Robin Hood: Men in Tights

Directed and co-starring Mel Brooks and screenplay by Brooks, Evan Chandler, and J. David Shapiro from a story by Chandler and Shapiro, Robin Hood: Men in Tights is the story of a royal who returns to Britain as he tries to reclaim his land from an evil prince and his sheriff with the aid of villagers. The film is a spoof on many variations of the Robin Hood story as it play into the legend and put a witty spin on it while making fun of other films as the titular character is played by Cary Elwes. Also starring Richard Lewis, Roger Rees, Amy Yasbeck, Isaac Hayes, Tracey Ullman, and introducing Dave Chappelle as Ahchoo. Robin Hood: Men in Tights is a delightful yet flawed film from Mel Brooks.

The film is essentially a spoof on the Robin Hood story as it plays with the origin story but also infuse it with anachronistic humor and other quirks. Yet, it does faithfully follow the original story about a man who loses his family home and land upon his return from the Crusades as an evil prince and sheriff have taken over England where they raise taxes. This would force Robin Hood to gather some local villagers to steal from the rich and give back to the poor as well as lead a revolt against Prince John (Richard Lewis) and the Sheriff of Rottingham (Roger Rees) while winning the heart of the fair Maid Marian (Amy Yasbeck). The film’s script would put in some quirks such as the fact that Robin Hood is a bit smug as he would go into long speeches that gets old very fast while the Sheriff of Rottingham often speaks in spoonerism. Prince John often sports a fake mole unaware that he has one while the character of Friar Tuck is remained as a rabbi (Mel Brooks).

Mel Brooks’ direction is quite straightforward as it play into this world of medieval times where it was shot in various locations and studio lots in Southern California while it also has recurring gags that often breaks down the fourth wall accidentally. While much of the compositions are simple in the way he shoots close-ups and medium shots as it relates to the way he present characters and situations. There are a few wide shots in the film to establish some of the locations as Brooks is more about presenting the humor and do whatever he can to bring laughs. Some of it doesn’t work such as scene rapping merry men as well as other bits relating to 90s culture that ends up being very dated. Still, Brooks does manage to find way to create moments that are still funny as well as put in bits and references from his own films. Even as it help tell the story while doing whatever he can to make it fun. Overall, Brooks makes a enjoyable though flawed film about a man who revolts against an evil prince while trying to woo a maiden wearing a metallic chastity belt.

Cinematographer Michael D. O’Shea does nice work with the film‘s cinematography from the way many of the daytime exteriors are presented as well as some of the nighttime interior scenes. Editor Stephen E. Rivkin does excellent work with the editing with its stylish usage of dissolves for a musical sequence involving Maid Marian as well as some jump-cuts to play into some of the humor. Production designer Roy Forge Smith, with set decorator Ronald R. Reiss and art director Stephen Myles Berger, does fantastic work with the design of the sets from the prison in Jerusalem to what was once the Loxley castle until it was moved because of owed back taxes. Costume designer Dodie Shepard does wonderful work with the costumes from the design of Maid Marian’s chastity underwear belt to the clothes the men wear including the tights.

Visual effects supervisor Mat Beck does OK work with the few visual effects such as a major sequence involving an archery contest. Sound editors Gary S. Gerlich and Gregory M. Gerlich, with Harry E. Snodgrass, do terrific work with the sound in the way some of the sound effects are heard as well as how the arrows sound when they‘re shot into a target. The film’s music by Hummie Mann is superb for its orchestral-based score that is triumphant and playful while the film also feature some original songs written or co-written by Mel Brooks that are funny though the rap song isn‘t very good.

The casting by Lindsay Chag and Bill Shepard is great as it feature some notable small appearances and cameos from Robert Ridgely sort of reprising his hangman role from Blazing Saddles, Dick Van Patton as the abbot, Joe Dimmick as a Clint Eastwood look-alike assassin in Dirty Ezio, Steve Tancora as a champion archer in Filthy Luca, Brian George as a Jerusalem dungeon maitre d’, Avery Schreiber as a tax assessor, Megan Cavanagh as Maid Marian’s lady-in-waiting Broomhilde, and Patrick Stewart in a brief appearance as King Richard. Other noteworthy small roles include Isaac Hayes as Ahchoo’s father Asneeze that Robin meets at the Jerusalem dungeon, Dom DeLuise in a hilarious spoof of Marlon Brando’s Don Corleone character in Don Giovanni, and Mel Brooks as Rabbi Tuckman who joins Robin Hood in dealing with Prince John. Tracey Ullman is fantastic as Latrine as a sorceress/cook for Prince John who is willing to help him but what she wants is the Sheriff of Rottingham. Eric Allan Kramer and Matthew Porretta are terrific in their respective roles as Little John and Will Scarlett O’Hara with the former being a big but dimwitted ally of Robin Hood while the latter is good with knives.

