Nolan's Best Film?

The 2006 film about rival magicians desperately trying to learn the secrets of each others tricks.
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Dunkirk is my favorite, but I might be biased since I rewatched it a couple of weeks ago. Interstellar was always my favorite before that. I really want to do a rewatch of Inception, but I'm trying to wait until closer to Tenet's release, which means I could end up waiting awhile! I've rewatched Interstellar, Dunkirk, and The Prestige in the last few months in preparation for Tenet.

:gonf:

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Inception turned my whole movie world upside down and until today I still consider it as a definition what filmcraft should be about. The Dark Knight and The Prestige coming close, but I have a feeling Tenet might shake things up a bit :)

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Hm, I was just wondering... is The Prestige a steampunk sci-fi?

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I ranked The Prestige pretty low in my Nolan ranking. The ending is just trash IMO. Everything from start to end is proper magic until David Bowie invented a impossible machine. Hugh Jackman's character was also much more likeable than Christian Bale's. He lost the battle while Bale's only lost half. Bale's character also started the feud first by accidentally murdering his wife.

The only disclaimier is I watched The Dark Knight and Inception before I watched Prestige. So the expectations maybe too high on my side. Incepton to me is honestly one of the best movies ever made in film history. Nolan could have made Inception a franchise by itself and make hundreds of million dollars easily but he choose not to because he wants to push the boundary of movie making with other ideas. Dark Knight is almost as good but I ranked it lower because of some questionable casting choice like Maggie Gyllenhall. Inception had the perfect ensemble cast.

It seems like in the internet world, Prestige is insanely popular because of the twist in the end. But it honestly aint that great of a movie, and most people in real life would agree with me. I saw the twist coming when Rebecca Hall and Johansson asked if he loved him 'today'. The cinematography is insanely good considering the budget is only 40 million. I would give half the credit to Wally Pfister though. And Michael Caine's and Hugh Jackman's performance are also brillant.

I still prefer it over Dunkirk, which I consider the worse Nolan's movie in terms of storytelling and entertainment.

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dragon_phoenix wrote:
June 7th, 2020, 8:34 pm
I ranked The Prestige pretty low in my Nolan ranking. The ending is just trash IMO. Everything from start to end is proper magic until David Bowie invented a impossible machine. Hugh Jackman's character was also much more likeable than Christian Bale's. He lost the battle while Bale's only lost half. Bale's character also started the feud first by accidentally murdering his wife.

The only disclaimier is I watched The Dark Knight and Inception before I watched Prestige. So the expectations maybe too high on my side. Incepton to me is honestly one of the best movies ever made in film history. Nolan could have made Inception a franchise by itself and make hundreds of million dollars easily but he choose not to because he wants to push the boundary of movie making with other ideas. Dark Knight is almost as good but I ranked it lower because of some questionable casting choice like Maggie Gyllenhall. Inception had the perfect ensemble cast.

It seems like in the internet world, Prestige is insanely popular because of the twist in the end. But it honestly aint that great of a movie, and most people in real life would agree with me. I saw the twist coming when Rebecca Hall and Johansson asked if he loved him 'today'. The cinematography is insanely good considering the budget is only 40 million. I would give half the credit to Wally Pfister though. And Michael Caine's and Hugh Jackman's performance are also brillant.

I still prefer it over Dunkirk, which I consider the worse Nolan's movie in terms of storytelling and entertainment.
I used to think The Prestige was one of Nolan's worst as well, then I rewatched it. Completely changed my mind. A rewatch can really make a difference. Maybe you have seen it many times though, I'm not sure.

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marshallmurphy wrote:
June 7th, 2020, 8:39 pm
dragon_phoenix wrote:
June 7th, 2020, 8:34 pm
I ranked The Prestige pretty low in my Nolan ranking. The ending is just trash IMO. Everything from start to end is proper magic until David Bowie invented a impossible machine. Hugh Jackman's character was also much more likeable than Christian Bale's. He lost the battle while Bale's only lost half. Bale's character also started the feud first by accidentally murdering his wife.

The only disclaimier is I watched The Dark Knight and Inception before I watched Prestige. So the expectations maybe too high on my side. Incepton to me is honestly one of the best movies ever made in film history. Nolan could have made Inception a franchise by itself and make hundreds of million dollars easily but he choose not to because he wants to push the boundary of movie making with other ideas. Dark Knight is almost as good but I ranked it lower because of some questionable casting choice like Maggie Gyllenhall. Inception had the perfect ensemble cast.

It seems like in the internet world, Prestige is insanely popular because of the twist in the end. But it honestly aint that great of a movie, and most people in real life would agree with me. I saw the twist coming when Rebecca Hall and Johansson asked if he loved him 'today'. The cinematography is insanely good considering the budget is only 40 million. I would give half the credit to Wally Pfister though. And Michael Caine's and Hugh Jackman's performance are also brillant.

I still prefer it over Dunkirk, which I consider the worse Nolan's movie in terms of storytelling and entertainment.
I used to think The Prestige was one of Nolan's worst as well, then I rewatched it. Completely changed my mind. A rewatch can really make a difference. Maybe you have seen it many times though, I'm not sure.
Don't get me wrong, I still rewatch The Prestige every now and then because they are some very good moments with very good acting. It's still a good movie by any measure. I probably watched The Prestige twice already this year because of the lockdown and anticipation for Tenet.

