What makes a movie so good that it gets loved by fans and critics all over the world. Is it the cast, the crew or someone else? While there may never be a truly correct answer to this, one has to agree that a majority of the credit has to go to the director. It is his/her vision that we get to see on the big screen and when a movie does well with both fans and critics, so does the director.
Today at The Hollywood Tribune we will be talking about one such director, who is adored by fans and critics alike. He has helped change the face of Hollywood as we know it, and over the years delivered some of the movies the world has ever seen. If you hadn’t guessed it already, then yes, we are talking about Christopher Nolan
Born and raised in London, Nolan was always interested in movies and anything related to them. After completing his education, Nolan realised that his interests would be best served in the field he loved the most, Filmmaking. Luckily for us, he stuck to his decision and is now one of the Best Directors in Hollywood today.
With every film he directs, Nolan brings to the screen a mixture of Science, Fantasy and Mystery, all wrapped up in realism, with a logical explanation for everything. Nolan also brings a certain X-factor to all of his movies, that is very rarely seen in other directors in the Industry.
To honour Nolan, his movies and his X-factor, we have ranked 10 of the Best Christopher Nolan for you, from lowest to highest.
To be honest, we can never call any of Nolan’s movie bad, each movie has proven to be as exceptional as the last. But we ranked this list based on Nolan’s work, as well as reviews from crowd and critics.
10. FOLLOWING (1998)
‘Following’ gets the 10th rank in our list of 10 Best Christopher Nolan movies. Nolan made his Hollywood debut with ‘Following’ which made around $240,495 at the box office. ‘Following’ was a perfect blend of Thriller and crime. While the movie was not a huge hit, it managed to gain a good amount of audience and proved to be a positive start for Nolan in the Film Industry providing him with a stepping stone to much larger success.
The movie starts with an unemployed writer who wanders the streets of London following people and asking them about their lives. The author is in search of inspiration to write his next book but things get strange and complicated when he follows and meets a robber who then introduces him to the world of crime.
Cast – Jeremy Theobald, Alex Haw, Lucy Russell and John Nolan ( Lead Role)
Runtime – 1h 10m
Genre – Noir/Thriller
IMDB – 7.5/10
Rotten Tomatoes – 81%
9. THE PRESTIGE (2006)
‘The Prestige’ takes the 9th spot in our list of 10 Best Christopher Nolan Movies. While many of you may be surprised to see this movie at number 9, you should remember that Nolan is one of the best Directors in Hollywood today and has directed so many of Hollywood’s best, that even movies as good as ‘The Prestige’ are pushed down lists like these.
Nolan’s 5th movie released way back in 2006 earned around $10.97 million at the Box Office. Fans loved the theme of the movie as it brought something entirely new to the table. Rivalry, Obsession and Mystery, the movie had just about everything required to keep the audience glued to the screen.
‘The Prestige’ tells us the story of two good friends turned magicians, whose relationship turns sour after a tragedy. The rivalry begins as both of them become obsessed with success, with each ending up paying a heavy price.
Cast – Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Scarlett Johansson, Rebecca Hall and Andy Serkis ( Lead Role)
Runtime – 2h 15m
Genre – Thriller/Mystery
IMDB – 8.5/10
Rotten Tomatoes – 76%
8. INSOMNIA (2002)
Christopher Nolan’s third-ever film takes spot number 8 on our list. Released in 2002, ‘Insomnia’ takes the common concept of a detective solving a mystery, and somehow manages to execute it to perfection, creating a gold standard for all movies in that genre. As one of the main reasons behind the success of ‘Insomnia’, Nolan further established his place among Hollywood’s elite.
‘Insomnia’ is based on a detective who is tasked with solving the murder of a teenage girl. He travels to Alaska, where the movie takes a darker turn as a psychological game ensues between the detective and the killer, wreaking havoc on the investigator’s mental peace.
Cast – Al Pacino, Robin Williams, Hilary Swank, Maura Tierney and Martin Donovan ( Lead Role)
Runtime – 1h 58m
Genre – Mystery/Drama
IMDB – 7.2/10
Rotten Tomatoes – 92%
7. INTERSTELLAR (2014)
Coming in at number 7 on our list of 10 best Christopher Nolan Movies is also his first-ever entry into the Sci-Fi genre. ‘Interstellar’ was an absolute hit from the moment it was released and raked in a staggering $677.5 Million at the box office. Nolan’s creativity and imaginative brilliance were at the forefront of things that made this film one of the best that we have ever seen.
‘Interstellar’ won an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects, but that doesn’t tell us the whole story, right down from the storyline, to the actors and their performances, the film managed to connect with its audience both emotionally as well as visually, thus earning its place as one of Hollywood’s best.
‘Interstellar’ takes us to a future in which people are struggling to live on earth, so an ex-NASA pilot puts together a group of astronauts to travel the universe to find a place similar to earth for habitation.
Cast – Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain and Bill Irwin ( Lead Role)
Runtime – 2h 49m
Genre – Sci-fi/Adventure
IMDB – 8.6/10
Rotten Tomatoes – 72℅
6. DUNKIRK (2017)
Ranking 6th on our list is ‘Dunkirk’, Christopher Nolan’s first attempt at a movie in the War genre. The results speak for themselves, and ‘Dunkirk’ was a blockbuster hit at the Box Office, earning $526.9 Million worldwide.
According to War enthusiasts across the globe, ‘Dunkirk’ was one of the best movies they had seen and was a near-perfect representation of the actual battlefield. Regular fans loved the movie as well, and although the movie started slow, it gradually built up the pace, keeping viewers glued to the screen throughout.
The movie shows us the town of ‘Dunkirk’ during World War ll and how the British, French and Belgium forces struggle as they try to evacuate via land, sea and air in fear of the wrath of the German forces.