Mark Blankfield is superb as Robin’s blind servant Blinkin who is a comic relief that often is in some sort of mishap due to his blindness. Dave Chappelle is excellent as Ahchoo as Robin’s right-hand man who would say some funny things but also come up with some inspiring plans. Amy Yasbeck is brilliant as Maid Marian as a virginal maiden who is trying to find her true love as well as the one who can get rid of her chastity belt underwear. Richard Lewis is amazing as Prince John as an evil royal who has a hard time trying to rule England as well as do bad things where Lewis is very funny. Roger Rees is hilarious as the Sheriff of Rottingham as a spoonerism-spouting sheriff who says offbeat things and put himself into very hilarious situations. Finally, there’s Cary Elwes in an incredible performance as the titular character as a royal who is eager to reclaim his land and help the poor while being the Robin Hood that can speak with an English accent.

Robin Hood: Men in Tights is a witty though flawed film from Mel Brooks. Despite some dated jokes, the film does offer plenty of laughs thanks to a great cast and some funny gags. In the end, Robin Hood: Men in Tights is a stellar film from Mel Brooks.

Mel Brooks Films: The Producers - (Twelve Chairs) - Blazing Saddles - Young Frankenstein - (Silent Movie) - High Anxiety - (History of the World, Part 1) - Spaceballs - (Life Stinks) - (Dracula: Dead and Loving It)

© thevoid99 2017

Star 80

Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning Village Voice article Death of a Playmate by Teresa Carpenter, Star 80 is about the life and death of Playboy Playmate Dorothy Stratten who was set for stardom until she gains the jealousy of her husband/ manager Paul Snider. Written for the screen and directed by Bob Fosse, the film is a dramatic account into Stratten’s life as well as her tumultuous relationship with Snider as Dorothy Stratten is played by Mariel Hemingway and Eric Roberts in the role of Paul Snider. Also starring Cliff Robertson, Carroll Baker, Roger Rees, and David Clennon. Star 80 is a eerie yet entrancing film from Bob Fosse.

Dorothy Ruth Hoogstraten aka Dorothy Stratten was a young woman who had become the 1980 Playmate of the Year for Playboy magazine as she was due for stardom where she would appear in Peter Bogdanovich’s 1981 film They All Laughed. Instead, her life was cut short tragically at the age of 20 where she was killed by her husband/manager Paul Snider in a fit of rage and jealousy who would later kill himself. The film is about Stratten’s short life from how she was discovered by Snider and to the murder/suicide as it’s told in a unique narrative as it has Snider looking back while the narrative would cut back-and-forth in events during their life as well as various people including Stratten’s mother (Carroll Baker) and Playboy magazine founder Hugh Hefner (Cliff Robertson) being interviewed about Stratten and the events that led to her death. Bob Fosse’s script does take some dramatic liberties due to some legal issues as it relates to the real-life story where he wouldn’t be able to use the real names of Stratten’s family as well as Stratten and Snider’s neighbors at the home they shared in Los Angeles.

Another figure in Stratten’s life that is given liberties is the filmmaker Peter Bogdanovich where he isn’t mentioned in the film due to legal reasons. Instead, Fosse would create a fictionalized version of the character in Aram Nicholas (Roger Rees) who would be the filmmaker that falls for Stratten and offer a life without Snider’s control. The narrative does however create some unique development where Stratten would mature and be surrounded with people who really care about her as well as be aware of her husband’s behavior and plans. Snider’s development is just as interesting as this sleazy yet well-meaning guy who discovers Stratten at a Dairy Queen where he falls for her. Once she goes to Los Angeles and makes some connections, Snider becomes suspicious yet still has ambition. Unfortunately, his ideas for her and what he wants prove to be tasteless and low-class as he loses money and goes insane.

