying to open that wasn't part of the emergency procedure because they didn't want to waste time trying to open a mechanism that may have been the point of failure. I'm sure that, in hindsight, they would change the procedure so one man tries the lock while another simultaneously starts whacking with the axe.
also, the water creates a suction effect and seals up the same way a car underwater would
Pudgey, stop overthinking. Spartan is right. Christian Bale character had a twin
I hate to say this, but women more often overthink things in general
@@wendellwiggins3776 Lol I know so many men overthinking but they talk about it less than women because it's not considered "manly".
christian bales character did actually have a duplicate, not a twin. Because Tesla had made a machine for him in the past, as Angier mentions. Thats why his diary keyword was Tesla. Either way, all of Nolans films are ambiguous. So it’s not overthinking 😂
@@wendellwiggins3776 post an opinion without being a huge mysogynist challenge ~impossible~
@@blackwater6146 I thought Tesla hadn't perfected the duplication for Bale. And even from the start there were clues and suggestions of a twin
The scene with Borden and the little boy with the bird is a very important scene! It basically explains the plot and twist of the movie which is why Borden says to the kid (us the audience) “are you watching closely”
This film is so good man. Every time I rewatch it with people the twist seems so obvious to me, and no one I’ve ever watched it with has caught it.
Of course it will seem obvious when you rewatch it, the question is did it seem obvious the first time you watched it, i've watched this movie so many times i can no longer remember which plot twists i saw coming, i like to believe i foresaw most of them but then when you are truly immersed watching a movie you probably 'aren't really looking' and are instead being misdirected by Nolan's script
Yeah, I was watching this in suspense thinking they were going to get it before it was revealed bc its so obvious but thats what makes the twist so good. They give you enough for it to make sense in hindsight but not enough to guess it right away during the first watch.
The little boy crying "wheres his brother?" the wife saying "you dont mean it today" & "i know what you are" "hugh jackman having a clone, the cloned cats & hats, etc
@@uggggggghhhhh exactly. On rewatch it’s so satisfying, fallon is so “obviously” Bale and all the hints throughout the film. Always expect people to catch it but no one does.
I think people expect it to be more complicated so that idea goes over their heads. They “want to be fooled”
"No one cares about the secret"
"Once you know it's actually pretty obvious"
This movie is true about this two statements in magic, but totally subverts them in the context of the movie itself. Once you know the secret it actually gets more interesting to rewatch, to pick all the (countless) clues and foreshadows they leave along the way. Just brilliant
Pudgey is the only person who doesn’t understand the twist even when it’s been explained. That’s because she was talking over the line “…a brother, a twin…”.
to be fair, theres a lot going on in the story. when theres a big plot twist, theyll add a lot of distractions
@@uggggggghhhhhExcept the twin brother twist was like the last 20mins of the movie. The repeat it over and over that's the trick is, there is no trick. Its just two brothers
One of my favorite movies. Even after knowing the twist, it's still just as enjoyable to rewatch.
9:36 Christian Bale's character figured it out easily because he was also living his trick his whole life
One thing you guys perhaps did not realize is that Angier was always Lord Caldlow, even before he became a magician. He was secretly moonlighting as a magician the whole time.
Well, that's even worse than because if he was secretly moonlighting as a magician aka having a somewhat double life as well, then the twin theory shouldn't have been such a ridiculous concept to him.
Cutter lied originally when he said drowning is like going home when Robert Angier's wife drowned to try and comfort him. But later, when Cutter realized how Angier did his clone-act, he thought it was wrong and had to be honest and say drowning is agony.
Cutter didn't tell him the truth because he thought it was wrong to hide it. He finally told him the truth about drowning because he realized Angier was a bad person for letting Borden hang and wanted to make sure Angier knew drowning would be a painful death. Cutter sided with Borden in the end.
durr
The clone is identical to the original at the time they split. So the clone knows what the original knows, which is why he knows he’s about to die. It also means the original knows he’s killing himself over and over again. Whether the clone or the original dies, it’s the same person. Rick and Morty did an amazing episode about this called The Vat of Acid Episode.
It’s rare to see Spartan out shining Pudgey here, but Spartan is on fire with this movie and Pudgey is a bit slow today.
