The Prestige Ending Explained - Nolan on Identity

[@NightDweller]

The thing I liked most about this movie is the secret was out of the bag in the first minute. A bird killed and replaced with its brother, but we didn't get it cause we weren't looking carefully. We wanted to be fooled

[@NightDweller]

@Catharsis makes sense 🤝

[@emilygreen4876]

Wow yes!!!

[@amirshayanmoghtaderi5840]

Exactly!!!

[@nemesisdelaudela]

I tend to hate these foreshadowing moments given right from the start. I found them not as "subtle" as people would want us to think, simply because when a movie is well thought, all presented elements are important to some extent. That opening conversation was way too much right under your nose imo.

[@op3129]

the weird pile of hats ... the bird killed ... yeah "out of the bag" BUT the best foreshadowing doesn't make OhMyGodThatWasForeshadowed until the end. bc ... "best foreshadow"

[@Jayy5]

This film is the greatest use of foreshadowing in the history of filmmaking because you can watch it the first time and not being able to predict any of the twists but you watch it again and realize almost all the dialogue and the character's actions allude to the twists!

[@Phelie315]

Yes! This is such a good example of a movie where the experience is actually enhanced the second time you watch it. Nolan really outdid himself with this one.

[@averyjackblack7420]

Every time I watch it I see something new

[@sakuragi1062]

Nolan is very precise filmmaker when it comes to attention to details thats why he is very great at storytelling.

[@xxczerxx]

That actually makes you appreciate how hard it must be to write something like this. After watching it once and knowing the twists, it's actually hard to remember how you viewed it the first time round.

[@mehdishafai9889]

Fact

[@BloofyDawn]

nothing beats watching this movie the first time, and then watching it the second time right after to notice all the foreshadowing

[@trinaq]

Precisely, once you watch this flick more than once, you realize just how insanely clever it is, and how the twist is so clearly foreshadowed from the offset. 😮☺️🖤

[@BloofyDawn]

@@trinaq excactly!

[@tylerhackner9731]

Exactly it’s amazing! 🔥

[@shelbygustafson3013]

I've watched it several times, and I notice something new each time. Truly a masterpiece

[@Pinkranger87]

It's like watching a magic trick.

[@Crimson28]

“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 work it out. You want to be fooled.”

[@Jayy5]

Every time I hear this line at the very end it legit makes chills go down my spine

[@trinaq]

Yep, just goes to show what a genius film maker Nolan REALLY is, in that he plotted the twist supremely well! 🔀😁🎥

[@tonyjoseph5197]

Wow so orginal comment from you😴

[@doloreslehmann8628]

Not in my case. I want to know the trick. That's why I loved watching the masked magician. Really surprising how easy some tricks are and still one can't spot it.

[@TheHanphoenix]

One of my favorite line from one of my favorite movie

[@feelflows]

David Bowie as Tesla was amazing casting

[@drartemisa21]

Woah, I didn't even recognize him!

[@adrianabalbuena2682]

Yass ❤️

[@rufashaochicken]

Nolan has to beg him... maybe only once he did in his career

[@junkiejackflash]

Crazy that he turned it down at first. I heard Nolan said if he couldn't get Bowie, he wouldn't make the movie

[@nmeyers92]

So amazing that at first I didn’t even know it was him!

[@Crippycooke]

One of Angier's clones became The Greatest Showman.

[@wr6897]

One became the wolverine

[@donnadizucchero]

Oh SNAAAP!))

[@gaurijoshi1694]

Hahahha Good one 😂

[@cheesypizzajokes]

One became Hugh Jackman

[@amaan.a]

I always thought the ending is reflection of society, to show us how we we are killing ourselves, metaphorically, for fame, fortune and success.

[@tylerhackner9731]

Still incredibly relevant now

[@trinaq]

Agreed, Nolan at his finest! "Inception" is another favourite film of mine, because of how expertly he plots it, through all of the twists and turns! 😁🤔

[@nanofan100]

Hmm interesting. But he went home every night unscathed so it doesn't quite hold.

[@sMASHsound]

we lose ourselves chasing things, instead of living.

