A couple of years ago when we first ran our retrospective of Christopher Nolan‘s films, timed to coincide with the release of “The Dark Knight Rises,” we mentioned how, with the release of his final Batman movie, it felt that Nolan was closing off the first act of his career. “Interstellar,” which opens wide this week, therefore represents the beginning of the next phase, a shot across the bows of Nolan’s franchise-free second act.
Of course, with “Inception” we already had a taste of what an “original” movie (as opposed to one based on a comic book) would look like from the director, even after he was flushed with Batman-related success, cachet and, well, cash. “Inception” was a big, expensive movie, and a risk for Warner Bros. in that it wasn’t based on any pre-existing property and it indicated the level of faith the studio had in Nolan that he got that kind of budget to make a movie about dreams. But it was a risk that paid off financially and creatively, and also marked out the route that Nolan might take once he finished with Bruce Wayne and co.
And indeed “Interstellar” is exactly the kind of big-budget, big-brain type blockbuster that we would have hoped to see him tackle post-Dark Knight trilogy —whether or not he has wholly succeeded in delivering it is up for debate (and of course our own review has caused its own minor storm of controversy, as anything less than positive about Nolan always does). However, different writers have different takes on the film, as you will see in this piece, which features a kinder assessment, if by no means a rave.
Still, it’s instructive to look at “Interstellar” in the context of his other films. Some might find Nolan’s movies humorless (though we’d disagree), or chilly (though we’d disagree), or overly rigid (we’d… mostly disagree), but no one else is making films like his. The filmmaker is taking nine figures of Warner Bros.’ money, pairing it with big ideas and concepts, and making resoundingly entertaining and thought-provoking movies. From back before he was the all-conquering byword for quality blockbuster right up to “Interstellar,” then, here’s our look at Christopher Nolan’s filmography, ranked from worst to best.
9. “Following” (1998)
A writer (Jeremy Theobald) falls under the spell of a stranger, Cobb (Alex Haw, playing a character whose name would return for the protagonist of “Inception“), who breaks into strangers’ houses. The young man follows in his new mentor’s footsteps, only to fall for The Blonde (Lucy Russell), one of his victims, and ends up way over his head. A simple enough premise, but as we’d all come to learn about Christopher Nolan, that simplicity is deceptive. Shot on weekends on a tiny budget (about $6,000) over three or four months, not long after Nolan graduated from University College London (he was only 27 when the film was made), “Following,” a nifty but rough-edged neo-noir, is certainly a victim of its limitations. Nolan served as his own DP and some of the handheld compositions are striking, but it occasionally feels a little amateurish, never coming close to the work Nolan would later do with Wally Pfister. The acting —mostly by non-professionals (lead Jeremy Theobald is now a psychologist, Alex Haw is an architect, with only femme fatale Lucy Russell continuing to act, later leading Eric Rohmer‘s “The Lady And The Duke“)— isn’t the strongest, although partly because Nolan only shot one or two takes to conserve film stock. But the script also showcases much of what would bring Nolan to fame; a fiendishly intricate structure and a taut pace that rattles along all kinds of twists and turns (though, there is arguably one too many) in a leaner-than-lean 70 minutes. It’s a sketch for what would follow, but one that shows the immense promise he held even at such a young age.
The readers are too indie to like the highest grossing film he made the most. The Dark Knight was obviously his best movie. I hear too many people who are too cool to like something because it\’s cool bash the film and call it overrated. It has no real weaknesses other than Heath kind of stealing the show.
After TDK, The Prestige is my second favorite movie (by Nolan or anyone else) but I wouldn\’t complain if someone put it just below Memento; I just love it and can watch it over and over and still be in awe of how amazing it is.
The rest are all great outside of Insomnia. I wanted to like it really badly, but I couldn\’t ever bring myself to watch it a second time. Maybe I\’m missing something and one day will get around to giving it a second chance but for now, it\’s the only Nolan movie I didn\’t love.
While there are some who seem to complain here. I find this list to be the most all around true. It all comes down to opinion, and many want Memento to be #1 because it was his crowing opening, I get it. But there has never been and never will be a film like the rk Knight. I literally agree with every listing in this list down to a tee. Well done Playlist Staff, well done!
9. Following 8. Interstellar 7. DKR 6. Inception 5. Batman Begins 4. TDK 3. Insomnia 2. Memento 1. The Prestige
Interstellar is the disappointment of the year, imo.
