Christopher Nolan's Best Movie [Archive] - Movie Fan Central Discussion Forums

DME

07-22-2008, 12:49 PM

Granted it's still relatively early in his career and, barring some horrible fate befalling him, he'll have plenty of opportunities to outdo himself.

Still, what he's done already is very impressive. The Dark Knight is, of course, the darling d'jour and while I loved it, I'm still pretty partial to The Prestige. And the man also made the incomparable Memento, and that first Batman flick he did was pretty much the opposite of a suckfest, in my opinion.

Insomnia is also a very good movie, and while I've yet to see Following I've heard good things.

What do you think is his best movie so far?

Brendan M.

07-22-2008, 12:54 PM

You should definitely check out Following as soon as you can. If you liked Memento, you'll really get into Following. I'm still surprised when it's not mentioned as often as films like El Mariachi and Clerks when it comes to discussing micro-budgeted indie films that made their directors Hollywood players.

KenSPT

07-22-2008, 01:02 PM

I'd lean towards The Dark Knight, for obvious reasons; and Batman Begins is amazing as well.

With the exception of Insomnia, I've enjoyed everything else of his that I've seen.

The Prestige is severely underrated and not as discussed as I feel it should be, and Memento is almost genius and needs to be watched multiple times to be truly appreciated.

As for Insomnia, I just didn't like it. Can't put my finger on why exactly, since I haven't seen it in quite a while, but I just didn't like it.

TeeRay

07-22-2008, 01:10 PM

The Prestige is just plain awesome.

Batman Begins is also incredible. I thought it was actually better than The Dark Knight.

APzombie

07-22-2008, 01:28 PM

He hasn't made a film that isn't below great to me. I can't say which I like more, Memento, The Prestige or his Batman films.

Follwoing ***1/2
Memento ****
Insomia ***1/2
Batman Begins ****
The Prestige ****
The Dark Knight ****

Bourne101

07-22-2008, 01:43 PM

1. The Dark Knight- 10/10
2. Memento- 10/10
3. The Prestige- 9/10
4. Insomnia- 9/10
5. Batman Begins- 8/10

dellamorte dellamore

07-22-2008, 01:55 PM

Following is without a doubt his most satisfying and complete film . I love how he sucks you in with an intriguing story and characters , the whole affair seems so simple at first , but the plot becomes complex as the story is propelled forward with the aid of brilliant and believable characters and an expert narrative .

This is a low budget gem that i feel eclipses his later work , sure it obviously won't look as good visually as his later films , but for me it's his most intimate , complete , and effective film .

Pure indie greatness at it's very best .

deftdelivery

07-22-2008, 02:19 PM

I NEED to see Following so freaking bad!

1. The Dark Knight 9/10
2. Batman Begins 9/10
3. The Prestige 9/10
4. Memento 9/10
5. Insomnia 7/10

All of his movies are baller

Brendan M.

07-22-2008, 02:33 PM

First time I saw Following I rented it on netflix. I had an impossible time trying to find in stores but I ordered it at FYE and they had it there the next week.

Do whatever you can to see this movie. Its one of the best indie films I've ever seen.

fooknasty

07-22-2008, 03:28 PM

The Following- N/A
Memento- 10/10
Insomnia- 8/10
Batman Begins- 10/10
Prestige- 9/10
The Dark Knight- 10/10

Nolan is, without a doubt, one of the best directors around. I really need to see The Following.

detective mills

07-22-2008, 04:42 PM

Memento - 10/10
The Dark Knight - 9/10
Batman Begins - 8/10
The Prestige - 8/10
Insomnia - 7/10

I need to see Following, but I agree that Nolan is definately one of the most talented directors out there.

QUENTIN

07-22-2008, 05:03 PM

Memento's the crown jewel, but The Dark Knight is excellent. I appreciated The Prestige's craftsmanship, but I didn't like it and found the ending preposterous. Insomnia was pretty good and featured some fine performances, but it didn't touch the brilliance of the original. I own it, but sadly haven't yet seen Following.

