[SPOILERS] I feel that the twin brother revelation, while perhaps briefly infuriating for being a cliché, is redeemed because the two have committed to the deception so completely that it comes with great personal sacrifice for them both. And It's necessary to reveal Bale's trick to complete the story because Jackman, who can't figure it out, goes so far as to actually *create* magic in order to compete, and the cost for his *real* magic is horrifying: He literally kills himself every time he performs the trick. That alone has always struck me as a fascinating and brilliant illustration of the existential problem of cloning (where my clone is not *me* and my consciousness remains stuck in the original body). But anyway what the movie is ultimately about in my view is these contrasting approaches to magic (or, more abstractly, art in general) and the price each of them exacts. In other words, it's a story about characters, not a movie about a trick; the trick is just the medium they're working in. That's not to say that magic/illusions is an arbitrary choice for that medium (it's not; it's the right one for this story), just that it isn't itself the point.
I only just discovered your channel, and I'm really digging it after watching only two episodes (the first was the Breaking Bad Ozymandias breakdown, which was truly excellent). Re this video, I think it's funny that I was upset waaay less by the twins part when compared to the "actual cloning and teleportation is happening" part, because that flew in the face of the rules of the natural world, and seemed to undercut the entire premise of the movie, that these were cunning but simple tricks. And yes, I suppose we could argue that Huge Ackman's cloning *is* a simple trick, if we just take the "science" for granted, but it felt like a cop-out to me.
for the purpose of the essay I wanted to focus just on that final twist, because it's the part I actually have something to say about. but for what it's worth I do agree, that whole thing felt pretty stupid.
@@timsvideoessays4670 it's one of those films I actually dig more now than when I first saw it, I think because I can now excuse the "actual" magic, though in the first viewing, in that reveal, I went from thinking it was an absolutely incredible movie to thinking it was only average. It was an emotional roller-coaster :P
I appreciate the thesis of this video. That said, my experience with the film is very different. The twin twist is set up and foreshadowed in so many ways throughout the movie that it feels like an essential part of its DNA from the beginning - to the point where, when watching it for the first time, I called the twist, and was very happy to have been right. Duality is a core motif of the movie that runs through almost everything in it. Even there being two physical Bordens is a contrast to there being two metaphorical Angiers - they both conceal their identities in similar but very different ways. The twin isn't just an explanation to me that ruins the trick - it's the most important implementation of the movie's core theme. It IS the movie. And while you seem to feel that in a bad way, I feel it in a good way. It's probably my favorite movie because of how dedicated it is to its focus, from frame 1.
The funny thing is, in general I feel like I agree with you about "wanting magic to be real" within a story. I've definitely seen or read stories that I felt totally unsatisfied by because they made me _think_ something magical or otherworldly was real, only to slam me back into the reality of the world with a "twist" that there was a mundane explanation all along. However, The Prestige was never one of those stories for me. At no point while I was watching The Prestige did I ever believe that something magical was going on, and I didn't really feel like the narrative wanted me to think there was. The "twist" of The Prestige is that Angier is so relentless in his pursuit of professional and personal victory over Borden that he actually develops a _real_ magic trick...and it's _not_ beautiful. It doesn't inspire wonder and awe. It doesn't make the world feel brighter and more full of exciting possibility. It's horrifying, and ugly, and tragic. To be clear, I disliked Borden every bit as much as I disliked Angier, so I am in no way championing Boren here, but I do think it's interesting that from each man's perspective, their trick is the exceptional one. The absolute coordination and commitment (the) Borden(s) require in order to pull off and maintain their trick is a truly staggering feat for even the most professionally dedicated of magicians. Whereas from Borden's perspective, Angier simply cheats. The one, tacit, unifying principle of all professional magicianry is simple: it's never real. If it's real, then