Christopher Nolan Episodes

With Oppenheimer turning into a cultural phenomenon (aka Barbenheimer) in the lead up to its release alongside Barbie and its subsequent financial success and critical acclaim, Christopher Nolan has emblazoned his name onto the list of historically important filmmakers. We talk about the significance of a 3 hour experimental biopic making summer blockbuster levels of money, the incredible artistry and storytelling on display, the Nolan-esque style and technique, Cillian Murphy’s career defining ...

Christopher Nolan’s career is a fairly unique! He has made some huge movies (in scale, budget, and box office revenue) that smuggle in his personal obsessions and interests in intriguing ways. Nolan has truly come to define big budget Hollywood for his generation of filmmakers. Digging into his films over the course of this series, it's easy to see why that is. Join me is this epilogue to our Nolan series where I share my major takeaways from our venture through Nolan’s filmography. No movie new...

Tenet is, in many ways, the culmination of Nolan’s career up this point. It is a huge budget genre movie with a sci-fi twist, and really feels like something only he could pull off. With action sequences unlike anything else you’ve ever seen on screen, it is certainly worthy of a deep dive. In movie news, we talk about some recent releases and upcoming fall releases we are excited about including The Marvels and Napoleon. Our movie draft for the week is a Spy Movie Draft, and we share some recom...

Dunkirk is the culmination of so many techniques and filmmaking obsessions that Christopher Nolan had developed up to this point in his career. We discuss its unrelenting pace, the incredible work done to bring this film into being, and why this movie is so meaningful for both Nolan and the audience. In the stead of movie news and a movie draft, we simply share some recommendations of a couple of our favorite war movies (and one Dunkirk related non-war movie). https://www.establishingshotpod...

Interstellar manages to be Christopher Nolan’s most expansive film yet while simultaneously being his most sentimental. We discuss the incredible work done making this film as well as why this film feels like Nolan’s most emotional in his filmography. In our movie news section, we very briefly anticipate Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla. Finally, we do a movies in space draft and share our recommendations of the week. https://www.establishingshotpod.com/ Timestamps: Intro (00:39) Interstellar D...

The Dark Knight Rises was an ambitious end to Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy. Its epic scale feels like the natural target of the trajectory that this trilogy and Nolan’s career overall had been taking. Our discussion spans from the incredible production work to the core themes at play, and we try to figure out if this is a satisfying wrap up of the trilogy. In our movie news section, guest Zachary Lee shares some of his favorite films of 2023 so far. Finally, we do a horror subgenre movie d...

A BIG episode for a BIG movie! Christopher Nolan’s Inception feels like a lifetime achievement in many ways. Its inception as an idea goes back to his childhood, and here we see the culmination of his visual, conceptual, and emotional obsessions culminate in a film that dominated cultural conversation. Our discussion spans from the incredible VFX work to the emotional core that makes this one of Nolan’s most personal films. In our movie news section, we talk about our excitement for Scorsese’s K...

Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight is arguably his most notable film to date, changing not just superhero movies but the film industry in general. His grounded approach to the comic book world, Ledger’s iconic performance, and escalated scale in both the action and the story add up to a phenomenal film that is his most well known to this day. In our movie news section, we briefly mention Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour. Finally, we do a movie draft of movie villains and share our recommendations of th...

In our discussion about Christopher Nolan’s The Prestige, we marvel at the cinematic sleight of hand that Nolan brings with his technical and plot precision. He stretches his budget to its extremes with an incredible cast, phenomenal set pieces, and an ending that leaves you wanting more. In our movie news section, we talk about some fun ways to utilize Letterboxd. Finally, we do a movie draft of revenge movies and share our recommendations of the week. https://www.establishingshotpod.com/...

In our discussion about Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins, we dig into what he brought to this beloved franchise that changed superhero films. Working with a huge budget and his detailed mind, Nolan reimagined the world of Batman and Gotham and kicked off the trilogy that would elevate his career. In our movie news section, we talk about looking forward to Gareth Edwards’ The Creator and discuss AI. Finally, we do a movie draft of DC Comics movies and share our recommendations of the week. h...

In our discussion about Christopher Nolan’s first studio feature, Insomnia, we examine why this feels like his forgotten film. Somehow with Insomnia’s studio budget, star-studded cast, adapted script, and its fairly standard narrative structure, Nolan is still able to display his unique style as he gives us an incredibly interesting character study. Finally, we do a movie draft of foreign language films and their American remakes and share our recommendations of the week. https://www.estab...

Our discussion of Christopher Nolan’s sophomore film, Memento, praises the unique experience that he brought us in his budding career. Memento’s backwards structure, iconic design, and great performances put Nolan on the map as the next great American filmmaker. In our movie news section, we discuss theatrical re-releases of classic film with the recent re-release of Oldboy and the upcoming one for Stop Making Sense. Finally, we do a movie draft of films dealing with memory loss and memory manip...

This week we discuss Christopher Nolan’s debut feature film, Following. With virtually no budget and borrowed equipment, Nolan was able to make an interesting twist on noir that already displayed his personal flair. In our movie news section, we share some random discussion on Scorsese anticipating Killers of the Flower Moon. Finally, we do a movie draft of debut features from directors and share our recommendations of the week. https://www.establishingshotpod.com/ Timestamps: Intro ...

This week we kick off our Christopher Nolan series by discussing his career as a whole. This episode will act as an establishing shot for the rest of the series, cluing us in to techniques and themes to look for as we watch through Nolan’s filmography. In our movie news section, our guest shares some recent 2023 watches that he has enjoyed. Finally, we do a draft of movies shot with IMAX cameras/IMAX approved digital cameras and share our recommendations of the week. https://www.establishi...