TENET - General Information

Christopher Nolan's time inverting spy film that follows a protagonist fighting for the survival of the entire world.
User avatar
Posts: 4287
Joined: May 2014
Location: “Where are you?!” “HERE.”
Oku wrote:
November 8th, 2020, 10:52 am
16 seconds of pure bliss:



The scale, the practical effects (real crowds), the music (esp, the blaring horns), the ticking clock, the hero in an anonymous mask that blurs the sense of identity, racing to save innocent lives in direct, immediate visible danger

I love it
Best part of the whole movie. Fuckin goosebumps every time, even in potato quality

User avatar
Posts: 506
Joined: September 2019
Frankthetank wrote:
November 8th, 2020, 4:41 pm
Retskrad wrote:
November 8th, 2020, 1:50 pm
Personally, it behooves me watching Dunkirk then Tenet that one costs twice as much as the other, but I wonder how much was spent on just closing a highway or crashing a plane.
Dunkirk is the perfect example. The Dunkirk we all saw in the theater is an amalgamation of the most restraint he’s had of his career in terms of budget and resources (Memento) and the high budget look and feel of Inception and Interstellar. I think Nolan’s work in the future will be even better if the studio only gave him $100million now that COVID has changed the game. Nolan has shown us that he can put out some of the best work of his career with lower budgets like The Prestige, Memento and Dunkirk. I think budget restrains led to these great movies.
I think he’s mentioned that they were able to make it at that budget because they didn’t have to pay American actors who’s pay retainers are much higher than young English actors who don’t even have an agent yet. So It’s a bit of a unique situation. Not what will normally happen for a movie of that scale
I'm sure most of them have agents...

User avatar
Posts: 1310
Joined: May 2017
Location: Elk Grove, CA
speedy117 wrote:
November 8th, 2020, 9:06 pm
Frankthetank wrote:
November 8th, 2020, 4:41 pm
Retskrad wrote:
November 8th, 2020, 1:50 pm


Dunkirk is the perfect example. The Dunkirk we all saw in the theater is an amalgamation of the most restraint he’s had of his career in terms of budget and resources (Memento) and the high budget look and feel of Inception and Interstellar. I think Nolan’s work in the future will be even better if the studio only gave him $100million now that COVID has changed the game. Nolan has shown us that he can put out some of the best work of his career with lower budgets like The Prestige, Memento and Dunkirk. I think budget restrains led to these great movies.
I think he’s mentioned that they were able to make it at that budget because they didn’t have to pay American actors who’s pay retainers are much higher than young English actors who don’t even have an agent yet. So It’s a bit of a unique situation. Not what will normally happen for a movie of that scale
I'm sure most of them have agents...
Yes, but as I've heard one of those actors' agents mention once before:

"Our clients use us because we have no priorities above their property."

:D

Posts: 647
Joined: November 2019
Retskrad wrote:
November 8th, 2020, 1:12 pm

Moral of the story is that Nolan works best inside the $100 - $180 million range. A studio giving him a blank check is a mistake and we as fans will lose at the of the day because no one in Nolan’s circle will criticize him because he has become too big of a figure in Hollywood so the restrain has to be the budget.
You certainly can have such an opinion regarding that but not everybody will think Tenet and TDKR are his "worst work", so it isn’t entirely an irrefutable argument.

And I wouldn’t say "no one in Nolan's circle will criticize him" because we don’t really know, specially if we remember how Nolan wanted to do Dunkirk (had a smaller budget but still applies) at first without a script but his wife made him see otherwise.

Nolan can do whatever he pleases in terms of the scope of his films because that’s his dream, however big or small the story might be. Whether it works to the best of its potential or not then that’s a different discussion. But people’s (fans) preferences don’t (or shouldn't) determine his next projects although they can definitely criticize them for whatever weaknesses they might have. Constructive criticism helps and I believe Nolan has been aware of some of it towards him which he has shown based on improvements he’s made (or at least that’s my impression).

Posts: 602
Joined: May 2020
MuffinMcFluffin wrote:
November 8th, 2020, 9:19 pm
speedy117 wrote:
November 8th, 2020, 9:06 pm
Frankthetank wrote:
November 8th, 2020, 4:41 pm


I think he’s mentioned that they were able to make it at that budget because they didn’t have to pay American actors who’s pay retainers are much higher than young English actors who don’t even have an agent yet. So It’s a bit of a unique situation. Not what will normally happen for a movie of that scale
I'm sure most of them have agents...
Yes, but as I've heard one of those actors' agents mention once before:

"Our clients use us because we have no priorities above their property."

:D
coincidentally, that actor who said that is not just an extra. he has appeared in other large-scale movies like Kingsman Secret Service for small roles too.

User avatar
Posts: 4287
Joined: May 2014
Location: “Where are you?!” “HERE.”
https://www.indiewire.com/2020/11/chri ... 234598386/
Christopher Nolan Says Fellow Directors Have Called to Complain About His ‘Inaudible’ Sound

"Interstellar" sound backlash left Nolan "a little shocked" at how "conservative people are when it comes to sound.”
Shoutout to Antovolk in the article!