Spartan, I love your face when ever pudgey goes on one of her silent giggle fits , amazing 😂❤
It’s a movie that’s definitely requires a second and third watch! Fun to see the pieces moving and put in place now that you know the twist
The best thing about this movie is that, like some magic tricks, it's just as enjoyable the second time around when you know what to look for.
Regarding the knot, I suspect the twin who tied the fatal knot would never willingly admit to it, and the twin who didn’t would genuinely not know. So it makes sense that either twin would answer “I don’t know.”
I don't buy that he doesn't know BS in the least. At least as it applies in real life. The twin that didn't tie the knot, would definitely ask the other twin what knot was used. If the twin that knew wouldn't tell, that means he tied the knot that he was warned to not use, because there would zero reason to hide the fact that he used the approved knot & he would just tell. So in short, the 1 twin's refusal to answer, tells the answer without telling.
@@_MjG_ One twin hide the truth and other twin had to act accordingly that was the part of the act.
@@Hazy_y Yeah right. Someone dies that could've been primarily the fault of the one twin, but they're just going to ignore that fact because it's part of an act. Also, when they live their act, they hide things from everyone else, not each other.
@@_MjG_ when did I say they hide it from eachother? Ofc they both knew which one did it and what. But why would they say it out loud? Both decided to say "I don't know" to save the one who did it.
@@Hazy_y Whether you said it or not, others here are saying the twins hid the truth from each other & that Borden or Fallon was telling the truth when he said "I don't know" to Angier, when being asked which knot.
If I'm understanding correctly, correct me if I'm wrong... via your last reply, it sounds like you're saying the twins didn't hide the truth from each other & lied to Angier about it because it was part their act. If this is true, then you & I are in agreement & I don't know why you even replied to my first reply like you were disagreeing.
My replying disagreement with/to @benjamin was ONLY about him (@benjamin) saying the 1 twin genuinely wouldn't know. It had nothing to do with Borden or Fallon saying "I don't know" to Angier.
57:30 one of the twins actually know which knot was tied. However, Robert asked the wrong Borden twin that’s why he said “I didn’t know”. Obviously the second twin should follow that line to not get caught and keep up the act.
13:33
"Which knot did you tie?"
"I don't know"
Cause he doesn't know, it is the other brother, the one that wasn't on stage that night ;-)
why did i just figure that out today.. omg. what a great movie
He sent Angier to Tesla as a misdirection. But Tesla was actually able to build the cloning machine. That's why Borden was shocked that Angier was still alive.
I think that’s just wrong
Y’all overthinking it, the end was Kane talking to us the audience saying we don’t want to see the truth(the horror and sacrifice) we want to be fooled and awed by the “magic”.
Borden was twin brothers
Danton was clones
clones explanation betrays the spirit of the movie, there are decent explanations on reddit that Danton's victory was convincing borden that cloning was the trick
@@julianapostate6534 None of those explanations make any sense with what's shown in the film, let alone the novel.
@@julianapostate6534 The spirit of the movie is not magic and tricks, the spirit of the movie is showing how obsession blinds people, how it makes them make awful decisions and how it makes them overthink things so they can't see the answer right in front of them. People overthinking the movie are literally going against the spirit of it, they learn nothing from it. And that's what the ending dialogue is, it mocks the sort of audience members who try to look beyond and overthink the plot, ones obsessing over the magic instead of the people, the plot that was neatly wrapped up and was about people.
51:04 "They are all your hat" - Tesla
They both are the real Angier.
Thank you for saying this. So many people ask “which one is the real one?” They’re BOTH the real Angier with the same personality, memories, etc. It’s a hard concept to grasp, but that’s what it is. There is no more distinction between “original” and “clone”. Just that one gets killed and the other survives
We know that but as viewers we got to know one particular one, so we want to know which one he is. Even if all the hats are the same, if you keep wearing the same one it'll have more meaning to you than the others.
@@kevincastro8617 Yes, they're identical, but either one is the original and another is a clone or they're both half clone. The machine has to construct a copy, there's simply not enough matter to make 2 people otu of 1 person, one of them has to be made by the machine, or they both are partly original, partly made.
This. Angier isn't "cloning" so much as he is "copypasting".
@@Lilithly when the machine is turned on, does it matter if the “original” is the one that stays in the same place or if the “original” is transported and a copy is left in his place? we don’t know but if you could interview each of them, they will both say they’re the original. Which means they’re both the original. That was the whole point for that line by Tesla saying “they’re all your hats”
For the amount of times they said the word Cutler, you'd think there was actually a guy in the movie named Cutler haha.