it's not a magic _trick_. It's not yours, you didn't earn it. I think this principle is also why The Prestige actually works _better_ for viewers who suspect very early on that Borden is a twin. Because that awareness puts the viewer's focus where the story is best served by it being: not on the "magic" but on the implications and ramifications of the characters' actions. Not "How are they doing it?" but "What is _it_ doing to them?" The angle from which The Prestige works best, IMO, is as a rumination on the relationship between ego, obsession, art, and artifice: Borden's lack of natural charisma and flair, and his abundance of dedication and bloody singlemindedness. Angier's abundance of natural charisma and flair, and his somewhat self-satisfied affinity for easy successes and shortcuts. Angier's reverence for the power of illusion, and his complete psychological indifference to the hollowness of illusion. Borden's drive for mastery of the trick, his total lack of wonder, and his borderline contempt for the audience. Angier's easy, charismatic narcissism, and Borden's disciplined, joyless self-involvement. In the end, both men are fatally flawed. If there's one aspect of The Prestige that felt messy and unsatisfying to me, it's that the remaining Borden brother gets something a bit too close to a victory for my liking, and I really don't think the narrative does a good job of delivering us to a place where it feels fitting that he gets it. I also think the movie is a bit muddled in what it wants to say/focus on. It's trying to encompass too much, and it never really hones in on a single, cohesive thematic approach, IMO. Which makes perspectives like the one in this video totally reasonable and understandable, IMO, because the nature of the narrative is such that it requires the audience to be exactly where it means them to be...and yet I don't think the narrative itself is entirely, 100% clear on where it means its audience to be.
Nah, I LOVE finding out how tricks are done. I was obsessed with magic for a bit as a kid and had my own magician kit. Trying to figure it out is half of the fun. I like to watch a trick, see it explained, and then watch it again to see if I will catch it now that I know what they're doing--and sometimes I still can't, which just makes it even more impressive My favorite ever magic trick as a kid was called something like "the growing doll" or "the living doll" I think. The magician puts a tiny doll into a doll house, spins it around, and opens the doll house again. The doll is replaced now with a bigger doll. He does it again; now there's a bigger doll. Rinse and repeat until he opens it and a woman dressed as a doll pops out. Turns out the trick was incredibly simple. The woman and all the dolls were always inside the whole time, but the woman was a contortionist, so she was able to fit in the tiny space and switch out the dolls for him while remaining unseen In the modern era, I especially want to see the trick explained because basically anyone can learn how to edit creatively or deceptively (or just hire someone to) and pull off a "magic trick" that doesn't take much or any skill. Showing how it's done proves that the illusion was actually a skillful one that might even work in person. If you do a trick on camera and just keep cutting away to close up reaction shots, I'm bored and I doubt you actually fooled anyone
We also have a different type of magic now: technology. I might have a basic understanding of how a lot of things work (like I know some basic code/psuedocode), but it's still magic to me that 1s and 0s are somehow making AI and VR do things I only ever thought I'd see in sci-fi movies. Again, learning about how it actually works doesn't take anything away from the wonder I feel at experiencing these new and exciting things
Magic does exist, just not in way you mean. Do you know how difficult is is to make a good big budget movie? Directors that accomplish this feat are magicians. I once heard someone describe a director's job an uphill battle against all the forces working to derail the production of said movie and it turning into a dumpster fire. There's no knowledge you can find that that will instantaneously give you the ability to win that battle. It's jean a se qua. Thats what magic is in my opinion, the intangible things that gives a person the perfect temperament to accel at a given thing.
Magic isn't real lol. We made a stone think, talk to space and display sound and video. I'm watching you right now on my small black monolyth. If this isn't magic, I dunno what is :)
You seem to believe in extremes. The worst, the best, etc. Your challenge as a filmmaker is to not see the world in black and white. Things need not be either / or. It’s possible this was only a phase for you.
