Christopher Nolan’s 10th film, Dunkirk, comes out tomorrow in a variety of formats including laser IMAX, 70mm IMAX, standard 70mm, 35mm, and, uh, normal. It stars Tom Hardy, World War II, beaches, jam, Harry Styles, and boats, and early reports say it is somewhere between “pretty good” and “the year’s most powerful movie.” I am looking forward to seeing it in New York City.
All of the Christopher Nolan movie rankings, ranked
This week, perhaps coincidentally, eight rankings of Nolan’s nine films were published. Though I don’t respect Christopher Nolan’s stances on Netflix, which are ill-informed and kind of rude, I do love his films, and so I read every list.
I don’t know which Christopher Nolan movie I would personally rank as the best because I have largely forgotten what they are about and now see his filmography as a list of unrelated words. But here are the Christopher Nolan oeuvre rankings, ranked from worst to best.
Melinda Sue Gordon / Warner Bros.
8. Flavorwire: “Every Christopher Nolan Movie, Ranked (and Updated)”
Why: Flavorwire’s list is in the slideshow format.
7. Film School Rejects: “Ranking the Films of Christopher Nolan”
Why: I can’t forgive the Photoshop at the top of this story. It looks like the Joker’s hair has been infested with lice.
Why: No nefarious pagination. No messy ‘shops. We can finally grade the content for what it is: content. Interstellar is at the top of this list and Inception is at the bottom. Both should be in the middle somewhere. The Dark Knight Rises ranked higher than Batman Begins? This list is ridiculous and knows it. If that works for you, then that’s great.
5. Business Insider: “Every Christopher Nolan movie, ranked from worst to best”
Why: Why not? All of the lists are a matter of opinion, and this one is no different. Memento is the best Christopher Nolan film, if you ask Business Insider. This is an uncontroversial choice and harmless statement, like walking into a Denny’s and shouting “I would prefer a booth!”
4. Collider: “Christopher Nolan Films Ranked from Worst to Best”
Why: Collider puts The Dark Knight as the best Christopher Nolan movie and The Dark Knight Rises as the worst Christopher Nolan movie.
If you asked most people “Was The Dark Knight good?” they would say “Yes.” And if you then asked most people “Was The Dark Knight Rises not as good?” they would say “Yes.” I guess if you don’t care about any of the other Christopher Nolan movies, you can at least say that those two are in the right order.
3. The Ringer: “The Best Christopher Nolan Movie Is …”
Why: Memento, The Dark Knight, The Prestige, Inception, Batman Begins, Interstellar. All six of these movies are the best Christopher Nolan movie, according to The Ringer. An interesting notion. Each blurb is written by a different person, acknowledging the conundrum of personal taste. Several of Nolan’s films have no advocates in this list, acknowledging the conundrum of some of Nolan’s films being not very famous.
Why: This is a great list because The Dark Knight, Nolan’s most commercially successful film, is at the top. What is Christopher Nolan if not the world’s #1 most obvious example of the marriage of art and commerce? He is critically beloved and his movies are enormous — expensive, projected in IMAX, popular, noisy, tall buildings in them a lot of the time. The list befits the man, and that’s beautiful if you ask me.
1. Vulture: “All 10 Christopher Nolan Movies, Ranked”
Why: It’s extremely considerate of Vulture to rank Dunkirk, the Christopher Nolan movie I have not yet seen and have just paid an exorbitant $16.29 for admittance to, as the best Christopher Nolan movie. I am so glad two-thirds of the AMC gift card I found in my wallet after 45 minutes of complaining about NYC movie theater pricing was spent on a smart purchase that reflects well on me as a consumer and person.
And isn’t validation of a personal choice what a list like this is all about? No.
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