Fosse’s direction is definitely stylish not just in its usage of montages to play into Stratten’s rise as well as the numerous photos she took. It is also in the way he created different array of film styles ranging from the documentary to something more dramatic. Notably as he would maintain different visual styles in the way some of the scenes are presented where the interviews are very straightforward with a few stylish but eerie shots. The dramatic portions including a scenes where Stratten are interviewed do have a flair of style as it play into her rise to stardom. Fosse’s usage of close-ups and medium shots play into the intimacy in not just Stratten’s own observation of the world but also in the evolution of her relationship with Snider where it would eventually become toxic. Fosse would also use close-ups for a lot of the scenes set in Los Angeles with a few shots set in Vancouver as it play into the two different worlds these characters would encounter.

While Fosse would create something that is a play on the idea of fantasy vs. reality as it relates to Snider wants in the former, Fosse would an extra layer of realism for the film’s climax where the home that Stratten and Snider lived is the place where they actually lived in the final days of their lives. All of which plays into the tragedy as well as one man’s determination to keep this beautiful young woman no matter at what cost. Overall, Fosse creates an unsettling yet compelling film about the life and death of Dorothy Stratten.

Cinematographer Sven Nykvist does brilliant work with the film‘s cinematography from the colorful look of the sunny day locations in California as well as some of the lavish approach to lighting for some of the interiors including Stratten‘s photo shoots. Editor Alan Heim does excellent work with the editing as it is very stylish with usage of dissolves, jump-cuts and montages to play into the craziness of the Hollywood life that Stratten would encounter as well as some of the eerie moments involving Snider. Art directors Michael S. Bolton and Jack G. Taylor Jr., with set decorators Anne D. McCulley and Kimberly Richardson, do fantastic work with the look of the Playboy mansion‘s interiors as well as the apartment that Snider has in Vancouver.

Costume designer Albert Wolsky does amazing work with the costumes as it plays into the look of the late 70s where it is all about style as Stratten‘s look represents this air of innocence while Snider‘s choice of clothing fits perfectly with who he is. Sound editor Dan Sable does nice work with the sound to play into the atmosphere of the parties as well as some of the chilling moments at the film‘s climax. The film’s music by Ralph Burns is superb for its mixture of low-key orchestral music with some electronic music to play into the times while the soundtrack that featured music by the Village People, Billy Joel, Rod Stewart, Steppenwolf, Louie Prima, Shirley Goodman and Leonard Lee, and the Band.

The casting by Howard Feuer and Jeremy Ritzer is wonderful as it includes some notable small roles from Keenan Ivory Wayans as a comic, James Luisi as Hefner’s assistant, Stuart Damon as a TV actor that Snider talks to, Tina Willson as a Playboy Playmate, Keith Hefner as a photographer cheated out of a finder’s fee by Snider, Lisa Gordon as Dorothy’s sister Eileen (a fictionalized version of Louise Stratten), Kathryn Witt as Stratten/Snider’s neighbor Robin, Josh Mostel as a private detective Snider hires late in the film, and David Clennon as a neighbor of Stratten/Snider who befriends them only to be wary of Snider’s troubled behavior. As a fictionalized version of filmmaker Peter Bogdanovich in the form of Aram Nicholas, Roger Rees is excellent as this filmmaker who falls for Stratten as well as being nurturing to her growing talents as an actress and being the man who wants to help her. Cliff Robertson is brilliant as Hugh Hefner as the man who founded Playboy as he sees something more in Stratten where he would be a fraternal figure of sorts for her while being very suspicious towards Snider.

Carroll Baker is amazing as Stratten’s mother who is suspicious about what Snider wants to do as she isn’t really charmed by him while she is also aghast in how he stole Stratten from her. Mariel Hemingway is remarkable as Dorothy Stratten as this young and beautiful woman who finds herself becoming a star where Hemingway displays an air of innocence to the character as well as someone who would grow up knowing that something isn’t right about Snider. Finally, there’s Eric Roberts in an incredible performance as Paul Snider as he exudes the sleaziness of the character in the way he looks and acts but also has a charm that is engaging where it would morph into something very dark in its anguish and torment where Roberts really creates something that is very scary to watch.

Star 80 is a marvelous film from Bob Fosse that features great performances fro Eric Roberts and Mariel Hemingway. It’s a film that doesn’t just explore not just some of the darker aspects of obsession but also tragedy in the form of a real life story of the murder suicide of Dorothy Stratten and Paul Snider. In the end, Star 80 is a brilliant film from Bob Fosse.