The magician on stage during the rope knot scene is Ricky Jay, RIP, doing a cameo and did consulting on the movie to get the historical look and feel right for how theater magic was performed. He was a great historian and performer of the craft in his own right, a nice touch to see him there.
Guys!! I’ve been saying this movie is literally the greatest movie of all time! The twist and turns this movie takes you through is so incredible! The movie itself is an actual making trick. When Borden says throughout the movie, “are you watching closely ?” He’s literally asking us as the audience to pay attention because the movie requires it. Entangling the mess with your brain! Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman deserved Oscar’s for this work and this is Christopher Nolan’s best film in my opinion! 11/10 perfect!
Far from the best movie of all time. Your opinion isn't fact...
So there is no movie you think is better this??? Ever???
@@dabreal82 well I could say the same about yours…. My OPINION, is that this is the best movie I’ve seen! And Ive seen a shit ton of movies lol
@@austindmilliganLmaoo…seeing shit ton of movies and claiming this s the greatest one just show how low your intelligence is…
@austindmilligan couldn't agree more. When people state Your Opinion...with their opinion, it's like are you dense? That is the whole point of any comment saying what one thinks...it is always your opinion..jfc
I just love the idea of having the senior citizen in charge of smashing the glass with the axe. GIVE IT TO HER HUSBAND WOLVERINE
This was so fun. Thanks guys! You both were on top form in this one.
The ending shows all the clones he drowned. At one part of the movie at the end Angier said he will perform the trick for exact number of times, they had certain number of containers to drown his clones. The end shows all the containers with the drowned clones.
I don't think Sarah knew that her husband was twins, she was just able to read him/them well enough to sense when it was Alfred (he was sincere in his love for her) and when it was Fallon (he was just playing the part). That's why she thought he was having an affair, etc. I'm unclear whether she figured out his/their secret by the end, but it kind of sounded like she did. And can you imagine? You suddenly discover that half the time you've spent in a relationship with your partner, it's actually been their sibling pretending to be them. And how far did that go in private? Like, did they kiss? Sleep together? Change, shower, etc in front of one another? That realization would be horrible and feel like such a violation.
The part about Angier not knowing if it was him who would die is always an interesting subject. I've seen a lot of people theorize that it's a 50/50 chance whether he teleports or drops into the tank and he never knows which it'll be, but I actually think it's simpler than that. No matter how many times you do the trick, the guy who comes out the other door will NEVER have fallen into the tank and drowned (or else he wouldn't be coming out the other door). He would have the memories of walking into the first door and coming out the second door every time. The problem is that nobody knows how the machine actually works: Is the first Angier being teleported to the second door and leaving a clone in his place to drop and drown, or is the first Angier dropping into the tank every night while a clone appears at the second door? For Angier, that uncertainty means that each time he does the trick, he doesn't know if he's always walking into an agonizing death, leaving a copy (who has never experienced death) to take over for him until the next performance, when that clone then drowns and a new clone takes over for the previous clone, over and over and over.
Personally, I suspect that the machine leaves the original in place and creates a copy a short distance away, meaning that Angier is having one final performance every night, each one capped off by a horrible drowning death. That's his sacrifice for the trick. That's the "cost" Tesla refers to when he advises him to destroy the machine. Every night, Angier has to be entering that trick thinking, "Am I about to experience dying?" That would be rough. Is he murdering his clones night after night, or is he experiencing a never ending string of self un-alivings? An extra irony is that, if it's the second choice, then the Angier that starts the trick never gets to experience the audience applauding (the same problem he had when he tried to use the double) because he's too busy drowning.
On the subject of Thomas Edison: Edison was a businessman who reportedly wasn't afraid of getting his hands dirty and stealing some patents to be known as the most successful inventor (in kind of a parallel with our main characters, who were each willing to get their hands dirty and steal tricks to be the best magician), but a lot of the animosity between Tesla and Edison is myth. Tesla actually worked for Edison's company for a while, eventually quitting because he wasn't being listened to and he got screwed out of a promise $50,000 for improving Edison's dynamos. Apparently, after he made the improvements, he was told that the $50k was just a "practical joke" and he was instead offered a $10/week raise.
