I totally disagree and... just joking.rbevanx wrote:Can we just agree to disagree lol.
The subject is rather boring and he clearly has 4 identdys. Matches Malone, playboy Bruce Wayne, Bruce Wayne, Batman with his true self being the Bruce Wayne who is around Alfred and Rachael.
The Batman identdy is his rage or a symbol to create fear amongst his enemies, the only time this has failed was with the Joker in the Police station etc.
Nolan's Trademarks
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Here's what I think separates Chris Nolan from the rest
1- the narrative-acting method he's using, especially in BB/TDK; in the restaurant scene (TDK) we see that harvey dent is defending batman in front of his girlfriend, her friend and a ballet dancer. we also know that the friend is batman, and that the girlfriend knows that, and that makes us clever when we watch. the message that passes unconciously is a vision of a world with a secret vigilante, it's benefits and consequences; what I'm trying to say here is that the part of the conversation that christopher nolan showed us is describing his (nolan) vision of a batman in harvey's word, and the result is a scene where harvey dent is "narrating" while acting in the scene, we don't notice, but the message stays there. it's very difficult to accomplish that in a movie.
2- the persistent thrill: in all his movies, there's no "resting scene", a scene with a room empty with the camera slowly sliding, giving us time to detach from the action, instead the movies are chains of completed scenes, each one descriptive enough for us to keep pace, but short enough to keep focused, it's really like being in a conversation with Nolan !! that's also a very good thing.
3- the simplicity in shooting: for those who saw X-men 3, there's a scene where Charles Xavier and Magneto are with Jeane (not in the begining, in the middle when Jeane turned wild) a something happens inside so Wolverine and Storm decide to go in. that's the scene I'm talking about; we see Storm flying in the air and there's a lot of camera movement; first we see the sky as a background, then the camera faces down etc. that not Nolan's style, in fact, if Nolan was shooting the scene, he'll go for a more stable sliding camera movement (like when Batman attacked Lau's employees in Hong Kong after smaching the window) that's a very good shooting style: keeping with the acting without the "dizzyness" and complexity.
anyway these are few things that in my opinion are quite unique to Chris Nolan. thanks for reading I know I don't cut to the crap easily but it's hard when describing something like that !
1- the narrative-acting method he's using, especially in BB/TDK; in the restaurant scene (TDK) we see that harvey dent is defending batman in front of his girlfriend, her friend and a ballet dancer. we also know that the friend is batman, and that the girlfriend knows that, and that makes us clever when we watch. the message that passes unconciously is a vision of a world with a secret vigilante, it's benefits and consequences; what I'm trying to say here is that the part of the conversation that christopher nolan showed us is describing his (nolan) vision of a batman in harvey's word, and the result is a scene where harvey dent is "narrating" while acting in the scene, we don't notice, but the message stays there. it's very difficult to accomplish that in a movie.
2- the persistent thrill: in all his movies, there's no "resting scene", a scene with a room empty with the camera slowly sliding, giving us time to detach from the action, instead the movies are chains of completed scenes, each one descriptive enough for us to keep pace, but short enough to keep focused, it's really like being in a conversation with Nolan !! that's also a very good thing.
3- the simplicity in shooting: for those who saw X-men 3, there's a scene where Charles Xavier and Magneto are with Jeane (not in the begining, in the middle when Jeane turned wild) a something happens inside so Wolverine and Storm decide to go in. that's the scene I'm talking about; we see Storm flying in the air and there's a lot of camera movement; first we see the sky as a background, then the camera faces down etc. that not Nolan's style, in fact, if Nolan was shooting the scene, he'll go for a more stable sliding camera movement (like when Batman attacked Lau's employees in Hong Kong after smaching the window) that's a very good shooting style: keeping with the acting without the "dizzyness" and complexity.
anyway these are few things that in my opinion are quite unique to Chris Nolan. thanks for reading I know I don't cut to the crap easily but it's hard when describing something like that !
what is the titlefilmfanatic wrote:chee wrote:Buying this.filmfanatic wrote:The theme that prevails in all of his films, that connects all of them, is identity and identity conflict. It is the major focus of my book on Nolan that is near completion. Obsession and revenge are certainly there, but identity rules the roost. All of the major characters in his films have to grapple with some identity conflict to some degree or another. Allow me to quickly skim the surface and break it down:
I hope so!
when does it come out
I've always thought that each Nolan film revolves around one simple thing or one powerful word. So his trademark would essentially be a general "theme."Are you watching closely?
