The secret behind the movie The Prestige

It's been a while since I read the book and saw the movie but here goes:

Why did Angier need to keep cloning himself - once would have been enough?

Was it because he was more obsessed with destroying Borden - Borden had killed his wife - but more importantly, Angier saw Borden as a better magician than himself and was obsessed with outdoing Borden. When Borden finally gives him his "secret", he tears it up, gloating to Borden that his own "secret" is, given the circumstances, "better'. In his mind he has finally put Borden down, triumphed - he has his self respect back. He has won closure, an end to his all consuming obsession with Borden.

Why did Angier limit himself to only a few performances with Tesla's machine?

Was it because he was more interested in setting Borden up for murder - he knew that at some stage Borden would be unable to resist infiltrating his performance and attempting to discover the secret of Tesla's machine? Cutter says" What sort of booking do you want?" Angier; "The sort that Borden can't ignore!" It was all about revenge on Borden.

What happened to Angier's last performance - the audience obviously didn't see him or his clone reappear - so the stagehand that signaled Cutter, who was supposed to stay 'front of house', to follow Borden below and be a witness to the 'murder, was obviously also a signal to Angier, to fail to show himself to the audience after being transported, so the set-up would play out?

Cutter appears to be an 'honest' man - in fact he is so sickened by Angier's revenge on Borden that he in fact helps Borden kill the last remaining "Angier" - but he had seen the machine work - he had witnessed the "real magic" - where was his curiosity about how Angier performed the Transported Man? - how could he not suspect unless he genuinely believed that no twin or clone existed. He obviously believed that Angier was "Transported" - not cloned, - as he had seen when Angier was impressing the influential man, to get the booking.

Why did Angier keep the "Prestige Materials" - the dead clones? - maybe having blind stagehands it was easier to store them than dispose of them. I think it would have had more impact had the dead clones been a bit more on the nose.

It's been a while since I read the book and saw the movie but here goes:

Why did Angier need to keep cloning himself - once would have been enough?

Was it because he was more obsessed with destroying Borden - Borden had killed his wife - but more importantly, Angier saw Borden as a better magician than himself and was obsessed with outdoing Borden. When Borden finally gives him his "secret", he tears it up, gloating to Borden that his own "secret" is, given the circumstances, "better'. In his mind he has finally put Borden down, triumphed - he has his self respect back. He has won closure, an end to his all consuming obsession with Borden.

Why did Angier limit himself to only a few performances with Tesla's machine?

Was it because he was more interested in setting Borden up for murder - he knew that at some stage Borden would be unable to resist infiltrating his performance and attempting to discover the secret of Tesla's machine? Cutter says" What sort of booking do you want?" Angier; "The sort that Borden can't ignore!" It was all about revenge on Borden.

What happened to Angier's last performance - the audience obviously didn't see him or his clone reappear - so the stagehand that signaled Cutter, who was supposed to stay 'front of house', to follow Borden below and be a witness to the 'murder, was obviously also a signal to Angier, to fail to show himself to the audience after being transported, so the set-up would play out?

Cutter appears to be an 'honest' man - in fact he is so sickened by Angier's revenge on Borden that he in fact helps Borden kill the last remaining "Angier" - but he had seen the machine work - he had witnessed the "real magic" - where was his curiosity about how Angier performed the Transported Man? - how could he not suspect unless he genuinely believed that no twin or clone existed. He obviously believed that Angier was "Transported" - not cloned, - as he had seen when Angier was impressing the influential man, to get the booking.

Why did Angier keep the "Prestige Materials" - the dead clones? - maybe having blind stagehands it was easier to store them than dispose of them. I think it would have had more impact had the dead clones been a bit more on the nose.

Questions for The Prestige:

If Tesla's duplicating machine worked, why doesn't he clone money or valuable objects to avoid his financial problems?

What is Borden's connection to Tesla? Is there something hidden here? - such as Borden/Fallon actually being clones rather than brothers? Has borden met Tesla? It's too convenient for Borden to have this connection without a good reason.

What happened to Root? His character is built up to the point where it could be suspected that Root has murdered Angier and taken over his identity - and it is in fact Root that becomes Lord Caldlow - there are several allusions to Root "becoming The Great Danton" and having great power over Angier, as well as his association with arch enemy Borden - but this theory is shattered at the conclusion with Angier referring to what Cutter had told him about a drowning man.

