March 19, 2007
My Music Man and I cued up our Netflix list and got the two "magician" movies out of the way over the last few weeks, and I've been looking forward to writing a blog post about them.
But now that it's two weeks later, all of my great thoughts have sifted away and I'm left with some vague, half-baked recollections. (That's what happens when you get old.)
(Not that I'm old. Yet. But a milestone birthday's rearing its ugly head in April…)
We liked them both. I liked The Prestige better than The Illusionist (not just because of Hugh Jackman, by the way), but because I liked the mystery better. I actually had The Illusionist figured out wayyy early–earlier than The Prestige; it felt much more obvious to me that it was a set-up.
I did figure out The Prestige before it became obvious. But even though I liked it better, that whole movie left me with a much more squicky feeling than The Illusionist–it was so dark and full of malice and hatred that it left me with odd dreams and an uncomfortable feeling. I thought it was a much better mystery, and at the end, everything that Christian Bale's character had said throughout about his trick and its prestige held so true and made sense.
And I was so glad the little girl had a happy ending. Whew. That would have been a deal-breaker for me.
(I also like ScarJo better than Jessica Biel; the latter was so colorless and limp in that movie, I thought.)
I 
could also empathize–at least a bit–with The Great Danton and his belief that what he was doing when he did his trick (trying to keep from giving spoilers here for people who haven't seen it) wasn't so bad…after all, who were these men who fell through the trap door? Were they real people? Such an odd weirdness. What's the mortality of this issue?
But, yes, his need for vengeance usurped his whole life. He ended up being the bad guy at the end (guess I can't keep away from spoilers; sorry!), even though he was the one who'd been wronged at the beginning. 
(OH! And now I understand why Christian Bale's character kept saying he didn't "remember" which knot he'd tied! Doh!)
As for The Illusionist, I felt that the prince was completely wronged at the end–even though he was a bad guy, he hadn't done what everyone thought he'd done. And he killed himself over it. That didn't sit well with me.
Now, of course, we have a similar situation with The Prestige too–one man is allowing another man to bear the brunt of a crime he didn't commit–and that isn't rectified completely in the end, but as I said, at least the little girl gets her happy ending.
Is this vague enough? Sheesh. That's what you get when you try to write a comparison without giving spoilers.
So for those of you who have seen these flicks…what did you think?
March 19th, 2007 at 3:55 pm
The prestige is amazing! I wrote about it a little while ago…mostly about David Bowie playing Nikola Tesla. The movie made me really fascinated with Tesla…and with Thomas Edison, since I already knew he was a jerk to anyone trying to invent new motion picture technology, but didn’t know about this other side.
I guessed the “prestige” behind the Prestige pretty early though. What I didn’t like about it was how many questions I was left with. Especially when it came to Christian Bale’s character.
I haven’t seen the Illusionist, but I’ve heard enough bad things that I’ll wait for it on cable!
March 19th, 2007 at 7:17 pm
I liked and didn’t like The Illusionist. I don’t know. Part of me loved; it was a beautiful setting and a great atmosphere and tone, but part of me felt a little jipped by the plotting.
I’m sorry, I really can’t quite put my finger on how I feel about the movie. I could say I loved it one moment, and the next I’ll tell you it was trying too hard to be “clever.” I really don’t know.
I agreed with everything you said, though! And I want to see The Prestige.
March 20th, 2007 at 6:22 am
I hated the Prestige.. too dark and disturbing, without the happy ending I insist upon.
But I loved the Illusionist. Great twists and a very cool ending!
March 20th, 2007 at 8:31 am
I enjoyed both. I’m really like Edward Norton. The love scene in ‘The Illusionist’ was fantastic. I loved it. I also liked that did ended well. I didn’t feel that sorry for the prince after he hit her.
But ‘The Prestige’ was good as well. LOVED David Bowie in it. I wasn’t sure what to expect when I heard he was doing a part but I think he played it very well. The end was very cool and the little girl did get her happy ending. But was it her father that she ended up with or her uncle? I like to think it was her father.
March 20th, 2007 at 10:28 am
The last movie I saw in a theater was Happy Feet.
And I do love me some Christian Bale, so thanks for the pics.
March 20th, 2007 at 10:29 am
I haven’t seen The Illusionist, but I loved the Prestige. I figured everything out about half-way through but then I write mysteries so I spend most of my life looking for the angle.
