The Prestige

Directed by Christopher Nolan. Written by Jonathan Nolan and Christopher Nolan from the novel by Christopher Priest.

Robert Angier

• If anybody really believed the things I did on stage, they wouldn't clap, they'd scream.
• You never understood... why we did this. The audience knows the truth. The world is simple, miserable, solid all the way through. But if you can fool them, even for a second... then you can make them wonder. And you get to see something very special. ... You really don't know. ... It was the look on their faces.

Alfred Borden

• Are you watching closely?
• The secret impresses no one. The trick you use it for is everything.
• The sacrifice... that's the price of a good trick.

Nikola Tesla

• You're familiar with the phrase "Man's reach exceeds his grasp"? It's a lie. Man's grasp exceeds his nerve. The only limits on scientific progress are those imposed by society. The first time I changed the world, I was hailed as a visionary. The second time I was asked politely to retire. The world only tolerates one change at a time. And so here I am. Enjoying my "retirement". Nothing is impossible, Mr. Angier, what you want is simply expensive.
• Don't forget your hat.

Cutter

• [First and last lines] Every great magic trick consists of three parts or acts. The first part is called "The Pledge". The magician shows you something ordinary: a deck of cards, a bird or a man. He shows you this object. Perhaps he asks you to inspect it to see if it is indeed real, unaltered, normal. But of course... it probably isn't. The second act is called "The Turn". The magician takes the ordinary something and makes it do something extraordinary. Now you're looking for the secret... but you won't find it, because of course you're not really looking. You don't really want to know. You want to be fooled. But you wouldn't clap yet. Because making something disappear isn't enough; you have to bring it back. That's why every magic trick has a third act, the hardest part, the part we call "The Prestige".

Dialogue

Judge: What a way to kill someone.

Cutter: They're magicians, your honor. Men who live by dressing up plain and simple truths to shock, to amaze.

Judge: Even without an audience?

Cutter: There was an audience. You see, this water tank was of particular significance to these two men. Particularly dreadful significance.

Robert Angier: I thought you said I'd have to get my hands dirty.

Cutter: Maybe someday you will; I just needed to know that you could.

Olivia Wenscombe: [referring to Angier] He wants me to come work for you and steal your secrets.

Alfred Borden: What does he need my secrets for? His trick is top-notch. He vanishes, and then he reappears instantly on the other side of the stage—mute, overweight, and unless I'm mistaken, very drunk. It's astonishing; how does he do it?

Cast

• Hugh Jackman - Robert Angier
• Christian Bale - Alfred Borden
• Michael Caine - Cutter
• Piper Perabo - Julia McCullough
• Rebecca Hall - Sarah Borden
• Scarlett Johansson - Olivia Wenscombe
• David Bowie - Nikola Tesla