Christopher Nolan‘s "Interstellar" lands on home video today, and it comes loaded with all kinds of special features (check out over 90 minutes of them right here). It will give you another chance to asses the director’s flawed but ambitious sci-fi film, and according to Nolan, maybe this time around the knotty science of the picture will be a bit more clear, especially since he didn’t expect you to take it all in the first time.
“ ‘Inception’ dealt a lot in ambiguities, I think ‘Interstellar’ less so, but you don’t know," he told Allocine about the reaction to his film. "There are all kinds of complexities in ‘Interstellar’ that the audience is certainly not intended to analyze or parse on one viewing. But a lot of that relates to the science of it, and why things are happening.” But he makes it clear that he isn’t just providing cloudy narratives for the sake of it, and that there is a guiding principle to his approach.
“The way I work is I have to know exactly what it is that’s going on, as far I’m concerned. I have to have a very strong rule set," Nolan explained. "I have to know exactly how everything adds up. But that doesn’t mean other interpretations aren’t valid. It doesn’t mean you can’t be ambiguous and layered about things. So I try to make films where I know what they mean, so we’re not cheating [and] it’s not ambiguity for ambiguity’s sake, things aren’t just left unanswered. I know what it means, but the idea is that my interpretation isn’t any more valid than your interpretation.”
And frankly, that’s a smart way to work, allowing audiences to bring their own experiences and emotions to a story, and letting them fill in their own blanks, even if it doesn’t necessarily match what it all means for the filmmaker.
Check out the brief talk with Nolan below, followed by a conversation with Jonathan Nolan and Kip Thorne with the folks at Schmoes Know.
You know a film is going to last when people keep debating why it\’s good or bad. The casting was excellent, plot was predictable, the emotions were true, and the flaws are what makes it better and stand out compared to Hollywood\’s cookie cutter films.
Interstellar is Nolan\’s best film. Perfect? No. But visually and aurally spectacular. Soaring score and the best acting ever in a Nolan film. Don\’t worry, Chris, Americans know nothing about science (and could care less, this is truly the Fall of the American Empire), but Interstellar will be recognized for the signficant film it is in decades to come.
Actually, this was the best movie of 2014. I only saw it once in the theater but plan to watch it several more times on blu-ray. I saw all the other movies nominated for best pic Oscar in 2014 – Interstellar was far better than each of them.
I\’m annoyed at how the author of this article nonchalantly states the film is flawed without an explanation as to why he thinks it is so. Statements like that only serve to influence those who have never seen the film, or those who did not understand the film, to think that it is broken before actually making that decision for themselves. In other words: Don\’t tell them what to think, pal.
I love Nolan as much as the next person, but I hated Interstellar. The screenplay was horrendous (and it has nothing to do with science). In fact, I understood the science. However, one cannot overlook the awful dialogue full exposition and heavy handed speeches. I didn\’t buy into the plot especially that ridiculous "twist" that added no tension whatsoever. Gravity is superior to this mess.
What Christopher Nolan doesn\’t seem to get is that people who dislike the film don\’t dislike it because they don\’t understand it. The film goes to such incredible lengths to make sure everything is completely spelled out.
Not Nolan\’s best but still better than 85% of the films that come out every year. I\’m proudly in the minority who really enjoyed this film.
because when they stopped and explained wormholes to the pilot like he was a six year old moments he drove into one wasn\’t quite clear enough?
what I\’d really like explained is how Batman got from that cave prison back to Gotham in Dark Knight Rises. Explain me the physics behind that?
His movies are all fine and good, but every generation gets the Kubrick it deserves and he is no Kubrick.
saw it once, understood it, i\’m good. loved some of it, didn\’t love some of it, kinda like every nolan movie after batman begins. hope he goes smaller for his next feature. maybe work with pacino again?
Nolan, let me know about your next project when you\’re ready!
Haven\’t seen a home release with that much of a push in a while…
This movie was a total mess, plot wise. Also is the casting was totally wrong.
You know a film is going to last when people keep debating why it\’s good or bad. The casting was excellent, plot was predictable, the emotions were true, and the flaws are what makes it better and stand out compared to Hollywood\’s cookie cutter films.