The Prestige

The prestige was directed by Christopher Nolan, it is a film about magicians whose constant attempts to better one another leads to tragic events. The opening scene of the film shows a magician on stage performing a trick that appears to be very advanced. The trick appears to have gone wrong as he ends up drowning in a tank of water whilst another man watches him with a comfortbale looking pose, but does nothing to help. During all of this, narrative is provided by Sir Michael Caine about how magic tricks operate and how they have three different parts, the final being the prestige. Also non-diegetic sound in the form of quiet violins and a drum create music for the actual magic trick and to the audience to build up tension to think whats going to happen next. This opening is very effective as it creates many questions that the auidence will want answering. Also Michael Caine's voice has an excellent sound for creating a mysterious atmosphere that keep the audience in a state of confusion and make them want to watch more of the film to see what happens next!