1.) Memento -9/10
2.) The Dark Knight -9/10
3.) Batman Begins -8/10
4.) Insomnia -7/10
5.) The Prestige -7/10

poopontheshoes7

07-22-2008, 05:27 PM

The mans got talent. Four of his films are some of my all time favorites.
Memento
The Prestige
Batman Begins
The Dark Knight

All top notch films. Insomnia is pretty good as well. I just recently rewatched and was suprised by how much I enjoyed more the second time.

Nolan is a machine.

unspoken

07-22-2008, 07:30 PM

Memento - 10/10
The Prestige - 9/10
Everything else - 8/10

Shockwave

07-22-2008, 08:48 PM

The movie with Batman and Wolverine in it. 10/10

gyro_44

07-22-2008, 08:55 PM

Memento and The Dark Knight.

Question: will this man ever make a bad movie?

Sonny Corleone

07-22-2008, 09:01 PM

1. The Prestige - 9/10
2. Memento - 8/10 (need to rewatch this)
3. Batman Begins - 8/10
4. Insomnia - 7/10 (also need to rewatch this)

Still haven't seen TDK but am planning on going soon.

syxxpac

07-22-2008, 09:16 PM

1) Memento -> 10/10
2) The Dark Knight -> 10/10
3) Batman Begins -> 9/10
4) Following -> 9/10
5) The Prestige -> 9/10
6) Insomnia -> 8/10

I need to rewatch Dark Knight a few more times, so for now, Memento is still my top dog. The day Nolan makes a bad movie is the day Paul W.S. Anderson makes a masterpiece.

Sigur509

07-22-2008, 09:25 PM

The Dark Knight
Memento
Batman Begins
The Prestige

I need to see following and insomnia.

Servo

07-22-2008, 09:28 PM

Brendan M.

07-22-2008, 09:39 PM

I'd still go with Memento as my favorite Christopher Nolan film.

Here's something I found that you guys may enjoy.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=lv4VC9XSUyc&feature=related

Nolan's directorial debut from college.

Yeah I've seen that. Its pretty cool to see that the guy who made that little short film is now the director of The Dark Knight.

There were a couple other short films he did called Tarantella and Larceny. Hopefully those leak out onto the internet too one of these days.

JCPhoenix

07-22-2008, 10:26 PM

01. Memento 10/10
02. The Dark Knight 9/10
03. Batman Begins 9/10
04. Following 8/10
05. The Prestige 8/10
06. Insomnia 7/10

Nolan hasn't made a bad film or even a mediocre film yet imo...

Pride

07-22-2008, 10:43 PM

One of my favorite director/writer for obvious reasons...

The Prestige - 9/10
The Dark Knight - 9/10
Memento - 8.5/10
Insomnia - 8/10
Batman Begins - 8/10

Le_Big_Mac

07-22-2008, 11:19 PM

1. Memento- 10/10
2. The Dark Knight- 9/10
3. Batman Begins- 8.5/10
4. The Prestige- 7/10

therealjohng

07-23-2008, 02:05 AM

Memento followed by The Dark Knight.

ilovemovies

07-23-2008, 02:43 AM

Memento - 9/10
Insomnia - 9/10
The Dark Knight - 8/10
Batman Begins - 8/10
The Prestige - 7/10

Definitely one of my favorite filmmakers. And I HAVE to see Following. It looks really good.

Danger^Cart

07-23-2008, 02:48 AM

1. The Dark Knight- 10/10
2. Memento- 10/10
3. The Prestige- 9/10
4. Insomnia- 9/10
5. Batman Begins- 8/10

Roger that.

Following -7.5/10

I'd like to see him do a horror film.

soad

07-23-2008, 03:02 AM

TDK 10
Memento 10
Batman Begins 9
The Prestige 9
Insomnia 7
Following 8

therealjohng

07-23-2008, 03:03 AM

Everybody who is a Nolan fan and hasn't seen Following is truly missing out.

DME

07-23-2008, 09:47 AM

Everybody who is a Nolan fan and hasn't seen Following is truly missing out.

I'm gathering that. I'm making it a point to see Following as soon as possible.

echo_bravo

07-23-2008, 10:53 AM

Everybody who is a Nolan fan and hasn't seen Following is truly missing out.

Totally agree! That film is creepy and packs quite a punch at the end.

