8.4 | / 10 |
Users | 4.5 | |
Reviewer | 4.5 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
In Victorian London at the turn of the century, where magicians are idols, two young but very different magicians set out to carve their own paths to fame. Robert Angier is a consummate entertainer — flashy, sophisticated and a true showman — while Alfred Borden is a rough-edged creative purist who lacks the panache to showcase his tricks. As friends and partners they provide the perfect combination but when one of their tricks goes terribly wrong, friends become enemies and an escalating battle of one-upmanship begins, with ever increasing peril to those around them.
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Piper Perabo, Rebecca HallThriller | 100% |
Period | 71% |
Sci-Fi | 70% |
Drama | 58% |
Mystery | 54% |
Psychological thriller | 40% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: LPCM 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
French: Dolby Digital 5.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
English SDH, French, Spanish
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 5.0 | |
Video | 5.0 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 3.5 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
When Christopher Nolan made his debut into American cinemas with Memento, film-lovers witnessed the first rumblings of a creative genius who brought innovation and artistic flair to theaters with his unique visual and narrative style. Since that time, I’ve eagerly awaited each of his subsequent films with the hope that his unique cinematic style would continue to develop. I haven’t been disappointed. In 2005, Mr. Nolan directed what many fans believe to be, arguably, the best of the Batman films, finding both critical and box-office success. As a surprise to those expecting a sequel to Batman Begins, Mr. Nolan has instead produced a subtly staggering film about personal and professional rivalry between two magicians. The Prestige finds Mr. Nolan again in top form and re-teaming with his Batman Begins star, Christian Bale.
Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman star as rival magicians who spend years seeking revenge upon each other
The Prestige represents one of Disney's first forays into using the AVC compression codec and has one of the finest High Definition pictures I have yet seen in the home theater environment. After viewing this Blu-ray on several occasions, I have yet to find a single defect in the presentation. This transfer is absolutely flawless. Shadow detail is amazing in this very dark film and black levels are rock solid throughout. Color levels are outstanding with extremely lifelike fleshtones and the occasional splash of nicely saturated colors. As an example, there is a scene where Angier (Hugh Jackman) is taken by Tesla's assistant to a foggy field that is suddenly illuminated by thousands of arc-lamps. This one scene presents several difficult hurdles for this transfer to overcome. Artifacts in the dark shadow details surrounding the fog and halos around the arc-lamps against their dark backdrop are just a few problems that are all too common in scenes of this kind. Of course, this AVC encoded transfer handles all of these issues flawlessly. This exceptional encoding of a very tricky scene allows the viewer to remain connected to the film rather than being distracted by picture anomalies. It is worth noting that the cinematographer for The Prestige, Wally Pfister, was nominated for an Academy Award this year for his work on this film. His fantastic work has been beautifully reproduced for this Blu-ray release and is the very definition of reference quality.
PCM audio is, again, the flavor of choice on this release. While The Prestige is not a very flashy movie from a sound perspective, it has a several very exciting moments that make this surround presentation leap to life. The majority of the film, however, is mostly atmospheric with a wide open sound stage and extremely effective use of ambient and rear fill elements. Whenever a Tesla coil is fired up on screen, on the other hand, you'd better hold onto something or the sound effects might just rocket you right out of your chair. To say that these effects are loud, violent and jarring is an understatement. During several of these sequences, my subwoofer moved about 3 inches to the right of its original position. So, The Prestige comes with a word of warning: be careful not to crank the volume up too high during the heavy dialogue sequences, or you might find yourself partially deafened when the louder sequences come on quickly.
Here's what's included:
-"The Director's Notebook: The Cinematic Sleight of Hand of Christopher Nolan"
-"Conjuring the Past"
-"The Visual Maze"
-"Metaphors of Deception"
-"Tesla: The Man Who Invented the Twentieth Century"
-"Resonances"
-"The Art of the Prestige"
Continuing the trend of adding more and more special features to their Blu-Ray releases, Disney has delivered a nice collection with The Prestige. "The Director's Notebook" is the longer and more formal documentary included here that features all of the above listed features with exception to "The Art of the Prestige". Each of these chapters focuses primarily on a particular segment of the production with a special emphasis on Mr. Nolan's contributions and techniques as well as opinions on how each element should be presented. It really is an exceptional documentary and manages to give the viewer quite a bit of insight into Mr. Nolan's filming techniques and his creative process. The Tesla feature goes into a great deal of depth regarding his inventions and numerous contributions to modern day living and society. If you find the character interesting, I highly recommend this feature as a good starting point to learn more about the real man behind the character. Nikola Tesla is far more interesting in reality than in the scope of this film.
The Prestige is another brilliant release from Disney. The video presentation is truly extraordinary and represents one of the most film-like transfers of any High Definition release I've yet seen. The audio side is also extremely well represented with another 24-bit PCM track. Disney continues to lead the pack with the quality of their consumer Blu-ray releases. Their commitment to excellence is admirable, and The Prestige is another impeccable film in their high-def catalog. The Prestige is well-deserving of your time and attention.
2007
2017
2015
1995
Limited Edition / Reprint
1997
2011
2011
2006
10th Anniversary Edition
2010
Re-Release
2006
2007
2016
Selfless
2015
2010
2009
Unrated Extended Cut
2011
The Final Cut
1982
2011
2009
2005