The Prestige

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Michael Caine as John Cutter, the stage engineer ( ingenieur) who works with Angier and Borden. Caine had previously collaborated with Nolan and Bale in Batman Begins. Nolan noted that the part had been written "before I'd ever met" Caine. [4] Caine described Cutter as "a teacher, a father and a guide to Angier". In trying to create the character's nuanced portrait, Caine altered his voice and posture. [7] Secondly, having worked in the UK court service for nearly two decades I have become thoroughly versed in the importance, subtlety and civilizing quality of the European Convention on Human Rights. Incorporated into UK law in 1998 it has had what I see as a profound and desirable effect, if largely unrecognized and sometimes misunderstood, on many aspects of daily life in this country. The very act of describing my secrets might indeed be construed as a betrayal of myself, except of course that as I am an illusionist I can make sure you only see what I wish you to see. A puzzle is implicitly involved." Transferring to another medium means inevitably that some elements are lost. But this cuts both ways. For example, the book cannot incorporate the stunning visuals of the film. Instead, we have a very clever writing style, with multiple viewpoints. We have a modern viewpoint in Andrew, followed by Alfred Borden’s account of his life, which in itself is partly disguised. Then we have Kate’s nightmarish memories, followed by the aristocratic Victorian gentleman Robert Angier’s account of the events. These different voices, times and perspectives are fascinating. We have some of the same events, but with a different “villain” in each. Parts are repeated, yet it seems as if it is a different situation because of the interpretations, and each section serves to move the action on a little. In the film of course, the two characters’ lives are presented together as one story. Harvey, Dennis (October 13, 2006). "The Prestige". Variety. Archived from the original on October 18, 2006 . Retrieved October 15, 2006.

A review in Kliatt of the audiobook version narrated by Simon Vance described it as "a spellbinding and entirely original neo-gothic thriller that moves the listener adroitly from the world of staged illusion to the otherworldly, from the historical...to the horror-laden, with all sorts of strange and dazzling stops along the way. The plot is convoluted and occasionally technical, spanning generations and incorporating multiple narrators and a large cast of characters. A lesser audiobook narrator might inadvertently muddle the story, but, as usual, Vance displays a dramatic and vocal range that is more than equal to his task. He enhances Priest's novel with superb pacing and a host of highly convincing voices and accents." [8] Awards and nominations [ edit ]

See also

The magician takes the ordinary something and makes it do something extraordinary. Now you're looking for the secret... but you wont find it, because of course you're not really looking. You don't really want to know. You want to be fooled.” In the final section of the novel, Kate and Andrew's mystery is revealed. Andrew Westley goes into the Angier family vault and finds all of Rupert Angier's near-lifeless shells (the prestiges) labelled with the date and place they were created. Andrew also finds a prestige of a small boy labeled Nicholas Julius Borden, with his place of creation listed as Caldlow House. It is then understood that Andrew himself never had a twin. When Kate and Andrew were children, their families had met in an attempt to mend the rift between them. However, during an argument, Kate's father had cast the young Nicholas Borden into the Tesla device, rendering the "prestige" Nicholas Borden lifeless on the ground and creating the duplicate who later became Andrew Westley. It is also revealed to Kate Angier and Andrew Westley that Angier's attempt to become whole again was successful, and some form of Rupert Angier had continued to survive in the Caldlow House to the present day. Enthrallingly odd. A carefully calculated period style that is remarkably akin to that of the late Robertson Davies. Priest has brought it off with great imagination and skill.”– Publishers Weekly Gilchrist, Todd (February 20, 2007). "The Pledge, The Turn, The Prestige, The DVD". IGN. Archived from the original on July 17, 2012 . Retrieved February 26, 2007. The Prestige' Changes the Date". CanMag.com. July 23, 2006. Archived from the original on January 8, 2020 . Retrieved October 5, 2006.

