Born in London in 1970, Sir Christopher Nolan has become one of cinema’s most celebrated directors. Since his feature debut in 1998, Nolan has crafted one of the most extensive and celebrated filmographies of the modern era. His films are well-known for their mind-bending storytelling. The director plays with narrative structure and genre conventions to build complex and cerebral plots that force their viewers to wholly invest in the experience. They’re each intricate puzzles, with each piece slowly gifted to the reader as the film plays out. Sir Christopher Nolan is one of the world’s greatest directorial talents, having received nearly 200 awards and over 500 nominations for his extensive work.
Christopher Nolan’s films defined much of my early love for cinema. Throughout high school, Inception, The Prestige, and The Dark Knight constantly rotated through my DVD player. However, despite my love for the director’s work, I had yet to see many of his films. With the exciting upcoming release of Christopher Nolan’s adaptation of The Odyssey, I decided it was the perfect time to explore the director’s backlog. As he is one of my favorite directors, it should come as no surprise that I see no bad films on this list. This ranking focuses on the overall quality of each, but while this is focused on objective factors, this is still my own personal ranking. Let me know yours down below.
12. Following (1998)
Following, Christopher Nolan’s first film, is the story of an unnamed young writer. To find material, the writer takes on an odd hobby following people around London. When a burglar named Cobb catches him in the act, though, the writer agrees to join Cobb on a series of burglaries. However, the writer complicates matters by starting a relationship with a striking Blonde after stealing from her home. Learning that a local criminal has her under his thumb, the young man agrees to rob the man and steal incriminating photos. Nothing in this tale is as it seems, though, and as the young man spirals deeper into the criminal underworld, he soon learns that he can trust no one in this deadly game.
Following is the perfect film for those looking to further explore Nolan’s filmography. It shows the origins of many of the narrative elements that would become trademarks of the director’s later work. The story is told across three separate times in the writer’s life, bouncing back and forth to slowly dissect his descent into the criminal underworld. Does it work at every turn? No. Following ranks lowest on this list for a reason, but it is far from a bad film (demonstrated by its place in the Criterion Collection). As the director’s first feature, it is a bit rough around the edges, but in that way, it also has its charms. This film acted as a brilliant foundation for Christopher Nolan’s groundbreaking career, and for fans of the director, it is a must watch.
11. Insomnia (2002)
Christopher Nolan pits Al Pacino against Robin Williams in his 2002 thriller Insomnia. LA Detective Will Dormer (Al Pacino) and his partner are called to the small Alaskan town of Nightmute to help investigate the murder of a teenager. During the pursuit of a potential suspect, Dormer accidentally shoots and kills his partner. With an Internal Affairs investigation already impacting the LAPD, Dormer blames the death on the girl’s killer: local crime writer Walter Finch (Robin Williams). However, Finch saw what really happened. With his sleep impeded by the guilt and the 24-hour sunlight of the Alaskan summer, Dormer agrees to meet the writer and discuss a plan that could benefit them both.
Insomnia is a perfectly serviceable thriller movie. It doesn’t do anything particularly new with the genre. Christopher Nolan could easily have taken a lot more chances with this movie. With that said, it might be the most accessible of his films. Al Pacino and Robin Williams stand as one of the least likely but most interesting duos in cinema history. I was expecting a traditional investigative mystery fueled by Nolan’s unique creative vision. Instead, the team solves the mystery pretty early on, leaving the story open to explorations of psychology, morality, and what a man is willing to do when backed into a corner. The film’s themes are wholly Nolan, and that makes it a valuable addition to his catalogue.
10. Batman Begins (2005)
Christopher Nolan put his personal stamp on DC Comics’ fan-favorite character in Batman Begins. Starring Christian Bale, the film gives viewers a grounded exploration of the Bat’s origin story. After his parents are killed, a young Bruce Wayne vows vengeance. Bruce is inducted into the League of Shadows, an international organization of assassins. However, he soon discovers that the League believes all criminals must die, and that Gotham City is a hive of chaos. In order to protect his home, Bruce assumes a new identity to strike fear into criminals. As Batman, he will have to take on the remnants of the League and stop their plan to destroy the city with a powerful hallucinogenic fear toxin.
After the failure of 1997’s Batman and Robin, viewers expected very little from Batman cinema. Warner Bros. tried on several occasions to relaunch the franchise. None of those attempts ever made it past the planning phases. Christopher Nolan took a huge chance in grounding Batman Begins in reality. By removing the gaudy colors and over-the-top villains of the prior films, Nolan brought a new vision to Batman’s on-screen persona, mirroring the serious comic reinvention of the character in the ’70s and ’80s. While the other films in The Dark Knight Trilogy outdo this movie in terms of theme, spectacle, and characterization, they would not have happened without this solid foundation.
