RE: Chris Nolan. can he be considerded as one of Britians best dircters

Follow @empiremagazine

Forum Home

Register for Free!

Log In

Moderator Tickets

FAQ

Users Online

RE: Chris Nolan. can he be considerded as one of Britians best dircters

Logged in as: Guest

Printable Version

All Forums >> [Film Forums] >> Actors And Auteurs >> RE: Chris Nolan. can he be considerded as one of Britians best dircters

Page: << < prev 1 2 [3] 4 5 next > >>

Message

<< Older Topic Newer Topic >>

RE: Chris Nolan. can he be considerded as one of Briti... - 23/3/2009 6:17:45 PM

PB~!

Posts: 801
Joined: 4/1/2008

I'd say he's up there for sure.

Momento - 10/10
Batman Begins - 10/10
The Prestige - 8/10
The Dark Knight - 10/10

_____________________________

no guilt in life, no fear in death

Check out my Hitchcockian Adventure in Lists and Top 10's
http://www.empireonline.com/forum/tm.asp?m=2209701

(in reply to Dirk Miggler)

Post #: 61

RE: Chris Nolan. can he be considerded as one of Briti... - 24/3/2009 3:45:17 PM

Woger

Posts: 3764
Joined: 30/9/2005

I'd go see a film with his name on the poster over alot of bigger actors out there. I also think his brother should get some credit too.

_____________________________

Eddie: "Weve been burgaled"
Richie: You may have been, but I have never in my life. As a christian I am so tightly clenched, oh you mean burgaled
- - -
There were originally five horsemen of the apocalypse. Jack Bauer said he would travel by foot

(in reply to Dirk Miggler)

Post #: 62

RE: Chris Nolan. can he be considerded as one of Briti... - 8/3/2010 3:02:57 PM

Musefan

Posts: 116
Joined: 21/12/2005

quote:

ORIGINAL: Squidward Hark Bugle

I've seen Memento, Batman Begins, The Prestige and The Dark Knight, and I don't rate any of them higher than 2/5. He's certainly a crowd-pleaser, but I don't consider him a viable force in the art world.

Well, i'd agree that he's not the most visually artistic director, but when you have as intelligent and well-thought-out scripts as him then that's not so much of an issue.

I find it very strange that you rate his films so low. I'm getting the impression that alot of the people on this thread didn't really understand The Prestige.

Can someone on this thread who disliked The Prestige, or thought the story didn't make sense, explain to me exactly what they thought was wrong with the story?

And as for The Dark Knight? Surely that's not only the best 'comic book' film of the decade, but one of the best crime films of the decade full stop.

quote:

quote:

ORIGINAL: ukacidman

The Prestige 10/10 ( cannot understand some of the flank this has got) if you have read the book you will understand what I great job he has done bring that story to the screan

ORIGINAL: elab49

I have, he hasn't. Part of it isn't his fault though - once you see the characters one of the twists is obvious from the get go, leaving an advantage for the book.

Which twist is obvious from the get go? If you're talking about the Bale one, then i completely disagree, i don't think i know anyone who guessed it right from the start. There's moments later on when you're given clues, but i think it's very well built up. Well done if you guessed it, but if you read the book first then that's probably why...

I haven't read the book, but from what i've heard he's done an excellent job of adapting it. I know the rough story of the book and it sounded to me like some of the changes Nolan made were for the better. I mean according to wiki the author( Christopher Priest) saw the film three times as of January 5, 2007, and his reaction was "'Well, holy shit.' I was thinking, 'God, I like that,' and 'Oh, I wish I'd thought of that.'" That kind of settles the matter for me.

< Message edited by Musefan -- 8/3/2010 3:21:31 PM >

(in reply to Woger)

Post #: 63

RE: Chris Nolan. can he be considerded as one of Briti... - 22/3/2010 9:42:11 PM

TheSpleen

Posts: 1292
Joined: 11/7/2009

If Inception is as inspiring as the little bits of footage so far show i'd say thats a small but breathtaking collection of made films.

(in reply to Musefan)

Post #: 64

RE: Chris Nolan. can he be considerded as one of Briti... - 23/3/2010 12:38:54 PM

Rob

Posts: 2434
Joined: 30/9/2005

This is turning into quite and interesting thread and it certainly has some diverse opinions. I'm surprised that we have people who genuinely believe that Paul Anderson is a better director than Nolan or that Schumacher's Batman is better than The Dark Knight but such is the beauty of art debate.

