The Prestige
Touchstone Home Entertainment
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It all begins in rapidly changing, turn-of-the-century London. At a time when magicians are idols and celebrities of the highest order, two young magicians set out to carve their own paths to fame. The flashy, sophisticated Robert Angier is a consummate entertainer, while the rough-edged purist Alfred Borden is a creative genius who lacks the panache to showcase his magical ideas. They start out as admiring friends and partners. But when their biggest trick goes terribly awry, they become enemies for life--each intent on outdoing and upending the other. Trick by trick, show by show, their ferocious competition builds until it knows no bounds, even utilizing the fantastical new powers of electricity and the scientific brilliance of radical inventor Nikola Tesla--while the lives of everyone around them hang in the balance.

Christopher Nolan showed with Memento that he can wow just as long as you let him mess with your head and expectations. He then reached a mainstream cool factor by taking the nipples off of Batman's suit. With The Prestige, Nolan balances Hollywood and indie sensibilities pulling off a film that is smart, complicated and carries a big look.

With such a quick release after The Illusionist, there's got to be something with old-time magicians. Regardless of what the Hollywood suits are thinking, The Prestige makes for a complex film that would be silly to trust.

Video: How's it look?
The Prestige is a good film before any story begins. It's got one of those looks where even if the characters clucked like chickens, you'd still want to see it for the style. The DVD's widescreen transfer (2.35:1 aspect ratio) does a good job of capturing the dark and looming look of the film.

Audio: How's it sound?
The audio is in a booming Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround that brings the magic to life. There's also French and Spanish audio tracks.

Extras: What additional goodies are included?

• "The Director's Notebook: The Cinematic Sleight of Hand of Christopher Nolan" goes down as the most unnecessarily long title for a DVD featurette. Broken down into five sections (Conjuring the Past, The Visual Maze, Metaphors of Deception, Tesla: The Man Who Invented the Twentieth Century, and Resonances), it provides a decent, but abbreviated, look at the many facets of the complex nature of the film's production.
• A nice collection of stills is contained within "The Art of The Prestige", a photo gallery broken down into several sections (Film, Costumes and Sets, Behind the Scenes, and Poster Art).
• Interactive menu display.
• Trailers for Ratatouille, The Queen and Déjà Vu.
• French and Spanish subtitles.

Closing Thoughts
The Prestige is an excellent film of mood and period look. It certainly doesn't hurt that one of the industry's best directors is on board as well. Sure, there's been a couple "magic" films in recent months, but this one still brings the surprises to the table. The DVD is a solid offering overall, although there's plenty of stuff within the film that could have easily made for more extras.


Review brought to you by our friend Ryan @ Movie-Views.com