9. Memento (2000)
Christopher Nolan’s second feature film Memento stars Guy Pearce as one of thriller’s most unlikely heroes. Leonard Shelby was an insurance agent before the home robbery that robbed him of his wife and his memories. Now suffering from short term memory loss, Leonard obsessively pursues the killer. Using photographs and tattoos to record his progress, Leonard believes he has finally located the drug dealer that ruined his life. However, as viewers quickly discover in this narrative told in reverse, a man with no memories can never truly trust anyone. Not even himself.
The ultimate example of the unreliable narrator, Memento is the film that made Christopher Nolan a household name. It is a masterclass in storytelling, utilizing Nolan’s timebending narrative structure to its fullest extent. It fills in the blanks slowly, meticulously, giving viewers just enough information to keep them engaged without giving them the full picture. In hindsight, Nolan has only improved as a director and storyteller, which is why Memento doesn’t rank higher on this list. However, this is arguably the film that launched his career, and its impact on cinema as a whole cannot be understated.
8. The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
The Dark Knight Rises acts as the thrilling climax to Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy. After the events of The Dark Knight, Bruce Wayne has retired the cape and cowl. Batman no longer prowls the streets of Gotham. When a new threat emerges, though, Batman will have no choice but to crawl out of the shadows. Bane, a former member of the League of Shadows, has invaded Gotham. Breaking the Bat literally and figuratively, Bane takes control of the city utilizing the threat of a nuclear bomb, instituting martial law. Crippled and trapped in a South American prison, Batman will have to push his body and mind to the limits to escape and save the people he loves.
Among Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy, The Dark Knight Rises ranks as the most divisive. The film showcases some of the greatest spectacle and action sequences of the three films. With that said, there are still plenty of shortcomings in this action-packed film. It suffers for following after The Dark Knight. Tom Hardy does an excellent job as Bane, providing one of his most intimidating villains. However, compared to the darkness of Heath Ledger’s Joker or the emotional and moral complexity of Harvey Dent and Ra’s Al Ghul, Bane just feels somewhat forgettable. Still, The Dark Knight Rises is a great superhero epic, and it acts as a fitting end to one of comic book media’s greatest adaptations.
7. Dunkirk (2017)
Exploring a lesser known slice of World War II history, Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk chronicles the evacuation of British soldiers from the beaches of the titular French city. The film follows three separate tales. The first plays out over a week as a young soldier named Tommy (Fionn Whitehead) attempting to escape the beach with his fellow soldiers, while constantly under siege by Axis forces. The second takes place over a single day, following a crew of civilian sailors as they cross the English Channel to help with the evacuation. The final takes place in the skies over the beach, as British pilots provide cover for the fleeing soldiers.
Dunkirk is one of the most emotionally resonant films on this list. It truly captures the horrors of war from both a soldier’s perspective as well as a civilian’s. The three-part storytelling, dividing the film into Nolan’s traditional nonlinear structure, can be a bit distracting on a first watch. However, when the puzzle pieces finally start coming together and the full picture comes into view, Dunkirk provides one of the greatest war movies of the decade. The film does an outstanding job bringing one of World War II’s greatest overlooked stories to life. It pays witness to the complexities of war and the men fighting it. It is an exceptional film, but one that tends to get overlooked in Nolan’s packed filmography.
6. Oppenheimer (2023)
Using the book American Prometheus as inspiration, Christopher Nolan brought the life of J. Robert Oppenheimer to the big screen in Oppenheimer. The film chronicles’ the physicist’s life, focused largely on his research on the atomic bomb during World War II. Much of the film takes place in the Nevada desert at the base of the Manhattan Project. Viewers watch as Oppenheimer and his team of scientists work diligently to build the world’s deadliest weapon. However, framed throughout by a US Senate Security Hearing, the film also focuses on the devastating impact of the bomb on history and world politics.
Where were you when Barbenheimer took the world by storm? Given the hype around this double release, I found myself skeptical about this biopic. Thankfully, I was proven wrong. Oppenheimer does an incredible job exploring this complicated life, and it does so with a fairly objective lens. It never demonizes or lionizes the man behind the atomic bomb. It puts his scientific prowess on full display, while actively exploring the hubris of the scientists at work. The film is a slow burn for those used to Nolan’s prior work. It nevertheless gives viewers a beautiful and harrowing glimpse at the creation of the deadliest weapon ever created and the scientists that made it possible. For better or worse.
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5. Tenet (2020)
Christopher Nolan’s penchant for timebending stories goes literal in the 2020 spy thriller Tenet. John David Washington plays the Protagonist, a former CIA operative recruited to a specialized task force. A mysterious organization has used time travel to send powerful weapons from the future. Tenet was formed to stop them. The Protagonist will have to travel the globe to track down the elusive mastermind Andrei Sator and uncover the secrets of this time inversion technology. However, Sator has nearly completed a time-travel doomsday device. With the fate of the world in the balance, Tenet and the Protagonist have to hurry backward and forward through time to stop him.