As for neither TDK or Batman Begins being fun, well I just don't see it. Maybe because I'm a massive Batfan but seeing him glide over Hong Kong, or standing on a Gargoyle overlooking the city and generally being a world away from Schumacher's take make the films fun. The Joker's entrance, the action, seeing Batman done properly...makes it fun. I spent the entire 2 and a half hours of TDK absolutely and utterly enthralled. As for the Punisher being more realistic than Batman...simply not true. The Punisher is basically is Batman without the cape or moral code.

Moving away from the Bat films though we have a guy that has directed Memento and the Prestige both of which I thought were mini-masterpieces and even Insomnia which I though was good but not great was still miles ahead of most thrillers.

To my mind he is easily one of our best directors and Inception looks like it could be one of his most complex, entertaining and fun films yet.

_____________________________

Same thing happened to me when I played Neil Armstrong in Moonshot. They found me in an alley in Burbank trying to re-enter the earth's atmosphere in an old refrigerator box.

(in reply to TheSpleen)

Post #: 65

RE: Chris Nolan. can he be considerded as one of Briti... - 23/3/2010 12:53:53 PM

MOTH

Posts: 3194
Joined: 3/10/2005
From: Sittin' on the dock of the bay

The Prestige was a bit like watching a magic trick which is all very entertaining until you catch sight of the hidden assistant part way through the act. I hadn't read the book, but the twist was fairly apparent early on, I thought, and once you see that, the rest of the film falls apart under too many contrivances and implausibilities, plus the shift from Victorian drama to sci-fi is rather jarring. So it inadvertedly ends up like a Tommy Cooper magic trick - the skill is obviously there, but you just end up laughing at the silliness of it instead.

_____________________________

I've only gone and set up a blog! This week I've been mostly reviewing Wreck-It Ralph, Flight, an Ida Lupino double bill and Star Trek Into Darkness Click : The Fast Picture Show

(in reply to Rob)

Post #: 66

RE: Chris Nolan. can he be considerded as one of Briti... - 1/4/2010 5:25:56 PM

Stryder

Posts: 114
Joined: 15/10/2005

Yes.

For the 2 Batman films alone.

(in reply to ScottiE)

Post #: 67

RE: Chris Nolan. can he be considerded as one of Briti... - 22/4/2010 10:00:27 PM

Lang

Posts: 1361
Joined: 15/8/2006
From: The Wall, Aberdeenshire

The Nolans are a good team, fingers crossed for Inception being another hit.

_____________________________

#6 member of The Wire fan club. PM Dantes Inferno to join.

PS Tag Riddle_Me_This

'Winter is Coming'

(in reply to Stryder)

Post #: 68

RE: Chris Nolan. can he be considerded as one of Briti... - 23/4/2010 1:18:23 AM

ElephantBoy

Posts: 7399
Joined: 13/4/2006

Very good point MOTH, I do think that film is his only misfire, and while I think he needs some more great ones under his belts to be considered a great, I do think Nolan's very much on his way, and when its all said and done will go down as a legend, OH YES I DID JUST SAY! And will face the music if it doesn't come to pass.

Right now while I don't think its been a great year so far for film, the fact we have a Nolan film coming out is a real reason to rejoince, its almost as exciting as when David Lync releases a film for me. Can't wait!

(in reply to Lang)

Post #: 69

RE: Chris Nolan. can he be considerded as one of Briti... - 24/4/2010 7:47:25 PM

Rich Empire

Posts: 899
Joined: 6/12/2005
From: London

I liked The Prestige a lot (there I said it!), okay it's a bit more easy going than something like The Dark Knight but that's no bad thing.
**SPOLIER**
When I re-watch it, it's more interesting to guess where the changes of the characters occur. It reveals a totally different scope to Christian Bale's character considering the love triangle that takes place.
For me The Dark Knight was way too amped up and lacked an ebb and flow to it's storyline. It was a great action film for the cinema I admit, but for me the whole thing felt in the red and up to 11 for two and a half hours.
I felt kind of exhausted after seeing it. However, I did go see it twice so I guess there was something there, but I actually prefer Batman Begins as an overall film.
I personally think he's one of the best working directors of today, though there's many other people to thank behind the scenes as well such as DP's and editors.
Inception does look great, fingers crossed he strikes gold again.
Leonardo DiCaprio is on fine form at the moment in my opinion after his great performance in Shutter Island.

_____________________________

The Dude abides...

(in reply to ElephantBoy)

Post #: 70

RE: Chris Nolan. can he be considerded as one of Briti... - 15/5/2010 10:21:21 PM

no1psh

Posts: 695
Joined: 1/3/2006
From: The Narrows

I think all of Nolan's movies so far have been excellent so I'd say he can be considered as one of the best!

