Rank all of Nolan's films

The Oscar Nominated writer and director to whom this site is dedicated.
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josephcq wrote:I've been wanting to post in here for some time...but every time I try I get nowhere.

All I KNOW is that The Prestige is my favorite. After that you can make a VERY strong case for each of the following at #2:

The Dark Knight
Memento
Interstellar
Inception

I look at all of those and try to pick one to rank next and I'll think I've settled. But then I start to realize that two of those movies won't even make it into the Top 3 and then I lose my mind.

The Dark Knight: Massively influential. Though in a lot of ways it was just continueing/improving upon (this is subjective) what was began with Batman Begins, it seems to be the one that 'changed things. Forever.' And it's long...but wow it never lets up. The pacing in this movie is perfect.

Memento: It started it all. It would still be loved if he put that out after everything else he had done. It's great because it was his first professional film, but it's also just plain great. Nothing like it (except that episode of Seinfeld).

Interstellar: Definitely his most emotional film (though his other movies have certainly moments that can rival anything in here) and gorgeous looking. I love how patient it is and that it really gave us some ideas and themes that extend beyond the world of the film. A lot to think about here.

Inception: This is pure Nolan. It's all him and it proved what he could do with a wholly-original script. Ridiculously entertaining and featuring some of the coolest set-pieces I've ever seen. Almost exhausting with it's brilliant 45 minute climax.

Anyway...even after that it is hard. Insomnia is great, but it just feels a little underwhelming. Following is solid...but let's be real here, it's the pinnacle of zero-budget filmmaking, but it's hard to look at it next to the professional quality of his other works. Film students could spend an entire semester-long course studying this movie and still learn things from it. And Batman Begins is so good, but I think The Dark Knight is simply the better film. But you gotta love Batman Begins for being so ballsy and different. I also appreciate it as more of a film-noir than the other Batman movies. As for Rises...it can be easy to gloss over it. Certainly his most flawed film, but the good stuff in it is so good that we forgive the flaws.

I don't know. I'll be back in a few months and maybe have something worked out.
I completely agree with your top 5. Though I could put any of them at my number 1 spot. Usually I pick Inception. and yes two of them not making the top 3 just feels so wrong.

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Ranking Nolan's films is too damn hard for me.

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Guys, guys. It's easy.















ALL of Nolan's films are #1

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Interstellar took Memento out of the TOP 2

The Prestige
Interstellar
Memento
The Dark Knight Rises
Batman Begins
Dark Knight
Inception
Insomnia
Following

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Crazy thing is I don't even think he's made his best yet. I'm simply basing this off of The Prestige's subtext and how he's been progressing as a filmmaker.

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Sky007 wrote:Crazy thing is I don't even think he's made his best yet. I'm simply basing this off of The Prestige's subtext and how he's been progressing as a filmmaker.
I'm so agree with you! :)

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I don't know if I can agree with that. Firstly because his movies are SOOOO good, and second because it's becoming harder and harder to judge them just as movies. We are judging them as NOLAN movies.

I think it's VERY easy to believe that if Interstellar had almost any other director's name attached to it that it's praise would have been far closer to unanimous than it was. People hold him now to such a harsh standard now. And I do think Interstellar stands up to the nitpicking. But people are feeling like he is this great thing and expect to walk out of the theatre feeling the way they did after The Dark Knight or Inception. I think Interstellar may be a better movie than Inception, but I didn't walk out feeling 'wow' on even a similar level as I did with Inception.

It's unlikely he'll make something as culturally significant as either of those movies, and certainly he'll struggle to have the boxoffice success.

But that's okay. I reaffirm that my favorite of his is The Prestige. A smaller movie that made much less money than most of the others.

I hope you're right. I really hope he puts out a couple more films that can rank with or even exceed the quality of his existing work.

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I don't consider "wow" factor, immediate critical and box office success in it at all. I mean in purely technical terms and how he tells his stories. With each film he pushes new techniques and tells his classic "story" (they're almost all the same) in a new way. Im saying I don't think he's even put all of his obsessions together perfectly yet, and it's quite possible he will soon.

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I think he's going to have a hard time topping The Dark Knight.

Then again, had I seen Memento when it was released, I would probably have thought he would have a hard time topping that.

It's Chris Nolan, anything's possible.

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Topping it in terms of box office, acclaim, and hitting the zeitgeist? Ya he'll likely never get that type of excitement again again, BUT he can make better movies. I think he already did with Inception and maybe Interstellar (we'll see how it stands up in a few years).

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