4. “The Prestige” (2006)
Nolan’s strangest film by a country mile and probably his most divisive, “The Prestige” was the little passion project that he knocked off as soon as his post- ‘Batman Begins’ profile allowed it and in remarkably short time (filming began in February 2006, and it was in theaters only eight months later). Based on the novel by sci-fi author Christopher Priest, it follows the story of two magicians, Alfred Borden (Christian Bale) and Robert Angier (Hugh Jackman), who become embroiled in a years-long feud after Angier’s wife (Piper Perabo) drowns in an accident that Angier holds Borden responsible for. They move on, only crossing paths every so often, and each become famous for a trick which sees them vanish into thin air, but each also holds a terrible secret that will have dreadful consequences. Many found the film (which is glorious-looking, thanks to Pfister’s photography and Nathan Crowley‘s astounding production design) hard to follow, thanks to Nolan’s puzzle-box-like structure, and hard to like, due to two murderous, bitter protagonists. But if you’re concentrating, the director’s storytelling instincts never get you lost (the secret to the mystery is detailed in the opening shot), and to our mind Bale and Jackman each give enough charm and sympathy to their performances that you can feel for both, although Nolan delicately lets your sympathies come down on one side of the fence by the end. And while it’s certainly a film for the brain first and foremost —Nolan uses the world of magic as a metaphor for moviemaking and storytelling in general— it packs an emotional punch, thanks in part to a tremendous performance by Rebecca Hall in her first major film role. A film quite unlike any in recent memory, and one that you suspect only Nolan could have directed, it may nestle in around the halfway point in this ranking, but it should be noted there was a vocal minority who were all for putting “The Prestige,” outlier though it is, in the top spot.
3. “Memento” (2000)
“Following” might have been scrappy, but it was impressive, and long before the film started doing the festival rounds, Nolan had his follow-up ready to go. His producer and then-girlfriend-now-wife Emma Thomas had sold Nolan’s script for “Memento” (based on a short story by his younger brother) to Newmarket Films, and it quickly became a hot property around Hollywood. According to James Mottram‘s “The Sundance Kids,” Brad Pitt was interested in the lead role, with Aaron Eckhart and Thomas Jane also in the running. But it was Guy Pearce, hot off “L.A. Confidential,” who took the part of Leonard Shelby, a man unable to sustain long-term memories on the hunt for the man who caused his injury and killed his wife. It’s in many ways a true successor to “Following,” in the same neo-noir milieu (though this time a gloriously lit California, courtesy of Wally Pfister, in their first collaboration), and with an even more intricate structure; Shelby’s story is told backwards, from his execution of pal Teddy to a beginning/ending that reveals that much of what little he knows about his existence is a lie. It’s an infinitely more confident film than Nolan’s debut, controlled and playful, and the structure (perhaps bar the black-and-white segment, which feels a little too much) is far from a gimmick. It’s a sad and ingenious series of snapshots that drip-feeds the tortuous plot while putting the viewer in Leonard’s disoriented shoes. Pearce is terrific, and “The Matrix” graduates Carrie-Anne Moss and Joe Pantoliano get to show they are far more than sci-fi sidekicks. It might not be as rewatchable as some of his films (and watching it “forwards” as it were, is educational, but rather robs the film of its point), but it’s a pretty astonishing leap up the ladder, and it could be argued that it’s the director’s most complete film to date.
2. “Inception” (2010)
Honestly, until we sat down in the theater, we expected “Inception” to be Nolan’s “Heaven’s Gate” —an expensive indulgent folly, the kind directors all too often fall victim to after being given carte blanche to make whatever they like. But we’d forgotten that Nolan had been working on the screenplay for a decade, and had honed his skills to a greater level than ever before, because “Inception” is an absolute triumph, and the culmination of everything the director’s career until then had been building towards. A deeply personal art film disguised and also working brilliantly as a giant summer blockbuster, it sees Nolan focus in on a bold science-fiction idea: implanting an idea in someone’s mind by entering their dreams. But while many would use that pitch as an excuse for Lynchian imagery up the wazoo, Nolan applies his meticulous attention to detail and rules-setting, creating a clear and satisfying universe that nevertheless has enough texture that it doesn’t become airless. He engages deeply with big concepts; about where ideas come from, about the function of dreams and consciousness, about love, grief and closure. And yet the film is consistently entertaining, a pacy caper film with cracking action sequences (the director finally nailing that side of filmmaking), that also doubles as a brilliantly thought out metaphor for the movie-making process itself. We can see how some can grate against the exposition, although as far as we’re concerned, it’s about as painless as it could be (although it’s a shame that Ellen Page can never just ask the question, “Why don’t you get Michael Caine to bring your kids to you in France?”). And we can see that some might find it hard to identify with Nolan’s rule-bound, organized, sexless dream world, but as we’ve said before, it’s a hugely personal film, and we suspect that this is the way that Nolan’s dreams look. It’s as weird and difficult a film as has ever made $800 million at the box office and remains the most hope-giving example of a big studio investing big bucks in a personal vision in recent memory.
1. “The Dark Knight” (2008)
A sprawling crime saga running two and a half hours and until recently the highest-grossing comic-book movie of all time (since surpassed by “The Avengers“), Nolan’s “The Dark Knight” is still arguably the greatest superhero movie ever made. But it’s also not without its flaws. Heath Ledger as the unhinged and unforgettable Joker and the cast elevate the entire thing, removing most traces of suspension of disbelief issues, but even Aaron Eckhart can’t make that Two-Face make-up really work in Nolan’s ultra-realistic world (we spend most of his time on screen worrying what kind of infections he’s going to catch). And if anyone can tell us the narrative reasoning for the faked death of Jim Gordon, we’d be most grateful, because that particular plot thread seems unnecessary, extraneous and poorly executed. All of which just goes to show how much “The Dark Knight” absolutely works when it works —enough for us to even put it above other more narratively satisfying entries in Nolan’s filmography. Thematically “The Dark Knight” is rich, textured stuff, almost a tragic love story between two opposing forces that cannot exist in the same universe without one another, but which seek only each others’ destruction. Moral questions about whether the means justify the ends are posed (still possibly the thorniest real issue that the vigilantism of the Batman character raises), and the political and social implications brought up in its grand finale are just stupendous. And yet this also remains the Joker and Ledger’s show, the late actor playing the nihilistic villain as anarchist on the outside and deviously nefarious on the inside, and as essentially enamoured by Batman. He doesn’t want to kill him, he wants to convince him; the Joker wants to prove to this fellow freak that their methods are essentially one and the same and that the people he protects aren’t worth fighting for. “You’ll see…when the chips are down, these civilized people, they’ll eat each other,” he cackles. And it’s only by the very slimmest of margins that a rattled Batman and a beleaguered city manage to prove him wrong. Every triumph is tarnished, every defeat of evil by good is rendered in moral shades of gray, every dilemma has real stakes and every decision costs. It’s a brutally beautiful, complex film that even with a rocky third act remains a towering pinnacle if for no other reason than it unlocked hitherto unknown bonus levels in the capacity of a comic book movie to make you think.
–Oli Lyttelton, Jessica Kiang, Rodrigo Perez
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.