Mad Scientists/Mad Magicians

Rating: 7/10 (27 May 2008)

Starting with when the movies first got sound, for several decades there was a genre of semi/horror films that's usually called "The Mad Scientist." Boris Karloff did wonderful work in some, and other actors shone as well.
Basically a scientist in his obsession to learn the secret of life, death, the universe, or whatever and sacrifices his honor, his reputation, his morality, his sanity, not to mention his family, friends, and assorted innocent bystanders while he pursues his obsession.
Well THE PRESTIGE takes this attitude and applies it sort of to magicians. It works, but the story adds more twists, reversals, and ambiguities than were seen in most of those horror movies. Among them being the stunning work of David Bowie as a scientist who is extremely sympathetic and warns of the dangers of obsession.
Anyway it's a well made, well acted film, that if it suits your taste you may want to watch several times to fathom all the twists of character and plot.
Oh, another usual character in those old movies was a sweet, innocent, beautiful young woman. There are a couple of such characters here but they have their twists as well. And near the end of the film, when we're in the underground cellar and the camera pulls back to show all the tanks, I kind of missed that piercing scream of horror that the young female usually gave out at such a moment in the golden oldies.