The defence The Auteur Devotee
“Form is the argument.”
Every composed frame and deliberate cut is evidence that control can be thrilling in its own right.
Back to trending 
The Prestige
Drama · Mystery · Science Fiction · 2006
A mysterious story of two magicians whose intense rivalry leads them on a life-long battle for supremacy -- full of obsession, deceit and jealousy with dangerous and deadly consequences.
Movie details
The Prestige
“Are you watching closely?”
2006 Drama · Mystery · Science Fiction 2h 11m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
8.2 / 10
Community rating
A mysterious story of two magicians whose intense rivalry leads them on a life-long battle for supremacy -- full of obsession, deceit and jealousy with dangerous and deadly consequences.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over The Prestige?
For the defence
The Auteur Devotee
“You watch the director, not the movie.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Popcorn Loyalist
“Big screen, big feelings, no apologies.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
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Crossword Mysteries: Riddle Me Dead
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Elephant Song
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A psychiatrist is drawn into a complex mind game when he questions a disturbed patient about the disappearance of a colleague.
The Book of Henry
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An Inspector Calls
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Agatha
Drama · 1979
England, 1926. An American journalist looks for mystery writer Agatha Christie when she suddenly disappears without explanation, leaving no trace.
Murder in Three Acts
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In Acapulco, Hercule Poirot attends a dinner party in which one of the guests clutches his throat and suddenly dies. The causes seem to be natural until another party with most of the same guests produces another corpse.
The Eternal Daughter
Drama · 2022
An artist and her elderly mother confront long-buried secrets when they return to a former family home, now a hotel haunted by its mysterious past.
The Sense of an Ending
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A man becomes haunted by his past and is presented with a mysterious legacy that causes him to re-think his current situation in life.
Where it lives
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Streaming availability data supplied by JustWatch.
Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Christopher Nolan
Written by
Jonathan Nolan · Christopher Nolan
Hugh Jackman
Robert Angier
Christian Bale
Alfred Borden
Michael Caine
Cutter
Piper Perabo
Julia McCullough
Rebecca Hall
Sarah
Scarlett Johansson
Olivia Wenscombe
Samantha Mahurin
Jess
Court is in session
Put The Prestige on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist
“Technique in search of a pulse.”
Immaculate construction is still construction. The film may be too busy proving its craft to feel alive.