Tenet may just be the most divisive film on this list. Some viewers feel disconnected from the complex narrative arc and the time-travel elements that define it. It leads to a complex structure that leaves some wanting. I am not one of those viewers. I loved Tenet. The film adds a unique science-fiction spin to a genre that needed a refresh. It has moments where it stumbles, and some of the story beats have been criticized for feeling slow and extraneous. However, as a whole, Tenet represents one of Nolan’s best genre experiments. Given its release during the pandemic, it never managed to find the success it deserves. Now is the perfect time to delve into this time-traveling spy tale.
4. Interstellar (2014)
Earth is dying in Christopher Nolan’s hard science-fiction epic Interstellar. With the planet’s natural resources failing, the remnants of NASA have sent three astronauts to distant, potentially habitable planets. However, they have since lost contact with these explorers. Joseph Cooper, played by Matthew McConaughey, is seemingly led to their base through a series of odd coincidences. There, the former pilot is asked to lead a team to find these missing astronauts. Knowing he may never see his children again, Coop takes on the mission. Traveling through a wormhole, Coop and his team will have to explore three volatile environments and the very nature of time itself in order to save their home.
I didn’t see Interstellar until I was preparing for this post, and it frustrates me that I waited so long to watch this incredible spacefaring adventure. Christopher Nolan made something truly spectacular with this film, actively playing with theoretical physics to create a truly memorable experience. Even with its dazzling effects and intricate plot structure, none of this would have worked without the top-notch cast. Matthew McConaughey provides the most emotionally impactful performance of his entire career, giving the film a more personal core to its astounding spectacle. This was far from Nolan’s first foray into science-fiction, but it definitely stands as one of his best.
3. Inception (2010)
In the world of Inception, a device allows the user to slip into another person’s dreams. Cobb, played by Leonardo Dicaprio, has mastered this art, using it to steal secrets from wealthy targets. After a failed job, Cobb and his team are forced to aid their target in a seemingly impossible task. The CEO for a massive company is on his deathbed, and his son is set to inherit everything. Cobb’s patron doesn’t want that. Instead, the team has to invade his mind and implant the seed of an idea to force the son to give up his inheritance. However, Cobb’s past still haunts him, and the ghost of his late wife is set on interfering with the mission at every step.
Inception is the type of high concept spy thriller that only Christopher Nolan can accomplish. It utilizes the dreamscape to create some truly unbelievable sequences, building the action around twisting dream logic. The story follows a more straightforward structure than many of Nolan’s other films. That said, the setting and effects work easily make up for that. The final act especially, featuring three separate action sequences occurring concurrently in different levels of the dream, is one of the most thrilling moments in Nolan’s catalogue. Inception is a stunning display of filmmaking, and it remains as one of my most watched films of all time.
2. The Dark Knight (2008)
Christopher Nolan returns to Gotham City in The Dark Knight. Organized crime has continued to plague the city despite Batman’s work in the shadows. In order to put an end to the crime spree, the Dark Knight teams with district attorney Harvey Dent and police lieutenant Jim Gordon. However, a new criminal known as the Joker has upset the tenuous balance of the criminal underworld. Crazed, violent, and obsessed with the Bat, the Joker’s campaign sows bloody chaos across the city in an attempt to corrupt its populace. With Gotham crumbling around him, Batman will have to adopt new tactics and technology to combat this unprecedented threat.
I’m just going to say it. The Dark Knight is one of the best superhero movies ever made. Full stop. It isn’t just about the intense action setpieces. It isn’t the beautifully scripted plot or the top-of-the-line cinematography. Christian Bale and Heath Ledger gave the best performances of their careers as the embodiments of order and chaos. These portrayals of Batman and the Joker have gone on to influence the characters in every story since. This film has impacted superhero storytelling more than almost any other. Christopher Nolan did something truly incredible with this action-packed narrative, and it still remains, nearly twenty years later, one of the greatest icons of the genre.
1. The Prestige (2006)
Two magicians war for the hearts of audiences in Christopher Nolan’s epic period drama The Prestige. Robert Angier and Alfred Borden were once like brothers. They were trained together in stage magic, and both excelled in the craft. However, a tragic stage accident cost Angier his wife. Believing Borden to be the cause, Angier dedicates his life to destroying his rival’s career. When Borden debuts a new trick, Angier becomes obsessed with discovering its secret. This obsession will drive Angier to America to seek the aid of a brilliant scientist. Together, they will develop a trick unlike anything Borden or the world have ever seen.
The Prestige is Christopher Nolan at his very best. It contains all of the best elements of his work, utilizing them all to masterfully craft a tale that keeps viewers guessing from the very first scene. The film is art, plain and simple. It beautifully and tragically crafts one of the most poignant narratives of obsession and hubris in the medium. Bolstered by Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman’s career defining performances as the lead magicians, The Prestige provides one of cinema’s most enticing marvels. Its twisting story, genre-defying moments, and intimate characterization showcase exactly why Christopher Nolan has earned so much acclaim since his 1998 debut.
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