With that being said, Nolan definitely hasnt made a flop yet. I like all his films but if I had to rank them...

1. The Dark Knight 10/10
2. Memento 10/10
3. The Following 9/10
4. Batman Begins 9/10
5. The Prestige 8/10
6. Insomina 7/10

I cant believe he topped Memento for me. I never would of thought he could top Memento which is one of the best films of the decade for its editing alone. But the Dark Knight surpassed it for me.

athf1980

07-23-2008, 06:44 PM

The Dark Knight-5/5
Batman Begins-4.5/5

that is what I have seen from Nolan even though I do have Memento & Prestige

GeneralZod81

07-23-2008, 07:29 PM

Batman Begins or The Dark Knight.

jacks_worm

07-23-2008, 10:53 PM

While all of his movies are stunning, my favorite would have to be Memento. I believe it is his best due to creativity of the plot, characters, and the choices in direction. The Dark Knight comes very close to, it was lots better than Batman Begins IMO (I thought that was a bit too slow for my liking). I truly appreciate his craftsmanship with TDK. It was a perfectly produced film. I can't say I love it though, I'm thinking because I'm not really into superhero films, and Batman isn't one of my personal faves.

Brendan M.

07-24-2008, 12:08 AM

You have to admit though, Batman is the best superhero for Nolan to take on, considering his previous films are all complex crime thrillers.

Max Cady

07-24-2008, 04:19 PM

Shockwave

07-24-2008, 04:44 PM

I tryed to watch "The Following" but I cant sit through a black and white movie anymore, it's 2008, time to upgrade and move on.

I love Prestige and Batman, nolan is a great director but he's no Danny Boyle

While im a big Boyle fan, Nolan defeats Boyle pretty easily to me.

Also, whats wrong with Black and White movies?

Its not at all about "upgrading", BandW can, in many cases, make a good movie much better.

Take the recently release THE MIST for example. Good movie made GREAT by BandW.

chinton

07-24-2008, 05:28 PM

I tryed to watch "The Following" but I cant sit through a black and white movie anymore, it's 2008, time to upgrade and move on.

I love Prestige and Batman, nolan is a great director but he's no Danny Boyle

What does upgrade even mean in relation to Following? As in he should colorize or what?

I like Danny Boyle but hes very inconsistent. Sunshine, Trainspotting, and Shallow Grave are all great. The Beach and Life Less Ordinary were terrible though.

Nolan is very consistent so far.

Danger^Cart

07-24-2008, 05:49 PM

As far as I'm concerned, The Dark Knght alone destroys the entire filmographies of about 90% of the directors out there. Past and present.

LordSimen

07-24-2008, 06:05 PM

I love Prestige and Batman, nolan is a great director but he's no Danny Boyle

Now that's two film makers that are hard for me to compare. I love Boyle's work and I love Nolan's work. I'd say they're about equal.

detective mills

07-24-2008, 06:42 PM

I love Prestige and Batman, nolan is a great director but he's no Danny Boyle

Boyle's best movies are Trainspotting, 28 Days Later, and The Beach. I think all of Nolan's films are better than these movies except for Insomnia and The Prestige (which is better than The Beach however). For me, Nolan is the more consistant and more talented director. Following, Memento, and The Batman movies are all amazing films.

Brendan M.

07-24-2008, 06:52 PM

I tryed to watch "The Following" but I cant sit through a black and white movie anymore, it's 2008, time to upgrade and move on.

It was the late 90's and he did it independently within his own resources. Its the same deal with Clerks. They used B&W cause it's all they had at their disposal.

I guess you can't enjoy older films either that are in black and white.

chinton

07-24-2008, 07:38 PM

Forgot about 28 Days Later. I actually think Boyles two sci-fi tales 28 Days Later and Sunshine are his two best works. Sunshine has massively grown on me over time.

Still the brilliant and underrated Prestige I think is better than anything Boyle has done.

therealjohng

07-24-2008, 08:41 PM

Still the brilliant and underrated Prestige I think is better than anything Boyle has done.

The Prestige is a great movie, but I think Sunshine is far and away the better film.

