Asking for thoughts and theories on 'the prestige'

Just wanted to get some opinions on a movie I just watched called the prestige starring Christian Bale and Hugh jackman.
Firstly have to say thought was an excellent movie made by Christopher Nolan and top notch acting especially Christian Bale.
Also as a bonus Includes a historical character which you may have heard of by the name of Nicola tesla.
If you haven't watched it I urge you to do so.. and stop reading now.. major spoilers ahead.

Right down to the reason for the thread..what an excellent twist at the end.. didn't see that coming.
My question is this.. were bales characters twins or a clone of bale himself from the previous meeting with tesla?
Did the machine actually work or was it part of a more elaborate illusion?

I'm thinking twins because both jackman and bales characters would have figured out the other magicians trick.. and I'm inclined to think jackmans machine didn't work and there were doubles used in the tank..
I know you see bodies in the tanks at the end but only one is clear to look like jackman.
Also he shot a clone but that was during a flashback of bale reading jackmans diary, so could have been a lie.. as he wrote that knowing bale would be reading it.

Definitely 5 stars from me and a movie i will be watching again at first opportunity. .
So ats what are your thoughts regarding the plot twists?

Also just to add, the pile of hats and the cat in teslas yard could have been planted by tesla to secure more funding, and could have burnt his lab blaming eddisons men knowing the game was up for him..

a reply to: Misterlondon

I've watched this movie, It's very well written and played. Highly recommended indeed.

I particularily liked it when they showed Teslas 'back yard'. The idea of teleportation, is most interesting.

originally posted by: LuXTeN
a reply to: Misterlondon

I've watched this movie, It's very well written and played. Highly recommended indeed.

I particularily liked it when they showed Teslas 'back yard'. The idea of teleportation, is most interesting.

And tesla was played by the late great david bowie as an added bonus..

a reply to: Misterlondon

Yes that's right!

I hadn't considered Tesla planting the hats behind his house though, that is but one more possibility worth entertaining.

add: The duplication machine I found incredibly interesting as well, it added much to the story's twists and turns keeping the viewer guessing.

The machine worked and bale was calm enough to figure out what happened. He was Duplicated.

Hot headed Jackson was not able to process having another him because of ego.

Jackmans ego is why he was as never as great as bale.

originally posted by: TheAlleghenyGentleman
The machine worked and bale was calm enough to figure out what happened. He was Duplicated.

Hot headed Jackson was not able to process having another him because of ego.

Jackmans ego is why he was as never as great as bale.

But why would he go below the stage to find our how the trick worked?
Or maybe his clone hadn't known this as it was the twin/clone that went below the stage..
Bale did tell the other bale to leave it before he went under the stage.. A possibility.

But wouldn't it have been jackman that died every time? Or did the machine work on the basis it teleported the original and left a clone in place.. but then wouldn't the original jackman have been shot by his own clone after the first test..

What an excellent bit of writing.. The film has so may possibilities...

Sarah had figured it out before committing suicide, that is what she wanted to tell Olivia (Scarlett Johanson)

a reply to: Misterlondon

Bale never used the duplication on stage. Bale used it once and was done.

It is just that, a duplication machine. It doesn't really matter who the original man was because at the exact moment of duplication there is now two. One perfect copy.

Jackman however used the machine on stage and that is why bale went downstairs. He knew what was happening but didn't want to believe it. He was night after night for the show murdering himself.

Btw. Great movie!!!

originally posted by: TheAlleghenyGentleman
a reply to: Misterlondon

Bale never used the duplication on stage. Bale used it once and was done.

It is just that, a duplication machine. It doesn't really matter who the original man was because at the exact moment of duplication there is now two. One perfect copy.

Jackman however used the machine on stage and that is why bale went downstairs. He knew what was happening but didn't want to believe it. He was night after night for the show murdering himself.

Btw. Great movie!!!

But why didn't jackman realise this until the last sequence.. when he exclaimed they were twins.. and why hadn't bale admitted it being a clone if jackman was going to die anyway..
That would explain the lack of emotion though when his 'twin' brother was hung..
Yes it's certainly a real possibility but there seem to be a few holes in that theory for me.. but I could be wrong, it's why I'm asking for other opinions. .

a reply to: Misterlondon

Jackman hadn't thought of using his twin advantageously. Jackman hadn't thought of the long game like bale. He was two egotistical and shortsighted to realize he could work the trick with his twin. That would require everything bale went through to hide the identity of his duplicated self. What bale did was the peak of keeping a magic trick a secret.

I believe Bale felt like he should die knowing two things. There can't be two of him forever and he felt responsible for the death of his wife and mother of his child.

