The Prestige marks Christopher Nolan’s first sci-fi venture, and though I hold the director’s bigger productions in high regard, The Prestige‘s particular enchantment makes it stand out in Nolan’s body of work. With an incredibly diverse filmography, Nolan has earned his reputation as one of Hollywood’s greatest filmmakers. The director has demonstrated his ability to turn original ideas into huge cinematic successes, as well as lending a hand in established franchises such as The Dark Knight trilogy. Though some of Christopher Nolan’s movies are thematically linked, he explores a range of genres, and The Prestige delivers a particularly unique experience.

The 2006 thriller is commended for its skillfully constructed narrative that demands your full attention, as well as the extensive number of mind-bending twists in The Prestige. The film follows the rivalry between two magicians in pursuit of the same illusion — The Transported Man. The movie’s stellar cast contributes significantly to its reputation as one of Nolan’s finest works and features names like Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale, Rebecca Hall, and Scarlett Johansson. Nolan is well-adept at executing major twists and The Prestige is certainly no exception, though the film’s sci-fi themes are not revealed until its final moments.

The Prestige Was (Secretly) Christopher Nolan’s First Sci-Fi Movie

The Prestige’s Sci-Fi Elements Are Not Apparent From The Outset

The Prestige is arguably Nolan’s most captivating genre piece. Similar to each Nolan project, The Prestige engages with various philosophical concepts while providing an intricate character study. The movie’s brilliance lies in its deceptive presentation — much like the illusions within the film. The Prestige appears to be a magic-laden mystery, yet at its very core is a fundamentally and meticulously crafted work of science fiction. That being said, these elements are not introduced in full until the film’s final act, or perhaps earlier, when Tesla (David Bowie) is brought into the narrative to build a teleportation device for Angier (Jackman).

Tesla’s role in The Prestige is crucial in shifting the narrative into the realm of science fiction. Tesla’s creation becomes indispensable to The Prestige‘s unpredictable final twist, and the invention is definitively not based on scientific principles of the period — placing it firmly in the sci-fi genre. Although these elements are not immediately clear, some viewers have made a case that The Prestige‘s opening sH๏τ foreshadows these thematic alterations. Be that as it may, the science fiction components only serve to deepen the exploration of obsession and idenтιтy, making it a thoroughly unique entry in Nolan’s work.

The Prestige Was Made On A Much Smaller Budget Than Nolan’s Other Sci-Fi Movies

The Prestige Has The Smallest Budget Out Of All Nolan’s Blockbusters

Typically, Nolan’s films are made on big budgets on a very large scale. With that in mind, The Prestige is remarkably disparate from the rest with an exceptionally modest budget. Released between Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, Nolan’s psychological thriller cost $40 million to produce. This is a notable reduction from the major production budgets of Nolan’s Batman films, which were released amid The Prestige. It was Nolan’s intention, however, to make a conscious effort to strip away the scale. The Prestige made more than twice its budget and has since become a standout among Nolan’s four sci-fi projects.

Although The Prestige wasn’t a major box office hit, it is one that Nolan is happy with nonetheless. Speaking with Empire, Nolan said “we didn’t build any sets, we sH๏τ it all on location. And there are scenes we didn’t even light, and everything’s predominantly sH๏τ with a handheld camera.” Needless to say, the most important aspect of The Prestige is that everyone on set was satisfied with the final result, which the director claimed to be a “delightful” response.

The Prestige Remains One Of The Most Unique Movies In Christopher Nolan’s Filmography

The Prestige Stands The Test Of Time In Nolan’s Sci-Fi Collection

While The Prestige was made on a small budget, the movie still has the aura of a large-scale production thanks to its ambitious concepts and huge twists. Though not uncommon in Nolan’s films, my favorite element of The Prestige is its non-linear narrative, which is cleverly enacted by directly mirroring the structure of the film’s main illusion — the pledge, the turn, and the Prestige. It is the complexity of such ideas that renders the film so ambitious, particularly considering a large proportion of Nolan’s more recent films are known for very large-scale set pieces.

Oppenheimer perhaps acts as the prime example of Nolan’s large-scale productions. The Prestige feels like a far more intimate production, though, that is still able to remain relatively small in terms of scale. While the genre-blending in the feature creates a compelling atmosphere, this is not the only element crucial to its individuality. The Prestige relies on the period in the late 1800s, as well as the practical effects of illusions, over other large-scale set pieces. This has become somewhat of a rarity in Nolan’s recent body of work, especially when placed alongside his three other science fiction films: Inception, Interstellar, and Tenet.

Source: Empire