Cutter: I came here to beg Lord Caldlow to destroy that machine. I am not going to beg you for anything.
Robert Angier: [has Alfred at gunpoint] What knot did you tie? Alfred Borden: I don't know. Robert Angier: [shoots him]
Sullen Warder: The only way Borden's going to disappear is if I leave him out there with the other inmates.
Olivia Wenscombe: I *have* fallen in love with him, Robert. Robert Angier: Then I know how hard this has been for you.
Olivia Wenscombe: Why would he trust me? Robert Angier: Because you're going to tell him the truth.
We had a certain kind of really big prestige among, I suppose not just intellectual folk, but a sort of nice middle class intelligent folk of a very urban nature.
He who is honest in his dealings simply because of the social prestige and position it secures will never develop his higher nature, but will always live along the lower lines.
The Nobel award occasions a unique celebration of the vision of science by the public at large. The prestige the prize confers today is largely due to the extraordinary diligence of the Nobel committees.
Cutter: 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...
We must conquer life by living it to the full, and then we can go to meet death with a certain prestige.
That someone like Obama could be elected president of the United States - with its unrivaled power and prestige - has begun to restore the country's and the world's faith in America as the land of opportunity.
Fame is part of me and my life as an actor. I enjoy the creative aspects of my life as an actor. I enjoy directing and acting as well. But the bottom line for me is not prestige and power. It's about having an exciting, creative life.
I have to admit that the empty prestige and the stupid glory - yes, the horrible rush, the deadly sense of importance that war brings to life - are hard illusions to shake off. Look at me, a war correspondent.
It is still fashionable to believe that how you organize yourself religiously in this life may matter for eternity. Unless we can erode the prestige of that kind of thinking, we're not going to be able to undermine these divisions in our world.
It is clear from all these data that the interests of teenagers are not focused around studies, and that scholastic achievement is at most of minor importance in giving status or prestige to an adolescent in the eyes of other adolescents.
Nikola Tesla: You're familiar with the phrase "man's reach exceeds his grasp"? It's a lie: man's grasp exceeds his nerve.
Robert Angier: [to Borden] You always were the better magician. We both know that. Whatever your secret was, you have to agree, mine is better.
Robert Angier: What knot did you tie? Alfred Borden: I don't know. Robert Angier: You don't know? [Alfred walks off] Robert Angier: You don't *know*?
Alfred Borden: [realizes Fallon's buried after trading him back] Alive? Robert Angier: How fast can you dig?
Hotel Manager: I thought they might work for the government. Robert Angier: No? Hotel Manager: Worse. They work for Thomas Edison.
Cutter: You settled on a name yet? Robert Angier: Yes, I have. The Great Danton. Cutter: Bit old-fashioned isn't it? Robert Angier: No. It's sophisticated.
