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In the movie "The Prestige", after each "Real Transported Man" magic show, Angier doesn't dispose of his dead clones but just keeps them (along with the water tank).

Does he think they are proof of the sacrifices he has made and doesn't want to get rid of them? It would be risky if someone finds out too, right? So he must have had a strong reason to not dispose of them.

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  • On the other hand, isn't there a risk if he starts filling a mass grave somewhere?
    – Jack B Nimble
    Commented Sep 30, 2012 at 18:29
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    I thought he could burn down the dead clone after each show instead of storing them as it doesn't make any sense because if someone found them, it might spoil Angier's entire plan.
    – Mani
    Commented Oct 1, 2012 at 7:15
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    @Mani - I agree - but he has to do this personally, so perhaps he is putting this off to a later date. Its one thing to ask a blind person to help transport a heavy box and store it in the depths of an old Theatre - its another to ask them to empty it out and dispose of the body contained. It is a huge hole - how does he propose to dispose of up to 100 bodies without being found out? Perhaps he's just planning to burn the old Theatre down at the end.
    – iandotkelly ♦
    Commented Oct 1, 2012 at 22:55

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Angier moves the bodies to the old abandoned Theatre that he rehearsed the show in, to clear them out of the Theatre he was performing in, and does this nightly after the show. The blind stage-hands will assist with this process, as they have no idea that they are transporting bodies in the tanks.

There is no indication from the movie that he had any particular plans to dispose of the bodies properly once the run of performances was over, but also no indication to the contrary. Perhaps he intended to deal with this personally once everything was over - he could rely on no-one else to do this for him, and it is a final affirmation that he 'got his hands dirty' to be a great magician. Perhaps he even planned all along to burn the old theatre down, though clearly not in the circumstances that occur at the end of the movie.

As someone who meticulously planned this final act, to crown his achievement as the greater magician, and frame Borden for his murder, it does seem strange that he did not dispose of the body each day - as it was clearly a risky plan to store the bodies for some period - but it is not inconceivable that he planned to get rid of them eventually.

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  • It wouldn't be unreasonable to believe that he had some lingering attachment to his own corpses, either, and found himself reluctant to act or initiate effectively his own funeral(s).
    – user99478
    Commented Sep 5 at 8:56

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