[@LorenzoDoesntExist]

People always like comments that misinterpret and oversimplify films they don't understand.

[@ComixCentral]

I love The Dark Knight Trilogy, Inception, and Memento as much as the next guy but this film, right here, is Nolan's real masterpiece.

[@captain_inglorious]

Agreed.

[@captain_inglorious]

Christopher Nolan is yet to make a terrible film!

[@Daniel-yt7fm]

@@captain_inglorious he's yet to make a bad film as well

[@Adriana-eu6ty]

@@captain_ingloriousmy unimportant opinion only, but i disliked tenet and Oppenheimer.

[@sole__doubt]

This is by far Nolans best film. Its the only one that isnt loaded with plot holes and inconsistency.

[@roxanne4820]

How convenient, I just finished watching this yesterday. I know Bale has played a lot of well-known roles but he deserves more recognition for just how much of a terrific actor he is.

[@feleepe]

Watch it again and look for the foreshadowing. The second watch is almost as special as the first one. And Bale really is an outstanding actor.

[@Jet-Jots]

I've never clicked on a video so fast. This is one of my top movies for sure, and I always feel bad that I'll never get to watch it with the same innocence I watched it the first time I did. I love introducing this movie to others just to watch the looks on their faces.

[@Jonathan-vk3yv]

I wish I could watch this movie for the first time again...

[@nasrinfarjana4222]

U should do a “coming of age” movie genre,explained (ladybird,16candles,the breakfast club,easy A,clueless,moonlight,boyhood,mid90s,pretty in pink,superbad etc)

[@davincent98]

They've done several videos on the various aspects of that genre

[@JayTechZM]

@@davincent98 I think they already covered it in spaces

[@Chrisko1492]

Jesus Christ, type spaces after your commas!

[@sifatshams1113]

The Prestige and Unbreakable have two of the most underrated twist endings of all time.

[@bencarlson4300]

2 of the most underrated films of the 21st century

[@MsOrangeSoul]

The Prestige is the movie that turned me into a Christian Bale fan.

[@jtheproducer5170]

YEP!

[@TheNurulaulia]

Yes indeed

[@ChinaMo]

@MsOrangeSoul Have you seen American Psycho?? If not, OMG go watch it!!

[@MsOrangeSoul]

@@ChinaMo Haha. Yes I have ❤. I'm trying to watch all his movies but some are tougher to find, doesnt stream anywhere

[@MovieShuvies]

it was ford vs ferrari for me

[@tishell1735]

TLDR: Christopher Nolan movies are about identity crises

[@michaelotis223]

Thank you!

[@EN-Fitz]

"But if you can fool them even for a second, then you can make them wonder" Now it that doesn't sum up the Herculean duty of an artist, author or actor to society, I don't know what does.

[@ImaginaryChannel]

In a way, these movies are also an analogy for making movies. Both Christopher Nolan's The Prestige and Inception do this well, as do Charlie Kaufman's Being John Malkovich and Synecdoche, New York.

[@Sophia.Stark17]

"Are you watching closely?" Man, how I love this film! Btw, go and check out Thom Yorke's end credits song, it is awesome!!

[@jyotektosgaimur]

I love that song, analyse isn't it? Christopher. Nolan and I have similar music tastes, like how he was going to put paranoid Android at the end of Memento and did treefingers instead. I only wish he played Exogenesis by muse in interstellar.

[@tiredgardener]

Watching this just reminded me of how good The Prestige and Momento are. Might have to see if they are on Netflix for some good 2000's nostalgia.

[@louiseparker7712]

The prestige is on Netflix now, just watched it today so thought I would let you know lol

[@thumaido264]

it is like the most twisty and tricky identity crisis of all time

[@konraddygudaj257]

"Magicians create illusions, but they are not immortal."

[@trinaq]

Yep, that quote is the best, and it conveys so much in the theme of the film. 😍🎩

[@konraddygudaj257]

@@trinaq Thank You. 😍

[@leriava]

This is one of my favorite movies and it's so underrated.

