Passes the Bechdel test

The Prestige

Name: The Prestige
Released: 2006

2006. Directed by Christopher Nolan, written by Jonathan Nolan and Christopher Nolan and Christopher Priest.

The Bechdel test

Bechdel score

3 / 3

Passes

Yes 1. At least two women
10 women characters. 5 of them speak.
Yes 2. Who talk to each other
In 1 scene out of 220.
Yes 3. About something besides a man
In that scene, our script parser found no man named. See the scene.

Second opinion

Disagree bechdeltest.com readers give it 1 out of 3.

The film

Robert Angier lives for the roar of the crowd while Alfred Borden lives for the secret. When a botched stunt leaves Angier widowed, his grief curdles into a toxic fixation on Borden's superior technique. The catalyst of loss drives Angier to hunt the mechanics of a rival's trick, leading him into a collision with experimental science and personal ruin. He pivots toward a ruthless vanity, choosing to hollow out his own identity to achieve a flawless stage presence. The cost of this pursuit is a total disintegration of his moral center, as he trades his humanity for the fleeting ecstasy of outshining his enemy.

Released: 20 Oct 2006
Genres: Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi
Rated: PG-13
IMDb: 8.5 / 10
Metascore: 66 / 100
Awards: Nominated for 2 Oscars. 6 wins & 44 nominations total
Elsewhere: View on IMDb

Starring, by lines spoken

Women
Men
Not in the cast list
Bigger name, more lines

Angier 250 lines, man
Borden 182 lines, man
Cutter 144 lines, man
Olivia 86 lines, woman
Sarah 49 lines, woman
Alley 35 lines, man
Tesla 31 lines, man
Owens 25 lines, man
Root 18 lines, man
Judge 13 lines, man

Full cast, 50 people

Hugh Jackman as Robert Angier
Christian Bale as Alfred Borden
Michael Caine as Cutter
Piper Perabo as Julia McCullough
Rebecca Hall as Sarah
Scarlett Johansson as Olivia Wenscombe
Samantha Mahurin as Jess
David Bowie as Tesla
Andy Serkis as Alley
Daniel Davis as Judge
Jim Piddock as Prosecutor
Christopher Neame as Defender
Mark Ryan as Captain
Roger Rees as Owens
Jamie Harris as Sullen Warder
Monty Stuart as Stagecoach Driver
Ron Perkins as Hotel Manager
Ricky Jay as Milton
J. Paul Moore as Virgil
Anthony De Marco as Boy
Chao Li Chi as Chung Ling Soo
Gregory Humphreys as Policeman
John B. Crye as Voice
William Morgan Sheppard as Merrit
Sean Howse as Man
Julia Sanford as Elegant Lady
Ezra Buzzington as Ticket Hawker
James Lancaster as Moderator
Olivia Merg as Jess (Toddler)
Zoe Merg as Jess (Toddler)
Johnny Liska as Scalper
Russ Fega as Man in Hotel
Kevin Will as Man in Hotel
Edward Hibbert as Ackerman
Christopher Judges as Burly Stagehand
James Otis as Blind Stagehand 1
Sam Menning as Blind Stagehand 2
Brian Tahash as Blind Stagehand 3
Scott Davis as Carriage Driver
Jodi Bianca Wise as Glamorous Assistant
Nikki Glick as Housekeeper
Enn Reitel as Workman 1
Clive Kennedy as Warder
Robert W. Arbogast as Leonard
Chris Cleveland as Will
Rock Anthony as Upscale London Boy (uncredited)
Tim Pilleri as Piano Player 1 (uncredited)
Gary Sievers as Stagehand (uncredited)
Inna Swann as Handkerchief Lady (uncredited)
Federica Mastroianni as Dancer

Who talks, scene by scene

Lines of dialogue in every 5 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 2% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.

Women

Men

Scene 1 Scene 220

Hover, tap or tab to a bar to see those scenes: where they happen and who's talking.

Show the numbers

Scenes	Women's lines	Men's lines
1 to 5	0	3
6 to 10	0	0
11 to 15	0	1
16 to 20	0	44
21 to 25	0	18
26 to 30	7	48
31 to 35	2	13
36 to 40	22	46
41 to 45	0	6
46 to 50	0	36
51 to 55	5	34
56 to 60	0	18
61 to 65	1	27
66 to 70	1	5
71 to 75	8	21
76 to 80	2	18
81 to 85	7	34
86 to 90	5	14
91 to 95	23	42
96 to 100	0	35
101 to 105	0	1
106 to 110	0	8
111 to 115	20	24
116 to 120	14	34
121 to 125	7	10
126 to 130	0	23
131 to 135	10	20
136 to 140	0	4
141 to 145	0	2
146 to 150	2	15
151 to 155	4	2
156 to 160	0	34
161 to 165	9	10
166 to 170	0	13
171 to 175	0	3
176 to 180	0	1
181 to 185	2	40
186 to 190	2	23
191 to 195	0	5
196 to 200	0	9
201 to 205	0	5
206 to 210	0	11
211 to 215	0	5
216 to 220	0	2

The evidence

Straight from the script
Counted from the script and the credits

Tap an exhibit to open it.

Exhibit A: the passing scene

The scene our parser counted as passing, word for word.

OLIVIA: What trick, Freddy? SARAH: Yes, "Freddy". What trick?

Exhibit B: every 100 lines

Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 17 are women's.

153 lines from women, 767 from men.

Women
Men

Exhibit C: who's in it

10 women and 33 men in the cast. 5 women and 24 men from it get lines.

Characters

With lines

Women
Men

Exhibit D: who gets heard

The first woman speaks at line 78 of 938. The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 88 lines.

Every line of dialogue, first to last

First line by a woman
Longest stretch with no woman speaking

Words spoken

Women speak 15% of the words (1,330), men 85% (7,566). Women have 17% of the lines, so their lines run shorter than men's.

Exhibit E: the test the other way

Two named men talk to each other about something besides a woman. It passes the reverse test.

Conversations between two named characters

Two women

Two men

Exhibit F: behind the camera

2 of the 14 people in these jobs are women. Across the whole crew, 24% of the people whose gender is listed are women.

Directed by: Christopher Nolan (man)
Written by: Christopher Nolan (man), Jonathan Nolan (man)
From the novel by: Christopher Priest (man)
Produced by: Emma Thomas (woman), Aaron Ryder (man), Christopher Nolan (man)
Shot by: Wally Pfister (man)
Edited by: Lee Smith (man)
Music by: David Julyan (man)
Production design by: Nathan Crowley (man)
Costumes by: Joan Bergin (woman)
Cast by: John Papsidera (man), Kean Cronin (gender not listed)