Cast – Fionn Whitehead, Tom Glynn-Carney, Jack Lowden, Harry Styles, Cillian Murphy, James Darcy, Aneurin Barnard and Barry Keoghan (Lead Roles)
Runtime – 1h 46m
Genre – War/Adventure
IMDB – 7.9/10
Rotten Tomatoes – 92%
5. BATMAN BEGINS (2005)
‘Batman Begins’ comes in at the number 5 spot. It is the first movie of Christopher Nolan’s Batman Trilogy and helped turn him into a household name. The movie itself doesn’t need much of an introduction, but aside from setting up the rise of Bruce Wayne as Batman, it also set up the rise of Christopher Nolan from being one of the best Directors in Hollywood, to becoming one of the best Directors in the world.
The movie earned $373.4 million at the Box office which was a very huge sum for a superhero movie at the time. Batman Fans were left at the edge of their seats, and critics were also left applauding at the end of the movie.
‘Batman Begins’ shows us the life of Bruce Wayne, who learns to fight against crime and injustice after the murder of his parents. death. He decides to adopt a new persona and begins his journey to free the people of his city, and cleanse Gotham of all crime.
Cast – Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Liam Neeson, Cillian Murphy, Katie Holmes, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman and Tom Wilkinson (Lead Roles)
Runtime – 2h 20m
Genre – Fantasy/Action
IMDB – 8.2/10
Rotten Tomatoes – 84%
4. THE DARK KNIGHT RISES (2012)
‘The Dark Knight Rises’ gets the 4th spot on our list of 10 Best Christopher Nolan movies. The third and final instalment in the series of Batman movies created by Nolan, this movie earned over $1.084 Billion worldwide, thus elevating Nolan’s status to that of Legend. The success of this series made Nolan one of the most sought after Directors in the world. The film was a neat and fitting end to the Batman Universe that the fans loved so much, and still ranks as one of the best Superhero films in history.
The movie takes place 7 years after the events of The Dark Knight, where the now peaceful city of Gotham is held hostage by a terrorist named Bane who threatens to destroy everything that The Batman has built.
Cast – Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Anne Hathaway, Tom Hardy and Morgan Freeman. (Lead Roles)
Runtime – 2h 44m
Genre – Action/Thriller
IMDB – 8.4/10
Rotten Tomatoes – 87%
3. INCEPTION (2010)
The top 3 movies in this list are the Best Christopher Nolan Movies of all time, and ‘Inception’ ranks 3rd. Imagine watching a movie and then waking up to realise that it was a dream, so you go have your breakfast and then you suddenly realise that this is a dream as well, so now you finally wake yourself up and find yourself reading this article, only to wonder once again whether this is reality or just another dream.
While the stress you would feel is probably imaginary, the same cannot be said for the characters in the movie. This mind-boggling concept caused ‘Inception’ to earn$ 829.9 Million at the box officer (probably because people had to go watch the movies a couple more times to truly understand what they had just seen).
‘Inception’ tells us a story about Cobb and his team and how to free Cobb of his record and help him live a normal life, they enter the dreams of their targets and perform the Inception.
Cast – Leonardo DiCaprio, Ken Watanabe, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotillard, Ellen Page, Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy and Tom Berenger (Lead Role)
Runtime – 2h 28m
Genre – Thriller/Action
IMDB – 8.8/10
Rotten Tomatoes – 87%
2. MEMENTO (2000)
‘Memento‘ gets the 2nd spot in our list of 10 of the Best Christopher Nolan Movies. The movie has the most unique story and a number of great performances by its stars. ‘Memento’ earned $39.7 million at the Box office and had a large fan base due to the different storyline that was presented. It was Nolan’s second movie in the Hollywood industry and is still known as one of his best works.
The movie shows a man with anterograde amnesia, who in order to remember things, tattoos his body and clicks pictures. Things turn awry when he unravels his past by remembering the events that led to his current situation.
Cast – Guy Pearce, Carrie-Anne Moss and Joe Pantoliano (Lead Role)
Runtime – 2h
Genre – Thriller/Mystery
IMDB – 8.4/10
Rotten Tomatoes – 93%
1. THE DARK KNIGHT
‘The Dark Knight’ takes the cake as The Best Christopher Nolan Movie of all time. It is one of Nolan’s greatest contributions, not only yo Hollywood, but to all superhero movies, and the movie industry at large. ‘The Dark Knight’ is thought by many to be the greatest superhero movie of all time.
It tells us the story of pain, struggle, sacrifice and the struggle of one ordinary man to keep evil at bay. It shows us that even though everyone has a dark side, there is still light in them, the light that cannot be wiped out no matter how hard anyone tries.
The Batman and The Joker have had one of the most famous rivalries in comic book history, and to see in brought to life on the big screen in such a manner truly brought tears to the eyes of many fans. ‘The Dark Knight’ gave us the best, and last performance of Heath Ledger, alongside stunning performances from Christian Bale, Aaron Eckhart and Gary Oldman. The Dark Knight truly is Christopher Nolan’s greatest creation.
The movie continues the story of Batman and his quest to clean up crime in Gotham City. However, chaos ensues when the gangs hire The Joker to take down The Batman. Soon, Batman finds himself in a battle for Gothams Soul, with consequences far more personal than he could have imagined.
Cast – Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Heath Ledger, Gary Oldman, Aaron Eckhart and Morgan Freeman.
Runtime – 2h 32m
Genre – Action/Adventure
IMDB – 9/10
Rotten Tomatoes – 94%
Click on the link to learn more about Christopher Nolan’s upcoming movie Tenet we have also got you covered with some facts about Tenet you didn’t know.
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