The Prestige Trivia

1. "Are you watching closely?" Who repeatedly poses this question?

From Quiz "The Prestige" Quotes

Answer: Alfred Borden

This line is the first in the movie. It is uttered by Alfred Borden, who mentions it a few more times throughout the movie as well. He says it when teaching a magic trick to Sarah's nephew. He also will occasionally mention it during a performance.

From Quiz The Prestige

Answer: Christopher Priest

Christopher Priest was an English novelist. His work on the novel earned him the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for best fiction and also the World Fantasy Award for Best Novel. Priest was one of the 20 Granta Best of Young British Novelists in 1983. Meanwhile, Christopher Nolan was the director of this movie. Samuel Mendes (the director of "Cabaret", "Road to Prediction" and "American Beauty") showed interest to adapt the novel for the screen after reading the novel, but Priest turned down the offer. Priest eventually chose Nolan to be the director of the movie because he loved Nolan's works in both "Following" and "Memento".

From Quiz "The Prestige" - A Magical Movie

Answer: The Great D'Anton

Angier (Hugh Jackman) didn't like the name at first, saying it sounded French. After his wife dies in the water tank accident, he adopts The Great D'Anton as his stage-name and won't change it, even after Cutter (Michael Caine) says it sounds old-fashioned. The Professor is the name Borden (Christian Bale) later uses as his stage-name.

From Quiz "The Prestige" Quotes

Answer: Nikola Tesla

Robert Angier goes to Colorado Springs to meet Nikola Tesla. Angier wants Tesla to design a machine that will be able to transport him, making Angier's prestige the best of the best. Tesla begins designing it, but mentions that exact science is not an exact science. As well, he tells Angier that what he is asking for is very expensive.

From Quiz The Prestige

Answer: "What knot did you tie?"

Alfred Borden and Robert Angier were both good friends in the beginning. They both worked for Milton the Magician with his helpers, Julia (Robert's wife) and Cutter. During the performance, both of them would disguise as audiences and they two would be picked as the "volunteers" to go onto the stage. Alfred tied Julia's wrists while Robert tied her legs. After each show, Alfred, Robert, Julia and Cutter would discuss their performance behind the stage. Cutter noticed that Alfred used a different type of knot to tie Julia's wrists so he warned him not to use that knot since Julia might not be able to untie the knot. During the show where the tragedy happened, Alfred was halfway tying Julia's wrists when he changed his mind. He untied it quickly and tied them up again using another type of knot. Then, Julia was lifted up and dropped into a Chinese torture water cell. The curtain was drawn and Cutter began his timing on his stopwatch. It was just a matter of time before he realized that something had gone terribly wrong. He pulled up the curtain to find out Julia was still in the cell, struggling and gasping for air. He used his axe to break the glass but it was too late. Julia died in the performance. The audiences were shocked; while Robert mourned over her death on the stage. Robert suspected Alfred was using a different knot to tie Julia's wrists. During his wife's funeral, he asked Alfred what knot he tied. Alfred said he did not know. There were two possible explanations for his answer which was not revealed in the movie. One was that it was Alfred's twin who was tying up Julia's wrists during the show, so Alfred was telling the truth when Robert asked him that question. Another one was that it was really Alfred who tied the knot, but he was confused at the moment. He was probably thinking about Cutter's word during the show.

From Quiz "The Prestige" - A Magical Movie

Answer: The goldfish bowl trick

The two men go to see an old Chinese man performing this trick where he produces a large goldfish bowl from under his robes, complete with water and fish. Borden reckons that the secret behind this trick is that the old man has misdirected everybody by pretending to be a cripple all his life. That way, he can conceal items under his robes. Angier doesn't think anyone would go to those lengths to protect the secrets of their tricks, but as we find out later, this is the first clue to the secrets of Borden's best-known trick.

From Quiz "The Prestige" Quotes

Answer: Hotel Manager

Two government type men check in to the hotel that Robert Angier is staying at in Colorado Springs. The manager already knows Robert is there for Nikola Tesla, and figures he should warn Robert of their stay. The manager ends up finding out that they work for Thomas Edison, and that they have destroyed Tesla's lab at the top of the mountain. Tesla had to flee with his aide, Alley, but Tesla left him his machine at the hotel. The hotel manager lets Angier know, so Robert takes the machine and leaves Colorado Springs.

