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Christopher Nolan’s Favorite Sequence From His Movies Is The Airplane Kidnapping Scene From ‘The Dark Knight Rises’

The Playlist Staff
By The Playlist Staff
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The Dark Knight RisesWhile the mechanics of Christopher Nolan‘s films can be divisive, there’s no denying that he’s is one of the best at enacting spectacle on the big screen —his achievements as such include the docking sequence in his most recent "Interstellar" to the sleight-of-hand in "The Prestige" to the tilted hallway fight of the mind-bending "Inception." During a talk last night at the Tribeca Film Festival hosted by Bennett Miller, Nolan was asked to choose which of his blockbuster sequences was his favorite. And he selected the pretty terrific opening airplane kidnapping scene from "The Dark Knight Rises."

“It took us about two days in Scotland," he explained about the sequence, which you can watch below. "And it was an incredible sort of coming together of months and months of planning by a lot of different members of the team who worked for months rehearsing these parachute jumps and wind walking, all these different things… The visual effects work in the sequence is very minimal… I was really amazed by what the team we had put together had achieved using very sort of old-fashioned methods, in a way. I was very proud of the way that came together.”

If there’s something clinical in Nolan’s answer, it shouldn’t be surprising given how he describes his screenwriting process. “I don’t write a story outline. I work intuitively, but I draw a lot of diagrams when I work," he said. "I do a lot of thinking about etchings by Escher, for instance. That frees me, finding a mathematical model or a scientific model. I’ll draw pictures and diagrams that illustrate the movement or the rhythm that I’m after.”

And that spirit carries over into the editing process: “I’ve always edited in a huge hurry," he said, "trying to catch that lightning in a bottle, just so the energy is there. I always think of editing as instinctive or impressionist. Not to think too much, in a way, and feel it more.” 

Yet Nolan is still operating in a very mainstream business, one that requires success of the four quadrant variety —which Nolan attributes to an "enormous amount of luck"— to be afforded the kind of creative latitude he enjoys. It’s a process that requires dealing with studios too, but Nolan has figured out how to deal with execuitves from one of his earliest supporters. “I learned how to accept notes from the studio while still pursuing your own vision from Steven Soderbergh, my mentor. You have to get out there and find a place for yourself. You have to make your own rules. You have to figure out what’s going to work for you… He taught me that you’re on your own and you have to get out there and make it work.”

Indeed, Nolan has been making it work quite well, but game recognizes game, and the director tipped his hat to one 2014 movie in particular. “I really loved ‘Whiplash‘ last year. I thought that was an incredible piece of work. That was the kind of film where when you see it, it’s very precisely put together and you’re very jealous,” he said.

Of course, the Q&A at Tribeca included the inevitable question about the ending of "Inception," but Miller fielded that one. “I asked him that same question backstage, and he said the answer is not for public consumption,” he said. But Nolan shared the advice his brother Jonathan gave him about keeping the ending secret: “Nobody will be able to look past what you’ve said.” [via Long Live Cinema/Tribeca].

Note: audio is silent for the first 15 seconds or so, then kicks in.

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209 COMMENTS

  43. I\’m sure a lot of Nolan fan boys will be a little hot headed after this revelation that this scene is his favorite. I say get those hot heads outta here.

  48. Still irks me that they altered Bane\’s original voice. He sounded much more calm and intimidating in the IMAX Prologue compared to the loud and somewhat campy voice in the final version.

  49. Brilliant sequence. Very well realised. But man, i can\’t get enough of the docking scene in Interstellar. just wow!

    Very cool that Steven Soderbergh is his mentor. It\’s great how he took that advice, and has made it work so well for him.

  52. The one time I saw Chris Nolan was, I shit you not, in the basement at a USC frat party, completely gone on Ecstasy, and being railed by Dan "the fat guy from better off dead" Schneider

  66. Chris Nolan is a fascinating director, during the filming of Interstellar we all wondered why my character was supposed to take a fat ogre shit in her spacesuit, but he kept saying it was part of the vision.

