Christopher Nolan: proprietary techniques cult director and which films to look for them

Starting sometime to fully copyright movie "Pursuit," which he wrote, orchestrated, removed, and even mounted, Nolan each next project was gaining popularity. After two low-budget, but a very successful paintings, "Remember" and "Insomnia", he moved to large-scale blockbuster, finally conquered the whole world.

Nolan's films have a very unique atmosphere and unique directorial hand. Here are some of the distinguishing features of his work.

Dramatic and unexpected plot twists

Few works by Christopher Nolan may be called the detectives. But in almost every picture of events occur, flip the feeling the viewer is literally turned upside down. Unexpected turns are even in a seemingly simple superhero movie "The Dark Knight Rises", not to mention completely confused, "Remember."

In addition, each painting is sure to disclose the fate and the real drama of the character. In all, even the most fantastic story in the first place are the human relationships.

What to see

"Prestige"

• Drama, thriller.
• US, UK, 2006.
• Duration: 130 minutes.
• IMDb: 8,5.

The story of two magicians, once former team-mates, but then become ruthless rivals. In an effort to harm the opponent, each of them is ready not only to disrupt his performance, but also endanger the lives of his loved ones.

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The plot of "Prestige" consists largely of flashbacks - the characters memories of past events. The film, which begins as a drama about friendship and competition, at some point becomes a mystical tinge. At the end, when it would seem, the viewer has already issued all the secrets, history will show another illusion, which is almost impossible to predict.

Non-linear narrative and work with color

Another favorite technique Nolan - the non-linearity of the narrative. Events do not occur one after another, in the majority of subjects, and in parallel in the opposite direction or in different time planes, that is, as you like, but not in order. This style of shooting, he used even in his very first work, "Pursuit" and only later developed and more complicated.

What to see

"Remember"

• Detective thriller.
• United States, 2000.
• Duration: 113 minutes.
• IMDb: 8,5.

The film's protagonist (Guy Pearce) is looking for a man who raped and murdered his wife. But its main problem is that after the injury, he could not keep memory events longer than a few minutes.

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In other scenes the director can use a more complex structure. The "Remember" storyline runs parallel in two directions: some events are shown exactly as they occur, and others develop from the end to the beginning, making the main mystery is not the traditional "it will all end," and "how it all began".

"Start"

• Science fiction, detective thriller.
• US, UK, 2010.
• Duration: 148 minutes.
• IMDb: 8,8.

A movie about a talented thief (Leonardo DiCaprio), who steals ideas from the subconscious during sleep time. But he will make his best offense exactly the opposite principle - to implement the idea in a dream.

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The "Beginning" Nolan uses other techniques - the picture within the picture, and time dilation. The main characters create a multi-layered dreams, and each time the next layer is slower than in the previous year. During the time until the first level of sleep the machine falls off the bridge, in the deeper manage significant events occur. But regularly in a frame shows the events of sleep layers occurring simultaneously at different tempos.

In both cases, Christopher Nolan shared various stages, highlighting their color, and it becomes another hallmark of the director. The "Remember" straight chronology is shown in black and white, and the reverse - in color. And in the "Beginning" every level of sleep is in its colors: the first all shown in the cold blue colors, the second - in yellow, and then everything is covered with snow and used mostly white Colour. At the last stage, all these colors are mixed in the range of phantasmagoric deepest level of sleep called Limbo.

Attention to detail

Many films Nolan begins with images of some parts, forcing the viewer to immediately focus on the small things. In addition, most of the subjects he introduces quite simple and even mundane objects, which in the final will be perhaps the most important subject of the story. How, for example, spinning in the movie "Home" in the picture "Remember" or watch in the "Interstellar".

What to see

"Insomnia"

• Thriller.
• United States, 2002.
• Duration: 118 minutes.
• IMDb: 7,2.

Two policemen (Al Pacino and Martin Donovan) come to Alaska to investigate the murder of a young girl. Set a trap for the criminal, one of them accidentally kills his partner. But was this really the case when and why the criminal himself so eager to talk to the detective?

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In the episode with the examination of the body of the dead girl shown in close-up as she clipped fingernails. Subsequently, fingers and nails are shown repeatedly in the same close-up, repeatedly reminding the viewer of the first stage.

The modern view of superheroes

In 2005, Christopher Nolan's "reset" the story of Batman, one of the most popular comic book characters, and presented the audience a whole new perspective on the character, what has not been on the big screen.

What to see

"Batman Begins"

• Neonuarny superhero thriller.
• US, Japan, UK, 2005.
• Duration: 140 minutes.
• IMDb: 8,3.

The young Bruce Wayne witnesses the murder of his parents. Years later, he decides to personally deal with crime in his native city, dressed in the costume of a bat.

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"The Dark Knight"

• Neonuarny superhero action, thriller.
• US, UK, 2008.
• Duration: 152 minutes.
• IMDb: 9,0.

New enemy of Batman becomes the Joker (Heath Ledger) - a psychopath, suggestive fear not only for ordinary residents of the city, but even hardened criminals. Batman will join with Attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) and Commissioner Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman), to deal with a madman.