User avatar
Posts: 3068
Joined: December 2016
I honestly don’t know if it’s my genuine opinion or if I’m just instinctively defending my favorite director’s choices at this point lol.

I really like his approach to sound mixing. People put too much importance on hearing every word. Now the argument is that this approach doesn’t work with a film as dense and filled with information as Tenet. So maybe he took it a bit too far.

Posts: 647
Joined: November 2019
Tarssauce wrote:
November 12th, 2020, 10:48 pm
I honestly don’t know if it’s my genuine opinion or if I’m just instinctively defending my favorite director’s choices at this point lol.

I really like his approach to sound mixing. People put too much importance on hearing every word. Now the argument is that this approach doesn’t work with a film as dense and filled with information as Tenet. So maybe he took it a bit too far.
Quoting Constantine "he works his work in mysterious ways. Some people like it, some people don't." :P

Joking aside, it really depends. I remember watching a review where a guy said he liked the sound mix because it felt (for him) somewhat realistic given that in a situation surrounded by chaos things wouldn’t be that easy to understand. On the other hand, experimentation can go too far sometimes so I wouldn't blame some people complaining about it. Although I’ve never had a problem with his sound because to me it’s very immersive.
Last edited by Paradoxicalparabola on November 13th, 2020, 2:40 am, edited 1 time in total.

User avatar
Posts: 3068
Joined: December 2016
Paradoxicalparabola wrote:
November 12th, 2020, 11:16 pm
Quoting Constantine "he works his works in mysterious ways. Some people like it, some people don't." :P

Joking aside, it really depends. I remember watching a review where a guy said he liked the sound mix because it felt (for him) somewhat realistic given that in a situation surrounded by chaos things wouldn’t be that easy to understand. On the other hand, experimentation can go too far sometimes so I wouldn't blame some people complaining about it. Although I’ve never had a problem with his sound because to me it’s very immersive.
Lol what a quote :)

Exactly. There were moments where having crystal clear dialogue would be so unrealistic given the environment. And even in our everyday life, do we really hear every single word said to us? Not from my experience.

Not to mention, not all sound systems are equal. Nolan got the mix he wanted. When asked about it, Hans Zimmer said instead of making a mix that would play it safe and sound good on low quality systems, the decided to push things and aim for it to sound good on the best systems out there.

But yeah his mixes are bloody loud and dynamic.

Posts: 1439
Joined: October 2019
Peter Hammond finally saw TENET
The movie didn’t disappoint. It is assured moviemaking of a tall order, something industry voters may well admire in a year sadly bereft of films on this scale. Nolan has made a cross of James Bond, Mission: Impossible, and Inception. Most of the reviews, even the raves, said you might get a headache trying to figure out what is going on, especially with all the time inversion stuff. Not a problem. The action scenes are so incredible, the actors so good, and the dialogue ripe with welcome complexity that I didn’t have to know what was going on all the time. I just sat back and smiled seeing for myself that the motion picture going experience had not yet died. If you recall this movie was Warner Bros’ and Nolan’s big bet to indeed save theatres, but this disease isn’t exactly on the same wavelength. However right now it is just about the only real pure example of action-filled, big budget, Hollywood filmmaking shot around the world that Oscar voters will have on their plate, and sadly most of them will have to watch on their TV sets. Warners has announced the Blu-ray comes out in December, but maybe if the Gods are with us there might be a theatrical opportunity closer to home before March. Most based in NYC or LA (where the lion’s share of Oscar voters live) probably won’t have any other way to see it which has to be heartbreaking for Nolan, as it probably is for George Clooney who shot his Midnight Sky in 65MM with the hope it could play IMAX or big screen venues in addition to Netflix. I will talk about the latter when I can, but right now I have to say Tenet deserves to be an Oscar contender, just for the sheer craft and upholding the Hollywood dream of movies made on this scale.

It gives it more gravitas I think at this particular time. I would put it in or near front runner position in numerous categories like Hoyte van Hoytema’s stunning cinematography, plus possibly production design, editing, sound, score, and astounding visual effects for starters. This type of saving -the-world edge-of-your-seat fun thriller often doesn’t make the list in above the line categories but maybe this year, and standing out as it does, it should. This is right up there with Nolan’s best, if you ask me. Hopefully Warner Bros plans a big campaign, although I hear they are still trying to figure it out and certainly its director will have a say in all of that. It is a problem. How do you campaign a film that must be seen in theatres when it is so hard to actually make that possible? For example The Regal complex I saw it in just yesterday is now closed once again as of today, “temporarily” joining the chain’s other screens due to lack of product. Ironically Warners’ Wonder Woman 1984 is hanging by a thread to its Christmas Day release and was the last great hope for movie theatres in 2020. Sad times for those of us who ‘lost it at the movies’.
https://deadline.com/2020/11/tenet-osca ... 234615560/

Post Reply