Max Cady

07-24-2008, 09:42 PM

Gary Panthro

07-24-2008, 09:51 PM

Following - 8.5/10
Memento - 10/10
Insomnia - 8.5/10
Batman Begins - 10/10
The Prestige - 10/10
The Dark Knight - 1000000000000000000000000.2145234/10

Yeah, I know. That makes The Dark Knight the greatest movie ever made by .2145234.... close call.

chinton

07-24-2008, 10:47 PM

Sunshine > The Prestige
Trainspotting > Dark Knight
Shallow Grave > Memento
The Beach > The Following
Sunshine > Batman
28 Days Later > All

Boyle has made some of the best movies of our time, there hasn't been a zombie movie of this level since way back when Romero was on his game and even then, his work doesn't compare to 28 Days later. Nolan has made some classics though, but it just doesn't compare IMO. The Beach is simply brilliant, I've seen that film at least 10 times and each time I leave in deep thought.

Black & White is a thing of the past, it's 2008 now and there is no need for that crap anymore. Unless your trying to make the viewers feel like they just traveled back in time. Thats what also hurt Clerks so badly, if it was in color, maybe more people would of payed attention to it.

Maybe more people would have payed attention to clerks. Are you kidding me?!!!!!!

I guess thats why Kevin Smith launched his carrer off that film cause nobody paid attention to it.

Wether the film is in black and white or not has nothing to do with whether its 2008 or not. Occasionally such as in Clerks the black and white photography can help the film aesthetically and thematically.

I do love Sunshine but I just perfer Prestige.

I still haven't forgiven The beach for raping the book. I'm amazed Alex Garland even deigned to work with him again.

psycheoutsteve

07-24-2008, 10:52 PM

The Prestige is a great movie, but I think Sunshine is far and away the better film.

The Prestige is far better than the mediocre Sunshine. Whereas The Prestige contains good plot/character development/twists/thrills, Sunshine starts off alright and devolves into total silliness and implausibility. The scenes towards the end were fucking horrible.

Chris Nolan beats the fuck out of Boyle as far as directing and storytelling goes.

fooknasty

07-24-2008, 11:05 PM

Sunshine > The Prestige
Trainspotting > Dark Knight
Shallow Grave > Memento
The Beach > The Following
Sunshine > Batman
28 Days Later > All

Boyle has made some of the best movies of our time, there hasn't been a zombie movie of this level since way back when Romero was on his game and even then, his work doesn't compare to 28 Days later. Nolan has made some classics though, but it just doesn't compare IMO. The Beach is simply brilliant, I've seen that film at least 10 times and each time I leave in deep thought.

Black & White is a thing of the past, it's 2008 now and there is no need for that crap anymore. Unless your trying to make the viewers feel like they just traveled back in time. Thats what also hurt Clerks so badly, if it was in color, maybe more people would of payed attention to it.

You have got to be kidding. You are telling me that every Boyle movie made is better than any Nolan movie? Ridiculous!

I will admit that 28 Days Later is by far and away Boyle's best work and one of the better movies (not just zombie movies) of this decade. The cinematography throughout that movie is beautiful and Cillian is wonderful.

Brendan M.

07-24-2008, 11:25 PM

Black & White is a thing of the past, it's 2008 now and there is no need for that crap anymore. Unless your trying to make the viewers feel like they just traveled back in time. Thats what also hurt Clerks so badly, if it was in color, maybe more people would of payed attention to it.

As a lover of all things cinematic, I strongly disagree. And with all due respect, I think this statement against black and white is utterly moronic.

And please don't try to take my words as a personal attack, because the last time I talked to someone who complained about black and white films, I told him he had the attention span of a retard. For you I tried as hard as I could to be nice about it.

Monotreme

07-25-2008, 09:52 AM

Back on-topic here for a second...

The Dark Knight was amazing, but Memento still takes the cake for me. What's for sure is that Nolan is one of the most consistently high-quality directors of our time.

Memento - 9/10
The Dark Knight - 9/10
Batman Begins - 8/10
The Prestige - 8/10
Insomnia - 7.5/10

DME

07-25-2008, 10:02 AM

Max Cady

07-25-2008, 11:08 AM

chinton

07-25-2008, 11:26 AM

Sunshine made more money at the box office than Clerks and worldwide it made more money than Clerks 1 and 2 combined. Nobody gave a shit about a black and white movie. Thats why it only made $3 Million.

