In a Victorian London obsessed with science and inventions, spiritualists and illusionists were the equivalent of today's rock stars, captivating thousands every night with life - and death - feats. Christopher Nolan, riding high after the triumph of Batman Begins, builds the mood and mystery for this Oscar-nominated dark tale of obsession.
Alfred Borden (Christian Bale) has a new trick. Behind the Cockney conjuror's unprepossessing style lies a trick so fiendish, so fantastic, that no other magician can unlock its secret. "He's a dreadful magician," says American Robert Angier (Hugh Jackman).
"No. He's a wonderful magician," says Cutter (Michael Caine), the craftsman who once taught them both. "He's a dreadful showman. He doesn't know how to dress it up, how to sell it."
Alfred and Robert start their careers as friends, but love and ambition turn their relationship into an increasingly violent rivalry...
The Prestige is a Film programme that first aired in 2006 and has been classified a 12 certificate.