_____________________________

"I drink you're milkshake!"
"I drink it up"

(in reply to Rich Empire)

Post #: 71

RE: Chris Nolan. can he be considerded as one of Briti... - 7/7/2010 1:17:04 PM

shool

Posts: 9640
Joined: 24/3/2006
From: In The Pipe, Five by Five.

Nolan is turning out to be an awesome director

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

High hopes for Inception too.

_____________________________

Invisio Text for Spoilers
[ color=#F1F1F1 ] Spoiler text [ /color ] , remove spaces between square brackets

"No one knows what it means, but it's provocative... It gets the people going!"

(in reply to no1psh)

Post #: 72

RE: Chris Nolan. can he be considerded as one of Briti... - 7/7/2010 5:01:53 PM

The Hooded Man

Posts: 2728
Joined: 12/7/2006

The problem with The Dark Knight was that it made Batman almost redundant in his own film, it could easily have been a straightforward action film with John McClane as the hero rather than Batman.

_____________________________

Counting the minutes until the over zealous mods lock this thread too.

(in reply to shool)

Post #: 73

RE: Chris Nolan. can he be considerded as one of Briti... - 10/7/2010 9:43:07 PM

ElephantBoy

Posts: 7399
Joined: 13/4/2006

But you could say that happened in Batman Returns with Pagrin and Cat Woman, and certainly it is a problem with TDK too. However one of the refreshing things about this that it was very much a character driven ensemble piece, where every role was just as important as the others. And because the story took on so much more than previous Batman film's I do think that papered over some of the cracks.

I said it at the time than Nolan is the new Hitchcock, and I will stand by that. Maybe you can pick holes in the Batman film, but what he's doing with them on this sort of level has never been done before, to turn a poplar hollywood blockbuster into a ar house film, and not to comprmise your vision is quite something, and I don't think I can remember another example.

Will I be going this friday? will I ever! its maybe the movie event of the year for me, and yes I know that sounds cheesy

As for the compeasions with the likes of Boyle? Well Boyle has a greater volume of work, and most of them have been strong films (including a couple of master pieces), and is more of a natural storyteller, then again I would say Boyle is the slightly more safer of the two, Nolan takes far more chances, and basically devolps far more complex characters and stories, and his films are viserally very good too.

(in reply to The Hooded Man)

Post #: 74

RE: Chris Nolan. can he be considerded as one of Briti... - 28/7/2010 12:17:40 AM

BOHEMIANBOB

Posts: 1884
Joined: 31/1/2010
From: Dublin

After Inception-this is a ridiculous question.
Absolutely yes.

_____________________________

Misunderstood.
Don't care.
Have you seen my stolen signature?!

(in reply to ElephantBoy)

Post #: 75

RE: Chris Nolan. can he be considerded as one of Briti... - 28/7/2010 8:30:39 AM

theieuan

Posts: 282
Joined: 1/9/2006
From: Llanelli

After Inception he certainly can be considered as one of Britian's best directors.

_____________________________

You know, this place makes me wonder...Which would be worse, to live as a monster or die as a good man?

(in reply to BOHEMIANBOB)

Post #: 76

RE: Chris Nolan. can he be considerded as one of Briti... - 28/7/2010 4:44:10 PM

Epiphany Demon

Posts: 6498
Joined: 14/11/2007

Inception is his best film yet. And after rewatches...

Memento - 5/5
Insomnia - 4/5
Batman Begins - 4/5
The Prestige - 4/5
The Dark Knight - 5/5
Inception - 5/5

_____________________________

THE ALTERNATIVE LOOK AT BOB DYLAN'S DISCOGRAPHY - ONE DAY MAYBE I'LL FINISH IT

(in reply to theieuan)

Post #: 77

RE: Chris Nolan. can he be considered as one of Britain... - 28/7/2010 5:09:02 PM

homersimpson_esq

Posts: 19969
Joined: 30/9/2005
From: Springfield

Since everyone's done it here, I'll rate his films, but rank them too.

01. Inception - 9/10
02. The Dark Knight - 9/10
03. The Prestige - 9/10
04. Memento - 9/10
05. Batman Begins - 8/10
06. Insomnia - 8/10
07. Doodlebug (short) - 7/10

In answer to the question the thread poses, unquestionably, yes. Four undoubted masterpieces, two superb films, and a witty short film. (It's on Youtube, check it out.) It's interesting that the Batman films really do split the audience, yet his non-Batman films are more unanimously accepted as brilliant cinema.

Incidentally, 7/10 and 8/10 both translate as four stars, and 9/10 and 10/10 both translate as five stars, if considering the above ratings within a 5 star rating. I like to rate out of 10 to keep that 10/10 rating for the truly, unutterably phenomena of film-making.