Following = trust
This one was the hardest to label, because Following has a such a unique concept. I say trust because the young man is quick to trust people, the woman is deceptively trusting, and Cobb relies on the trust of others up to the very end.
Memento = memory
This is an obvious one, and is therefore the most powerful Nolan theme, in my opinion. The main character as well as the audience rely on what they have seen before, what they are told, or what they already know. This also has the best plot of Nolan's films.
Insomnia = sleep
This one is debatable, because of all the Nolan films, Insomnia did not seem to have as powerful a meaning. I also couldn't think of another powerful word. Sleep itself is important, but I felt that Nolan would stress that more in this film and make it a psychological thriller. The insomnia that Pacino's character faces seemed like a separate entity, I felt like it did not tie in well enough with the rest of the plot.
Batman Begins = justice
Before Batman, the world of Gotham was a crime ridden mess. This film is like a crescendo of the "striving for justice" concept that is played around with in several movies. It argues the idea that sometimes the "greater good" is just not good enough; you need absolutes in certain situations.
The Prestige = illusion
This is another film that has several different themes, but the reason I chose illusion is because the viewer as well as characters in the film are continually tricked up to the very end. The whole movie is basically a huge magic trick, which is just amazing. "Are you watching closely?" becomes the central phrase of this film, because not only is Christian Bale just saying it to other characters, he is basically asking the audience.
The Dark Knight = chaos
Now, I felt that Nolan already addressed justice in Batman Begins, so this film would essentially show you what happens when an established order is challenged. If Batman Begins were the creation of authority, then The Dark Knight would be the destruction of said power. Contrary to the first movie, TDK is a crescendo of chaos and you could analyze it to death.
Inception = dreams or maybe imagination?
I hope to see a VERY strong theme in this film. It seems like the plot revolves around dreaming or at least the subconscious. This will likely be one of the more powerful Nolan films.
Following = trust
This one was the hardest to label, because Following has a such a unique concept. I say trust because the young man is quick to trust people, the woman is deceptively trusting, and Cobb relies on the trust of others up to the very end.
Memento = memory
This is an obvious one, and is therefore the most powerful Nolan theme, in my opinion. The main character as well as the audience rely on what they have seen before, what they are told, or what they already know. This also has the best plot of Nolan's films.
Insomnia = sleep
This one is debatable, because of all the Nolan films, Insomnia did not seem to have as powerful a meaning. I also couldn't think of another powerful word. Sleep itself is important, but I felt that Nolan would stress that more in this film and make it a psychological thriller. The insomnia that Pacino's character faces seemed like a separate entity, I felt like it did not tie in well enough with the rest of the plot.
Batman Begins = justice
Before Batman, the world of Gotham was a crime ridden mess. This film is like a crescendo of the "striving for justice" concept that is played around with in several movies. It argues the idea that sometimes the "greater good" is just not good enough; you need absolutes in certain situations.
The Prestige = illusion
This is another film that has several different themes, but the reason I chose illusion is because the viewer as well as characters in the film are continually tricked up to the very end. The whole movie is basically a huge magic trick, which is just amazing. "Are you watching closely?" becomes the central phrase of this film, because not only is Christian Bale just saying it to other characters, he is basically asking the audience.
The Dark Knight = chaos
Now, I felt that Nolan already addressed justice in Batman Begins, so this film would essentially show you what happens when an established order is challenged. If Batman Begins were the creation of authority, then The Dark Knight would be the destruction of said power. Contrary to the first movie, TDK is a crescendo of chaos and you could analyze it to death.
Inception = dreams or maybe imagination?
I hope to see a VERY strong theme in this film. It seems like the plot revolves around dreaming or at least the subconscious. This will likely be one of the more powerful Nolan films.
If she plays cranium she gives good brainium.
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what is the title#1fan wrote:chee wrote:
Buying this.
