What is Nolan's deepest film? (themes & characters)

**RIFA** July 4, 2011, 4:24 pm

Samsara17 wrote:First, I don’t appreciate you making demands, I was trying to have a polite debate with you, there’s no need for that here.

Really? That sensitive over nothing?

it wasn't even a demand... it was more like a way of saying... Wasn't rude or anything lol :roll:

Samsara17 wrote:I never said a novel and a screenplay are the same, I said a screenplay is literature, which it is.

So what that has to do with anything I said? Just because it's a form of literature doesn't mean that the same "laws" are applied in it's case... :neutral:

Samsara17 wrote:I'm not sure what to tell you, I, as well as many people on this forum, are able to see the Prestige as a film rich in many aspects, themes being one of them. I also never said any movie has 10 major themes, so I don’t know why you keep bringing that up to me.

Well you brought up at least 5 or 6 and mentioned "and others" that The Prestige has so... Another thing is the "themes" you brought up exist and are well approached in like tens of movies... Something being common loses it's importance... It's simple math which proves that many of those could barely have the literary status of "theme" in a movie since theme it's something important, the main idea that deals with the whole narrative package.

The Prestige is a rich film in many aspects but barely in themes. That's all I have to say. There are really FEW movies who are rich theme-wise. One of them is 2001: A Space Odyssey. If Prestige is rich then I guess 2001 is Richer than Rockefeller. :lol:

**tykjen** July 4, 2011, 4:54 pm

RIFA just makes himself look more and more "silly" with each posts he makes. Its an achievement.

**Samsara17** July 4, 2011, 7:53 pm

RIFA wrote:Really? That sensitive over nothing? it wasn't even a demand... it was more like a way of saying... Wasn't rude or anything lol

Oh, haha, sorry then. It's hard to tell online, I’m just so utterly fed up with debating with trolls on forums, I just assumed you were going down that route when you said that, but I guess you didn’t mean it in a mean way. Thanks for being polite, I appreciate it.

So what that has to do with anything I said? Just because it's a form of literature doesn't mean that the same "laws" are applied in it's case...

I don't really think there are "laws" in literature, it's really just a matter of expression and interpretation. But my point is, a story is a story no matter how you look at it, if you treat a film as some separate entity from a novel, I (imo) think it creates some bias.

Well you brought up at least 5 or 6 and mentioned "and others" that The Prestige has so... Another thing is the "themes" you brought up exist and are well approached in like tens of movies... Something being common loses it's importance... It's simple math which proves that many of those could barely have the literary status of "theme" in a movie since theme it's something important, the main idea that deals with the whole narrative package.

Well I only mentioned obsession, hate, and loss. I don't think there are five or more main themes in Prestige, I slightly agree with you that there is one primary theme which is obsession, which spans the whole story, but the sub-themes of obsession are so crucial to the story that I consider them equally as important as the primary theme, hence why I consider it a very thematically rich story.

The Prestige is a rich film in many aspects but barely in themes. That's all I have to say. There are really FEW movies who are rich theme-wise. One of them is 2001: A Space Odyssey. If Prestige is rich then I guess 2001 is Richer than Rockefeller.

2001… well, that’s a whole other topic, so I’ll refrain from saying my opinions on that film lol.

**Mr. Caine** July 5, 2011, 5:43 am

Memento

**RIFA** July 5, 2011, 7:25 am

Mr. Caine wrote:Memento

epic post.

**tykjen** July 5, 2011, 7:33 am

Mr. Caine wrote:Memento

Good pick. It sure as hell has an original structure, making the audience know just as little as the protagonist. And that move was all Chris' idea as Jonah was against it to begin with. Memento is very close to The Prestige compared to the jumpy and messy TDK.

**Samsara17** July 5, 2011, 11:44 am

tykjen wrote:
Mr. Caine wrote:Memento

And that move was all Chris' idea as Jonah was against it to begin with.

I wouldn’t say it’s all Chris’s idea, (assuming Wiki is accurate)

Story by: Jonathan Nolan

During the drive, Jonathan pitched the story for the film to his brother, who responded enthusiastically to the idea. After they arrived in Los Angeles, Jonathan left for Washington, D.C., to finish college. Christopher repeatedly asked Jonathan to send him a first draft, and after a few months, Jonathan complied. Two months later, Christopher came up with the idea to tell the film backwards, and began to work on the screenplay. Jonathan wrote the short story simultaneously, and the brothers continued to correspond, sending each other subsequent revisions of their respective works.

So yeah, whether or not Chris or Jonah is more responsible for the final product is debatable, but the only fact is that the idea from Memento definitely originated from Jonah.

**Mason** July 5, 2011, 2:38 pm

I'm going with The Dark Knight.

**Vader182** July 5, 2011, 5:11 pm

The Dark Knight and The Prestige for me, in terms of strictly thematic depth and character, despite neither being my favorite of his.

I'd explain why, but I'd think at this point it'd be obvious and has been discussed to death on here.

-Vader

**steveportee** July 5, 2011, 9:08 pm

The Prestige.

/thread