What is Nolan's final allusion to a "secret" that we won't see, because we don't really want to look, we want to be fooled? - is there really something still hidden? - something to figure out beneath the layers exposed at the end?
- or is Nolan just playing with us, trying to allude to something that's not there? (God I hate that! - David Lynch are you listening?)

Could Cutter have saved Borden's life?

Are there any unaccounted for clones? When Angier shoots Angier - Angier shouts" I'm the ... " presumably "I'm the original", although does this make any difference, as an identical clone would be exactly that. How many times would he have practiced his act? ( See what you've done Nolan - are you having a good laugh? - there are even people out there trying to connect the dead clones to the morality of dead fetuses and abortion - and debating whether Angier has suicidal or murderous intent.)

We have to face it - is there any great movie that doesn't have some flaws in the plot?

Take it at face value - if you can't figure it out - it's not worth figuring out! (Any budding David Lynch's please take note!)

Questions for The Prestige:

If Tesla's duplicating machine worked, why doesn't he clone money or valuable objects to avoid his financial problems?

What is Borden's connection to Tesla? Is there something hidden here? - such as Borden/Fallon actually being clones rather than brothers? Has borden met Tesla? It's too convenient for Borden to have this connection without a good reason.

What happened to Root? His character is built up to the point where it could be suspected that Root has murdered Angier and taken over his identity - and it is in fact Root that becomes Lord Caldlow - there are several allusions to Root "becoming The Great Danton" and having great power over Angier, as well as his association with arch enemy Borden - but this theory is shattered at the conclusion with Angier referring to what Cutter had told him about a drowning man.

What is Nolan's final allusion to a "secret" that we won't see, because we don't really want to look, we want to be fooled? - is there really something still hidden? - something to figure out beneath the layers exposed at the end?
- or is Nolan just playing with us, trying to allude to something that's not there? (God I hate that! - David Lynch are you listening?)

Could Cutter have saved Borden's life?

Are there any unaccounted for clones? When Angier shoots Angier - Angier shouts" I'm the ... " presumably "I'm the original", although does this make any difference, as an identical clone would be exactly that. How many times would he have practiced his act? ( See what you've done Nolan - are you having a good laugh? - there are even people out there trying to connect the dead clones to the morality of dead fetuses and abortion - and debating whether Angier has suicidal or murderous intent.)

We have to face it - is there any great movie that doesn't have some flaws in the plot?

Take it at face value - if you can't figure it out - it's not worth figuring out! (Any budding David Lynch's please take note!)

To Blink:
The machine do not work. There is no dead clones.
Thank you for caring! Considering your long response.
Root might be the only dead boby you actualy see.

To Blink:
The machine do not work. There is no dead clones.
Thank you for caring! Considering your long response.
Root might be the only dead boby you actualy see.

The evidence that the machine works is overwhelming

As far as I can see, there is no further "secret" to the Prestige, it's just Nolan playing with our heads.

The only thing I think he could be alluding to at the end is that there may be more clones, but that would really be pointless.

Take it at face value - it was the incredible passion of two magicians that became an exclusive, obsessive rivalry between the two men, and a vengeful setup that ultimately leads to both their downfalls. The "less" culpable of the two is left with some "salvation" at the end, but both men have wrought a terrible price. It's a clever and inspired take on a very good book.

The evidence that the machine works is overwhelming

As far as I can see, there is no further "secret" to the Prestige, it's just Nolan playing with our heads.

The only thing I think he could be alluding to at the end is that there may be more clones, but that would really be pointless.

Take it at face value - it was the incredible passion of two magicians that became an exclusive, obsessive rivalry between the two men, and a vengeful setup that ultimately leads to both their downfalls. The "less" culpable of the two is left with some "salvation" at the end, but both men have wrought a terrible price. It's a clever and inspired take on a very good book.

Ok, here is my view on what happens at the end of this great film.

At some point the twins (Alfred Border/Fallon) find out about that Algier has been cloning himself.
I think they find out when Cutter follows Algier back when Algier says "I don't want you back stage for this one" This causes Cutters curiosity to get the better of him and he goes exploring, finds out what Algier is doing and then reveals this to the twins as it is monstorous. Or it could be when Border and Cutter see Algier drowing. Or most likely, the first time they realise it is not a magic trick is when they meet Lord Colderdale.

Anyway, I believe that the twins along with Cutter's help clone one of themselves and then let him hang. This allows them both to live on, and gives them the chance to pursue their own lives. It also would make sense as to why he says Abracadabra as his last words. because he is actually being transported in a sense. This also explains the scene at the end when Algier is shot by Border and seemingly at the same time Border greets his daughter. It could be that there are 2 balls as they were cloned along with one of the Borders.

