Corrected entry: When Angier and Cutter show the machine to Ackerman in the abandoned theater, it is shown that, after Angier enters the machine, he completely disappears. No duplicate is left behind. Since it is not a completed scenario, there is no trap door for a duplicate to fall in. He is seen disappearing, leaving none behind, and appearing at the other side of the theater to Ackerman's surprise. However, at the end of the movie it is revealed that this machine never disappeared anybody, it just created duplicates at a certain distance. So why didn't a duplicate remain in the machine when they showed it to Ackerman? And if the reason is that they could fix it, so a duplicate wouldn't remain, then why would they still create duplicates for the rest of the film? This little scene breaks all the logic of the film. (01:37:10)
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Correction: It would not be unusual for magicians to ask theater owners for time to setup their trick beforehand so they don't give away their secrets. It's likely they had a previous off screen meeting with Ackerman where they set up the meeting we see and the trick is shown to him.
ctown28 ★
This entry shouldn't be corrected it is 100% valid. Very good observation. I was going to write the same thing before I saw this entry. Ctown28 corrections doesn't even fit to the entry.
Goekhan
I respectfully disagree. Great observation, yes, but this entry is absolutely correctable. When we see Angier perform the trick for Ackerman, it is at a rehearsal facility (Cutter makes note of it). The trick is completely set up before either Cutter or Ackerman arrive (keep in mind, Angier wanted Cutter up front, not backstage for this trick). The trick is set up and performed in full: trap door, with the tank underneath, Angier duplicates himself with one version drowning in the tank, and the other appearing as the prestige. The trap door IS there, the duplicate IS made (and killed), but we cannot see either in this scene. We are left to be just as bewildered as Mr. Ackerman, with the true nature of the trick to be revealed to us later.
jshy7979
Rewatch the scene. It is clear that there is no trapdoor, and no duplicate is left behind. The FX guys should've applied more light if we're supposed to believe that Angier falls through a trapdoor and we just couldn't see it. But it is shown that no duplicate falls through any trapdoor. This is never acknowledged.