Bob Fosse Films: Sweet Charity - Cabaret - Liza with a Z - Lenny - All That Jazz - The Auteurs #56: Bob Fosse

© thevoid99 2016

Frida (2002 film)

Based on the biography Frida: A Biography of Frida Kahlo by Hayden Herrera, Frida is a story about life of the surrealist Mexican painter and her relationship with the painter Diego Rivera that would span for many years through ups and downs. Directed by Julie Taymor and screenplay by Clancy Sigal, Diane Lake, Gregory Nava, and Anna Thomas, the film is an unconventional take on Kahlo’s life from the accident she suffered at the 18 that would plague her for the rest of her life to the people she would meet in her lifetime. Playing Kahlo is Salma Hayek while Alfred Molina would play her husband in Diego Rivera. Also starring Geoffrey Rush, Valeria Golino, Ashley Judd, Mia Maestro, Roger Rees, Diego Luna, Edward Norton, and Antonio Banderas. Frida is a lavish yet extraordinary film from Julie Taymor.

The film is an offbeat and surrealistic telling of the life of Frida Kahlo from the year she would be severely injured from a bus accident in 1922 that would plague her for the rest of her life to her final year of her life in 1954. During this time, she would meet the mural artist Diego Rivera whom she would be married to in 1929 and later remarry in 1940 after a one-year divorce where their marriage was a dysfunctional one due to his flings with other women and her bisexuality. It’s a film that plays more into the art of Kahlo and the events of her life that would drive her art as she would be appreciated as well as reviled for her art as well as views on politics due to her affiliation with Marxism as she would meet and have an affair with Leon Trotsky (Geoffrey Rush).

Since Kahlo’s life was never a conventional one, a straight-forward bio-pic on the artist wouldn’t work as there’s so much to cover as the film’s screenplay sort of deviates from that schematics to play into moments of her life and relationship with Rivera. The first act of the story plays into the accident and Kahlo’s meeting with Rivera whom he would take Kahlo as a protégé only to become his new lover and wife in 1929. Yet, their relationship is a complicated one since Kahlo knows that Rivera likes to sleep with other women which Kahlo does begrudgingly accept since she is also promiscuous. Still, it would eventually cause trouble along with their own political affiliation with Marxism is put to the test in the film’s second act when Rivera is asked by Nelson Rockefeller (Edward Norton) to paint a mural at the Rockefeller Center which would get destroyed due to Rivera’s anti-capitalist views. A move that would leave Rivera returning to Mexico with his pride and ego wounded as his actions would cause a schism between him and Kahlo.

Despite all of the trials and tribulations that Kahlo and Rivera has, the latter is still loyal to the former despite his actions as he would support her from afar just as she would gain fame of her own. It plays into what Kahlo wants as an artist but all of the trappings of fame becomes fleeting where she later gets in trouble over her encounters with Trotsky which would prompt Rivera to come back to her life. Especially as her health would decline in the film’s third act where Rivera is willing to do whatever to get her back and be there for her.

Julie Taymor’s direction definitely plays to much of the surrealistic images that Kahlo creates in her paintings where it is filled with a sense of style as well as an extravagance that is off the wall. Especially as Taymor is playing to a sense of style which feels true to the world that Khalo lives in as she would shoot the film on location in Mexico in order to make the country as a character in the film that would influence Kahlo’s own work. Some of the paintings in the film that are Kahlo’s or re-creation of Kahlo’s work help tell the story into the events that would shape her life including own injury and her marriage as it’s expressed through her own art. Most notably the sequence of the bus accident that would be the cause of Kahlo’s life-suffering injury as it’s presented with an air of style from where the camera is at and the impact of its crash where it mirrors the painting that Kahlo would make later on in her life.

The direction also includes some unique elements of surrealism and humor such as a sequences where Kahlo and Rivera would each play into their own vices as well as the former’s interpretation of the latter’s taste for fame which includes a scene where she imagines Rivera as King Kong. Much of the direction includes some unique compositions in the simple and intimate moments where Taymor knows where to frame Kahlo as if she is recreating one of Kahlo’s paintings where its usage of close-ups and medium shots add to that sense of style. Even the use of wide shots in the scenes at Tenochtitlan at the pyramids where Kahlo shows Trotsky the sites as it displays Mexico at its most beautiful. Even in how Kahlo would view the country as her home which is exactly who she is no matter all of the riches and acclaim she would receive everywhere else. Overall, Taymor creates a very majestic and rapturous film about the life of one of the greatest painters in the 20th Century.

Cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto does amazing work with the film‘s dazzling and colorful cinematography for many of the film‘s exterior settings in the day while using some unique dark shadings and lighting schemes for some of the film‘s daytime and nighttime interior scenes. Editor Francoise Bonnot does fantastic work with the editing as it‘s very stylish with its usage of jump-cuts, montages, and dissolves as it plays into the frenetic energy of Kahlo‘s art as well as in some of the dramatic moments in the film. Production designer Felipe Fernandez del Paso, with set decorator Hania Robledo and art director Bernardo Trujillo, does brilliant work with the look of the Kahlo family home where Frida lived with her family as well as the Rivera studio and other places in Mexico as well as the look of the New York City apartment where Rivera and Kahlo lived during Rivera‘s period working for Rockefeller.

Costume designer Julie Weiss does excellent work with the costumes to play into the look of the times as well as the clothes that Rivera wore as well as the dresses and suits that Kahlo would wear. Makeup artist Judy Chin and hairstylist Beatrice De Alba, with prosthetic makeup designer John E. Jackson, do incredible work with the makeup from the look of the unibrow of Kahlo‘s face as well as into the aging makeup of the characters throughout the years. Visual effects supervisors Jeremy Dawson and Dan Schrecker do superb work with the visual effects to play into the surreal look of Kahlo‘s paintings as they would come to life along with some strange sequences including a hospital scene that is full of macabre animation by Stephen and Timothy Quay. Sound designer Blake Leyh does terrific work with the film‘s sound to play into the atmosphere of some of the locations including the very chilling moment in the bus accident scene. The film’s music by Elliot Goldenthal is wonderful for its mixture of lush orchestral music with traditional Mexican music to play into the drama of the film while music supervisors Sarah Botstein and Kathy Nelson bring in a soundtrack filled with jazz and traditional Mexican music of those times.

The film’s marvelous cast includes some notable small appearances from Saffron Burrows as a British woman Kahlo seduces in New York City, Lila Downs as a tango singer at a party, Omar Rodriguez-Lopez as the surrealist Andre Breton, Diego Luna as a schoolmate of the young Kahlo in Alex, Patricia Reyes Spindola as Kahlo’s mother, and Valeria Golino as Rivera’s second wife Lupe Marin whom Kahlo would befriend and paint a portrait of her. Antonio Banderas is terrific in a small role as the artist David Alfaro Siqueiros whom Rivera would argue with over politics while Ashley Judd is wonderful as the Italian photographer/artist Tina Modotti. Roger Rees is superb as Kahlo’s father Guillermo is also an artist as he copes with the injury that his daughter suffered while encouraging her to become an artist. Mia Maestro is excellent as Kahlo’s loyal sister Cristina who would later become Rivera’s assistant as it would later cause trouble.

Edward Norton is fantastic as Nelson Rockefeller who asks Rivera to make a mural at the Rockefeller Center until he sees whom Rivera would put in the mural. Geoffrey Rush is brilliant as Leon Trotsky as the Marxist revolutionary who is granted political asylum in Mexico as he befriends Rivera and Kahlo while having an affair with Kahlo. Alfred Molina is amazing as Diego Rivera as this mural painter who is large both in look and in personality as he’s an artist that is big on ideas while displaying Marxist ideals to help the people yet is a total contradiction since he also likes to party with the rich and famous as Molina showcases a man that is flawed yet full of charm and humility. Finally, there’s Salma Hayek in an incredible performance as the titular character as she displays not just charm but also a person that is willing to make a name for herself on her own terms while displaying a sense of individuality as it’s definitely Hayek at her most lively in terms of humor and drama.

Frida is a phenomenal film from Julie Taymor that features a remarkable performance from Salma Hayek in the titular role. Along with a very strong supporting performance from Alfred Molina as well as a great look and an offbeat yet engaging script. It’s a film that doesn’t just tell the story of a great artist but also a person who deals with all of the trappings of fame as she is willing to not make compromises on who she is or where she came from. In the end, Frida is a dazzling film from Julie Taymor.

Julie Taymor Films: Titus (1999 film) - Across the Universe - The Tempest - The Auteurs #42: Julie Taymor

© thevoid99 2015

The Prestige

Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 10/28/06 w/ Additional Edits.

