Jake Gittes Posted April 26, 2015 Share Posted April 26, 2015 I said something wrong. I horribly mis-intepreted Spielberg's pre-Jaws filmography. But what I meant mostly that Nolan didn't just get the big budgets like he's getting nowadays. Recently I watched an interview where he explained that a lot of the creative choices that make Following so great were only chosen because they didn't have much money for the production. Nolan build up nicely from cheap movies to big budgets. Pretty much all directors have to work towards big budgets. Nolan, Spielberg, Jackson, Raimi, Cameron, Tarantino etc. all started with very little and their creativity allowed them to move forward until they became big names. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dark Jedi Master 007 Posted April 30, 2015 Share Posted April 30, 2015 PTA and Fincher are both easily better filmmakers than Nolan, I forgot to mention Fincher (there were quite a few I did forget to mention that were around Nolan's level, I was just giving a summation). Nolan is a really good (and consistent) director, don't get me wrong, but he's not the second coming that everyone makes him out to be, far from it actually. Also, just because Nolan has had fairly good consistency lately, it doesn't make him one of the greats, it doesn't mean he'll never be one of the greats, but he has to truly earn it first and he hasn't, none of these directors that we are talking about truly have (Linklater and Fincher are worth discussing if they're some of the greats or not. They're directors that this thread should be about, not Nolan). This thread will be much more interesting in ten years or so when Nolan has more to show for than a couple of high concept thrillers, a batman trilogy, and a space epic that received polarizing reception. Panda, in this paragraph you dismissed many important modern directors for not being great, which is fine. But my question is: what makes a great director to you? Simply saying that "so and so" is good/bad doesn't mean anything without knowing what good even means. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ACCA Posted April 30, 2015 Share Posted April 30, 2015 After Interstellar, yes, he definitely is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lordmandeep Posted April 30, 2015 Share Posted April 30, 2015 Is he with Hitchcock and Spielberg no. However he has directed many films that are very out of the main formula of Hollywood and that have achieved high praises from audiences as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dark Jedi Master 007 Posted April 30, 2015 Share Posted April 30, 2015 As for the thread. I think the guy has an incredibly creative mind and can craft great stories (Memento, The Prestige, The Dark Knight, and Inception are great narratives, especially The Dark Knight, which knows exactly how to make each scene more tense than the one that came before). But visually, I'm still unsure about Nolan. His visual technique isn't bad like a lot of people claim, but it is a little unimaginative compared to a lot of directors (for evidence you can read Jim Emerson/AD Jameson). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dashrendar44 Posted April 30, 2015 Share Posted April 30, 2015 I'd put Michael Mann, Milos Forman, William Friedkin in the all time greats well before Nolan and I don't think those I mentioned are acknowledged as all time greats either especially Michael Mann whom Nolan has ripped off lifted the style. If you think Nolan belongs to the "all the time greats", those directors must be if not you don't watch enough movies to claim so. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dark Jedi Master 007 Posted April 30, 2015 Share Posted April 30, 2015 I'd put Michael Mann, Milos Forman, William Friedkin in the all time greats well before Nolan and I don't think those I mentioned are acknowledged as all time greats either especially Michael Mann whom Nolan has ripped off lifted the style. If you think Nolan belongs to the "all the time greats", those directors must be if not you don't watch enough movies to claim so. Everyone that I've ever talked to considers Forman great, and a decent amount consider Mann great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redfirebird2008 Posted April 30, 2015 Share Posted April 30, 2015 He's off to a good start but still a pretty young guy. Just have to see how it goes over the next 30 years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jandrew Posted April 30, 2015 Share Posted April 30, 2015 No. But that doesn't mean he won't ever be. He has an impressive filmography, even when taking out the TDK trilogy, but its still too early. That's like already calling JLaw one of the great actresses. She's still got a lot career left, and so does Nolan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lordmandeep Posted April 30, 2015 Share Posted April 30, 2015 He's off to a good start but still a pretty young guy. Just have to see how it goes over the next 30 years. Imo - Better Female roles - Less need to over complicate climaxes of films (TDKR and IS ) He will be Golden. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Panda Posted April 30, 2015 Share Posted April 30, 2015 Panda, in this paragraph you dismissed many important modern directors for not being great, which is fine. But my question is: what makes a great director to you? Simply saying that "so and so" is good/bad doesn't mean anything without knowing what good even means. I didn't say they weren't great. But none of them are amoung the greats. Big difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dark Jedi Master 007 Posted April 30, 2015 Share Posted April 30, 2015 I didn't say they weren't great. But none of them are amoung the greats. Big difference. Ok, but what's the big difference. What separates an all-time great from just great? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Futurist Posted April 30, 2015 Share Posted April 30, 2015 (edited) I'd put Michael Mann, Milos Forman, William Friedkin in the all time greats well before Nolan and I don't think those I mentioned are acknowledged as all time greats either especially Michael Mann whom Nolan has ripped off lifted the style. If you think Nolan belongs to the "all the time greats", those directors must be if not you don't watch enough movies to claim so. I think the discussion is more interesting if you talk about Nolan contemporaries, Nolan is 45 so the directors around 50. Mann, Forman and Friedkin are from an other age but they are of course great in their own right. Edited April 30, 2015 by The Futurist Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lilmac Posted May 5, 2015 Author Share Posted May 5, 2015 Michael Mann Thief The Keep Manhunter Last of the Mohicans Heat The Insider Ali Collateral Miami Vice Public Enemies Blackhat Christopher Nolan The Following Memento Insomnia Batman Begins The Prestige The Dark Knight Inception Dark Knight Rises Interstellar There is no question IMO who comes out on top.....by a mile. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jake Gittes Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 I haven't even liked anything Mann has put out since 2004 but I'll put him above Nolan in a heartbeat. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lilmac Posted May 5, 2015 Author Share Posted May 5, 2015 I haven't even liked anything Mann has put out since 2004 but I'll put him above Nolan in a heartbeat. Because of Heat or Last of the Mohicans or just to hate/troll? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobinHood26 Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 I think it's obvious Nolan is gonna swoop past Mann. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PDC1987 Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 Ok, but what's the big difference. What separates an all-time great from just great? Longevity, consistency and impact. The same thing that separates The Beatles from The Black Keys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Squaremaster316 Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 Pound for pound, Nolan's resume is stronger than Mann's, especially after Mann's turkeys like Blackhat, Public Enemy and Miami Vice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hangman Posted May 6, 2015 Share Posted May 6, 2015 I'm not sure how Nolan can go from making one of the best movies of all time (TDK) to making the travesty known as TDKR. So I say no. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