Later, Edison was working on DC electricity but it had the problem of there not being any infrastructure to transfer it long distances, meaning electricity would be limited to cities. Tesla, on the other hand, was working on AC electricity, which could be transferred long distances - making it available to everyone - but had a reputation for being dangerous (another parallel to the movie?) and starting fires. Tesla worked to show that AC was not actually dangerous and could benefit everyone, but Edison - who was heavily invested in DC - did everything he could to discredit Tesla, including trying to put the stink on AC by holding demonstrations in which he would electrocute animals (there's famous footage of one of Edison's demonstrations where he electrocutes an elephant, which, for me, is enough reason to think of Edison as a dick).
One of Tesla's labs did burn down (not sure if it was the Colorado Springs lab or the NY one), but there's no evidence that Edison was behind it like in the movie. Supposedly, the fire started in a dry-cleaning business downstairs from Tesla's lab, possibly from the cigarette of a careless security guard. Of course, history is full of stories that are told by the victor so it's totally possible that Edison was behind it and did it to sabotage Tesla's work with AC, radio, etc. For now, that's just a conspiracy theory that gets tossed around though. Either way, after the fire, Edison let Tesla use his labs to continue his work, so that would actually be a point in Edison's favor (unless he was just trying to keep him close so he could see what he was up to and steal some inventions).
Originally, Tesla idolized Edison. He even said about meeting him:
"The meeting with Edison was a memorable event in my life. I was amazed at this wonderful man who, without early advantages and scientific training, had accomplished so much."
But, over time, the two men grew to not like each other very much because they were both very smart-but-egocentric guys who didn't like other egocentric people. Plus, Tesla was a germophobe and Edison was reportedly not super clean. According to Tesla's autobiography:
"[Edison] had no hobby, cared for no sort of amusement of any kind and lived in utter disregard of the most elementary rules of hygiene."
Another thing Tesla said about Edison in his autobiography:
"His method was inefficient in the extreme, for an immense ground had to be covered to get anything at all unless blind chance intervened and, at first, I was almost a sorry witness of his doings, knowing that just a little theory and calculation would have saved him 90% of the labour. But he had a veritable contempt for book learning and mathematical knowledge, trusting himself entirely to his inventor's instinct and practical American sense."
So, I'm not sure that the stuff in the movie was based off of Edison stealing the lightbulb from someone so much as it was just sort of a play on the mythology of Tesla (who is built up as an almost magical, almost alien super genius by fanbois who believe his work was suppressed by the government for being too advanced, etc) and a possibly exaggerated version of Edison's ruthlessness and willingness to steal other people's work, combined with a sprinkling of their eventual dislike for one another and the competition between their competing forms of electricity.
Great breakdown.
Loved the explanations.
Yep that's why she was surprised when he told her he decided to buy the place. Her previous conversation with the twin (who wasn't in love with her) he had said it was a bad idea
“They are all your hat.” There was no primary or secondary edition. No original versus clone. Each are equally Angier.
9:26 Them talking about the old man getting into the carriage with the fishbowl foreshadows the big reveal of the whole movie and I missed it my first time through.
Bird scene, that's his brother. 19:26 Voice and mo-cap actor for Gollum / Sméagol
I don't know which knot.
I'm pregnant, oh my Go... we should have told Fallon
I love you, not today
Finger bleeding again
Just some of them and it's crazy how all this is put in front of the audience within the first of the movie.
Oh, and Alfred Borden wrote in the diary that he argued with himself over and over about what knot he tied. Knowing that they are twins, he was actually arguing with his twin brother about what knot the brother tied. Meaning, Angier was reading the diary of the one who didn't tie the knot. After he tied the knot and they argued, for whatever reason, probably shame, the twin brother never admitted what knot he tied. So the other twin didnt actually know.
And in the first scene where Angier is reading it, it says "We were two young men at the start of a great career. Two young men devoted to an illusion. Two young men who never intended to hurt anyone." Borden wasn't talking about himself and Angier, he was talking about himself and his twin.
I just noticed Cutter asking "do you think it was her?" was immediately followed by a cut to her adjusting the gas lights (the origin of the term 'gaslighting' comes from manipulating the intensity of gas-fueled lights and then lying about it, in order to make your significant other question their perception of reality).
