Synopsis

In Victorian London, rival stage magicians Robert Angier and Alfred Borden turn a professional competition into a consuming personal war. Their escalating attempts to outdo one another lead to sabotage, betrayal, and deadly consequences. As each pursues the secret behind the other's greatest illusion, ambition and obsession blur the line between sacrifice, identity, and reality.

Factoids & Trivia

• The film is based on Christopher Priest's 1995 novel of the same name. The adaptation removes the novel's spiritualism subplot and replaces its modern-day framing device with a structure centered on Borden's imprisonment.

• Priest received several proposals to adapt the novel. He ultimately favored the Newmarket Films project after being introduced to Christopher Nolan's early work, including the film "Following."

• The final shooting draft was completed on January 13, 2006, only three days before production began. Principal photography ran from January 16 to April 9, 2006.

• David Bowie plays Nikola Tesla, whose real experiments with electricity inspired the film's scientific imagery. The casting was pursued because Bowie's unusual public persona suited Tesla's otherworldly reputation.

• The screenplay was ranked No. 82 on the Writers Guild of America's 101 Greatest Screenplays of the 21st Century list.

• The film's structure reflects the traditional three stages of a magic trick: the pledge, the turn, and the prestige. This organization also mirrors the characters' increasingly elaborate attempts to conceal how their illusions work.