[SPOILERS] I feel that the twin brother revelation, while perhaps briefly infuriating for being a cliché, is redeemed because the two have committed to the deception so completely that it comes with great personal sacrifice for them both. And It's necessary to reveal Bale's trick to complete the story because Jackman, who can't figure it out, goes so far as to actually *create* magic in order to compete, and the cost for his *real* magic is horrifying: He literally kills himself every time he performs the trick. That alone has always struck me as a fascinating and brilliant illustration of the existential problem of cloning (where my clone is not *me* and my consciousness remains stuck in the original body). But anyway what the movie is ultimately about in my view is these contrasting approaches to magic (or, more abstractly, art in general) and the price each of them exacts. In other words, it's a story about characters, not a movie about a trick; the trick is just the medium they're working in. That's not to say that magic/illusions is an arbitrary choice for that medium (it's not; it's the right one for this story), just that it isn't itself the point.
On a real note: the twins reveal was telegraphed at every corner. I wouldn't even call it a twist. The twist is the dead clones.
I only just discovered your channel, and I'm really digging it after watching only two episodes (the first was the Breaking Bad Ozymandias breakdown, which was truly excellent). Re this video, I think it's funny that I was upset waaay less by the twins part when compared to the "actual cloning and teleportation is happening" part, because that flew in the face of the rules of the natural world, and seemed to undercut the entire premise of the movie, that these were cunning but simple tricks. And yes, I suppose we could argue that Huge Ackman's cloning *is* a simple trick, if we just take the "science" for granted, but it felt like a cop-out to me.
for the purpose of the essay I wanted to focus just on that final twist, because it's the part I actually have something to say about. but for what it's worth I do agree, that whole thing felt pretty stupid.
@@timsvideoessays4670 it's one of those films I actually dig more now than when I first saw it, I think because I can now excuse the "actual" magic, though in the first viewing, in that reveal, I went from thinking it was an absolutely incredible movie to thinking it was only average. It was an emotional roller-coaster :P
@@timsvideoessays4670 btw, I think you did a great job here! Cheers for the reply, and good luck with the channel!
Lmao im in the exact same boat with the original commenter, just came from ozymandias and am now here and I felt the same about this movie
I appreciate the thesis of this video. That said, my experience with the film is very different. The twin twist is set up and foreshadowed in so many ways throughout the movie that it feels like an essential part of its DNA from the beginning - to the point where, when watching it for the first time, I called the twist, and was very happy to have been right. Duality is a core motif of the movie that runs through almost everything in it. Even there being two physical Bordens is a contrast to there being two metaphorical Angiers - they both conceal their identities in similar but very different ways. The twin isn't just an explanation to me that ruins the trick - it's the most important implementation of the movie's core theme. It IS the movie. And while you seem to feel that in a bad way, I feel it in a good way. It's probably my favorite movie because of how dedicated it is to its focus, from frame 1.
i love ur essays pls keep doing them
even hearing “magic isn’t real” my first response is “are we sure tho?” 😂
The funny thing is, in general I feel like I agree with you about "wanting magic to be real" within a story. I've definitely seen or read stories that I felt totally unsatisfied by because they made me _think_ something magical or otherworldly was real, only to slam me back into the reality of the world with a "twist" that there was a mundane explanation all along.
However, The Prestige was never one of those stories for me. At no point while I was watching The Prestige did I ever believe that something magical was going on, and I didn't really feel like the narrative wanted me to think there was. The "twist" of The Prestige is that Angier is so relentless in his pursuit of professional and personal victory over Borden that he actually develops a _real_ magic trick...and it's _not_ beautiful. It doesn't inspire wonder and awe. It doesn't make the world feel brighter and more full of exciting possibility. It's horrifying, and ugly, and tragic.
To be clear, I disliked Borden every bit as much as I disliked Angier, so I am in no way championing Boren here, but I do think it's interesting that from each man's perspective, their trick is the exceptional one. The absolute coordination and commitment (the) Borden(s) require in order to pull off and maintain their trick is a truly staggering feat for even the most professionally dedicated of magicians. Whereas from Borden's perspective, Angier simply cheats. The one, tacit, unifying principle of all professional magicianry is simple: it's never real. If it's real, then it's not a magic _trick_. It's not yours, you didn't earn it.