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"The Dark Knight Rises"

• Neonuarny superhero thriller.
• United States, 2012.
• Duration: 163 minutes.
• IMDb: 8,5.

The Gotham has a new, the most dangerous criminal in the history - Bane (Tom Hardy). He seized power in the city, and it can not withstand even the Batman.

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Batman in Nolan's quite realistic. Although he lives in the fictional town, but now he does not resemble gothic, surreal Gotham of Tim Burton's films. All three paintings Nolan filmed in dark tones, Batman uses the most modern technologies, and its vehicles resemble military equipment than the funny cars of old comics and previous films.

That Christopher Nolan gave the audience a new and more vibrant look to the movies, comic books, as well as everyone's favorite the image of the Joker by Heath Ledger.

Worldwide and scientific approach

In all his films, Christophe Nolan is very attentive to detail and the veracity of what is happening. Therefore, even the most fantastic stories he had worked out in detail and seem utterly real. During filming, he consults with engineers, scientists, demolition and other experts to work out of a scene.

What to see

"Interstellar"

• Sci-fi drama.
• US, UK, 2014.
• Duration: 169 minutes.
• IMDb: 8,6.

Earth threatens drought and extinction. Astronaut group goes on a space ship through a wormhole in space-time to distant worlds, close to the black hole, to select a new planet to colonize.

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In the film "Interstellar" against the background of the main action is quite simple language to explain the essence of many phenomena of astronomy and theoretical physics. We talk about the properties of the black hole, that is an event horizon. And even demonstrate tesseract - the four-dimensional cube. To get closer to the reality of scenes with astronauts in the preparation of the film Nolan visited NASA and SpaceX. Painting was appreciated by many astrophysicists, not to mention just a spectator.

There are, of course, and those who criticize some points of contention, such as the proximity of the planet Miller to a black hole. Although it is added in the plot favorite nolanovskuyu nonlinearity (one hour on the planet is equal to seven years on Earth). But much of the scientific evidence submitted quite accurate, because the authors consulted when creating a script with famous theoretical physicist Kip Thorne - one of the world's leading experts on the general theory Relativity.

Other brand features

Dislike for visual effects

When the universal dominance of the visual effects in the film Christopher Nolan remains one of the followers of the most realistic shooting. He is a staunch opponent of digital formats and most of the work takes on a film camera.

Many of the scenes of his films, which, it would seem, certainly made on the computer, in fact filmed live. In the first, low-budget film that does not really matter, but when Nolan reached the level of blockbusters, its principles are manifested in all its glory. Like the heroes of the "Elements" of the director himself, like an architect, it creates a reality, not only in dreams, but in the real world.

Most strange machines and other devices built in full size. Betpod famous motorcycle from the "Dark Knight" was indeed created for the shooting and actually traveled. However, to manage it was very difficult to cope with it only a professional stunt driver Jean-Pierre Goy.

Explosions in the street in the movie "The Beginning" also were filmed live, and after just a fine-tuned graphics. Moreover, the action takes place on the streets of the real Paris, this had to align and overlap the streets shooting with the authorities. Even explosion hospital in "Dark Knight" took place in reality: for the filming took a building that was being prepared for demolition.

The "Interstellar" scene shot in the water in this lake in Iceland, only a giant wave has been added on the computer. A spacecraft, which, of course, it was impossible to build in natural scale, made in small copies.

The "Beginning" earthquake and the flooding of the building were removed in the pavilion, but still with minimal graphics. And importantly, that in most of the scenes in the picture really actors, rather than doubles. For filming the collapse of the avalanche we went to the Canadian mountains and hired specialized demolition. Even the scene where gravity starts to go crazy and characters running around on the walls and ceiling, created by a special rotating rooms and ropes.

Music and sound

Sound in movies Nolan plays a crucial role. And it's not only that he has long worked with one of the top composers modernity - Hans Zimmer. Music, of course, it is great, but there is another important point: it sounds just where should sound, and goes by the wayside, when it appears superfluous. Its place is taken by a third-party sounds, pulsating hum, scratches and more. And then all this very easily and organically woven into the music again.

favorite actors

In many films by Christopher Nolan takes the same actors. Most often in the director's paintings can be seen Michael Caine, he starred in seven films. Christian Bale also appear regularly, Cillian Murphy, Russ Fueg and other actors.

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Recently, the screens out the new film Nolan "Dunkirk". The director first turned to historical and military theme. Although he repeatedly stressed that this film is not about war, but about people and salvation.

In this film, Christopher Nolan again uses almost all of their favorite techniques.

the story takes place in three time dimensions: land-based runs a week, the sea shows the events of one day, and in the air, everything happens for an hour.

Most of the film shot on IMAX-camera with a minimum of visual effects. For the first time in the history of cinema in the real aircraft attached IMAX-camera, to show the beauty of flight. And the soundtrack is often replaced by a ticking clock, to transmit all the tension expectations.

The picture reappears Cillian Murphy and Tom Hardy, and more, of course, is invisibly present Michael Caine. Although he was not in the frame, his voice on the radio.

Like most of the previous work, the film received rave reviews from critics and audiences, it collects a huge desk in theaters, and the proportion of positive responses is close to 100%.