This is how I saw the end anyway.

Ok, here is my view on what happens at the end of this great film.

At some point the twins (Alfred Border/Fallon) find out about that Algier has been cloning himself.
I think they find out when Cutter follows Algier back when Algier says "I don't want you back stage for this one" This causes Cutters curiosity to get the better of him and he goes exploring, finds out what Algier is doing and then reveals this to the twins as it is monstorous. Or it could be when Border and Cutter see Algier drowing. Or most likely, the first time they realise it is not a magic trick is when they meet Lord Colderdale.

Anyway, I believe that the twins along with Cutter's help clone one of themselves and then let him hang. This allows them both to live on, and gives them the chance to pursue their own lives. It also would make sense as to why he says Abracadabra as his last words. because he is actually being transported in a sense. This also explains the scene at the end when Algier is shot by Border and seemingly at the same time Border greets his daughter. It could be that there are 2 balls as they were cloned along with one of the Borders.

This is how I saw the end anyway.

WE need to be careful about the clone word because they aren't REALLY clones, but EXACT DUPLICATES of each other, memories and all. Would clones have the same memory? I dunno. When I think of clone I think of a copy of the original, but without the memories, they would have to be planted or something. In The Prestige, it's the EXACT duplicate. When Angier asks which hat is his, the response is "They all are".

Why would he not duplicate himself once and use that as the show? Because he was selfish. Remember when he had Root, that didn't go so well. He wants to be the Prestige, he doesn't want to share the glory. So killing the duplicate is what makes it really his own way of keeping it to himself.

On top of that, I think the original Angier died in the first act. Since these are EXACT duplicates, he knows that he will keep living with the same feelings/memories/desires. He knew this when he shot his first duplicate. We know that the machine duplicates people, so the duplicate appears on the balcony and the one stepping into the machine drowns. So he had to have drowned the first night. Why wouldn't he duplicate himself and let the duplicate do the show while he lived on? Because the duplicate isn't a clone, it's HIM. The duplicate would want to live as well. So he had to be committed to dying in order for the act to work.

He limited it to 100 shows because he knew that Borden would want to know the secret and limiting the number of shows would make it a limited time frame for him to go and see how it's done. If it were ongoing, it would take forever.

WE need to be careful about the clone word because they aren't REALLY clones, but EXACT DUPLICATES of each other, memories and all. Would clones have the same memory? I dunno. When I think of clone I think of a copy of the original, but without the memories, they would have to be planted or something. In The Prestige, it's the EXACT duplicate. When Angier asks which hat is his, the response is "They all are".

Why would he not duplicate himself once and use that as the show? Because he was selfish. Remember when he had Root, that didn't go so well. He wants to be the Prestige, he doesn't want to share the glory. So killing the duplicate is what makes it really his own way of keeping it to himself.

On top of that, I think the original Angier died in the first act. Since these are EXACT duplicates, he knows that he will keep living with the same feelings/memories/desires. He knew this when he shot his first duplicate. We know that the machine duplicates people, so the duplicate appears on the balcony and the one stepping into the machine drowns. So he had to have drowned the first night. Why wouldn't he duplicate himself and let the duplicate do the show while he lived on? Because the duplicate isn't a clone, it's HIM. The duplicate would want to live as well. So he had to be committed to dying in order for the act to work.

He limited it to 100 shows because he knew that Borden would want to know the secret and limiting the number of shows would make it a limited time frame for him to go and see how it's done. If it were ongoing, it would take forever.

BROTHERS. So I was under the impression that Jackman and Bale were brothers before going into the flick, but after seeing the introduction of the Fallon character, the first thing that popped into my head was....That's Bale!!!!! Twins!!!!! Despite knowing this, I still loved how it unfolded.

BROTHERS. So I was under the impression that Jackman and Bale were brothers before going into the flick, but after seeing the introduction of the Fallon character, the first thing that popped into my head was....That's Bale!!!!! Twins!!!!! Despite knowing this, I still loved how it unfolded.

I can't agree with this. Angier did not have a twin; he had clones. The clone he saw spooked him, and he didn't want another Root situation, with two budding personalities are at each other's throats because of the glory, or even the lack thereof. Angier did not have a brother we saw, but clones.

I can't agree with this. Angier did not have a twin; he had clones. The clone he saw spooked him, and he didn't want another Root situation, with two budding personalities are at each other's throats because of the glory, or even the lack thereof. Angier did not have a brother we saw, but clones.