[@trinaq]

This film is also noteworthy, in that many of its cast members went on to portray superheroes, or at least feature in a Superhero themed project. You have Wolverine, Batman, Black Widow, Albert Pennyworth, Maya Hansen and even David Bowie himself! 🌟🦸‍♂️🦸🏾‍♀️

[@jamaalmoses8821]

💯

[@MichelleRedSoul]

Maya Hansen was supposed to be the villain originally in Iron Man 3 but they worried that her being a woman would not sell toys. Absurd, I know!

[@surgec]

Two Alfreds... Andy Serkis is playing him in the Pattinson Batman movie 🤯

[@babypuppykitty]

Not to mention the butler from Fran Drescher’s “The Nanny”

[@AndSoWeLaughed]

Why is that noteworthy, sorry?

[@sMASHsound]

a morbid consideration is, that the clones of angier that were drowned, one of them was not the clone. it was set up that, the one that was killed, was always a chance. so, at some point the original lord cawdwall was killed, and the others were the clones, each time not knowing if a new one or the preceding one remained.

[@scottdick296]

Aside from the clone that got shot when Angier tested the machine, EVERY Angier that died was the original. He "disappeared" by falling straight down from the machine into the drowning tank, while a duplicate appeared somewhere else to take over the show. I'm surprised they didn't mention that detail in the video, since it really fits what they were saying about identity.

[@amandamorana4900]

I thought that too. And it ties back to the continuity theory. Because each clone had his conscious. He even says at the end that he doesn't know if he will be the one in the tank or the one who survives.

[@carnivoriousleaf]

Which creates the fun little thought that in a very real way he prepares to kill the extra (thinking himself a murderer preserving his own existence) but the physically continuous magician dies.

[@sMASHsound]

@@scottdick296 it was a chance, sometimes the prestige would be the original, and sometimes it would be the copy. at some point, the actual lord cawdwall had been the tank.

[@jaredpope7305]

Fairly certain the first lord Caldwell died the first time, he took to the stage and did the trick, the disappearing man.

[@leinad9324]

One of your finest, if not the most.

[@robchuk4136]

This video was meant to coincide with Chris Nolan's new movie wasn't it? 😋 Great essay. I really like the philosophy behind "They're all his hats." This really was a darker side to Hugh Jackman audiences had yet seen at the time. Love The Prestige. It's just as much a movie about *obsession* which is another heavy theme across Nolan's work

[@tilaNmanx]

Ok the last chapter about Nolan and his movies is amazing, one of the best takes on him as a storyteller. I understand why some don't like his films and that's very fine, each to their own, but to me they're endlessly fascinating and always feel that there's more to see, more themes and ideas in plain sight than it'd first seem.

[@Thisthat1234]

When it’s all said and done. Nolan will have MULTIPLE cinematic masterpieces under his belt.

[@pauldizzly]

Probably already has

[@jessicastrike5640]

I love all of Nolan’s films but this is his true masterpiece in my opinion

[@WayTooClose]

In Tenet, John David Washington doesn't even have a name. He's "protagonist," because that's his function.

[@hunched_monk3279]

Damn this has to be my favourite The Take episode! It’s got everything: film analysis, theory of identity, the philosophical context, and then how it applies to our real lives. Thank you so good :)

[@ricardonavarroflores6887]

This is a super underrated master piece. I love everything Nolan makes, and can’t wait for TENET

[@originaozz]

Wowwww I've watched many analysis on The Prestige (like too many), but this video is probably the most profound. The take on not having a deep down identity is really new and true to every Nolan's films.

[@brittanyserrano3619]

THE PRESTIGE AND THE TAKE OMG THANK YOUUUUUU.

[@Neomatrixology]

*Wolverine* VS *Batman* origins crossover let's go!

[@alexman378]

Guest starring Alfred, Black Widow, Ulysses Claw and Maya Hansen

[@Neomatrixology]

@@alexman378 Here for it 😂

[@Jose-uv3ii]

I love that this channel has a watchmojo style but a wisecrack depth breakdown

[@nickwinch8027]

Is there any parallel from Bourdain and Angier to Tesla and Edison, like in how one copies a product and doesn’t do it as well but sells it much better?