9. Following
8. Insomnia
7. Batman Begins
6. The Prestige
5. Interstellar
4. The Dark Knight Rises
3. Inception
2. Memento
1. The Dark Knight
Everything he\’s done beyond Memento has been admirable but deeply flawed, particularly his blockbusters, which all have pacing and over-exposition issues. My ranking: 8.The Dark Night Rises 7.Inception 6.Following 5.Batman Begins 4.The Prestige 3.The Dark Knight 2.Insomnia 1.Memento
Really? Memento isn\’t #1 on this list… TDK is great. But, Memento is one of the few movies that makes me think of the word "precision" when trying to describe it.
1) Memento, 2) The Dark Knight, 3) Interstellar, 4) The Dark Knight Rises, 5) Inception, 6) Batman Begins, 7) The Prestige, 8) Insomnia, 9) Following
What this list shows is that Nolan is one of the most overrated contemporary filmmakers: Memento, Insomnia, The Prestige, The Batman films (Tim Burton\’s were much better), Inception? Come on, guys!
made this list last month… obviously I don\’t agree with yours
my list goes as TDKR< BB< Inception< Insomnia< TDK< Memento< Following< The Prestige
Interestingly I would say that Playlist\’s D grade review of INTERSTELLAR was guilty of exactly the same knee-jerk reactionism as the reactions to the review itself (and I say this as a big fan of Playlist).
Good list. The only thing I don\’t get is why Inception is praised so much. To me it\’s one his weakest ones. Here\’s my list-
8) Following
7) Inception
6) The Dark Knight Rises
5) Insomnia
4) Batman Begins
3) The Prestige
2) Memento
1) The Dark Knight
8. Following 7. Insomnia 6. The Dark Knight Rises 5. Batman Begins 4. Memento 3. The Dark Knight 2. The Prestige 1. Inception. Haven\’t seen Interstellar yet…
memento #1. that one will be (is already?) a film studied in film school around the world for decades to come. dark knight and inception are great films but mostly they show us how lackluster by comparison everything else is that hollywood has been putting out.
?: Interstellar
8: Following
7: Insomnia
6: Batman Begins
5: The Dark Knight Rises
4: The Prestige
3: Memento
2: The Dark Knight
1: Inception
For me:
1.Inception(A+)
2.The Dark Knight Rises(so underrated, A)
3.The Dark Knight(A)
4.The Prestige(A-)
5.Batman Begins(A-)
I haven\’t seen memento, insomnia and the following.
Simon
There is no doubt Memento should be number 1. Everything else ranges from okay to grossly overrated.
100 times out of 100 I would watch Following again before Inception.
Well SV I strongly suggested you broaden your horizons and study the history of cinema a little more intimately and with open mind, and if you\’re lucky you\’ll find that Nolan isn\’t really what can called a great director. I suggest you see the original Insomnia if you haven\’t seen it already
Inception is hands down one of the worst movies I have seen in the last decade (I have seen too many movies) I think TDK is the kind of film youngsters & 30 years are going to look back on in ten years time and what the f**k was I thing……. and to think Empire magazine reader voted this very high on the best movies ever list, just go to show how unformed people are in the distinction between "great" and muddle entertainment.
Interesting how different the opinions are here. I really like Inception and the Dark Knight, but I always find myself watching The Prestige. I\’d have to put that at the top of the list. Insomnia at the bottom.
@YO I can back you up on Following and BB. I found Insomnia to be too boring. And TDK and Inception are my favorites so we may have to fist fight for those.
Inception, Memento, Following are some of the best original story movies ever. My personal list is 1. Inception 2. The Dark knight 3. Memento 4.Dark Knight Rises 5. Following 6. Batman Begins 7. The Prestige 8. Insomnia
Indweller apparently performs censorship here is you state you think 2 of his films are of particular interest by by comment. 2. The Prestige 1. Memento and the original Insomnia is still the best by far.
My top three would be 1) Inception 2) Batman Begins and 3) The Prestige
2.Insomnia 1. Memento The rest don\’t even make the list, extremely overrated crap trying so hard to pass itself off as deep an insightful. The original Insomnia is far better than Nolans!!
Haven\’t seen Following or Interstallar, so 7. Insomnia 6. The Dark Knight Rises 5. Batman Begins 4. The Prestige 3. Memento 2. Inception 1. The Dark Knight. Re: The Prestige – in the scene where Hugh Jackman firsts tests the machine on stage, he shoots the version of himself in the audience. Is it the "real" Hugh who survives? Read the book afterwards and its take on the copies is different.
