Binary Opposites and Barthes Film Opening Analysis

I will be analysing the opening to the film 'The Prestige'. I analysed roughly the first five minutes of the film.


Binary Opposites:

• The small room and the large theatre
• The small trick with the bird and the massive, elaborate illusion
• Old and young (people)
• Simple and expensive clothing
• Male and female
• The old-fashioned setting and the "modern, scientific electricity" used in the illusion
• The light room and the darkness backstage
• The small cage and the massive machine
• The bird and the magician (the subject of each trick)
• Simple v elaborate
• Noise v quiet
• Cold v warm colours (water and electricity v lamp light and warm colours in opening room)

Roland Barthes' Five Codes:


ENIGMA CODE:

• What are the top hats on the ground doing there? What is their relevance to the plot?
• "Are you watching closely?" What does this mean?
• Who is the little girl?
• Who is the magician?
• What is the big machine? What does it do?
• What is the relationship between Angier and Borden?
• Did Borden let Angier drown? Did he murder him?
• Was Borden charged for Angier's murder?
• What will happen to the little girl?

ACTION CODE:

• Flattening the cage (killing the bird?)
• Angier taking off jacket - what is he about to do?
• Stepping into electrical field
• Water tank locking - will he get out?
• Borden putting hand against water tank
• Wave between Borden and little girl

SEMIOTIC CODE:

• Top hats connote magic tricks - pulling something out of the hat
• Clothing signifies Victorian era
• Suit - rich, successful
• Dark, gloomy - mysterious
• Electricity/lightning - danger, electrocution
• Warm colours connote comfort, safety
• Wave between Borden and girl suggests that he is her father
• Shackles - he is the one being charged
• Drumming fingers, fidgeting - impatience

CULTURAL CODE:

• Builds on our basic understanding of magic and illusions
• We can link the clothing to the Victorian era
• Court scene - Borden is the one being charged
• People on stage checking the magic apparatus - standard procedure

SYMBOLIC CODE:

• Top hats symbolise the mystery to come
• The small bird represents the victim in the magic trick - the place taken by Angier in his own illusion, where he drowns/begins to drown.
• Little girl represents the audience