I just think it's overrated AF by the internet community. There are so many psychological thrillers with much better twists and they don't have to introduce ridiculous sci-fi elements to make it work.

I think you said Dunkirk is his best movie. Can you justify why? I think it's trash.

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dragon_phoenix wrote:
June 7th, 2020, 8:47 pm
Don't get me wrong, I still rewatch The Prestige every now and then because they are some very good moments with very good acting. It's still a good movie by any measure. I probably watched The Prestige twice already this year because of the lockdown and anticipation for Tenet.

I just think it's overrated AF by the internet community. There are so many psychological thrillers with much better twists and they don't have to introduce ridiculous sci-fi elements to make it work.

I think you said Dunkirk is his best movie. Can you justify why? I think it's trash.
Out of curiosity and because I would love to find some new films to watch, what psychological thrillers do you think are “better” than The Prestige? What films do you think have less predictable twists?

Trash is a strong word. There are lots of movies that I would call trash, the most recent one I watched being Your Highness. I’m not sure how Dunkirk could ever be considered trash. To each their own.

I think everything about Dunkirk is perfect. In every sense. And the first time I watched it I didn’t feel this way. My opinion changed with a second viewing. The cinematography is breathtaking, plus the technical achievement of shooting in the air, and on the land and sea. In camera. I think Dunkirk is probably one of the greatest technical achievements in modern filmmaking, to be honest. I also love the story and the way Nolan chose to present it. I remember him saying in an interview that the movie is not about the character’s backgrounds or what’s going on in their lives or was going on before they left. It’s about survival and about them getting home. I think this sets it apart from other war films and survival films, and it’s one of the things I like best about the movie. It’s realistic. I mean, if you were in a war would you really think about that shitty thing your dad did to you when you were seventeen? Other war movies dwell on the past in order to develop their characters. Dunkirk did not, and I found it refreshing and realistic. Because really people just want to survive. I’ve never been in a war of course, so this is just my opinion.

Apart from that, there’s also the score. The film is so intense, and I love the use of music in it and how it drives the story forward. The way the music only stops twice. Right at the end of the film when Fionn Whitehead and Styles are on the train. It is so intense. It was a beautiful and sad and terrifying moment. For the characters and for the audience.

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marshallmurphy wrote:
June 8th, 2020, 8:53 am
dragon_phoenix wrote:
June 7th, 2020, 8:47 pm
Don't get me wrong, I still rewatch The Prestige every now and then because they are some very good moments with very good acting. It's still a good movie by any measure. I probably watched The Prestige twice already this year because of the lockdown and anticipation for Tenet.

I just think it's overrated AF by the internet community. There are so many psychological thrillers with much better twists and they don't have to introduce ridiculous sci-fi elements to make it work.

I think you said Dunkirk is his best movie. Can you justify why? I think it's trash.
Out of curiosity and because I would love to find some new films to watch, what psychological thrillers do you think are “better” than The Prestige? What films do you think have less predictable twists?

Trash is a strong word. There are lots of movies that I would call trash, the most recent one I watched being Your Highness. I’m not sure how Dunkirk could ever be considered trash. To each their own.

I think everything about Dunkirk is perfect. In every sense. And the first time I watched it I didn’t feel this way. My opinion changed with a second viewing. The cinematography is breathtaking, plus the technical achievement of shooting in the air, and on the land and sea. In camera. I think Dunkirk is probably one of the greatest technical achievements in modern filmmaking, to be honest. I also love the story and the way Nolan chose to present it. I remember him saying in an interview that the movie is not about the character’s backgrounds or what’s going on in their lives or was going on before they left. It’s about survival and about them getting home. I think this sets it apart from other war films and survival films, and it’s one of the things I like best about the movie. It’s realistic. I mean, if you were in a war would you really think about that shitty thing your dad did to you when you were seventeen? Other war movies dwell on the past in order to develop their characters. Dunkirk did not, and I found it refreshing and realistic. Because really people just want to survive. I’ve never been in a war of course, so this is just my opinion.

Apart from that, there’s also the score. The film is so intense, and I love the use of music in it and how it drives the story forward. The way the music only stops twice. Right at the end of the film when Fionn Whitehead and Styles are on the train. It is so intense. It was a beautiful and sad and terrifying moment. For the characters and for the audience.
Shutter Island and The Machinist comes to mind for psychological thriller with good twists. But The Machinist, while having a great story, wasn't directed as well as I thought it should have been. I watched these two movies with 0 spoilers and 0 expectations and I loved them.

I guess I am just someone who need dialogue or at least a clear narrative for me to follow. I first watched Dunkirk in the theaters pretty late in the evening and I find the story hard to follow. Maybe I will come to like in the movie in the future.

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dragon_phoenix wrote:
June 8th, 2020, 12:54 pm
Shutter Island and The Machinist comes to mind for psychological thriller with good twists. But The Machinist, while having a great story, wasn't directed as well as I thought it should have been. I watched these two movies with 0 spoilers and 0 expectations and I loved them.

I guess I am just someone who need dialogue or at least a clear narrative for me to follow. I first watched Dunkirk in the theaters pretty late in the evening and I find the story hard to follow. Maybe I will come to like in the movie in the future.
Shutter Island and The Machinist are both excellent psychological thrillers. I guess for me The Presitge is more of a drama with a twist than it is a psychological thriller. There’s really very little psychological about it since everything really happens.

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