[@jpricej10]

Great thought!

[@jp3813]

I believe Tesla says that all of the hats are Angier's b/c the machine creates paradoxes, not clones. As in it was actually creating the same original hat. Hence, all the Angiers were the same real person but w/ separate consciousness.

[@Whatsinaname_]

Please, do a video on the white savior trope. Thank you.

[@olly2027]

Yes and how to end it.

[@Hld0487]

This was a masterclass! Perfectly wove in all of Nolan's major films and showed how they all deal with the same thing. This is why your channel has become so popular!

[@maggiemm8867]

That was straight up impressive. And made me think about who I really am and the things I chose to do. Wow!

[@paulkyle]

Wonderful essay. Truly wonderful

[@MsDaydream3r]

VIDEO SUGGESTION: I love your Director videos, but have you ever thought of doing Writer videos? *Possible videos:* You Know it's Stephen King If... You Know it's Charles Dickens If... You Know it's Neil Gaiman If... You Know it's Allen Moore If...

[@trinaq]

Yay, I'd DEFINITELY be interested in a Stephen King analysis video, to get an insight into the themes which permeate through his more noticble works. 📚🖋️

[@UWotM-hy6sb]

Trina Q that’s a great idea

[@christinethuo6840]

And Jane Austen

[@MsDaydream3r]

@@christinethuo6840 I knew I forgot one. 🤔

[@jessedellross3245]

I freaking love this movie!!!! The themes are some of the best and most thought provoking I’ve ever seen in a film.

[@billygowhoop]

One of the most underrated movies of the last 20 years.

[@tilaNmanx]

Didn't expect more Prestige videos to pop up but so glad for this, I love this film so freakin muchhh ❤❤❤ and the Take's analysis is always from such an interesting different viewpoint, aaah this is such a great match!

[@drartemisa21]

I clicked waaaay too fast for this. Another well done video! Thank you, The Take!

[@phoebexxlouise]

I LOVE that you can use all the parts of a Director's filmography in tandem to better get at the centre of their message

[@elinorris1739]

Prestige is SOOO freaking good. Probably my favorite movie it is just so good on so many levels

[@choboutube]

I just rewatched it on a plane. I didn't really get it at the time, but this is definitely up there with the best of Nolan's movies.

[@ghostraven2633]

This makes me want to watch this again. One of my favorite movies ever.

[@devmankar4580]

I never noticed the parallel between the multitude of caged birds vs. the next shot showing the multitude of caged hugh jackman ..So excellent 👌🏻🔥

[@winterrose9441]

WONDERFULL!! Thanks for doing "The Prestige". This is what I love about your channel, guys. You not only make fascinating analyses, but you also read comments and take our suggestions into account. Other channels should take notes!!!

[@bnb7094]

We are a single identity within multiple avatars. We are what we do. We are extensions of the wider universal-body. We are not separate We Are All One. The only difference is some are conscious of reality, some are not, and some are somewhere in-between

[@directiontonarnia]

I'm so so so glad you did this video ❤️ it was splendid. One of the biggest cinematic masterpieces ever !!

[@amirshayanmoghtaderi5840]

Great detailed review; thank you so much. After watching this, I immediately subscribed

[@TazDevil93]

This video was mind changing, thank you. Now I have to watch The Prestige immediately again.

[@ryukisgod2834]

I think it would have been cool if Christian Bale had rescued the drowning Hugh Jackman and they teamed up against the other Hugh Jackman

[@CottonCandySharks]

This was a good analysis! I especially like how you simplified the lesson in the end, so we could see how it applies to our own lives an thought.

[@phillip2169]

Tesla: I'm not helping him like that, but, hmm, I do love a challenge

[@reetikabiswas829]

I just wanted to leave this comment to say how much I love this channel and appreciate the work that you're doing. One of your biggest fans! ♥️

[@neola1712]

Wow you guys have a much different take, I used to think about this film as a metaphor about how we see the reality. But this one is nice too! Appreciate!

[@hypercarcrush4619]

And here I thought that I had understood everything of every C. Nolan movie ever made. Thank you for adding to the pile and making it more complex. Was space-time manipulation not enough for you guys? You had to add identity crises, eh?

