Trying to rank Christopher Nolan’s first seven films is an exercise in futility, but after watching all of his films over the last week once again with every intention of writing this article I couldn’t just not do it. So, here we are.
Ranking the bottom two films was quite easy, but depending on my mood the next five could adjust on a daily basis, but one thing I noticed after watching all of Nolan’s films over again is how much my appreciation for each has changed as I’ve gained a larger understanding for his work. His love for the anti-hero is obvious, and his desire for dark stories has been evident from the outset. He’s a smart filmmaker who understands the medium and knows how to use it to the advantage of his stories. His casting is typically spot on and with each film he’s shown some measure of growth, although that doesn’t stop me from holding a large appreciation for his early work as you will soon see.
With all that said, let’s start digging in and see where this takes us…
| Doodlebug (1997) |
I hadn’t seen Nolan’s 1997 short film Doodlebug until I started working on putting this list together and found it was available on YouTube. Shot in 16mm black-and-white it stars Jeremy Theobald (Following) as he chases a tiny intruder in his apartment. It plays around with some of the themes you’ll find in some of Nolan’s other work and once you get to the end you won’t be surprised in the slightest that it came from the mind of Christopher Nolan. It is available on DVD along with 15 other short films from the likes of Andrea Arnold, Matthieu Kassovitz, Ridley Scott, Lars Von Trier and Martin McDonagh if you are interested, just click here for details.
Now let’s take a look at the work from Nolan we’re all most familiar with…