I think this principle is also why The Prestige actually works _better_ for viewers who suspect very early on that Borden is a twin. Because that awareness puts the viewer's focus where the story is best served by it being: not on the "magic" but on the implications and ramifications of the characters' actions. Not "How are they doing it?" but "What is _it_ doing to them?"
The angle from which The Prestige works best, IMO, is as a rumination on the relationship between ego, obsession, art, and artifice: Borden's lack of natural charisma and flair, and his abundance of dedication and bloody singlemindedness. Angier's abundance of natural charisma and flair, and his somewhat self-satisfied affinity for easy successes and shortcuts. Angier's reverence for the power of illusion, and his complete psychological indifference to the hollowness of illusion. Borden's drive for mastery of the trick, his total lack of wonder, and his borderline contempt for the audience. Angier's easy, charismatic narcissism, and Borden's disciplined, joyless self-involvement. In the end, both men are fatally flawed.
If there's one aspect of The Prestige that felt messy and unsatisfying to me, it's that the remaining Borden brother gets something a bit too close to a victory for my liking, and I really don't think the narrative does a good job of delivering us to a place where it feels fitting that he gets it. I also think the movie is a bit muddled in what it wants to say/focus on. It's trying to encompass too much, and it never really hones in on a single, cohesive thematic approach, IMO. Which makes perspectives like the one in this video totally reasonable and understandable, IMO, because the nature of the narrative is such that it requires the audience to be exactly where it means them to be...and yet I don't think the narrative itself is entirely, 100% clear on where it means its audience to be.
Nah, I LOVE finding out how tricks are done. I was obsessed with magic for a bit as a kid and had my own magician kit. Trying to figure it out is half of the fun. I like to watch a trick, see it explained, and then watch it again to see if I will catch it now that I know what they're doing--and sometimes I still can't, which just makes it even more impressive
My favorite ever magic trick as a kid was called something like "the growing doll" or "the living doll" I think. The magician puts a tiny doll into a doll house, spins it around, and opens the doll house again. The doll is replaced now with a bigger doll. He does it again; now there's a bigger doll. Rinse and repeat until he opens it and a woman dressed as a doll pops out. Turns out the trick was incredibly simple. The woman and all the dolls were always inside the whole time, but the woman was a contortionist, so she was able to fit in the tiny space and switch out the dolls for him while remaining unseen
In the modern era, I especially want to see the trick explained because basically anyone can learn how to edit creatively or deceptively (or just hire someone to) and pull off a "magic trick" that doesn't take much or any skill. Showing how it's done proves that the illusion was actually a skillful one that might even work in person. If you do a trick on camera and just keep cutting away to close up reaction shots, I'm bored and I doubt you actually fooled anyone
We also have a different type of magic now: technology. I might have a basic understanding of how a lot of things work (like I know some basic code/psuedocode), but it's still magic to me that 1s and 0s are somehow making AI and VR do things I only ever thought I'd see in sci-fi movies. Again, learning about how it actually works doesn't take anything away from the wonder I feel at experiencing these new and exciting things
Magic does exist, just not in way you mean. Do you know how difficult is is to make a good big budget movie? Directors that accomplish this feat are magicians. I once heard someone describe a director's job an uphill battle against all the forces working to derail the production of said movie and it turning into a dumpster fire. There's no knowledge you can find that that will instantaneously give you the ability to win that battle. It's jean a se qua. Thats what magic is in my opinion, the intangible things that gives a person the perfect temperament to accel at a given thing.
Tenet is good but other than that I liked this video
Magic isn't real lol. We made a stone think, talk to space and display sound and video. I'm watching you right now on my small black monolyth. If this isn't magic, I dunno what is :)
well spoken! immediately want to watch Pen and Teller and The Prestige
You seem to believe in extremes. The worst, the best, etc. Your challenge as a filmmaker is to not see the world in black and white. Things need not be either / or. It’s possible this was only a phase for you.