[@Crippycooke]

My favourite movie. A masterpiece.

[@rgng]

Bojack's quote adds so much to the video,nice addition

[@reeseslightning11]

I love these video essays! Always so insightful.

[@slayerduval1]

This was very well-written. I do wish you would tone down the chirpiness in your tone, just a bit. But, well-put together and cohesive.

[@nathanielseyoum2289]

The fate of Angier's clones has always terrified me, imagine not existing one moment then without warning you're dragged into existence only to be immediately drowning to death. Without knowing the reason why or even where you are. Nightmare fuel.

[@paulbaumann7191]

I don't think thats how it works. The clone probably has all memories, it's not even sure who is the clone. if Wolverine just gets dublicated there is no real one and clone.

[@feleepe]

The clone is always the prestige. The original one is the one who fell through the trapdoor and died.

[@nathanielseyoum2289]

That's true actually, at the risk of getting too out there though wouldn't that mean the clone would realize he's a clone because he's the one in the tank drowning as opposed to being the one being on stage being the Prestige and getting the love of the audience. That's one the main reasons Angier went after Tesla in the first place because he wanted the glory of being on the stage at the end of the trick.

[@lovepurple83]

But it shouldn't worry you because you'd never do that to yourself. Angier is complacent on being a murderer and destroyer.

[@michaelotis223]

He did it for the looks on their faces!

[@IamBrixTM]

i know I'm spoiling it for myself a bit by watching this before the movie, but man I just realized I get to experience this movie for the first time and I'm hyped. Nolan is brilliant.

[@فهدالعتيبي-ف6م]

This is the best Nolan's video I've ever seen.

[@NightDweller]

The moment you said about deepdown I knew bojack was coming up next. What an excellent video

[@phoebexxlouise]

This movie has great allegories in it for teaching how a film is conceptualised. "The trick you use it for" is more important than whatever the twist may be. Nolan proved this theory with his structure of Memento, which was created to hide the twist.

[@angeljavier7661]

Thank you The Take. I just watch it for the first time and I am shocked! I always loved your Movie Analysis and how concise they are. I love how you explained psychologically, using literature, science and arts. Thank you! More videos to come! :) Hope you consider Writer Analysis too. And Book Analysis :)

[@druwydown9302]

Oh, geez, I had even forgot about my own DVD copy of Nolan's Dunkirk.... Ingenious director, to me, not only in these two that I've just adduced, but overall and or for the most part...too 😎🕶🎓👑

[@blurelic4]

This is my favorite Nolan film, and I honestly believe it is his best film.

[@imasarevans725]

Thank you for doing this video "The Prestige. Please know I am your big fan x

[@onnixcarmichele3911]

You can watch this movie twice in a row, and the second viewing feels like a completely different film with the context of the twist ending.

[@zeblogo]

Remarkable analysis... cheers!

[@PR3Cii3US3]

Great review! I can always count on you ladies😌

[@ilanastrauss7510]

It doesn't have to be this complicated. As far as you're concerned, your identity is internal - your sense of existence, thoughts, memories, etc. As far as everyone else is concerned, your identity is external - your job, personality, appearance, etc. They're just two different things for two different groups. We should really come up with a new word. Youdentity?

[@brantcloyd5485]

This turned from The Prestige breakdown to a Christopher Nolan breakdown. Really awesome. Also like the Bojack reference it immediately came to mind because of the movie's overarching themes.

[@aberrantcow]

My favorite Nolan film 💕

[@shashankvchari900]

Fantastic analyses , heck one of the best analysis ever . You giys are a great channel Atay safe , stay healthy

[@soufian2733]

Am I the only one who saw both twists coming?? The only thing I didn't expect was Borden's clone being his identical twin, I knew his engineer was his doppelganger but I thought it was a random guy (because Angier found his doppelganger quite easily). Angier's trick with his clones was also predictable to me. Still an amazing masterpiece though

[@greatgownsbeautifulgowns]

OK..... time to go watch 'The Prestige' again- because clearly, I didn't have it all figured out like I THOUGHT I did 🤦‍♀️😂

[@theheeze]

So glad to see this take on the movie. I thought this was just my personal interpretation.

