Christopher Nolan’s top 10 movies according to IMDb and where to watch them online

Oppenheimer, Christopher Nolan’s new film, is already in theaters and has been a huge success. The Dark Knight director’s production is based on one of the key events of World War II: the invention of the atomic bomb. With the release of the movie, what better time to review the filmmaker’s best films?

For now, Oppenheimer is in a great position among the director’s films, but we prefer to give it some time to be included in this list (although it would be in the top 5). Here are the top 10 Nolan films according to IMDb’s criteria.

Christopher Edward Nolan is a film director, screenwriter, producer and editor, born in 1970 in Westminster, London. He has been nominated up to 5 times for the Oscars and 4 times for the Globe Awards (Best Director and Best Screenplay). His style is characterized by complex narrative structures and by jumps between different levels, sometimes in time, sometimes in different dimensions. In any case, Nolan likes to play between what is real and what can be the subject of a classic and much more abstract question in cinema: What if...?

Obsessed with giving each film a coherent world and logic of its own, and always offering more than what is seen on screen, Nolan has created some of the best films of the last two decades. His works provide food for debate, food for thought and, especially among his haters, food for finding cracks in the discourse, in the structure, in whatever. But that’s part of the fun. Here you have them in order:

The Dark Knight

Based on the DC Comics character Batman, the film is the second part of Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy and a sequel to 2005′s Batman Begins. With a budget of $185 million, the film grossed over $1 billion worldwide. It was nominated for 8 Academy Awards, but won only 2: Best Supporting Actor (Health Ledger) and Best Sound Editing.

Inception

A movie that received no less than 8 Oscar nominations. We highlight the 4 that won: Best Cinematography, Best Sound Mixing, Best Sound Editing and Best Visual Effects. Regarding the 4 nominations that did not finally get the award were for: Best Picture, Best Original Score, Best Original Screenplay and Best Art Direction. We also highlight its 11 nominations at the 15 Satelite Awards, of which it won 3 awards (Best Soundtrack, Best Cinematography and Best Art Direction), 4 nominations at the Globe Awards and 9 nominations at the BAFTA Awards, of which it won 3.

Interstellar

Another great production by Christopher Nolan received 5 Academy Award nominations for Best Visual Effects (the only one to win), Best Original Score by Hans Zimmer, Best Production Design, Best Sound, and Best Sound Editing. We also highlight its 4 BAFTA nominations, of which it won the award for Best Visual Effects and the nomination for Best Original Score by Hans Zimmer at the Golden Globe Awards. Finally, its 11 nominations at the Saturn Awards, of which it won 6: Best Science Fiction Film, Best Original Score, Best Production Design, Best Special Effects, Best Performance by a Young Actor or Actress for Mackenzie Foy and Best Screenplay.

Interstellar is undoubtedly another masterpiece of its genre that was a resounding success at the box office around the world. With a budget of $165 million, Christopher Nolan’s film grossed more than $700 million.

The Prestige

The Prestige, starring Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale, is based on the book of the same name by Christopher Priest. The movie received 2 Oscar nominations for Best Cinematography and Best Art Direction. With a smaller budget than other productions ($40 million), it managed to gross more than $109 million at the worldwide box office. As an anecdote and curiosity... Did you know that the baby we see at the beginning is none other than the son of Christopher Nolan and his wife Emma Thomas? Emma is a producer on all of Nolan’s films. So, Oliver would be the implied protagonist of another one of his father’s movies.

Memento

Memento starred Joe Pantoliano, Carrie-Anne Moss and Guy Pearce. It had a budget of $9 million and grossed nearly $40 million. It is said that the original story was written by Christopher Nolan’s brother, Jonathan Nolan. And the condition described in the movie with Leonard’s character is real and is known as Anterograde Amnesia. Patients who suffer from this condition lose the ability to create new memories because their hippocampus is damaged.

The Dark Knight Rises

The Dark Knight Rises is the third and final part of Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy. It is a sequel to Batman Begins (2005) and The Dark Knight (2008). It was listed as one of the best movies of 2012. With a budget of $230 million, it had an incredible collection of more than $1 billion, just like its predecessor. It received countless recognitions, nominations and awards at the MTV Movie Awards, Golden Trailer Awards, its Grammy nomination for Best Soundtrack Album, among many others.

Batman Begins

The first film in the Batman trilogy brought to us by Christopher Nolan, it was the reboot of the series after previous failed attempts to successfully adapt it to the big screen. It had a budget of 150 million dollars and managed to collect more than 374 million dollars at the box office. It is the lowest grossing of the 3, although it was also very well received by critics and the general public. It won 3 Saturn Awards (2006): Best Fantasy Film, Best Actor Christian Bale and Best Screenplay for Christopher Nolan and David S. Goyer. We highlight its Oscar nomination for Best Cinematography and its 3 other BAFTA nominations for Best Production Design, Best Sound and Best Visual Effects.

Dunkirk

This war film, which tells the story of the evacuation of 400,000 soldiers in France during World War II, when it was invaded by Nazi Germany, is considered by many critics to be Christopher Nolan’s best work. And no wonder, since it had a formidable soundtrack by Hans Zimmer. Nominated for 8 Academy Awards, it won 3 of them: Best Sound, Best Sound Editing and Best Editing. We also highlight its 3 Globe Award nominations and its 7 BAFTA Award nominations, of which it won one: Best Sound.

Tenet

Christopher Nolan’s Tenet is a spy thriller starring John David Washington, Elizabeth Debicki, Robert Pattinson, Dimple Kapadia, Kenneth Branagh and Michael Caine. It had a budget of $225 million and grossed over $365 million at the box office. Although the production company did not make a profit, Tenet was the fourth highest-grossing film of 2020. It received 2 Academy Award nominations for Best Visual Effects - which it won - and Best Production Design.

Insomnia

Adaptation and remake of the Norwegian film Insomnia (1997) starring actor Stellan Skarsgård. In the 2002 remake, the protagonists were familiar faces such as Al Pacino, Robin Williams and Hilary Swank. It is Christopher Nolan’s only R-rated film, as the rest of his productions are rated PG-13. And above all, there are many critics who recognize that it is the most underrated film of the director who has had less impact and notoriety on the big screen.