Every great magic trick consists of three parts or acts. The first part is called "The Pledge". The magician shows you something ordinary: a deck of cards, a bird or a man. He shows you this object. Perhaps he asks you to inspect it to see if it is indeed real, unaltered, normal. But of course...it probably isn't. The second act is called "The Turn". The magician takes the ordinary something and makes it do something extraordinary. Now you're looking for the secret... but you won't find it, because of course you're not really looking. You don't really want to know. You want to be fooled. But you wouldn't clap yet. Because making something disappear isn't enough; you have to bring it back. That's why every magic trick has a third act, the hardest part, the part we call "The Prestige".
More from The Prestige
Judge What a way to kill someone.
Cutter They're magicians, your honor. Men who live by dressing up plain and simple truths to shock, to amaze.
Judge Even without an audience?
Cutter There was an audience. You see, this water tank was of particular significance to these two men. Particularly awful significance.
Angier I thought you said I'd have to get my hands dirty.
Cutter Maybe someday you will; I just needed to know that you could.
Olivia Wenscombe He wants me to come work for you and steal your secrets.
Alfred Borden What does he need my secrets for? His trick is top-notch. He vanishes, and then he reappears instantly on the other side of the stage—mute, overweight, and unless I'm mistaken, very drunk. It's astonishing; how does he do it?
The Prestige
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