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The Prestige (2006)
The Prestige is a 2006 science fiction psychological thriller film directed by Christopher Nolan, who co-wrote the screenplay with his brother Jonathan Nolan, based on the 1995 novel by Christopher Priest. Set in Victorian London, the film stars Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale as stage magicians who compete to create a superior teleportation illusion.
Directed by Christopher Nolan · Shot by Wally Pfister · Cut by Lee Smith · Music by David Julyan · Ratio 2.35:1 · 125 min
How it was made
- Production designer Nathan Crowley began designing sets in Nolan's garage while the screenplay was still being written, building a visual script out of scale models, images and notes.
- Crowley's team searched nearly 70 Los Angeles locations to double for fin de siècle London, and converted part of the Universal backlot into Victorian London rather than building it from scratch.
- Nolan built only one true set for the film, the under-stage machinery room, preferring to dress existing locations to stand in for Colorado and Victorian England.
- Jonathan Nolan visited Colorado Springs to research Nikola Tesla, and the film's electric-bulb scene was based on experiments Tesla actually conducted.
- The film contains what is considered the first IMAX 70mm camera shot used in a narrative feature, a visual-effects shot of Christian Bale's duplicated character, filmed partly to test whether IMAX footage could later be reduced to 35mm for The Dark Knight.
Behind the scenes
Elsewhere
More by Christopher Nolan
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