The Prestige Opening Sequence Review

Notes: 2006
Director - Chris Nolan
Actors - Hugh Jackman, Michael Caine & Christian Bale
Opening Conventions: The titles & institution sequence (Warner Bros) are silent which builds up tension.
A voiceover is used to talk to us about the three stages of magic tricks which allows us to guess what the film is going to be about. It also does not give us much information about what is going on so we are curious.
Narrative Function: Starts in the middle of the film, this then sets it up for the rest of the film so we know what is going on
We are introduced by a voiceover, what the story is going to be about
Characters: The voiceover is Cutter (Michael Caine), we are told he makes the apparatures for illusions. We can see his is passionate about his job as he refuses to disclose information about the illusion which cause death to a man.
Angier (Hugh Jackman) is introduced as he is on stage perfoming a magic trick to people in a theatre. We see him drown in the sequence & then we see the court case about his death which shows he must be important within the film.

Spotlight on Hugh Jackman as he perfomes on stage

Alfie Borden (Christian Bale) is introduced in court as we see he is being blamed for the death of Angier.
Hook Audience/Enigma/Action Codes: Enigma is the most important part of this sequence, we want to ask alot of questions which hooks us in & makes us want to watch the rest of the film. We want to know why the man is in court, who he is & why he killed the magician.
Film Lang - MES, Cinematography (Light & Colour): The setting looks old fashioned because there are alot of dark, dull colours. Also, in court, everyone is dresssed in suits & tophats which also is very old fashioned. The costumes match the setting. There is a spotlight on Hugh Jackman whilst he is on stage to show his importance & that he must be a main charachter. Flashes of light focus on a strange man under the stage which makes us think something mysterious is going on.
Film Lang - Movement, Framing, Editing & Sound: There is a fade in from the titles to the film.

During the magic trick, eerie music is played which builds intensity. It then goes silent when Hugh Jackman goes through a trap door & then eerie music is played again as he drowns in the tank. There is alot of cutting & intercutting withing scenes. The camera is also hand help which makes it seem like we are following Christian Bale around.