@caleb i thought this too about the snow level. i was a little let down by the lack of creativity in that specific level. although, i wonder if that level was made to be bland so errors wouldn’t show up as simply for the dreamer. something to think about maybe?
I I think in INCEPTION are moments of great visual imagination, but I believe Nolans career went to fast from independant films to big budget films. It is not that I feel pity with him because there is always the freedom of choice. But the films seems to be split in an amzing idea of a talented director and enormous pressure from the producers. Today and thats different from the period where Kubrick made films – they want to see their invested money back if possible in 3 weeks after the film started. It is a pity because Nolan has much more visual talent than Cameron or even worse Peter Jackson.
1. The Prestige…sooo good.
2. The Dark Knight…mostly because of Heath’s amazing performance
3. Batman Begins…a great renewal of all those other shitty Batman movies, yuck
4. Inception…will most likely rate higher after multiple viewings (I know the brilliance is there, I just haven’t seen it yet)
5. Memento…the best screenplay ever ( just not the same impact after watching it a dozen times)
6. Insomnia…solid film, good performances
7. Followning…Good experiment for what’s to come
Well, I finally saw Inception, as it started its first week at a small movie theatre ‘round here – I thoroughly hate multiplexes. Here’s a short first review (I’ll probably post a longer, more complete one later on):
Interesting, well-made movie, not the masterpiece fanboys make it out to be, e.g.: they could’ve done a lot more with such an interesting premise – suspense-wise and regarding dramatic tension. I found the characters to be pretty one-dimensional, like they were merely going through the motions of the script. But that’s only nitpicking, I guess. Anyone else thought Joseph Gordon-Levitt was the real hero of the story?
So, new ranking:
7. The Prestige
6. Insomnia
5. Batman Begins
4. Following
3. Inception
2. Memento
1. The Dark Knight
1. INCEPTION – 5/5
2. DARK KNIGHT – 5/5
3. MEMENTO – 5/5
4. BATMAN BEGINS – 4/5
5. INSOMNIA – 4/5
6. FOLLOWING – 4/5
1. Inception (4.5/5)
2. The Dark Knight (4/5)
3. Memento (4/5)
4. Batman Begins (3.5/5)
Should I check out the others?
@Drew: Following is a great stylistic exercise in neo-noir, and still one of my favorites in the “directors’ first efforts” category. Shot in atmospheric black/white on a shoestring budget without professional actors, it generates a tremendously potent result.
As you’ve probably noticed, both The Prestige and Insomnia are classified pretty low in my book (compared to Nolan’s other flicks, that is), but a lot of people here seem to prefer those – so you should give them a chance, I guess, certainly since you rate the ones you’ve seen so highly.
he is a man with lots of abilities ,his movies show that abilities .He is best known for writing and directing the psychological thriller.simply he is the best .
I would rank Nolan’s films by using the «out of 10» way…
I’ve only seen three of Nolan’s films’s Inception, Memento, and the two Batman films and this is how I would rank what I’ve seen
1.Inception
2. Memento
And I wouldn’t rank the Two Batman films because I think they are two of the worst films ever made! I know most people going nuts over TDK but I don’t understand why?! Fair enough Ledger’s performance is good but its not enough to refer to it as the sole reason for the film being good (and I know a lot of people do that, first think they say when you mention you don’t like TDK is ‘But what about Ledger?’) Ledger’s performance aside, the rest of the acting is terrible, it’s about 2 hours too long and generally for something that is an action film I think it moves very slowly! As of Batman Begins, I know I seen it twice and yet I can’t remember anything from it and i think that says enough!
On the other hand, Inception and Memento are two of the best films I’ve ever watched! I realise both have flaws however it is the cleverness of the screenplay that I think should be recognised here. Nolan is responsible for both. The entire way through each film Nolan kept me guessing as to what was gunna happen at the end and they both definately kept me thinking about film long after it had stopped playing. The central theme of questioning reality is expertly handle by Nolan and he shows his worth as an amazing visual story teller. Its shame I really can’t include the Batman films in this praise but i really do think they are terrible
I’m pleasanly surprised with the amount of “The Prestige” fans in this forum. It’s my favorite Nolan film too and I rank it among the best of the decade. “Memento” is very good too. “Inception” could have been excellent if the film wasn’t so self-explanatory and had a more imaginative and organic visual style. The action sequences also seem to have been pasted there just to please the audience and have no particular purpose in the story.
