The Prestige
Short description
Set in London around the turn of the twentieth century, The Prestige follows two stage illusionists, Robert Angier and Alfred Borden, who begin as colleagues and young performers before a personal tragedy turns their professional rivalry into a consuming feud. Each becomes determined to master and expose the other's methods, and their escalating attempts to outdo one another carry a mounting cost for the people around them.
Christopher Nolan directed and wrote the screenplay with his brother Jonathan Nolan, and produced the film with Aaron Ryder and Emma Thomas. It is the sixth of fifteen films Nolan has directed, arriving between Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. Hugh Jackman plays Angier and Christian Bale plays Borden, with Michael Caine as the engineer Cutter, Piper Perabo as Julia McCullough, Rebecca Hall as Sarah and Scarlett Johansson as Olivia Wenscombe. The cast totals fifty-one credited performers and sixty-eight credited crew members.
Made for about 40 million dollars, the film took roughly 110 million dollars worldwide. On IMDb it holds 8.5 out of 10 from 1,600,000 votes, and on TMDB 8.2 out of 10 from 18,156 votes. A critics' rating of 7.4 out of 10 from 205 reviews sits below both audience scores.
What's left behind the scenes
- Christopher Nolan wrote the screenplay in collaboration with his brother Jonathan. They thoroughly reworked the plot of the book; in particular, they removed the entire modern storyline and made Angier and Borden friends even before their deadly rivalry. In the book, the main characters were not acquainted until their feud began.
- Sam Mendes, the creator of "American Beauty," desperately wanted to adapt "The Prestige" for the screen, but the novel's author, Christopher Priest, insisted that Nolan handle the adaptation, as he was so impressed by the films "Following" and "Memento."
- During the scene of catching the bullet, the name Gary Dresden is listed among the performers. In reality, Harry Dresden is a fictional magician, the hero of the "Dresden Files" book series created by Jim Butcher.
- Filming of the movie took place from January to April 2006 in California, USA.
- The magician Chang Ling Soo is not a fictional character. He died on stage while unsuccessfully performing the "Catch the Bullet" trick.
- Christopher Nolan planned to film this movie even before "Batman Begins."
- At an early stage of production, director Nolan planned Jude Law for one of the leading roles.
- Andy Serkis, who played Gollum in "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy, was the last actor to join the film's star-studded cast. He played Mr. Alley, assistant to the inventor Tesla.
- The role of the magician Milton was played by a real illusionist, Ricky Jay. Among other things, he taught magic tricks to Bale and Jackman.
- The word "prestige" is mentioned in the film's trailer as "the effect that a magic trick produces on an audience unable to unravel its secret." In the source novel, this word has another, truly mystical connotation.
- The filming location is Istra.
- The film is based on Christopher Priest’s novel "The Prestige" (1995).
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