(Although, there is something for the French way of marking. Apparently, 8/10 is the highest mark you can get. 9/10 is reserved for teachers. 10/10 is reserved for God. I rather like that.)

_____________________________

That deep-browed Homer ruled as his demesne.

TREK WARS

(in reply to Epiphany Demon)

Post #: 78

RE: Chris Nolan. can he be considered as one of Britain... - 28/7/2010 5:30:44 PM

Rob

Posts: 2434
Joined: 30/9/2005

I don't think it's a question anymore of him being Britain's best director but simply one of the best in the world working at the moment.

6 major feature films since Following (which I shamefully haven't seen) and he hasn't even come close to making a bad film. My ratings would be:

Inception 5/5
Dark Knight 5/5
Memento 5/5
Batman Begins 4/5
Prestige 4/5
Insomnia 4/5

The guy is simply a stunning director.

_____________________________

Same thing happened to me when I played Neil Armstrong in Moonshot. They found me in an alley in Burbank trying to re-enter the earth's atmosphere in an old refrigerator box.

(in reply to homersimpson_esq)

Post #: 79

RE: Chris Nolan. can he be considered as one of Britain... - 28/7/2010 7:06:18 PM

Rhubarb

Posts: 24405
Joined: 30/9/2005
From: No Direction Home

quote:

ORIGINAL: homersimpson_esq

(Although, there is something for the French way of marking. Apparently, 8/10 is the highest mark you can get. 9/10 is reserved for teachers. 10/10 is reserved for God. I rather like that.)

When was the last time God made a film as good as Inception?

_____________________________

Team Ginge
WWLD?

quote:

ORIGINAL: FritzlFan

You organisational skills sicken me, Rhubarb.

(in reply to homersimpson_esq)

Post #: 80

RE: Chris Nolan. can he be considered as one of Britain... - 28/7/2010 7:24:42 PM

Rhubarb

Posts: 24405
Joined: 30/9/2005
From: No Direction Home

Also its ridiculous to have an out of 10 rating and never rate out of ten.

_____________________________

Team Ginge
WWLD?

quote:

ORIGINAL: FritzlFan

You organisational skills sicken me, Rhubarb.

(in reply to Rhubarb)

Post #: 81

RE: Chris Nolan. can he be considered as one of Britain... - 28/7/2010 8:20:04 PM

homersimpson_esq

Posts: 19969
Joined: 30/9/2005
From: Springfield

quote:

ORIGINAL: Rhubarb

quote:

ORIGINAL: homersimpson_esq

(Although, there is something for the French way of marking. Apparently, 8/10 is the highest mark you can get. 9/10 is reserved for teachers. 10/10 is reserved for God. I rather like that.)

When was the last time God made a film as good as Inception?

God made Creation.

Although, to be fair, aside from Bettany and Connolly's performances, it was a bit of a weak film.

_____________________________

That deep-browed Homer ruled as his demesne.

TREK WARS

(in reply to Rhubarb)

Post #: 82

RE: Chris Nolan. can he be considerded as one of Briti... - 28/7/2010 8:25:33 PM

Rhubarb

Posts: 24405
Joined: 30/9/2005
From: No Direction Home

So...what your saying is, effectively Nolan > God? Because Rawls thought I was overrating Nolan the other day, wait till he hears about this.

_____________________________

Team Ginge
WWLD?

quote:

ORIGINAL: FritzlFan

You organisational skills sicken me, Rhubarb.

(in reply to ScottiE)

Post #: 83

RE: Chris Nolan. can he be considerded as one of Briti... - 29/7/2010 12:25:14 PM

theieuan

Posts: 282
Joined: 1/9/2006
From: Llanelli

quote:

ORIGINAL: Epiphany Demon

Inception is his best film yet. And after rewatches...

Memento - 5/5
Insomnia - 4/5
Batman Begins - 4/5
The Prestige - 4/5
The Dark Knight - 5/5
Inception - 5/5

Memento - 4/5
Insomnia - 4/5
Batman Begins - 4/5
The Prestige - 4/5
The Dark Knight - 5/5
Inception - 5/5

< Message edited by theieuan -- 15/9/2010 3:38:06 PM >

_____________________________

You know, this place makes me wonder...Which would be worse, to live as a monster or die as a good man?

(in reply to Epiphany Demon)

Post #: 84

RE: Chris Nolan. can he be considerded as one of Briti... - 29/7/2010 1:58:52 PM

darth silas

Posts: 4949
Joined: 1/10/2005
From: My living room

Hes the best filmaker working today.British or otherwise.

_____________________________

Star Wars:Episodes 1,2,3,4,5,6.Taken together they are one giant movie and it is the greatest movie EVER.