From Quiz "The Prestige" Quotes

Answer: Robert Angier

Robert goes to attend one of Alfred Borden's shows. Also known as The Professor, Alfred states that he has a new trick planned. His new trick is his prestige. Two doors appear on opposite sides of the stage. Alfred bounces a red rubber ball from one end of the stage and then goes through the door there. He then reappears opening the second door and catches the rubber ball. The audience, including Angier, are stunned. Angier does not know how he performs his trick, but is astonished at seeing such a feat.

From Quiz The Prestige

Answer: He lost two fingers.

Still grieving over his wife's death, Robert disguised himself in a beard and attended Alfred's performance. Alfred was performing the bullet catch trick for that night. Before Robert fired the gun, he asked Alfred once again what knot did he tie. This was overheard by Fallon who was standing nearby, and he recognized the "volunteer" as Robert. He dived in and pushed Alfred away. The shot hit Alfred's fingers. In order to make their performance more appealing to the audiences, the Borden brothers went to the great extent of cutting off the other twin's fingers.

From Quiz "The Prestige" - A Magical Movie

Answer: A red rubber ball

Borden bounces the ball just before he steps through one door on one side of the stage, then catches it by reappearing through door at the opposite end. Angier cannot work out how he has done this and a big part of the film deals with Angier's quest to find out how it's done and the secrets Borden has been keeping. In Angier's version, he throws a top hat from one side of the stage to the other.

From Quiz "The Prestige" Quotes

Answer: Alfred Borden

Robert follows Fallon and Alfred after one of Alfred's performances. Fallon and Alfred part ways after realizing they are being followed, and Fallon falls into a trap created by Robert and Cutter. Robert then takes Fallon to the graveyard and buries him in the ground alive. Alfred arrives at the graveyard, impressed that Angier finally has the nerve to play dirty. After Alfred knows Fallon is buried, he asks if he is still alive. Robert then asks Alfred "How fast can you dig?" Angier leaves as Alfred desperately tries to dig Fallon out of the ground.

From Quiz "The Prestige" - A Magical Movie

Answer: Gerald Root

Root (also played by Jackman - I presume!) is an out-of-work actor who spends rather too much of his time drinking. He scrubs up well enough to pass for Angier in their Transported Man stage act. Borden manages to exploit Root into thinking he's the lynchpin of the act and so ruins Angier's trick by taking Root's place one night.

From Quiz "The Prestige" Quotes

Answer: Alfred Borden

Soon after Alfred performs The Transported Man, Robert finishes creating his own version of the trick. He has to use a double that Olivia Wenscombe knows. The double, named Root, resembles Robert very much, but has trouble staying sober. Alfred discovers that Robert has to use a double once he finds Root. Olivia is sent by Robert to Alfred to spy on him, and he poses this question to Olivia when she arrives, letting her know that Alfred does indeed know how Angier performs his trick.

From Quiz "The Prestige" Quotes

Answer: Alfred Borden

Alfred's wife Sarah feels that Alfred is being very dishonest with her. Their marriage is struggling, and she asks him for no more secrets. Being the magician that he is, he says this to her. This in turn continues to hurt the relationship between the two.

From Quiz The Prestige

Answer: TESLA

Robert was desperate to know Alfred's secret for his version of The Transported Man, so he sent his assistant, Olivia to work for Alfred to be his spy. Olivia fell in love with Alfred and she double-crossed Angier. Under Alfred's instruction, Olivia took Alfred's diary to Robert. The diary contained all the secrets of Alfred's magic tricks. However, it was an enciphered diary that needed a five-letter word to decode it. Robert and Cutter tricked Fallon into a street where he fell into a big wooden box. Cutter nailed the box. Robert set up a meeting with Alfred, asking him to give him the code in exchange for Fallon, who was actually Alfred's twin brother in disguise. Alfred gave him the code-TESLA. Soon, Robert embarked on his journey to Colorado Springs to meet Nikola Tesla, asking him to build the very same box for him for his magic show, but little did he know that this was actually a trap set up by Alfred. Robert eventually knew about this set up when he read Alfred's diary.

From Quiz "The Prestige" - A Magical Movie

Answer: Colorado

Tesla (David Bowie) has a deal with the town of Colorado Springs that he will supply them all with electricity so that he can use the generators whenever he wants - usually when they're all asleep. Angier finally persuades him to build the machine that will allow him to perform the Transported Man trick.