  90. This scene is a big guy for me, and taking over my brain must have been a part of it\’s plan. Of course, Bravo Nolan you\’re a real human being and a true detective. I don\’t know what to do anymore. I wake up in the middle of the night and immediately yell FOR YOU! I just can\’t help it.Even if it\’s just the faintest sound of the plane. Oh my God. Please save me. Somebody. I can\’t take it. My life is crashing with no survivors.

  101. I hate Nolan\’s editing. It\’s awesome the first time, but there\’s no re-watchability with his films. It\’s terrible compared to something like George Miller\’s editing

  113. I remember when I only 9. I had a huge thing for Nolan movies and prayed to him every night before bed, thanking for those masterpieces. He had my love, and he was my life back then. One day dad heard me and used bad words for homosexual. I was insulted, and called him a bad man. He slapped me and sent me back to sleep. I remember crying so much that night. It was so cold. Then I felt it; a sudden, welcome warmth coming towards me. Then I realized it was Chris; I was overjoyed. He whispered in my ear, "this is my plan". I knew what was coming, and I was ready. My posterior spreading wide, all of it for Nolan. It hurt so much, but it was like a Nolan masterpiece. Then out of nowhere, dad comes in. I vividly remember the cold stare, and his raspy voice saying "you\’re a big guy now". Nolan left through my window. Nolan is love, Nolan is life.

  116. On behalf of all of us here at the CIA,

    Thank you Christopher for this big achievement and extreme leap forward in film-making. I, as many others, encourage you to continue your life-long career as a director in order to show all of us what art is. Life is like the smoke of a rising fire, it makes its way to the sky and continue to rise even after the embers of life have burned out. Again, it comes with great congratulations on your becoming a fine, word-class director. Now what\’s the next step of your master plan?

  128. so i told chris to make the opening line of his final batman movie "dr. pavel i\’m cia".. and he actually did it the absolute madman hahahahahahaha!

  129. I love this scene but i always wondered, was Bane a big guy for the CIA man or was it originally based on the pain that Bane would feel if the CIA man would pull of the mask?

  132. Hey Chris, I was just wondering if you\’re planning on doing a sequel to Interstellar. I could work as your lead, or even at a smaller part. I know I,ve called you 7 times already, maybe your phone is broken or something. Please reply to this message. I could use some work y\’know

  139. As a pilot, there\’s nothing I love more than to see massive planes take flight on the big screen. Sometimes when I\’m traveling great distances over lakes and mountains I can\’t believe that I\’m the guy that\’s in control. I scream in my head "This can\’t be happening", but then I think back to this great scene and it fills me with hope. The hot feeling of worry in my head vanishes and it\’s replaced with the words "I\’m in charge here!" Thank you Mr Nolan for this fantastic film. If I ever meet you in person you can ride by plane for free, no charge for you.

  160. I love this scene but i always wondered, was Bane a big guy for the CIA man or was it originally based on the pain that Bane would feel if the CIA man would pull of the mask?

  164. I love this scene but i always wondered, was Bane a big guy for the CIA man or was it originally based on the pain that Bane would feel if the CIA man would pull of the mask?

  197. Wow, I understand you\’d be proud of actually putting this thing together in a practical sense, but cinematically this one might just be Nolan\’s worst action sequence. Narratively, it is just utterly nonsensical. It doesn\’t make sense as you are watching it, and neither does it after alot of Nolanesque explaning in dialogue later on in the movie. I also just can\’t get over the fact that Bane and the doctor on the rope as the plane fuselage drops from around them, are hanging absolutely still. He was never a particularly good editor.
    The chase sequence in The Dark Knight is better on all levels.

  201. Interesting. I always thought this particular scene was one of Nolan\’s most spectacular pieces of large scale filmmaking. The way he moves the camera, frames the shots, edits the shots and uses Zummer\’s nightmarish music is riveting. It\’s a truly terrifying idea of an action scene and it sets the tone for the finale perfectly. The fire rises! Keep them coming, Christopher.

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