This is topic The Prestige in forum Film Handlers' Movie Reviews at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.
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Posted by Andrea Werft (Member # 2551) on 10-26-2006, 06:33 PM:
I am surprised this one is not on here yet....great movie. Not to mention a lot of hotties. Christian Bale for the ladies and of course Scarlett Johansson for the guys. This movie actually doesn't point things out and tell you what is going on like you are an artard like usual hollywood movies. This one makes you think and leaves it to you to figure out! ![[thumbsup]](graemlins/thumbsup.gif)
Posted by David Stambaugh (Member # 1102) on 10-29-2006, 06:06 PM:
Today 10/29/2006, 11:45AM, Regal Cinema World 8 in Eugene, House #8. Attendance around 20. Soft image didn't look focused very well.
Good movie, liked it. There's a lot going on, not everything is explained along the way, so ya gotta pay attention. Also the story jumps around all over the timeline. There's some insider stuff about magicians and specific tricks, but the movie is mostly about 2 rival magicians who will stop at nothing to outdo each other.
3.75 out of 5 stars.
Posted by Mark J. Marshall (Member # 1409) on 10-29-2006, 06:33 PM:
I thought this movie was very well thought out, and intelligent. I liked the trailer a lot and thought the story idea was pretty interesting. However, I felt it was just a little too dark. They could have lightened it up just a tad, and it would have been way better I think.
Also, my feelings for the two main characters were all over the place. First one guy was an ass, and I sympathized with the other guy, then it reversed, then eventually you realize that they're both pretty dark characters, and I wasn't left with anyone to root for at all... except maybe the daughter. An intelligent plot, but pretty much a downer of a movie. I left feeling a bit depressed.
And what the hell.... are ALL of the steady cams in Hollywood broken or something? WHY, OH WHY do we have shakey hand held shots in so many scenes? Oh, and speaking of that, I noticed the Deja Vu trailer in front of this movie. It looks like another Tony Scott seizure-cam fest coming up. ![[puke]](graemlins/puke.gif)
Posted by Kevin Raisler (Member # 1761) on 10-29-2006, 11:02 PM:
Overall I liked this movie, the timeline is a trip, and it kept my attention throughout. I also liked the fact that they introduced some of Tesla's technologies into the plot. overall I'd say 7 out of 10 stars for me.
Posted by Jared Thornton (Member # 3580) on 11-02-2006, 05:23 AM:
Very well done film, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Holds up nicely on repeat viewings as you look for things you may have missed the first time through. 3 1/2 stars
Posted by Lilian Burch (Member # 4052) on 11-05-2006, 03:29 PM:
Just saw this movie. I liked the twists and turns but I guessed 85% of the ending. The filmmaker tries to tie up all the loose ends at the end but still left a few things unexplained or unaccounted. Nevertheless, an enjoyable movie and probably requires another viewing.
Posted by Dave Williams (Member # 299) on 11-13-2006, 06:31 AM:
I loved this movie, and the fact that 99% percent of the audience actually thinks they figured out the movie early on.
Being that this film is about misdirection, I quote from the film "are you looking closely"?
The end was given away five minutes from the start, and the writer and director team intended it that way. They wanted the audience to pay very close attention, so that they can misdirect you with what they hid in plain site.
Think of it this way;
You are given two cups of coffee, and told that one of the cups has poison in it. You must choose which cup does not have poison in it, so that you don't drink the poison.
What you missed is that the coffee was also poisoned while you were paying attention to the cups.
And then again, not all poison is poison to humans.
The entire film was misdirection from the start, intended to make everyone think they figured it out, throwing twists to misdirect you from what they were really doing.
It demands multiple viewings. It is very good.
Ciao
Posted by Steve Wilson (Member # 2411) on 11-26-2006, 09:44 PM:
I missed seeing this movie locally and had to drive 50 miles to see it. Wish I could see it again tommarow, it was great, but I still am confused. May have to make that 50 mile trip again, just to see what I missed. Thanks for the heads ups!
Steve
Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 02-24-2007, 03:31 AM:
I just watched this movie on the much-heralded "DVD" format that the world has recently chosen to embrace. I did not lean forward and "watch closely"... instead I watched it like I do with any other movie. The movie wasn't bad, but not really something I'd want to see again. I had a lot of it figured out by the end, but when the credits started to roll (or flash or whatever) I did not feel confused or that I had missed something somewhere. Everything has been explained to me by the movie itself. What was I supposed to miss? The non-linear editing tried to throw me off and the absence of any tripods on the set tried to make me run to the bathroom and vomit so that I would return having missed key parts or something. Cheap.
Would have been better if Tesla had broken out into song. Also, Batman and Wolverine should have had a battle in full costume. With Alfred the butler saying nonsensical things on the sideline like he does in every movie he's in.
Posted by Chris Hipp (Member # 1788) on 02-24-2007, 05:47 PM:
I can think of a few songs from the Labyrinth that would have been good in this movie.
Yesterday 2/23/2007, 9:45PM, Studio Movie Grill Plano, Chris Hipp's Laptop. Sound format, 2.0 with $8 panasonic headphones. Attendance around 1.
Not bad.
Posted by System Notices (Member # 2357) on 01-11-2016, 10:29 AM:
It has been 3242 days since the last post.
Posted by Mike Schulz (Member # 4297) on 01-11-2016, 10:29 AM:
R.I.P. - David Bowie (1947-2016)
Your portrayal of Nikola Tesla in this film has always been one of my favorite supporting roles. You completely disappeared into the character so much so that nobody even caught on that it was you until we saw your name in the credits and even then still not believing it until we re-watched the movie.
David Bowie, a true master of his craft whether it be his amazing songwriting and music, or his great acting skills. He will be sorely missed.
Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 01-11-2016, 10:18 PM:
Anytime an old thread like this comes up it's always fun to go back and see who participated in it. Where are some of these people? Where's Dave Williams? Where's David Stambaugh?
Oh yeah, RIP Mr. Bowie and congratulations on a classy career.
Posted by Ari Leedsw (Member # 9336) on 02-22-2016, 11:42 AM:
Wow, I had NO IDEA, that was Bowie!
This was a GREAT FILM, I'd give it at least 9/10. This is the type of thoughtful, dramatic motion picture sorely lacking today.
Is it just me, or have movies gotten far, far stupider even in ten years?
Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 02-23-2016, 02:32 PM:
This movie gets better with each viewing. Several years ago I decided to acquire this on the much-heralded "Blu-ray" format the world has chosen to ignore in favor of highly compressed streaming delivery. I totally missed that Wolverine was a new Wolverine each time and that he'd also die each time. Batman's story was still the same and Alfred was still a codger who dispenses nothing but good advice. This movie is better than Interstellar and also his dream movie.
Posted by Stu Jamieson (Member # 4626) on 02-27-2016, 04:29 AM:
Yes, this movie is a cracker! I haven't watched this in a few years. Must be time for a rewatch. I loved how the film itself was structured like a magic trick with the "the prestige" reveal at the end. It must be about time for another Nolan mind twister.
Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 02-27-2016, 09:40 AM:
The movie was good, theatrically speaking but I am sorry. The magic falls flat.
Magic is not about knowing some secret. It's not about trap doors and secret gizmos. Magic is about the charisma, personality and stage presence of the performer. The "prestige" does not come after the effect is complete and the audience applauds. The real prestige comes before the audience even walks into the theater.
Copperfield. Burton. Penn and Teller. Blackstone. Slydini. Mullica. Siegfried and Roy.
These magicians all have totally different styles but they all have something in common. Every one of these people could stand on an empty stage wearing a t-shirt and blue jeans and they could still impress me.
I am a magician and I have performed in public. I know how many if not most magician's tricks are done. I don't know them all but I don't want to know them all. I don't want to know because I like watching Penn and Teller, Copperfield or the others. I enjoy their performances well enough that the method is unimportant.
This is the problem with the movie, "The Prestige."
It centers on the method, the gizmos and the secrets but not the charisma of the performers.
The actors performed their parts well but the writing of the characters was poor. They were uninteresting people whose reputations are based on some mechanical birdcage or some mystical transportation machine. Frankly I don't care if a birdcage disappears or if a man can transport through space. I care whether the person performing the illusion is interesting to watch. None of the characters was interesting. They only need to hire the right "ingénieur” to invent the right contraptions.
I was disappointed to find out that the magician had paid somebody to build him a duplication machine. It fell flat. The philosophical, ethical question about whether a person would kill for fame and fortune is an interesting one but it doesn't stand up against the contrived, simplified, superficial and mechanical plot of the rest of the movie.
Overall, I give "The Prestige" a C+.
Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 02-27-2016, 03:02 PM:
Interesting. I've pretty much found all magicians to be repulsive people. Except Penn and Teller.
Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 02-27-2016, 03:18 PM:
I wonder why that is? I know a bunch of magicians due to being on the fair board here (we always book a magic act) and they're all great guys.
Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 02-27-2016, 05:07 PM:
I'm talking about stage presence. David Copperfield? I wanna punch him in the face with extreme momentum. David Blaine? His face needs to be hit even harder. Perhaps even with a baseball bat. Right to the jaw. That makes me smile. I hate magicians. Except Penn and Teller.
Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 02-27-2016, 07:15 PM:
If the state of modern magic is the likes of David Blaine and Chris Angel, I'm with you. I hate magicians. Using camera cuts and stooges in place of skill isn't magic.
Penn and Teller are great. I saw them in Vegas. Their act is real. What you see them do on TV is virtually the same you would see them do on stage in Vegas. They are both excellent magicians. They are excellent performers.
You need to watch some of the classic magicians of the early to mid 1900's like Melbourne Christopher or Dai Vernon. There are the guys like Harry Anderson and you can't forget Henning.
A guy named Tom Mullica just died, earlier this month. He's the guy who used to eat an entire pack of lit cigarettes. Mullica worked in the 70's and 80's. His jokes are really dated but his act is (was ![[Frown]](frown.gif)
) good.
If you like card hustlers, Ricky Jay is a must-see!
He's one of the top card men alive in the world, if not THE top. He's easily in the top five card hustlers there ever was.
Personal preference being what it is... It was still a free country, last time I checked... I'm not saying that people have to like magic but I don't think it's fair to say that you don't like magicians based on the performances of a few fair-to-middling guys like Angel or Blaine.
Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 02-27-2016, 08:31 PM:
I agree about those real famous guys - they're not so much magicians as they are just standing there while the props do all the work.
If you ever hear of a guy named Jeff Martin "the blond curly haired magician" performing near you (most likely at a fair or some such event), try to see him. That guy is the best at close-up magic I've ever seen.
I would like to see Penn & Teller, I think they are great. They did a thing on Letterman one time where they started with a little can of rice, covered it up, and then uncovered it to reveal the rice had turned to live maggots. Then they covered it again, and this time the maggots all turned into live flies which flew out of the can and went everywhere. Letterman was swatting at flies through the whole rest of the show. Funniest shit ever.
Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 02-27-2016, 08:48 PM:
There are some stage illusions that are cool if they rely on audience psychology or the skill and timing of the performers. Penn and Teller's version of "Blast Off" is an example. http://youtu.be/UYTmEVFL_NA
The girl in the box is often doing twice the work that the tuxedoed magician on the stage is doing!
Personally, I prefer magic done with a stack of silver dollars to "big box" stage illusions, any day.