Controversial opinion of the night: Chris Nolan's best film is The Prestige.
That is controversial. And possibly valid. I don't know that I agree with it necessarily, probably due to my own prejudices - the noir and superhero fanboy in me holds Memento and TDK above everything else, and Inception is the best auteur-driven blockbuster I've seen outside of Spielberg's filmography - but you can definitely make a case for The Prestige, simply because it should not work and yet it totally does. The central conflict elevates the low-stakes business of stage magic to a kind of life-and-death intensity, the twists border on ludicrous, sci-fi elements are introduced with minimal warning, the character relationships are, on paper, vaguely akin to what you'd see in a fairly melodramatic telenovela, and David Bowie is stunt cast as arguably the most important scientist of the last couple hundred years. In the hands of a lesser director, it would be an utter failure, and a comical one at that, but Nolan synthesises a series of individually stupid and ridiculous elements into a riveting whole, and that is to be admired. I think a lot of the reason this film gets overlooked stems from the fact that we don't know where to put it exactly; Following, Memento and Insomnia fit broadly into a thriller/noirish archetype, the Batman films obviously have their own niche, and Inception owes a visual debt to the Batman films and a psychological debt to his thrillers. Hard to see where The Prestige fits into his filmography, but it doesn't lack the ambition of these films at all - indeed, a large part of me just appreciates the sheer balls of it.
Controversial opinion of the night: Chris Nolan's best film is The Prestige.
I've never really thought about which of his films is my favourite. I'm slightly inclined to disagree, since the whole section with Tesla's machine sort of discomfited me and felt a little like a deus ex machina, but it is an excellent film nonetheless.
That is controversial. And possibly valid. I don't know that I agree with it necessarily, probably due to my own prejudices - the noir and superhero fanboy in me holds Memento and TDK above everything else, and Inception is the best auteur-driven blockbuster I've seen outside of Spielberg's filmography - but you can definitely make a case for The Prestige, simply because it should not work and yet it totally does. The central conflict elevates the low-stakes business of stage magic to a kind of life-and-death intensity, the twists border on ludicrous, sci-fi elements are introduced with minimal warning, the character relationships are, on paper, vaguely akin to what you'd see in a fairly melodramatic telenovela, and David Bowie is stunt cast as arguably the most important scientist of the last couple hundred years. In the hands of a lesser director, it would be an utter failure, and a comical one at that, but Nolan synthesises a series of individually stupid and ridiculous elements into a riveting whole, and that is to be admired. I think a lot of the reason this film gets overlooked stems from the fact that we don't know where to put it exactly; Following, Memento and Insomnia fit broadly into a thriller/noirish archetype, the Batman films obviously have their own niche, and Inception owes a visual debt to the Batman films and a psychological debt to his thrillers. Hard to see where The Prestige fits into his filmography, but it doesn't lack the ambition of these films at all - indeed, a large part of me just appreciates the sheer balls of it.
I've never really thought about which of his films is my favourite. I'm slightly inclined to disagree, since the whole section with Tesla's machine sort of discomfited me and felt a little like a deus ex machina, but it is an excellent film nonetheless.
I don't think he's made a bad film, so I don't mean any of these comments as anything but complimentary. Memento is ****ing fantastic, and one of the smartest, most unique films I've ever seen. I absolutely love Inception (in case you hadn't guessed ) but the scope of it's ambition means that it's always teetering just on the point of collapse, and it's just not as finished and complete a work. The Batman films are genre-busting but they always seem pretty upfront about what's going on, and consequently don't really feel that reflective to me of what Nolan is about. So while they're brilliant genre-busting films, I don't think they're Nolan's best, if that makes sense.
The reason I love The Prestige is simply because of how good the story is, and how much confidence Nolan has to allow it to play itself out. The clues and little touches that are scattered throughout the film just really compound the sense of how thoroughly thought through everything has been. I'll agree that the Tesla segment is definitely the weakest, and seems a little at odds with the rest of the film's ethos, but I think it's just about pulled off. If I could watch any film for the first time again, The Prestige would be pretty close to the top of my list.
I actually don't really like The Prestige. I liked it the first time I saw it, but imo it just doesn't have the same replay value as the Batman movies and Inception, and not nearly as enjoyable as those 2 (my opinion).
New Topic for Tonight: What is your favourite scene from a 2011 movie. Mine would be Super 8 Train Scene (on blu-ray)
New Topic for Tonight: What is your favourite scene from a 2011 movie. Mine would be Super 8 Train Scene (on blu-ray)
Favourite might be an odd term, but the best for me was riding on board for the last few turns with Senna. That was almost unbearable in the cinema.
Other ones I really liked are the final scene in Julia's Eyes (really clever lighting), the captivity of Caesar in Rise of the Planet of the Apes, the climactic scene of 127 Hours, the final fight in Warrior and the confrontation at the end of Hanna.
I actually don't really like The Prestige. I liked it the first time I saw it, but imo it just doesn't have the same replay value as the Batman movies and Inception, and not nearly as enjoyable as those 2 (my opinion).
New Topic for Tonight: What is your favourite scene from a 2011 movie. Mine would be Super 8 Train Scene (on blu-ray)
The elevator scene in Drive where he suddenly switches to hyper-violent. It sums up the entire character and film.
Maybe also Snape hugging dead Lily in Deathly Hallows.
Favourite might be an odd term, but the best for me was riding on board for the last few turns with Senna. That was almost unbearable in the cinema.
Other ones I really liked are the final scene in Julia's Eyes (really clever lighting), the captivity of Caesar in Rise of the Planet of the Apes, the climactic scene of 127 Hours, the final fight in Warrior and the confrontation at the end of Hanna.
I really enjoyed Rise of the Planet of the Apes, it was so much better than I thought it would be. You actually liked Hanna? I didn't like it that much because it didn't really have a plot, and the end scene imo was very anti-climactic. Why on earth did she even have to alert the government to her location .
Anyone else think that the Tree of Life was incredibly self-indulgent?