The movie's 'prestige' is well done. I especially liked the use of the clones as a means, IMO, of demonstrating the price these two men were willing to pay to wow an audience. I haven't seen such effective characterization in a long time in a film.

But the clone is the Prestige and the previous clones are being killed? Because how would a clone know he is the original or the clone assuming he retains all the previous memories. So he's basically sacrificing himself every time?

So Hugh consciously knew he was killing himself then? Since he knew that was the only way to do the trick?

- When "Bale" met his future wife the kid asked "what happened to his brother" or something like that => foreshadows one brother living and the other dieing
-Bale's wife hanging himself - Bale got hanged
-Jackman's wife died drowning and he kept killing himself over and over again in the same way his wife died

Jackman was killing himself over and over again - he had the same thoughts and ideas which is why he assumed he was the "original"... this was easily seen when he was asked what he thought of drowning and Jackman answered "It's like going home" - that's the idea what went through his head; hence the "clones" drowned themselves in the performance to prove they are the greatest (since to them drowning was "peaceful" and beating Bale as the better magician is what they ultimately wanted).

Jackman lost 'cause he tricked himself into killing himself over and over again. And what made Bale ultimately win is that fact that he was "resurrected" from the dead - which ultimately is the greatest magic trick anyone could pull of. The brothers were identical in every way; hence one could even say they are the same person