Analysis Of Christopher Nolan's The Prestige

Christopher Edward Nolan is an English film director, screenwriter, and producer. He is one of the highest-grossing directors in history, and among the most acclaimed and influential filmmakers of the 21st century. The acclaim garnered by his independent films gave Nolan the opportunity to make the mystery drama, The Prestige (2006). He found further popularity and critical success with The Dark Knight Trilogy (2005–2012) and Inception (2010). His ten films have grossed over 4.7 billion U.S. dollars worldwide and was awarded a total of 34 Oscar nominations and ten wins. Nolan has also co-written several of his films with his brother, Jonathan, and runs the production company Syncopy Inc. with his wife, Emma Thomas.

Christopher Nolan is regarded as an auteur filmmaker, which means he has his hand in just about every aspect of the movie making process. Three key aspects of Nolan’s style are the character’s perspective, lighting, and non-linear storytelling. Not only does Nolan’s style appear in his movies, but his inspiration and the influence from other movies such as the original Blade Runner.

In 1979, director Ridley Scott had just

He makes extensive use of flashbacks and flashforwards to add additional depth and explanation. In The Prestige, the film is divided into two stories that are from the perspectives of two different characters, and as events in one story unfold, they add clarity to events that occur in the other. In Batman Begins, Nolan uses flashbacks heavily in the exposition to bring the audience up to speed about what we are watching. Nearly all of Nolan’s films have an opening scene that is not in chronological order with the rest of the film. For example, in the beginning of Inception the main character is seen waking up on a beach, taken by what appears to be soldiers, and brought to an elderly man in a palace, which is actually one of the final scenes in the