Have problems with all of his films save THE PRESTIGE, but here goes…
1. THE PRESTIGE
2. BATMAN BEGINS
3. THE DARK KNIGHT
4. MEMENTO
5. FOLLOWING
6. INSOMNIA (horrible, limp remake)
Not yet seen INCEPTION.
I maybe a mistake earlier I have also seen the The Prestige and really enjoyed it, definately better that the Batman films!
1. Inception
2. Memento
3. The Dark Knight
4. The Prestige
5. Batman Begins
6. Following
7. Insomnia
8. Doodlebug
1. Memento
2. The Prestige
3. The Dark Knight
4. Inception
5. Insomnia
Haven’t seen Batman Begins or Following.
I rank them from most recent all the way down to Doodlebug.
i.e.
Inception
The Dark Knight
The Prestige
Batman Begins
Insomnia
Memento
Following
Doodlebug
Not as a matter of greatest to worst, but more in the sense that to me he gets better with each new project. He’s truly one of very few directors who has that potential to improve upon themselves and always manages to do so each time.
1. Memento
2. The Prestige
3. Following
4. The Dark Knight
5. Inception
6. Batman Begins
7. Insomnia
only movie i’ve seen by him is Inception, and i disliked it so much (especially after all the unwarranted hype surrounding both this movie and this director) that i have no desire to see any of his movies.
having said that, if someone convinced me that any of his other flicks have more emotional depth, 3 dimensional characters, and mature, believable script, then i would be willing to see those other movies by him. from what i understand, though, these qualities are not what is work is known for. since i’ve never heard anyone make a case for those aspects of his other various films, i doubt i will be seeing any of his other movies.
After this last Batman, I’m done with Nolan. He has yet to do anything of much interest thus far for me.
“that i have no desire to see any of his movies.”
Don’t unless you’re really bored and you want to be pleased with a charming black and white student-noir like Following which is entertaining quite a lot.
I also find it sad someone would say that Nolan has more talent than Jackson. Jackson used to direct early in his career some ravishingly camp films and I’ll take all the camp of the world than a “visionary” like Nolan pretends to be.
This is a tough one, but here it goes (ranked from best to weakest, though I hate to use the term “weak” since I love all of Mr. Nolan’s films)…
1. The Prestige
I still think this is Nolan’s most assured, powerful piece of filmmaking to date. It’s the perfect summation of his talents not only as a filmmaker but as a storyteller as well. His screenplay is probably the best example of an adaptation that I have ever read.
2. The Dark Knight
A dark, brooding epic full of force and grandeur. On the surface it’s a grand scale crime story with enough action and explosions to to satisfy even the most mundane of viewers. But beneath this beats the heart of a film whose characters are pushed to the brink and back again. The protagonists may wear costumes, but even this can’t disguise what the film is: a meditation on good vs evil, chaos vs order, right vs wrong. It’s a powerful lesson on morality that you can’t escape from.
3. Memento
I don’t even really need to say anything on this one. Memento changed how we look at the nature of narrative in film. It’s a stark, neo-noir masterpiece.
4. Inception
Nolan reminds us that even summer action fare can make us think and feel. What I love most about Nolan is his approach to the craft of filmmaking. He uses practical effects, models, trick photography, etc in place of mindless CG. He’s one of the few filmmakers that does that today and Inception displays this prowess proudly and effectively.
5. Batman Begins
Begins took everyone by surprise. This is the film that changed how we look at superheroes, specifically superhero films. It’s smart, affecting and exciting.
6. Insomnia
Insomnia seems to always be at the tail end of these Nolan lists. And I suppose I can’t call anyone out on this, because it’s at the tail end of mine as well. Even though this film gets a bad rep from a lot of fans, it’s still an intriguing exercise in remaking a previous work. Though this is Nolan’s first foray into big budget studio fare, he still manages to cling to his thematic interests without sacrificing anything. He delivers a dark, slow burn of a film. It’s the subtly that I love most about Insomnia, the quiet moments. If you didn’t like it initially, or think it far inferior to Nolan’s other work, please revisit it. You’ll find that if you look at the film a more little closely, the layers of complexity will reveal themselves in time.