(in reply to theieuan)

Post #: 85

RE: Chris Nolan. can he be considerded as one of Briti... - 29/7/2010 11:22:12 PM

BOHEMIANBOB

Posts: 1884
Joined: 31/1/2010
From: Dublin

quote:

ORIGINAL: Rob

This is turning into quite and interesting thread and it certainly has some diverse opinions. I'm surprised that we have people who genuinely believe that Paul Anderson is a better director than Nolan or that Schumacher's Batman is better than The Dark Knight but such is the beauty of art debate.

As for neither TDK or Batman Begins being fun, well I just don't see it. Maybe because I'm a massive Batfan but seeing him glide over Hong Kong, or standing on a Gargoyle overlooking the city and generally being a world away from Schumacher's take make the films fun. The Joker's entrance, the action, seeing Batman done properly...makes it fun. I spent the entire 2 and a half hours of TDK absolutely and utterly enthralled. As for the Punisher being more realistic than Batman...simply not true. The Punisher is basically is Batman without the cape or moral code.

Moving away from the Bat films though we have a guy that has directed Memento and the Prestige both of which I thought were mini-masterpieces and even Insomnia which I though was good but not great was still miles ahead of most thrillers.

To my mind he is easily one of our best directors and Inception looks like it could be one of his most complex, entertaining and fun films yet.

I read back through the posts on this..
I am genuinely astounded

Anderson?Death Race?Schumacher's Batman?They all suck!Anderson's career reads like the money people gave the gig to the tea lady-awful films,done,well,awfully.
The original Batman films were more like the Adam West Batman-and that makes Flash Gordon look contemporary!
Nolan brings storytelling and characterisation to his films-something Anderson and to a less guilty,but incomparable level Scumacher do not.

_____________________________

Misunderstood.
Don't care.
Have you seen my stolen signature?!

(in reply to Rob)

Post #: 86

RE: Chris Nolan. can he be considerded as one of Briti... - 30/7/2010 8:05:07 PM

Dr Lenera

Posts: 3471
Joined: 19/10/2005

I stated earlier that I think Nolan's an average director, especially with his Batman films, but Inception blew me away! I doubt there will be a better film this year.

My rankings
Memento 3/5
Insomnia 2/5
Batman Begins 2/5
The Prestige 3/5
The Dark Knight 2/5
Inception 5/5

_____________________________

check out more of my reviews on http://horrorcultfilms.co.uk/

(in reply to BOHEMIANBOB)

Post #: 87

RE: Chris Nolan. can he be considerded as one of Briti... - 2/8/2010 1:12:14 AM

ElephantBoy

Posts: 7399
Joined: 13/4/2006

I disagree on two counts, firstly the only avenge film he has made is the Prestige, the rest have ranged from good to very good. And second I am still not convinced of Inception as being his master piece, yes its another very good film, and marks another, unique chapter in his career, but I still think a couple of poor performances, and some rambling scenes keep it below things like Memento and The Batman films for example. Althrough Inception is something I am inching to see again.

After Inception my Nolan list looks likes:

Memento 9/10
Batman Begins 9/10
Insomnia 8/10
The Dark Knight 8/10
Inception 8/10
The Following 7/10
The Prestige 6/10

(in reply to Dr Lenera)

Post #: 88

RE: Chris Nolan. can he be considerded as one of Briti... - 2/8/2010 2:04:11 AM

KnightofZyryab

Posts: 5777
Joined: 26/12/2005

I rate:

Memento: 8/10
Insomnia: 8.5/10
Batman Begins: 9/10
The Prestige: 7.5/10
The Dark Knight: 10/10
Inception: 10/10

Overall, incredible consistency, and I always anticipate his next feature.

_____________________________

Imminent viewings : The Place Beyond the Pines

Read my blog at: http://alcentrodelaberinto.blogspot.com/

(in reply to ElephantBoy)

Post #: 89

RE: Chris Nolan. can he be considerded as one of Briti... - 2/8/2010 12:31:14 PM

jon5000

Posts: 1089
Joined: 29/3/2007
From: LA

He can absolutely be considered one of Britain's best at the moment. His body of work has been that successful and critical acclaimed that of course he deserves to be considered as one of the best currently working. If there's one criticism I would lodge against him, it's that he hasn't varied himself enough - most of his work follows much the same noir tone. Would be nice for him to try something a little different.

For me, I'd say Insomnia is his best film hands down. Just the way he handled Al Pacino and Williams so early in his carrier - it's a fantastic film, expertly put together, that just piles on twists and turns until the end.

(in reply to KnightofZyryab)

Post #: 90