I think Insomnia is one of his best. Like QT with Jackie Brown, I think Nolan is best served working with someone else\’s material.
I can agree to some parts of that list but for me is: 7. Insomnia 6. Following 5. The Dark Knight Rises 4. Batman Begins 3. Memento 2. The Dark Knight 1. Inception. But they\’re all great, even with their flaws.
Worst list ever, how you can get the batman begins lower than dark knight rises, and crappy inception as second best. wrrr
Yo, I sort of agree with you. I think Following is his best, followed by Memento and TDK (I have not seen Insomnia). I think TDKR and Inception are his worst, and are frankly just mediocre movies. It\’s pretty obvious that his first films were his best, as they had a sort of spirit and exuberance to them, which he lost as he made bigger and bigger films.
As far as I\’m concerned, and I have yet to see Interstellar, Nolan\’s best are The Prestige, Memento, and Batman Begins, and his weakest movies so far have been Inception and Following – although it\’s hard to blame the latter\’s faults on Nolan given its budget.
I really do think that a lot of people are too willing to see past The Dark Knight\’s numerous flaws thanks to amazing performance of Heath Ledger. It is a film with a clunky pace, and an incomprehensible plot that relies way too much on the main villain always being two steps ahead thanks to what can only be described as a God-like omniscience. It is certainly beautiful to look at and deals with interesting themes, and I would rank it as Nolan\’s fifth best – behind TDKR – but it seems glaring to me that the mere fact that the Joker is in this film, and Ledger\’s performance, are enough to have people rank it as Nolan\’s strongest film to date.
Anyway, opinions…
I don\’t know why everyone pushes following aside. I think it is absolutely fantastic, its only 70 minutes but it is so engrossing that it never feels like such a short movie. The performances are amazing, especially when you consider they arent actors. I would probably put it in my top 5 Nolan films. Which makes it 1. The Prestige (My favorite movie ever) 2. The Dark Knight 3. Memento 4. Following 5. The Dark Knight Rises
I approve of this list in almost all regards. I would just put Batman Begins at the very bottom.
I expected Memento to be no. 1, but kudos for having the balls to put a comic-book movie in the top spot. Definitely feel I need to watch Dark Knight again now.
There seems to be a Memento consensus building in the comments. I would agree.
Nolan has a made a couple of good movies but only one great movie Memento.
Following would be much higher on my list. The Prestige would probably be last (Too predictable, but had some great performances). Memento would be #1. Batman Begins was better than The Dark Knight Rises.
I am SO excited for Interstellar. He is such an inspiration to me and continues to experiment despite the fact that his films keep getting bigger and bigger. I wonder when he will scale down and return to something more small. In terms of genres I\’d love to see his take on a gangster film, horror film, western and historical epic.
The fact that TDKR isn\’t second worst to The Following kind of ruins this list. That movie is an illogical mess that is an insult to the reality the prior films established.
What even is this list?!
1. The Dark Knight
2. Insomnia
3. Memento
4. Inception
5. Batman Begins
6. The Prestige
7. Following
8. The Dark Knight Rises
(Haven\’t seen Interstellar yet)
Dark Knight > Memento > Inception > Following > Batman Begins > Dark Knight Rises > Prestige > Insomnia
1. The Prestige, 2. Memento, 3. Inception, 4. TDK, 5. Insomnia, 6. TDKR, 7. Following, 8. Batman Begins
All great films, but:
1. The Prestige (best of the 2000s for me) 2. Memento 3. Inception 4. The Dark Knight 5. Insomnia 6. Batman Begins 7. The Dark Knight Rises 8. Following
8. Following
7. Insomnia
6. Batman Begins
5. The Dark Knight Rises
4. Inception
3. The Prestige
2. The Dark Knight
1. Memento
I swear to god I am not being deliberately contentious, but why is it that my honest to goodness Nolan list is basically the inverse of this one? Someone back me up here. Following, BB, and Insomnia are the best, and TDK and Inception are the worst — po faced inchoate talky messes
Solid rankings, except I\’d put Memento first, followed by The Dark Knight and so on.
So, this is one of the rare lists on Indiewire with which I really can\’t agree. Nolan, for me, is "Memento" … and then everything else. "The Dark Knight," definitely very good, would be a semi-distant number two. "Inception" is good, but it\’s a little overrated.