Also. There’s soooooo many great things in this movie you can find a new one every time. I didn’t realize until this watch that the scene at the very beginning, where Michael Caine is explaining the three phases of a trick, it is literally the moment before Borden walks in at the end and his daughter sees him.
Genius movie.
What's funny about this movie is that its telling you plain and simple what the brothers are doing, how the trick is done and all that. But ''YOU WANT TO BE FOOLED'' which they say at the beginning and at the end. It really fascinates me how Nolan(s) created this story knowing that the audience would constantly (almost like Robert) look for the trick, or for clues, when really it was right there in front of us the whole time.
Prestige is the best story the Nolan brothers has done in his career.
Underrated Nolan film
Well, I place it on par or just behind INTERSTELLAR.
@@janellelives5158Not at all, a lot of people have seen this and it's reviewed quite well. Its very appropriately rated. "Underrated" would be momento which not many people have seen or even know is a Nolan film.
To be fair, it's based on a book.
@tophers3756 op isn't wrong though, The Prestige is cinematic gold
Spartan (chad): It cos they twins.
Pudgey: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.... OOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
When I saw this in the theater, before Christian Bale's character hangs, I whispered to myself, "Abracadabra," feeling that's what I would say in contempt. Hearing the delivery sent chills down my spine. Nolan is brilliant.
The whole movie is a magic trick that follows the structure set forth in the beginning of the movie.
Very good story telling device!
I think you guys might have missed at the end where Alfred says to Angier “We each loved one of them. He loved Olivia, I loved Sarah.” Basically confirming that the twin who died was kind of the shittier twin who was yelling at Sarah constantly, cheating with Olivia and most likely not the father of the little girl.. also the one who snuck backstage to see Angiers trick..
Nolan is easily my favorite director, and rewatching his films is always rewarding. Memento is my favorite, and I think you guys would have a blast with that one.
You guys didn’t catch that David Bowie is the actor who plays Tesla.
They probably don’t know who David Bowie even is tbh 🫠
For most people under 40 he's not exactly the most recognizable face
Yeah, these two are just kids. Most likely born in the 21st Century. No idea who Iggy Stardust was.
@@darkglass1 pretty sure they’re about my age, I’m 29. My parents are just young Gen X and raised me with the classics 🤷🏻♂️ Labyrinth was one of my favorite movies growing up
They didn't catch Golem either
When you realise that Angier could have made just one clone and then done exactly the same thing as Borden and just taken it in turns, but his avarice in wanting to be on stage for every reveal and not the man in the box, so he commits murder every night…
He could do that but the reason you've given is not the only one. I think of it as the 4th reason.
The major reasons are these (but not only):
1st - it's highly disturbing what Tesla/him as a magician accomplished with the machine. It's not natural and that's why he immediately shot the 1st duplicate (or his duplicate shot him). Sidenote: it doesn't matter who shot who cause essentially it's the same thing cause they are both the same man.
2nd - He already was discovered and mocked for using a double by his very enemy/opponent before. So leaving one of them alive would mean he could be exposed again. Hence "I win cause my trick is the best one" during the jail visitation scene.
3rd - He found some solace in dying the same way every night as his wife (as a form of punishment/purgatory) - inferred from the failed suicide attempts/punishment scene with the sink after her death. That's at least true until the moment of drowning, which was not like "going home" but "agony" as revealed at the end, hence why the one drowning was asking for help. The other that lived/the prestige went one continuing to think of it as peaceful way to go every time.
4th - what you said.
I found the cloning part of the film very disturbing. It's very Lovecraftian + coupled with his ambition and used very well as juxtaposition film technique to the "natural"/twins way. Don't get how, in this instance Spartan & Pudgey + some other aren't so disturbed by it.
@@6kembe4orba a very thorough and thoughtful analysis! Sometimes you can miss or misremember parts of the film when you’re watching a truncated reaction version, I need to watch it properly again 😅
Also, he was hell-bent on taking his revenge on Borden, so he set it all up knowing that Borden would eventually come and sneak backstage and be framed for his murder. I think that was a huge motive as well
@@melaniekay3647that's the only motive
It wasn't about his avarice... He didn't want a clone. His whole goal was to frame Borden for "his" murder. And he didn't know when Borden would show up, so he just needed to keep doing the trick until he finally framed him. Everyone knew that they had a long time feud and would believe it.