BUT, I don’t agree that Hugh Jackman became the bad guy in the end. I still think everything he did was justified. After all, the other went on to a wife and family when he had stolen all of that from HJ. Was “I’m sorry” supposed to be enough for killing his wife???????
March 20th, 2007 at 4:50 pm
I thought The Illusionist was really good but I haven’t seen The Prestige yet.
March 20th, 2007 at 6:52 pm
Isn’t it interesting how two movies come out at about the same time with the same general theme of magic? I liked them both and didn’t like them. Prestige was my favorite even though the 2 main characters were caught up in revenge and hatred. I thought the mystery was better, too.
March 20th, 2007 at 7:11 pm
I totally forgot to watch for David Bowie when we saw The Prestige! I feel like such a dunce–forgetting he was in it until later.
But, Jana…don’t you think Hugh Jackman sort of was a bad guy at th end–letting an innocent man be executed for murder? And for killing his clones over and over? (Granted, he thought it was a pleasurable way to die, so I give him that.) But the problem was that he was going to let an innocent man be executed.
Yes, Christian Bale had caused the death of his wife–but it was an accident and poor judgment, not malicious!
Booklogged, I agree about the timing of the movies being cool. And also, there’s that biography of Houdiini that came out around the holidays….so now I’m expecting to see this slant begin to appear in genre fiction. Just you wait and see! In about two years, there will be a bunch of books with turn of the century magic or magicians somehow featured.
Watch and see if it ain’t so!
March 21st, 2007 at 9:47 am
Nope, still don’t think he was a bad guy. I’m pretty sure I should have been born Italian, or Arab. I’m really into that whole eye for an eye thing. I think I would have felt differently if CB’s character ever seemed really sorry, but I just didn’t see that he did. He was always so arrogant and that’s what bothered me. As for the clones, well, a bunch of Hugh Jackman’s running around this earth would cause a riot of women bigger than the Beetles ever managed to.
March 21st, 2007 at 10:11 am
I still have to rent these two movies. Especially the one with Hugh Jackman. Yummy!
March 21st, 2007 at 9:27 pm
I haven’t seen either of them, but I definitely want to see both. The Prestige appeals to me more, probably because of the actors. The word “yummy” comes to mind.
March 22nd, 2007 at 4:48 am
I saw both…sorta. I thought they were both kinda dull, and agree that The Prestige was much darker and Hugh was the bad guy. I couldn’t believe he let an innocent man die, or that the brother would exchange himself. That was major ick for me.
March 22nd, 2007 at 6:28 am
Interesting. I loved both films. I agree, Prestige was a better mystery, but I really don’t think the greater point of the Illusionist was to fool the audience, I think it was more of a romance with magical sentiments. I like Scarlett better than Jessica as well but thought JB’s acting in Illustionist was just fine. In the end I like the Illusionist better because of the romance and because I think Paul Giamatti is simply the best actor working today. He is phenomenal. I like him in everything. Why he doesn’t have a closet full of supporting actor academy awards is beyond me. Its a crime.
Prestige is a great movie to watch again because of other things you pick up along the way, including some interesting little hints about the relationship between the Christian Bale characters.
March 22nd, 2007 at 7:35 am
Colleen,
Just a note to let you know I’ve replied to your email. I sent a message, the other day, but it must have gone missing. Let me know if you don’t receive the second message, please.
March 22nd, 2007 at 9:30 am
I agree with Spyscribbler about the Illusionist part of me loved it but it didn’t quite fulfill its promise somehow.
March 25th, 2007 at 9:31 pm
I blogged about The Prestige a couple of weeks ago. While I really enjoyed the movie, I was left with a very weird feeling…particularly that final trick with the trapdoor thing (not wanting to give anything away). Another thing that bugged me was Christian Bale’s hair…it didn’t seem appropriate for the time period.
August 13th, 2007 at 4:31 pm
I have seen both. The Prestige is better by far! The plot is more thought out and it doesn’t have any holes. The Illusionist however, leaves too many things unanswered and gives the viewer a horrible last impression. The Prestige also has many more themes than the Illusionist. This is not a bad thing it still manages to deal with them better than the Illusionist deals with it’s limited themes! I liked how both were set in the late 1800s. The acting, plot, suspense, twists and turns, and setting were 100% better in the Prestige than the Illusionist.