In depth director study of the director Christopher Nolan, specifically focussing on thriller films (in this case, Dark Knight and Interstellar).

1. +
Christopher Nolan
Thriller Director Study
Ryan Gooderham

2. +
Biography
• Born: Christopher Johnathan James Nolan on July
30th, 1970 in London
• He began making short films from the age of 7.
• During his college years, he made two short films: ‘Tarantella’ and
‘Larceny’
• Currently lives in Los Angeles with his wife (Emma Thomas) and their
four children. He and his wife also have their own production
company (Syncopy).
• Nolan doesn’t like to use mobile phones or an email address – he
says that he’s never been interested in them. He actually prohibits
the use of phones on set of his movies.

3. +
Thriller Films
Nolan has directed numerous thriller films,
such as:
• The Dark Knight (2008)
• Inception (2010)
• Memento (2000)
• Interstellar (2014)
• The Prestige (2006)
• Dark Knight Rises (2012)
• Batman Begins (2005)
• Insomnia (2002)
• Following (1998)
• Doodlebug (1997)
• Transcendence (2014)

4. +
Career
• Christopher Nolan has been nominated for 3
Oscars, along with being nominated for 163 other
awards and winning 122 awards, including Movie
Of The Year (Interstellar) and the Golden Eddie
Filmmaker Of The Year Award.
• Nolan is most famous for the Batman movies (Batman Begins,
Dark Knight, Dark Knight Rises).
• When it was released, The Dark Knight set a record as having
the highest weekend gross in a weekend, at $158 million.
• Nolan’s work focuses on male protagonists who try to come to
grips with their past while working through complex
challeneges

5. +
The Dark Knight
• Directed, produced & co-written by Nolan
• Released in 2008
• Nominated for 8 academy awards, winning 2 awards: Best
Supporting Actor (Heath Ledger) and Best Sound Editing. (It
was nominated for Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography,
Best Sound Mixing, Best Visual Effects, Best Makeup and Best
Film Editing.
• The main theme in The Dark Knight is the triumph of evil
over good. Harvey Dent is seen as the “white knight” at
the beginning, yet by the end is evil. The Joker represents
havoc and chaos in the film.

6. +
The Dark Knight -
Narrative
• Dark Knight is set within in a year after the events of Batman
Begins.
• Batman, Lieutenant James Gordon and Harvey Dent
successfully start to round up the criminals in Gotham City.
• A mysterious and sadistic criminal mastermind known as the
Joker appears in Gotham, creating a new wave of chaos.
• Batman’s struggle against the Joker becomes deeply personal,
forcing him to confront everything he believes.

7. +
The Dark Knight – Critics
Opinions
• Guardian – 4/5 stars - “There are some really exhilarating
set-pieces, especially the one that kickstarts the proceedings”
• Roger Ebert – 4/4 stars - “the special effects are
extraordinary”
• Empire – 5/5 stars - “But The Dark Knight is spectacular,
visionary blockbuster entertainment: pretty much everything
you could hope for and then some. It isn’t perfect but then, like
its hero, like his late co-star, and as Nolan’s fitting tribute so
ably observes, nobody is.”

8. +
The Dark Knight – The
Thriller Genre
• The Dark Knight fits with the Thriller genre as it has a fairly
complex storyline and complex characters. For example,
within the opening sequence we are given a plot twist, which
helps to wind the plot and make things all the more
mysterious for the audience.
• Also, The Dark Knight uses conventions such as diegetic and
non-diegetic sound. For example, diegetic sound is used in
the opening (i.e. the gunshots in the bank robbery), but
throughout the film, non-diegetic dramatic music is used,
adding to the atmosphere.

9. +
The Dark Knight – Use of
camera, sound, editing &
mise-en-scene
• As said before, The Dark Knight uses many of the sound
conventions from Thriller films. Lots of intense music and
exaggerated sounds are used to add to the mood and create a
really tense feeling.
• The use of mise-en-scene is especially important, particularly
with the character of the Joker. His costume is almost clown
like, as it’s colourful and he has his face painted. This goes
against the conventions of thriller films, (as usually the
antagonist wears dark clothing) but also makes him very
distinguishable and different.

10. +
Interstellar
• Directed & co-written by Nolan
• Released in 2014
• Made $47,510,360 (USA) in the opening weekend
• Awards: BAFTA Award for Best
Special Visual Effects, Academy
Award for Best Visual Effects,
BFCA Critics Choice Award for
Best Sci-Fi/Horror Movie, Empire
Award for Best Director, Empire
Award for Best Film, Critics
Choice MVP Award

11. +
Interstellar - Narrative
• Set in the near future in America
• An ex-science engineer and pilot (Cooper) is tied to his
farming land with his son and daughter.
• Devastating sandstorms ravage earths crops, and people on
Earth realise that their life (on earth) is coming to an end.
• Cooper finds a NASA base near his home, and is asked to go
on a mission with a few other scientists- to find a new home
while Earth decays.

12. +
Interstellar – Critics
Opinions
• Guardian – 4/5 stars - “Nolan’s biggest spectacle”, “If
it’s spectacle you want, this delivers.”
• Empire – 5/5 stars – “this is the director’s broadest
canvas by far, but also his most intimate”
• Roger Ebert – 3.5/4 stars – “there’s something pure
and wonderful about this movie”

13. +
Interstellar – Thriller
Genre
• The film uses lots of loud, booming music and exaggerated
sound to help add to the mood and create excitement.
• There are also plenty of complex characters in the film, to add
to the twisty and turny plotline.
• Interstellar has some science-fiction elements in it (as part of
it is set in space, so we see vast planet-like effects). These
effects add to the realism of the film and make it quite
believable for the audience.

14. +
Interstellar – camera,
sound, editing, mise-en-
scene
• Camera – there is frequent use of tracking in the film (for example when
the main character leaves his home) which creates a feeling of action and
movement.
• Mise-en-scene – the space shuttles indicate to the audience that they
are the main idea of the film and the costumes are correct for the time
period
• Editing – flashbacks are used with a voice over to give the audience
background information, and the title of the film is edited into the end of
the film, following the space shuttle.
• Sound – voice over is used to create atmosphere and give information,
and dramatic music is used to help to build the suspense