Is this or INCEPTION (2010) Nolan's "masterpiece"?

Christopher Nolan's 2008 mega success about Batman's attempts to defeat a criminal mastermind known only as the Joker.
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I haven't seen Interstellar yet, though I will see it in time.

However, I have been thinking over this question: which film is Nolan's magnum opus to date?

is it Inception? Or is it The Dark Knight?

I don't know which one to pick; maybe Inception could technically be his "magnum opus," though The Dark Knight is more entertaining, for sure. Inception has its cerebral dream-world, while The Dark Knight has its bombastic and operatic energy.

So which is it? Inception? Or TDK?

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nolantino wrote:I haven't seen Interstellar yet, though I will see it in time.

However, I have been thinking over this question: which film is Nolan's magnum opus to date?

is it Inception? Or is it The Dark Knight?

I don't know which one to pick; maybe Inception could technically be his "magnum opus," though The Dark Knight is more entertaining, for sure. Inception has its cerebral dream-world, while The Dark Knight has its bombastic and operatic energy.

So which is it? Inception? Or TDK?
It's Prestige. Then Memento.

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Interstellar followed by Memento.

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Location: “Where are you?!” “HERE.”
Sky007 wrote:Interstellar followed by Memento.

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They really both are masterpieces but I will say Inception because it is Chris' original idea completely written by him. The Dark Knight is my personal favorite. There is no wrong answer .

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The Dark Knight is clearly his masterpiece and I don't think he'll make a better blockbuster or even a better film but I still prefer Inception.
I think Inception is his most distinct work; it is truly Nolan.

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Dent is in there with them, we have to save Dent... I have to save Dent!

no quote in a Nolan film gives me chills quite like this one. a magnificent line, an even better delivery, and a key turning point in a beautiful third act... a big building block of this masterpiece, and perhaps Nolan's finest achievement

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I slightly prefer Inception and Interstellar, but for those that love this most, what do you think would top it for you? The obvious choice is a Bond film I think. TDK is pretty much a Bond/Batman hybrid anyways. I think what's so fascinating is the mythological aspects and the iconography of the characters and the world/story they're put in. It's this really insane mix that amazingly works. Let Nolan create a new villain and send Bond on a roller coaster. Boom.

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Sky007 wrote:I slightly prefer Inception and Interstellar, but for those that love this most, what do you think would top it for you? The obvious choice is a Bond film I think. TDK is pretty much a Bond/Batman hybrid anyways. I think what's so fascinating is the mythological aspects and the iconography of the characters and the world/story they're put in. It's this really insane mix that amazingly works. Let Nolan create a new villain and send Bond on a roller coaster. Boom.
what would conquer it for me is an original film that succeeds where Inception and Interstellar fail.

don't get me wrong, i love both films. i still struggle to rank the two of them, Memento, The Prestige, and TDK - all make legitimate cases to be my favorite Nolan film. there are certain qualities to Inception and Interstellar, though, that sort of force you to notice their inadequacies. if Nolan can take his next film (hopefully another original one) and correct these shortcomings, he probably will have made a perfect film.

and to stop being so vague, the biggest inadequacy im referring to is the dialogue, and how it tends to serve only the purpose of explaining whats happening on screen. there are moments (some short and sweet, some prolonged and extremely effective) that defeat this shortcoming, and there are moments that make it cringe worthy. i'm looking at you, Batman Begins, Inception, and Interstellar. scripts so full of exposition that it makes certain re-watches very "fast forward-y" and less "experience-y." Memento is an example of exposition incredibly well done, which is why i still sometimes consider it his finest film.

but i still love them all. so to answer your question again, an original film that requires no exposition and screen-explaining would go a long way to topping everything he's ever done. SHOW, Mr. Nolan. don't TELL. let your characters actions speak for themselves, and show them in all the grace i know you have in you. stick to your guns, let the image and sounds tell your story - not exposition. let your characters talk. let the talk help us learn about them, not their conflict. let your dialogue help build the tension. you did this well in certain parts in Interstellar. let's see more of this.

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I'm a John G wrote:
Sky007 wrote:I slightly prefer Inception and Interstellar, but for those that love this most, what do you think would top it for you? The obvious choice is a Bond film I think. TDK is pretty much a Bond/Batman hybrid anyways. I think what's so fascinating is the mythological aspects and the iconography of the characters and the world/story they're put in. It's this really insane mix that amazingly works. Let Nolan create a new villain and send Bond on a roller coaster. Boom.
what would conquer it for me is an original film that succeeds where Inception and Interstellar fail.

don't get me wrong, i love both films. i still struggle to rank the two of them, Memento, The Prestige, and TDK - all make legitimate cases to be my favorite Nolan film. there are certain qualities to Inception and Interstellar, though, that sort of force you to notice their inadequacies. if Nolan can take his next film (hopefully another original one) and correct these shortcomings, he probably will have made a perfect film.

and to stop being so vague, the biggest inadequacy im referring to is the dialogue, and how it tends to serve only the purpose of explaining whats happening on screen. there are moments (some short and sweet, some prolonged and extremely effective) that defeat this shortcoming, and there are moments that make it cringe worthy. i'm looking at you, Batman Begins, Inception, and Interstellar. scripts so full of exposition that it makes certain re-watches very "fast forward-y" and less "experience-y." Memento is an example of exposition incredibly well done, which is why i still sometimes consider it his finest film.

but i still love them all. so to answer your question again, an original film that requires no exposition and screen-explaining would go a long way to topping everything he's ever done. SHOW, Mr. Nolan. don't TELL. let your characters actions speak for themselves, and show them in all the grace i know you have in you. stick to your guns, let the image and sounds tell your story - not exposition. let your characters talk. let the talk help us learn about them, not their conflict. let your dialogue help build the tension. you did this well in certain parts in Interstellar. let's see more of this.
The problem with that though is you cannot make a high concept complex blockbuster without allowing the average audience members to tag along. I'd love it if he just made it for us and we wouldn't have exposition for the concepts but it simply wouldn't get made. Inception and Interstellar need the exposition. The Prestige, and The Dark Knight have the best dialogue of his films. So it really comes down to him reconciling all of these elements as you say. I think it could be done with something in between the size of The Dark Knight and Interstellar. I have no doubt that he'll perfect all of this together eventually. He's only been making movies for 15 years…. INSANE.

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