I hope so!
when does it come out[/quote]
- I'm still batting around a few titles but the subtitle will be "The films of Christopher Nolan"
- There is no official release date yet, that is up to the publisher. But the target is sometime during the fall of 2010.
As soon as I get more concrete details I'll make sure to post them!
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I'd disagree a bit here. As I've stated previously, all of his films are linked through identity crisis. Yes, paranoia, chaos, justice, trust... all of these things are present. But I would not say that they are the predominant themes for each film listed above.Cilogy wrote:I've always thought that each Nolan film revolves around one simple thing or one powerful word. So his trademark would essentially be a general "theme."Are you watching closely?
Insomnia = sleep
This one is debatable, because of all the Nolan films, Insomnia did not seem to have as powerful a meaning. I also couldn't think of another powerful word. Sleep itself is important, but I felt that Nolan would stress that more in this film and make it a psychological thriller. The insomnia that Pacino's character faces seemed like a separate entity, I felt like it did not tie in well enough with the rest of the plot.
.
Insomnia does have very strong themes. Sleep (or the deprivation of sleep) is the tool that is used to get at these. Again, identity crisis comes into play here. Pacino's character is a detective that
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If I had to assign one word to each film:
Following - Self
Memento - Memory
Insomnia - Guilt
Batman Begins - Fear
The Prestige - Identity
The Dark Knight - Altruism
Following - Self
Memento - Memory
Insomnia - Guilt
Batman Begins - Fear
The Prestige - Identity
The Dark Knight - Altruism
Posts: 255
Joined:
May 2010
What separates Nolan from other directors is his talent to make the a film extremely complex appear simple to the viewers. His movies are like puzzles that are scrambled all over and you have to put together bit by bit. But eventually you'll get to piece it all together and see understand the full picture. Also, his films begs for you to pay attention to detail. Every smallest detail of each scene has some importance to it. Unlike someone like Tarantino, who uses extensive dialogue just for the sake of dialogue without coming straight to the point until the scene is finally over, Nolan uses dialogue for a precise and exact reason, whether to foreshadow or to reinforce a theme in the movie. He never allows the viewer to be spoon fed. He trusts the viewer's intelligence that they been paying attention, and puts alot of specific detail in his films. This is why his films have so much replay value, because you can always go back and catch something new that you haven't noticed before.
As for the normal trademarks of a Nolan film, they are:
THEME- every Nolan film has a specific theme that gets reinforced throughout the movie.
REALISM- Nolan always insists upon a realistic feel to his films, even when the entire premise is far from realistic.
TRAGEDY- every Nolan film is based on tragedy. It either fuels the film's motive or is the eventual climax of the film.
DARK TONE- Nolan doesn't make lighthearted films. All of his films have a dark feel to them.
NON-LINEAR STORYTELLING- even though Insomnia and The Dark Knight are exceptions to the rule, this is what most people see Nolan as being known for. A vintage Christopher Nolan film will have non-linear storytelling, and are often the reason why people love Nolan as a director.
As for the normal trademarks of a Nolan film, they are:
THEME- every Nolan film has a specific theme that gets reinforced throughout the movie.
REALISM- Nolan always insists upon a realistic feel to his films, even when the entire premise is far from realistic.
TRAGEDY- every Nolan film is based on tragedy. It either fuels the film's motive or is the eventual climax of the film.
DARK TONE- Nolan doesn't make lighthearted films. All of his films have a dark feel to them.
NON-LINEAR STORYTELLING- even though Insomnia and The Dark Knight are exceptions to the rule, this is what most people see Nolan as being known for. A vintage Christopher Nolan film will have non-linear storytelling, and are often the reason why people love Nolan as a director.
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His pacing is incredible. When you watch one of his films in the theaters you can't leave to go buy popcorn, because you will surely miss something exciting or at least something that adds to the film's overall theme. This is seen in TDK, very well, there is almost no scene there that doesn't have action. The same goes for Memento.
Other movies have a lot of scenes which don't matter, and you can just leave to buy popcorn.
Other movies have a lot of scenes which don't matter, and you can just leave to buy popcorn.
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July 2010
I'll definitely be interested in purchasing your book if the price is reasonable.