As is described in The Magic I had the unusual opportunity to select the director of the film, and chose Nolan because I sensed he was a young man with a vivid and unusual cinematic imagination. I believe he amply displayed that talent in his early film Memento, and also in The Prestige. I have found his other films disappointing. Insomnia was a routine Hollywood thriller, which could have been directed by anybody; the Batman films, although technically brilliant, were risible, poorly written and likely to date badly; while Inception (again a technical achievement) was cinematically derivative and excruciatingly scripted.Difrancesco, Teresa (October 20, 2006). "Jonathan Nolan on writing The Prestige". MovieWeb. Archived from the original on January 10, 2021 . Retrieved October 31, 2006. The Prestige is a novel by Christopher Priest, which was first published in 1995. It is a very imaginative and skilful novel about illusionists: two stage magicians in late 1800s England, who are deadly rivals, involved in a sustained and ongoing feud. They are mutually antagonistic throughout their lives and careers. The title comes from the idea that stage illusions have three parts: the setup, the performance, and the “prestige”, or effect. The novel is suggestive of the supernatural, and has decidedly gothic overtones; ostensibly about the world of 19th-century stage magic, but altogether a stranger tale, exploring a fantastic world of disappearances and doubles. I was thinking of writing a thematic sequel to my novel “The Glamour” (1984), and thought that “prestige” had a lot of possibilities. However, when I noticed its closeness to the magicians’ word “prestidigitation”, I realised it would make a perfect title for the book I was then planning. This sort of coincidence is always valuable to a novelist.” Ruimy, Jordan (May 23, 2020). "Critics' Poll: 'Mulholland Drive' Named Best Film of the 2000s". World of Reel. Archived from the original on January 10, 2021 . Retrieved May 25, 2020.

As well as appearing in the UK and USA, his books have been translated into twenty-three languages around the world. His most recent novel, Airside, will be published in May 2023. Although characterized in some quarters as me ‘slamming’ Mr Nolan (which no doubt will be said again after the interview has been read), the book is in fact an appreciative and nuanced study of how a serious and complex feature film is conceived and made by a young film maker at his peak. The central plot focuses on a feud between the magicians, begun in the fledgling years of their careers when Borden disrupts a fake seance being conducted by Angier and his pregnant wife Julia after they had conducted a previous one for one of Borden's relatives. Borden was upset that they had presented it as real when he realized it was an illusion. During the scuffle, Julia is thrown to the ground, resulting in a miscarriage. The two men are mutually antagonistic for many years afterwards as they rise to become world-renowned stage magicians, with the feud affecting the later generations of their families to come, including Kate and Andrew. But alphabetization of the authors produces its own oddness. There is Enid Blyton cheek by jowl with J G Ballard. And George Orwell and Beatrix Potter lie next to each other, even though three decades separate them. (I’m not saying which one came first.)Dawn, Randee (January 5, 2007). "Source material". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on January 10, 2021 . Retrieved January 31, 2012. a b c d e Shewman, Den. (September/October 2006). Nothing Up Their Sleeves: Christopher & Jonathan Nolan on the Art of Magic, Murder, and 'The Prestige'. Creative Screenwriting. Vol. 13:5. When struggling journalist Andrew Westley receives a mysterious book in the post - the memoirs of Alfred Borden, the self-styled 'Professeur de Magie' - his interest is piqued; not least because he was adopted at birth, and one of the few things he knows about his birth family is that they were called Borden. But, far from being a straightforward account of the triumphs of a magician celebrated for his illusions 'The New Transported Man', Borden's book is something far more sinister: the tale of an anguished rivalry with Rupert Angier, an aristocratic amateur whom Borden first encounters fabricating sensational stunts at seances.

Priest, Christopher (1995). "Christopher Priest interview". Ansible.co.uk (Interview). Interviewed by David Langford . Retrieved 16 June 2016. The film was released by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment on Ultra HD Blu-ray on December 18, 2017, in the United Kingdom. [68] The film was also released by Touchstone Home Entertainment on Ultra HD Blu-ray on December 19, 2017, in the United States. [69] See also [ edit ] Prestige' is magical". Arkansas Times. October 26, 2006. Archived from the original on July 10, 2009 . Retrieved October 31, 2006.

20. Christopher Priest Wanted Sam Mendes To Direct

a b Carle, Chris (September 20, 2006). "The Prestige Edit Bay Visit". IGN. Archived from the original on January 19, 2012 . Retrieved October 5, 2006. La Jetée". Essay in Cinema Futura: Essays on Favourite Science Fiction Movies, edited by Mark Morris. PS Publishing, 2010. ISBN 978-1-84863-095-6. [30] Priest wrote the tie-in novel to accompany the 1999 David Cronenberg movie eXistenZ, which contains themes of the novels A Dream of Wessex and The Extremes. Such themes include the question of the extent to which we can trust what we believe to be reality and our memories. The Inverted World. London: Faber and Faber, 1974. BSFA winner, 1974, [9] Hugo Award nominee, 1975. [18] Cooting’ is a slang word describing a transgressive sexual act. I had never come across it before, either the word or the act, but I discovered the meaning (as no doubt you will too, after you read this) in the online Urban Dictionary. I don’t want to repeat the definition here. It is beyond question thoroughly disgusting.