Bale would never give up a secret, even facing death. A true artist.

originally posted by: TheAlleghenyGentleman
a reply to: Misterlondon

Jackman hadn't thought of using his twin advantageously. Jackman hadn't thought of the long game like bale. He was two egotistical and shortsighted to realize he could work the trick with his twin. That would require everything bale went through to hide the identity of his duplicated self. What bale did was the peak of keeping a magic trick a secret.

I believe Bale felt like he should die knowing two things. There can't be two of him forever and he felt responsible for the death of his wife and mother of his child.

Bale would never give up a secret, even facing death. A true artist.

Well put.. bravo

What I meant about the jackman comment was that jackman didn't seem to know bale had a clone/twin until he was shot by bale at the end.
Surely if he knew bale was using a clone he would have known bales sidekick (alter ego) was actually bale before he was killed.. if you get what I mean..

a reply to: Misterlondon

"What I meant about the jackman comment was that jackman didn't seem to know bale had a clone/twin until he was shot by bale at the end.
Surely if he knew bale was using a clone he would have known bales sidekick (alter ego) was actually bale before he was killed.. if you get what I mean.."

I think jackman couldn't wrap his mind around keeping his duplicated self alive. I believe He thought he must also be disposing the duplicates like he did. The pain that both magicians experienced was as different as the magicians themselves. Jackson could not see that.

Jackman was not able to curb his hubris.

Bale never was with tesla what you guys are saying? Bale made a fake diary and send the other guy to travel half the world for nothing, tesla was broke and played along so he could get funded, at the end he made the duplication machine for wolverine.

Bale was twins all along, their sacrifice is what made their trick awesome like the Chinese guy that always carried the bowl.

a reply to: Indigent

Well sh#t. There goes my theories......
crap

That's why he never knew what knot he tied! Ahhh gotcha

originally posted by: Indigent
Bale never was with tesla what you guys are saying? Bale made a fake diary and send the other guy to travel half the world for nothing, tesla was broke and played along so he could get funded, at the end he made the duplication machine for wolverine.

Bale was twins all along, their sacrifice is what made their trick awesome like the Chinese guy that always carried the bowl.

But bale at the tesla show in london along with jackman and stayed seated whilst everyone else left the room..
I did think that about the diary but wouldn't it have been a bit of a coincidence that tesla could actually build this machine.
I agree in leaning toward bale being a twin and agree tesla took jackman for a ride as he was broke.. its just did the machine actually work.. or was it jackman performing an elaborate trick with a double..

Bear in mind the flashbacks were bale reading through a copy of jackmans diary that was written specifically for him to read as bale had done previously to jackman..

a reply to: Misterlondon

The machine work, bale was brothers that for some reason each played the magician half the time, even with their wives, that's why he acted bipolar, one twin loved the wife and the other was miserable with her.

Bale knew Jackman wanted his secret so he fake the diary and use Tesla, Tesla used Jackman for money and promised a teleporting machine, he failed but made a dupe machine instead.

When Jackman returned with his new trick Bale could not understand how he do it with out a twin, one of the twins went insane trying to figure it out and felt for Jackman trap, people thought Bale killed Jackman and while in Jail waiting to be executed Jackman gave the diary explaining how he trapped Bale, Jackman never knew how Bale did the trick and the jailed twin told the free twin how Jackman set him up, free Bale went and killed the last Jackman while Jailed twin was executed.

a reply to: Indigent

So you saying that Bale sent Jackman on a wild goose chase with his book that described Tesla making a duplicating machine, which was true? How would Bale have known Tesla could do that? If he didn't, then that would make him a prophet. I believe that Bale went to Tesla and made one duplicate, because there is no way he could have just guessed that he could do that.

a reply to: 3daysgone

Bale dint knew, Tesla just did, Bale never believe in magic esoteric stuff because he knew how the trick was done, twins dedicating their entire life to this one trick.

Jackson believed in tesla "magic", he went to him and paid all Tesla asked, Tesla needed the money but the teleportation machine never worked, in the end it made the dupes.

Jackson returned to made a limited run of the new trick to bail Bale into a trap, it was limited because he could not storage more tanks full of corpses, that's why all workers of the new function were blind, so they could not see what was inside the tanks.

Bale had no idea how Jackson was doing his trick, one twin wanted to know and the other want it to let it go, if he was duped himself why he dint knew how Jackman was doing it?

a reply to: Indigent

Why didn't he do the trick in the beginning then? I do not believe that he wrote Tesla could make a machine like that out of just trying to get Jackman out of the picture. That was not a coincidence. It would have been way to much of a coincident that would turn out to be true. Tesla did help Bale make a duplicate machine. Bale just never tried to kill his duplicate the way Jackman did. He didn't know that Tesla made another machine for Jackman. He didn't know that Jackman could crack the code in his book.