7. Following
One of the most assured, well crafted debuts I’ve ever had the pleasure of watching. It cuts right to the quick and has all of Nolan’s trademark thematic elements on display. It’s a killer of a little film filled with just the right amount of bleak despair.
1. Memento
2. The Prestige
3. Batman Begins
4. The Dark Night
More and more this is growing in my estimation and coming closer to Batman Begins
It should be noted that the above 4 films are the four I am fans of.
5. Inception FLAWS!!
6. Insomnia WEAK!!
7. Following CHEAP!!
Kidding of course, but the lack of Nolan’s now trademark POLISH does seem to make this less watchable than Inception despite seeming even more childish
Tonda,
How can you penalize Following for not being polished? You realize Nolan shot the film on weekends here and there over the course of a year with friends and next to no budget. I’d say it’s pretty damned polished given all of those restrictions.
Rory,
to be fair I was sort of tongue and cheek about my comments on Following. I should of said, of Nolan’s lesser work, the only merit I find in them, is Wally Pfister’s gorgeous work. Therefor while not a fan of either film, I would rather watch something shot by Wally over Following, even though I think Inception’s story is weaker than the latters.
I only meant (visual) “polish” in terms of Cinematography aesthetic, should of specified.
1) Memento
2) The Dark Knight
3) Inception
4) Batman Begins
5) The Prestige
6) Following
7) Insomnia
1. Following
2. The Prestige
3. Memento
4. The Dark Knight
5. Inception
6. Insomnia
7. Batman Begins
Nolan’s Following is his only great film IMO. He captures the truly personal nature of the debut film; not necessarily narratively, but stylistically, it foreshadowed (and, despite his later bigger budgets, often surpassed) his characteristic tendencies and manages to convey some rather unsettling and mysterious moments with ease.
Overall, he’s not a great filmmaker though; he seems too reliant to remain within his very narrow comfort zone. His technical talent (and/or association with talented people) nearly bursts through every scene of most of his films (well, I’m being generous with that) but he reigns himself in with no dynamic ability whatsoever.
Memento was good, but it could’ve been so much more than it was. It was, despite anyone’s claims/beliefs built around a gimmick; a gimmick that, at the time (late ’90s?), was considered “fresh.” A decade later (and in retrospect of earlier films) it has lost its impact (rightfully so). Guy Pearce is reliable as usual and is really the only reason for seeing the film except for some kind of commercial posterity.
I’m continually baffled by the general love for Batman Begins. It’s a badly-paced, underwhelmingly-acted, and poorly written film that simply has no value in it whatsoever with the exception of some interesting ideas (sadly destroyed by predictable, commercial overindulgence).
The Prestige is pretty damn good though. I was perplexed by the typical wooden acting of Christian Bale, but that’s the film’s only major weakness (granted, a glaring one).
At the very bottom.
@Deck
Did you participate in the thread on The Prestige? (I think there is only one.) I thought The Prestige had a lot more than one flaw; I thought it was pretty bad and I go into more specifics in that thread. (I can barely remember the specifics now, otherwise, I’d bring it up.)
Never saw The Following, but praising the film so much piques my interest. Then again, you have The Prestige at #2, which wipes out any interest I had. ;)
Well, I’m not saying all of Nolan’s films are great, merely ranking them within the confines of his catalog. I wouldn’t call The Prestige a great film, for me there are things I would’ve preferred to be different but I wouldn’t call them flaws necessarily simply differences of presentation.
Also, Nolan’s Following is his best film IMO, but not necessarily the greatest film, but it might make it in my top 100. Again though, I don’t consider Nolan to be a great filmmaker either, he has yet to create a masterpiece.
Caleb
my main issue with inception is that the snow level was a major letdown. the film should have been building visually, so i expected the last stages to be really spectacular. but it was kind of dull visually and lacked creativity. the hotel anti-gravity scene set a standard that the remainder of the film didn’t match.