I love how the end says that the viewer doesn't want to understand it and how they want to be fooled and pudgy and spartan immediately say they don't get it and think there's something more that they're missing (like in a magic trick)
What I like best about the movie is (beside David Bowie) that is shows what a good actor Hugh Jackman is..he is often only reduced to the Wolverine thing and people forget what a great actor..and even waaaaay greater stage broadway performer that guy is. That guy won Tonys for a reason
I feel like only people under 30 think of Jackman as reduced to Wolverine. He's been in so many great roles, put in so many excellent performances, but they're nowhere near the same wheelhouse as Wolverine so the mainstream younger demographics probably don't crossover into his other films too much.
@@Trepanation21 His stage performances are nuts..I would argue that the whole movie thing is great, but you should always watch him on stage because then he raises it to a whole other level
@@Trepanation21 Even as Wolverine, in Logan he smashes it.
Watch the fountain with Hugh Jackman, was out around the same time as this, these 2 films made me a Hugh Jackman fan where I didn't like him as wolverine (just not an x men fan not against wolverine)
@@Caolan-b6r "The Fountain" is an awesome movie. It's a shame that so few people have actually seen it.
The best reaction in the video occurs before the film even starts. Spartan's reaction is gold, well done pre-empting him Pudgey! 😂
I’ve watched this movie dozens of times and the more you watch it the more you realize Nolan is constantly telling you the answer but has you focus on something else.
Also, there is a good twin and a bad twin! The bad twin is hung and the good twin reunited with his daughter.
22:40 Of course he walked through it. He's David Bowie playing Nikola Tesla.
Tesla was a real historical character (considered a genius who was ahead of his time). Nolan said that had always thought of David Bowie for the part because he also fit that description. He was surprised when Bowie agreed to do it...& was blown away by how Bowie "became" the character. So much so that many viewers didn't realize it was Bowie!
Nolan is an exceptionally talented director. Every movie of his that I watched so far is absolutely brilliant.
Great reaction guys! This movie gets better and better the more you watch it as you catch new little details every time.
What a great reaction. I loved seeing your post watch discussion, and all the realizations and theories that came along with it!
29:21 that clip just threw me off laughing 😂
In my opinion this is the most well written and directed movie I’ve ever seen. There are no plot holes! It’s so intricate it’s mind blowing. Even the main characters initials spell out ABRA(CADABRA)
Alfred Borden & Robert Angier
"I'm probably going to be lost in the first 5 minutes..." No, that's TENET. Looking forward to you guys getting your brains melted by that one. I'm still recovering.
"Abracadabra"
Spartan: "They didn't even let him finish his word!"
Bruh... I just cannot....
"He looks very similar."
Dude they're both Hugh Jackman.
There was a bit of foreshadowing when the kid was asking about the bird "but what about his brother?"
Easily one of Nolan’s greatest films.
The greatest one is Memento
One of his greatest? You're talking about a direct with blockbuster after blockbuster after blockbuster. Critical acclaim after critical acclaim after critical acclaim. Oppenheimer, Inception, Interstellar, Dunkirk, Momento, Insomnia, TDK...
Besides Tenet thats all he makes are great films
Thanks for the belly laugh at the end. Pudgey is a mood.
If the teleported Algiers is a copy with all memories intact, then the original died the first time he performed the act. Every Algiers thereafter is a copy.
robert each time drowned his own clone,and he survived on the stage,he killled many of his clones
Pudgey your overthinking both makes you confused unnecessarily at times but also it allows you to hilariously guess the twist so quickly with some confidence "this whole movie a trick in 3 parts" Just awesome LOL
I never understand how no one can tell that its christian bale as the brother earlier. I remember when I first watched this in a cabin with friends years ago, the first time I saw him I noticed and we figured out it had to be a relative
Not being familiar or familiar enough with the actor would make it easy enough not to know. That's how it was for me back then.
The initials of both characters are A.B. And R.A. - ABRA for abracadabra
Or Christopher Nolan's favourite Pokemon
If you are interested in the backstory about Tesla, The Current War is a 2017 biographical drama film about the rivalry between Thomas Edison, Nikola Tesla, and George Westinghouse over which electrical system would power the United States in the 1880s. The film stars Benedict Cumberbatch as Edison, Michael Shannon as Westinghouse, and Nicholas Hoult as Tesla.