From Quiz "The Prestige" Quotes

Answer: Sarah

Finally Sarah comes to the realization of what Alfred really does and who he really is. Even though it is not disclosed to anyone, she had Alfred figured out, and can't stand to live the way she is. He cannot change "what he really is", and Sarah is so dismayed that she hangs herself.

From Quiz "The Prestige" Quotes

Answer: Robert Angier

Robert is believed to be dead from drowning, and Alfred is believed to be dead from hanging, being found guilty in the drowning of Robert. In fact, both are still alive, and they confront one another face to face. We see many water tanks with dead bodies of Robert, showing that he replicated himself for the prestige using Tesla's machine instead of continuing using a double, killing the man on stage by drowning him and staying alive as the replicated version of himself from the machine. Robert said this quote talking about having the guts to step into the machine every performance, not realizing if he'd be the man in the box (or tank in this situation), or the man that appears at the conclusion of the prestige.

From Quiz The Prestige

Answer: Alfred's twin brother and Robert

Alfred's twin brother was watching Robert's version of The Transported Man. He volunteered himself to go onto the stage to check the equipment. Then he sneaked backstage, only to find out that Robert was trapped in the Chinese torture water cell. Alfred's twin brother was sentenced to death by the court. Alfred visited him in the jail. His twin brother said he was sorry for everything, including Sarah's death. He said after he died, Alfred would live for both of them. Alfred later showed up and shot Angier. Before he died, Alfred revealed his secret of The Transported Man to Robert. He also confronted Robert with the fact that he had made great sacrifice for his dedication to his art and magic performance. Robert said that he needed great courage to walk onto the stage every night, because he did not know whether he would be the man who would drown to death, or the man who appeared on the balcony as The Prestige.

From Quiz "The Prestige" - A Magical Movie

Answer: "Abracadabra."

At the beginning of the film, we see what we assume to be Borden watching Angier drown. Borden is tried for his murder and is hanged at the end of the film. What we don't find out until the end, though, is that is is neither Angier in the water tank nor Borden who gets hanged! This film is an illusion in itself and I defy anyone to have guessed the complete ending!

From Quiz "The Prestige" Quotes

Answer: Alfred Borden

Robert realizes that Alfred had a twin brother that no one knew anything about. That is how he performed his prestige of The Transported Man. Robert then tells him that Cutter said it was too easy of a trick. Alfred tells Robert that there was nothing easy about it. It was a simple trick, but each brother was only able to live a half life, which was good enough for them.

From Quiz The Prestige

Answer: Prestige

The full quote is "Every great magic trick consists of three parts or acts. The first part is called "The Pledge". The magician shows you something ordinary: a deck of cards, a bird or a man. He shows you this object. Perhaps he asks you to inspect it to see if it is indeed real, unaltered, normal. But of course, it probably isn't. The second act is called "The Turn". The magician takes the ordinary something and makes it do something extraordinary. 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 know. You want to be fooled. But you wouldn't clap yet. Because making something disappear isn't enough; you have to bring it back. That's why every magic trick has a third act, the hardest part, the part we call "The Prestige"." Cutter was Angier's illusion engineer. In the beginning of the movie, he was seen performing a magic trick for a kid, who was later revealed to be Jess, Alfred's daughter. For "The Pledge", he showed the girl a bird. He continued with "The Turn", where he made the bird disappear from the girl's view. Lastly, for "The Prestige", he brought back the bird that had vanished into thin air earlier on. After this scene, we saw that Alfred ended up in a jail. Then, through his diary, the storyline unfolded and eventually this very same scene where Cutter was performing a magic trick to Jess was shown again towards the end of the movie where Alfred was reunited with his daughter.

From Quiz "The Prestige" - A Magical Movie

Answer: A double coming out of the second door

Borden has an identical twin the whole time! His assistant, Fallon, is his twin and Borden admits that they frequently change roles, one playing the magician, one playing the assistant. When one of them has their fingers shot off, the other cuts his own off too, to preserve the illusion. It's only after the film ends that things, like Borden's wife saying she knew he only loved her on certain days, make sense. It was because some days she was with Borden and others, his twin! Angier uses Tesla's machine for his Transported Man act, resulting in a clone being created every time he goes in. Borden is an innocent witness to Angier disposing of one of his clones in his trick. This film certainly had me thinking long after it finished. Feel free to send me any comments about the quiz or the film. Thanks for playing!

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