Ok i did a search and couldnt find a thread on him as a director.

With the release of the dark knight id say its safe to assume everybody knows him well by now So i thought he deserved a thread of his own.

He is by far my favorite director, and 3 of his movies are now in my top five (The prestige, memento and Dark Knight). I love the detail he puts into his films and the casting especially.

I just watched insomnia last night, probably his weakest film but it was still pretty solid.

This will likely change with the success of the Dark Knight, but i would definatly say he, along with Curtis Hanson, are two of the most underrated American (he may not be american- i really dont know, but he makes american films) directors.

Did anyone else read that as "Chris Hanson"? LOL.

See, my point has been proven.

Hanson has a very small list of films over like 15 years, but most are very different.. extremely diverse

Hand that Rocks the Cradle (thriller)
River Wild (nature/action)
LA Confidential (crime/drama (i wont say noir since that has such a techinical definition to some here))
Wonder Boys (can this even be classified)
8 Mile (rap coming of age?!!)
In Her Shoes (probably the best "chick flick" i have ever seen)
Lucky You (interesting film.. kind of a flawed romance type thing)


And now I have successfully hijacked this thread, ever so briefly.

I saw Memento in theatres because I liked Guy Pearce so much in LA Confidential.... and Clean Slate was awesome.

I think Memento is his best film, mostly because of how exceptionally well executed the concept is. It could have been gimmicky, but it wasn't at all. It was, in fact, integral to the telling of the story. The movie's airtight, focused, and rocks along without ever feeling rushed or contrived. Great, great movie.

Insomnia is underrated. Good film. Great atmosphere and tone.

Batman Begins is good, not great, but that's mostly because of the screenplay. I love the first 2/3 of it.

The Prestige is really good.

The Dark Knight blew me the fuck away .. once it hit its stride, that is. I don't think it's the masterpiece so many are claiming it as, but it's damn great once the story comes into focus. Again, screenplay. Of course, I may need to see it again and things will make a little more sense, but the movie feels flabby in alot of areas. But then again, I can't stop thinking about it.

Only two of those Hansen films are great, the rest are ok to bad

to be honest, I think Begins might be overall better than Dark Knight. At least as far as Nolan's work goes. Dark Knight is all about Ledger.

really? the dark knight is better in every other way than begins: pacing, cinematography, effects, editing, realism, etc.

I don't know man. A lot of kickassness to Dark Knight, don't get me wrong, but take out Ledger as the Joker, and what are you left with? Think about it. Two Face was kind of boring. Once the Joker is grabbed up by the Police, I can finish watching the movie. I know a lot of people that would agree with me. The pacing was kind of rushed and awkward towards the end. Also wasn't that much cool Bat stuff. The origin story, while a little long winded in the first one, was still amazing. All the back story was way more interesting than the whole mob thing going on with the Dark Knight. This was more for me "The Joker Show"

while the film probably wouldn't stand so well on it's own without the joker, i think the dent/two-face fall was really compelling. it was rushed at the end, i agree, but i find origin stories not as cool as "hey, now that you know where i came from, i can now kick all of the asses" stories

I was thinking about Insomnia the other day. It's really creepy.

The original?

Dude has yet to make a less than high quality flick. And geez, what, all of 34 years old? Good lord. He's got Hollywood totally by the twig and berries right now, he's barely 3 years older than me. Damn I've lived such a wasted life.

For those who've not yet partaken in his first, "Following", I recommend it.

all high quality, yes... but insomnia and the prestige are pretty forgettable.

Pretty much disagree. Joker ruled, no doubt, but Dent's story was just as compelling to me. He was the tragic casualty of the Joker's chaos. I agree that without the Joker, you wouldn't have much of a movie, but it's not like they skimped on everything that was non-Joker related. It was just as good.

The ending with Dent, Bats and Gordon was my favorite part of the movie.

On the whole TDK packs more punch in terms of storytelling, acting, writing and directing. Batman Begins is good, but the last act really runs out of storytelling gas and is just silly.

Good lord are you serious? I mean I suppose I can understand someone saying that Insomnia has been his weakest entry to date (though I still enjoyed it) but The Prestige forgettable?? Wow I couldn't possibly disagree with you more. I thought that was one of the best pictures that year. And I've seen the whole thing I think 3 times now and I keep picking up more with each viewing, it's very dense and nuanced with a lot of detail.

Nolan is British.

the prestige is excellent, i love how on the second viewing you can tell exactly which twin bale is playing in every scene yet it still felt like one character the first time

The Prestige was cool, but it has nothing on Insomnia. Any director who can subdue Al Pacino is