You guys are my favorite reactors! So happy you have boarded the Nolan-train, there are so many amazing movies that just leave you thinking about them for days afterwards, Can´t wait for more amazing movies and reactions! Love from Norway:)
I've waited almost 20 minutes at the end in your analysis for the bird symbolism/foreshadowing. I was so happy when after the Pudgey Story and the word "boy", the face of our Spartan became really focused and guessed that beautiful aspect of this film.
Pudgey stealing Spartan's lines = Magician's stealing each others acts :)
How the trick works is whomever is in the machine ends up in the box. Tesla built not a transport device but a duplication device. So for the trick, you step in the machine, you get duplicated but you fall into the tank and die and your replicatant takes your place. At the end, it was a warehouse full of water tanks and each on had a body in it.
Or in the first duplication he tried alone, was it the clone that shot the original that was transported? Both would have similar thoughts after such a crazy experience but only one was trying to say "I'm the...." what? The original?!? Could he know? The original must pay the 'cost' of the trick & be the one to die is what Tesla alluded to. Robert wants to always be the transported one but he was immediately killed. I think it was always a clone of a clone of a clone after that. And when you start making copies of something you always start to get errors & deletions. Material & data get lost. Hence how Robert keeps getting more and more desensitized to what 'he' is doing.
@@orphanedhanyou They would both think they're the original because they both have the same memories, experiences, personality. And technically they both are, but if we think of it in terms of the original doesn't move and a clone is created nearby, then the first time he did it, the "original" was in the machine still and grabbed the gun, but yeah, every time after that it would have been the "original" dying, and the "clone" was the prestige.
The end of the movie was just all of the clones (or originals) who died in the box. He's got a basement full of water tanks with bodies in them.
damn, Pudgey laughs so much during the movie, and at the end. it shows the script is very well done
12:45...Hi guys! They can't make the glass more easily breakable because it's gotta hold back a couple of tons (at least) of water.
32:27 (speculation): Borden says "the keyword is the method", referring to his trick which later turns out to be the twin method. Since we know the keyword was “TESLA” this could imply, that Borden might have created his twin brother Fallon with Teslas machine some time ago. But in difference to Danton he never used the machine again.
I love this movie! It’s definitely the OG guy who drowns everytime. The first time he shoots the clone. The remainder of the times he drowns and the clone is the prestige. A lot of discussion has gone on about this, but if you watch the building of the machine. The final test with the cat… Andy Serkis took the collar off the cat, and the cats by the top hats had collars. So everytime he goes into the machine he drowns. Which makes cutlers comment about drowning cut deeper. He said it was like falling asleep to ease him over his wife’s passing, but wanted him to know how painful it was for him everytime.
I think this is probably right, but--if you think about it--if it makes a clone appear somewhere, then who's to say that it doesn't make the original appear there--instead--and make a clone appear in his place? It seems possible that the one in the field of effect of the machine is the clone, but that's not the simplest explanation. Ockham's Razor would dictate that we assume that it is as you say, so that's more probably (in the sense of epistemic probability, not ontological probability) the case.
@@Real_LiamOBryan I think the tell again is the cats. When you are shown the cat being “cloned” it has a collar. Then Serkis removes the collar and the cat runs off. But the cat it meets by the hats has a collar on. Therefore it’s implied the clone is the one transported and the original stays. I don’t believe this action was done without caution or thought.
He's making himself die his wife's death over and over.
@@scubasteve2903 I know this. I'm just saying that it's possible that the other case is true, though less likely.
@@scubasteve2903 That literally changes nothing, both have the collar during the cloning and transportation, the collar being removed after cloning does not impact the dilemma of which is the original.
Okay, but I need to know if you ever realized that Root (Robert's drunk double) was ALSO played by Hugh Jackman! 🤦♂
20:53 I mean, depends on how you look at it, saying "in the end" wasn't necessarily wrong
I recently rewatched The Prestige, amazing movie. What surprised me is that the twist(s) really aren't hard to foresee, as they say in the movie all you need to do is pay attention and not be misled by the movie (like in the scene with Angier drowning in the water tank).
Bless this man's patience with her
I remember seeing this as a kid and I was perplexed throughout the entire movie, a great classic!
Yaay great! These Nolan movie reactions from you are such a treat these days. Prestige is one my favourite movies.