Following the success of 2005's Batman Begins, Christopher Nolan has proved himself that he can do a big-budget blockbuster while reinventing the Batman film franchise after the campiness it suffered in the mid-90s. While Nolan is considered to be one of the finest directors after his 2000 film Memento and the 2002 remake of Insomnia made him an established director. While he still continues to work on the Batman film series, Nolan decides to go back to smaller territory by going into a film about dueling magicians based on a novel by Christopher Priest entitled The Prestige.

Adapted into a script by Christopher and Jonathan Nolan, The Prestige is about two 19th Century magicians whose friendly rivalry turns deadly when a magician performs the ultimate magic trick that led his friend to try to discover his secrets. Directed by Christopher Nolan, the film is a study of friendship and rivalry while weaving into the world of magic in its good and bad side. Starring recent Nolan regulars Christian Bale and Michael Caine plus Hugh Jackman, Scarlett Johansson, Andy Serkis, Ricky Jay, Rebecca Hall, Piper Perabo, Roger Rees, and music legend David Bowie. The Prestige is an entertaining, thrilling film from Christopher Nolan.

On a trip to the Colorado Springs, an American magician named Robert Angier (Hugh Jackman) takes a trip to try and find a discovery that he hopes would become the greatest magic trick. He hopes to find a man who has done wonders for electricity in the name of Nikola Tesla (David Bowie) only to meet his assistant Alley (Andy Serkis) first. Angier's motives to finding Tesla is far more complex as his story begins. Years ago in London, Angier and a fellow magician named Alfred Borden (Christian Bale) were part of a magic troupe performing tricks with Angier's wife Julia (Piper Perabo) and a veteran magician named Milton (Ricky Jay). The trick often consists of Julia escape a tank full of water by untying herself through a knot. Often assisting and watching things go right is a inventive expert named Cutter (Michael Caine). The trick is a success though Borden wants to push the boundaries of magic as he and Angier watch an old Chinese man (Chao Li Chi) perform a trick where Borden knows the secret behind everything.

When Angier, Julia, Borden, and Milton chose to do the same trick the next night, Borden decides to make things more complicated with tragic results. Angier's friendship with Borden has officially become troubled as Borden goes at alone where he charms a young woman named Sarah (Rebecca Hall). Hoping to make it as a magician, Borden struggles to make his tricks seem beyond the ordinary expectations but one night, in an attempt to do the catching bullet trick, it goes wrong thanks to Angier. Hoping to rebound from his wife's death, Angier with the help of Cutter decides to start his own career as a magician with the name "The Great Danton" given by his wife. Joining along is a new assistant named Olivia Wenscombe (Scarlett Johansson) who helps along being his assistant in the help of performing tricks. During a night to before another of his tricks, Borden comes along, in disguise, and takes revenge. Learning that Borden now has a family with Sarah that includes a little girl named Jessica (Samantha Mahurin), Angier hopes to outperform Borden, who has now made a small sensation with his own trick known as the transporting door.

Trying to figure things out with Olivia thinking that there's a double, Angier decides to do the same trick with the help of a double and more showmanship that Borden seems to lack. Olivia finds one in a drunk who looks exactly like Angier with a beard. Angier's new version of the transporting door trick becomes a total success yet he remains obsessed in how Borden did his trick by having Olivia become a spy to find out how Borden did it. When Olivia is sent, things go wrong as she ends up falling for Borden which makes his relationship with Sarah become complicated. When Borden decides to make things worse for Angier that involved Angier's double, Angier decides to go to Colorado Springs in order, to outdo Borden. What he finds is how Tesla created a machine that would make everything seem magical. With Borden's own world starting to fall apart due to his ability in keeping secrets, Angier finally returns to perform his trick where the rivalry becomes deadly.

Taking the same, non-linear approach of Memento but in a more conventional way, the Nolan brothers take Priest's novel and turn it into a thrilling yet psychological puzzle that dazzles the audience while making them confused. Still, the film plays to the structure in a way that reveals the three-act structure of magic which starts with the pledge, then the turn, and finally, the prestige. The result is a film that reveals its secrets right in the end but leaving the audience to figure out what's going on. The result is a film that plays more in figuring out how two magicians try to outdo one another and how they're willing to do anything at all cost, even to get attention. The film's plot about dueling magicians is simple but when the story develops, it becomes far more complex.