[@LauraSomeNumber]

I thought they both used Tesla's machine but that where Borden only used it the one time Angier used it repeatedly.

[@purebasketballproductions]

from my understanding the Christian Bale Twins were brothers from birth. but idk i gotta watch it again

[@icebergslimtv6377]

This is my theory as well because in the beginning of the film there was no need for a brother, he didn’t have the transported man trick in mind yet. So there wouldn’t have been a need to live as a single person with someone else. Once he seen the Chinese magician “sacrifice” by living the act is when the idea came to him and he uses the machine, but like you said “once”. He didn’t have the money to buy the whole machine like Angier did.

[@simrannisha8793]

@@icebergslimtv6377 oh but he did say tht he had a trick the world wasn't prepared for.... nd also he was a through magician...he waited for the right ti me to present his cards

[@MoneyGist]

Christopher Nolan on Identity: "It's not who you are underneath, it's what you do that defines you."

[@ashutoshrai1945]

Just gonna say..the last part is life changing!😀

[@ariyatabassumabdullah1143]

The first time I watched this movie and it ended, I just sat there for a full 10 minutes confused and in awe. Also, David Bowie as Tesla??? Downright genius.

[@icebergslimtv6377]

Borden’s twin may have been a clone because even in the beginning when they were partners(Angier & Borden) there’s no way he knew he needed a double because he didn’t have “The Transported Man” in mind. He was just doing regular tricks in which he didn’t need a double/brother. He realized what the Chinese magician was doing by sacrificing and then the idea was born. I think he used the machine once because he wasn’t wealthy enough to buy the whole machine like Angier(Lord Caldlow) and that’s how Fallon came about.

[@glennmcgrath4803]

He would have then known the trick by the first sight of the machine, also angier ordered the machine after the trick while tesla only made it afterwardsl. I am not sure if I am 100% correct here.

[@apaini9941]

Just finish watched.... Few times already .. So bloody good!

[@vaiapatta8313]

I feel like the "you are what you do" position takes no account of a person's _potential._ Reality is more than a snapshot of reality. Reality is fluid. Your desires and thoughts might not manifest now, but they matter because they can make a difference in the future.

[@eddysandland58]

Christopher & Jonathan Nolan Are Geniuses!!! Brilliant Story Tellers With Words & Visuals!!! Quality Film Also Bowie As Tesla IS Amazing!!!

[@SotoStuff]

This was a really good video!

[@duantorruellas716]

Great editing job on this girl's . Really good writing by nolan. One amazing film , the philosophical concepts these films are based on is what makes me a fan of these thinking man's movies.

[@pazzrihen]

When you mentioned Nolan saying that what you're doing defines you I thought immediately about BoJack and then I remembered you made videos on it so when the clip came up it wasn't surprising.

[@MoneyGist]

1:53 They did the dance! Yaaay!!! 😄😁

[@pdzombie1906]

Great video, girls, but you forgot to mention one of the main inspiration of the characters. According to IMDB: "Chung Ling Soo was a stage character created by William Ellsworth Robinson, a white man who disguised himself as a Chinese man... Robinson lived as Chung, never breaking character while in public. He died in March 1918, when a bullet-catch trick went wrong. "My God, I've been shot" were both his last words and the first English he had spoken on stage in nineteen years." Both men sacrifice their identity for their artistry and rivalry. Not to mention the entire meta aspect of comparing the structure of a magic trick with the structure of a film, in this way Nolan projects himself as a magician, an artist and who he really is: a filmmaker. Thanx, girls. LuvU, bye, bye!!!

[@xzxzojkeymtzxzx7712]

so glad to see Bojack Horseman, cos i was thinking abt it the moment the debate on who we are underneath vs what we do started

[@allymichael337]

I’m not sure how you were able to turn a video about the Prestige into a call out of fake online activism. But you did that thing and I appreciate it. What is this video? It serves the function of a call-out and thus IS a call-out video.