Nice reactions as always 💙
Ya you guys got it when you thought batman went “flash” when he first met sarah. Only works if he had a double or twin waiting in the room.
When narrating Borden/Fallon's diary hes constantly referring to 'we' and 'ourselves'
There are two personalities. One is always cool, soft spoken and the other one is more of the hot head and always angry.
The time Sarah said I knew because she can comfirm that Borden/Fallon is having an affair with Olivia and she doesn't know his husband is a twin.
The twin bought the machine from Tesla just for the extreme electricity effects of it, nothing more. Angier got tricked by the twin and request a specific type of machine based on the schematic diagram je passed to the Tesla's butler.
If you watch again for the 2nd time after knowing the ending, you will realize there's really a lot of clues seeded along the way.
This is my favorite movie, I remember watching it years ago and it really got me into film. The ending isn't as deep as you may be making it out to be. "You want to be fooled." Is just talking about human nature, and more specifically to this movie, talking about Angier's obsession with Borden's trick. At some point he stops caring about the truth, what really motivates him is just the mystery of it. Similar to how people go to magicians in the first place, we wouldn't go if we knew all the answers, we want to be fooled.
Since Wolverine, Batman, Black Widow, and Maya Hansen (from Iron Man 3) are in this magical spectacle, it’s interesting to note that there are two Alfreds (Michael Caine and Andy Serkis) from the Batman universe. Interestingly enough, Fallon’s brother turned out to be named Alfred, as well. Therefore, in The Prestige, the movie itself is a magic act.
There is a magician’s code that all magicians have held close to their hearts throughout the centuries: never reveal their magic act, under penalty of death. This is why The Masked Magician hides his face when he reveals tricks in his act. In The Prestige, the twins were magicians performing as one person and never revealed their secret identity to even those closest to them. Borden’s wife developed trust issues because she was driven crazy by not knowing if her husband truly loved her, ultimately leading to her suicide. Additionally, the twins didn’t know who tied the knot on Robert’s wife, which ultimately led to her death, because the twin they asked was not the one who had done it.
HANDS DOWN ONE OF THEE BEST MYSTERY DRAMAS OR MYSTERY THRILLERS EVER!! THE CAST IS PHENOMENAL! The sets, costumes, the cinematography, etc ALL OF IT TOP NOTCH!! All of the magic scenes are sooo much fun too!! I do not understand how this isn’t ALWAYS on lists for the best movies of all time or best movies for the last 2 decades.
The final line of wanting to be fooled I interpret as we the audience wanting cheap thrills without having to look at any toxicity that may come along with it. Basically using entertainment as distraction rather than analysis. The two competing philosophies in the final scene feel like Nolan arguing with himself. Do you make are to be meticulous and craft something perfect or do you do it to make an audience happy. It’s his wrestle as a film maker.
One ot the greatest films ever made! The story, the director/crew & the cast are phenomenal!!!
Borden loved Olivia
Fallon loved Sarah
Everytime Sarah says "not today" the one she's with is Borden and yeah the one that lived was Fallon
I think they switched off and both played Borden and Fallon
They're literally both Borden and Fallon lmao this comment makes no sense
@@TheJerbolthey are twins but clones. They had to fake being both, but Sarah was never asked "Fallon" if he loved her. She was only asking Alfred so half the time he truly didn't love her & the other half he did.
@@orphanedhanyou again, that makes zero sense. They're twins, not clones, who have shared one life since they were young. They alternated playing Fallon or Borden. C'mon, they spell it out in the movie
@@orphanedhanyou 'she only asked alfred so half the time ...' yes, because half the time it was one person and half the time it was the other...
Right on time for my birthday! Thanks for what you do. :)
Happy birthday! ❤️🥳🎉
watching this movie for a second time is amazing because wow, the trick feels so obvious with all the hints. (Like a magic trick ;) )
The old Chinese man with his fish bowl trick is a hint, a foreshadow, for obsession and dedication for his Magic trick by living their life like that all the time ... all the time , like Borden & Fallon
The first 2 min of this video are just pure gold! Hilarious!!
It’s buried deep in the reaction but pudgey laughing around one hour 14 minutes made laugh right along with her.
I like rewatching this to see if I can tell when it's Fallon vs. Borden in scenes.
One thing that explains the difference between Angiers and Borden. Angiers only NEEDED to use the machine once.