With the script that he co-wrote with his brother Jonathan, Christopher Nolan definitely brings a sense of mystique to the film where it's all told in not one but in two perspectives of its protagonists. Nolan's observant yet mystical direction does play like magic in not wanting to reveal something though he does use tricks where the audience might know about something but does something very unexpected. Overall, Nolan brings a very strong approach to his directing that plays like a magician in the fact that he wants to create an entertaining puzzle that the audience can figure out.

Helping Nolan with his presentation of the late 19th Century is cinematographer Wally Pfister whose photography of intimate, interior settings are wonderful with sepia-like colors and dark tones while the exterior, notably a sequence with light bulbs are amazing to watch. Production designer Nathan Crowley with art director Kevin Kavanaugh do great work in the film's look of the late 19th Century including the areas and most of all, the work of Tesla with help from visual effects supervisor Stephane Ceretti. The costume design of Joan Bergin also excellent in not just the suits for the men as magicians but for the women in their roles. Editor Lee Smith did great work in playing to the film's non-linear structure and dazzling approach for the characters in the perspective cutting. Music composer David Julyan creates an ominous, yet epic-like score that plays to the emotions of the characters and everything to create some suspense for the film with an additional track from Radiohead's Thom Yorke in the film's final credits from his album The Eraser.

The film's cast is superb with small performances from Roger Rees as a man named Owens, who wants to know Borden's secrets plus William Morgan Sheppard as a promoter, Chao Li Chi as the Chinese magician, Samantha Mahurin as Jessica, and noted magician Ricky Jay who also serves as a consultant in magic tricks. In a small yet wonderful role, Piper Perabo is great in her brief appearance as Angier's wife Julia who inspires her husband into taking a name while being a great assistant. Andy Serkis is also great as Tesla's assistant Alley, who brings some humor and morals to a man who is aware of what Angier is seeking. While Scarlett Johansson is fine in her role as Olivia, who is a bit complex in her role as a double, her character in some ways feels unnecessary to the plot since nothing new is brought. Yet, it's confusing to see why she has a top billing when her role isn't that big or that important since she ends up playing a love interest to both Jackman and Bale.

The film's real breakthrough comes in the form of Rebecca Hall as the innocent Sarah who falls for Bale with as she is amazed by his ability to play and be magical while being his biggest supporter. Her character goes through the great development from a loving wife to a woman being kept in the dark as Hall is really amazing in her role. In his first major film role since 1996's Basquiat (1999's Mr. Rice's Secret and the cameo in 2001's Zoolander don't count), the legendary David Bowie makes a grand impression in his small yet memorable role as Nikola Tesla. With his knowledge of science and illusion, Bowie gives Tesla a broad personality whose morals about games and magic is a man who gives warnings while making a machine that reveals to be something more. Bowie's performance is amazing in every way where one hopes he can do more acting roles. Michael Caine is also great as the inventive mentor Cutter with his moral judgement and guidance as a man who enjoys magic but knows when things go to far while he plays a supporter for Angier. Caine is the film's real moral guide and sense of wisdom who knows what good magic can do but goes his way into not exactly revealing its trick.

Hugh Jackman delivers an amazing performance as Robert Angier with his obsessive, determined personality as Jackman delivers all the right notes. Known to people more as Wolverine in the X-Men movies, Jackman gets to be a bit more charming and complex as man who seems to have everything only to have his obsessions become more troubling. Jackman also gets to play in disguises including his role as a drunk double that reveals his humor. It's a great performance from Jackman who also has great chemistry and tension with his co-star Christian Bale. Bale delivers a knockout role as Alfred Borden. Using his charm and wit, Bale's character is truly a multi-dimensional man who can be sweet and charming while being totally driven and arrogant at the same time. Bale proves his worth in this character while also noting that he has become one of the finest actors of his generation.

While The Prestige is a bit flawed in its puzzle-like approach, it's still a fantastic film from Christopher Nolan highlighted by a superb cast led by Christian Bale, Hugh Jackman, Michael Caine, Rebecca Hall, and David Bowie. Fans of Nolan's work will indeed find the director returning to some old-school tricks while conventional audiences will be entertained by its mystical, magical approach. For a movie where Batman battles Wolverine in a game of one-upmanship, The Prestige is the film to see.

Christopher Nolan Films: Following - Memento - Insomnia (2002 film) - Batman Begins - The Dark Knight - Inception - The Dark Knight Rises - Interstellar - Dunkirk - Tenet - Oppenheimer - The Auteurs #13: Christopher Nolan

© thevoid99 2011