Seriously are you joking or what. Anybody who knows the slightest bit about film history knows that Clerks is one of the defining moments of Sundance and arguably independent films in the 90s. To say nobody paid attention to it because of the box office reciepts is just plain wrong. Wow.

Oh and getting back on topic Ive never quite understood why Insomnia was dismissed. Its one of the few remakes that both lives up to the original but also makes the film his own.

Monotreme

07-25-2008, 11:33 AM

Oh and getting back on topic Ive never quite understood why Insomnia was dismissed. Its one of the few remakes that both lives up to the original but also makes the film his own.

I agree. I haven't seen the original but Insomnia was great. Pacino and Williams were both very restrained and the film overall was very interesting from a character study and a plot standpoint, if not quite as epic and visionary as Memento or the Batman movies.

detective mills

07-25-2008, 11:40 AM

Sunshine made more money at the box office than Clerks and worldwide it made more money than Clerks 1 and 2 combined. Nobody gave a shit about a black and white movie. Thats why it only made $3 Million.

What about Good Night, and Good Luck, Ed Wood, The Man Who Wasn't There, even to an extent Sin City? All of these modern black and white films made more money than Sunshine made in theaters. A movie cannot be dismissed because it is filmed in black and white. It normally adds something to the movie, and usually allows you to appreciate the characters more. A lot of the times the black and white films are deeper and better than a lot of the color films released.

And you're talking about box office receipts as a way to gauge the quality of the movie, which is ridiculous. First of all, Danny Boyle only has 2 movies that made more than $20 million in the US, and one of those was only because Leonardo DiCaprio was starring in it directly following Titanic. He's not exactly the king of the box office. Clerks has had more of an impact on film, especially independant film, than a lot of the color films that are put out every year. And the fact that it only made around $3 million is because it's widest release was in less than 100 theaters. It has since become a phenomenon. Sunshine made a little over $3.5 million and it was released in nearly 500 theaters.

detective mills

07-25-2008, 11:42 AM

Oh and getting back on topic Ive never quite understood why Insomnia was dismissed. Its one of the few remakes that both lives up to the original but also makes the film his own.

I haven't seen it since I saw it in theaters. I remember liking it then, but it hasn't stuck me all that much, which is I why I consider it Nolan's worst film. I honestly can't remember all that much about it, so I think I need to rewatch it.

fooknasty

07-25-2008, 12:30 PM

Sin City is not B&W.

Anyways, Memento is one of the defining movies of this generation, and Nolan hasn't stopped there. He helped redefine the superhero genre (twice in my opinion), and has thrown in 2 movies like The Prestige and Insomnia as wondeful complimentary pieces to his resume.

I really enjoy Fincher's work as well, but Nolan has been far more defining and influential.

bigred760

07-25-2008, 04:51 PM

Sunshine > The Prestige
Trainspotting > Dark Knight
Shallow Grave > Memento
The Beach > The Following
Sunshine > Batman
28 Days Later > All

You have Sunshine on there twice.

Boyle has made some of the best movies of our time, there hasn't been a zombie movie of this level since way back when Romero was on his game and even then, his work doesn't compare to 28 Days later. Nolan has made some classics though, but it just doesn't compare IMO. The Beach is simply brilliant, I've seen that film at least 10 times and each time I leave in deep thought.

I don't see how you can compare Nolan and Boyle . . . the two have not made any movie that are similar, in any aspect (granted I haven't seen The Beach or Shallow Grave).

Black & White is a thing of the past, it's 2008 now and there is no need for that crap anymore.

B&W is more useful today than ever. It can be used for stylistic purposes better now than ever.

Unless your trying to make the viewers feel like they just traveled back in time.

Actually . . . I think that was the point of its use in Memento.

Nolan's best work: Memento . . . no movie before or after has come close to putting the viewer in the protagonist's position or point-of-view, well . . . Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind comes close, but I think Memento did it better. The directing, editing, storytelling, and characters are awesome. One of the best movies ever made.