Disclaimer: The rankings of Christopher Nolan’s films in this article are based on my personal opinions and considerations. Understanding film is highly subjective. Everyone’s experience with these films can vary significantly. So my views may not align with everyone else’s. Thank you.
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
IMDB: 7.2/10
Budget: $46 million
Box Office: $113.8 million
Detective Will Dormer (played by Al Pacino) travels to a small town in Alaska to investigate a murder. While chasing the killer, Dormer accidentally commits a tragic act. The guilt from that tragic incident and the endless sunlight of Alaska makes Dormer unstable. And that affects his sleep.
The psychological depth of the characters and the complex relationship between the killer and Dormer make this movie a good one. But if you are a Nolan fan, Insomnia might not impress you.
11. Dunkirk (2017)
Genre: Action, Drama, History
IMDB: 7.8/10
Budget: $100–150 million
Box Office: $530.4 million
Dunkirk is a film about the evacuation of Allied soldiers from the beaches of Dunkirk during World War II. The entire movie is narrated through three perspectives: land, air, and water. Unlike other war movies, Dunkirk features minimal dialogue, innovative use of IMAX cameras, non-linear storytelling, and outstanding sound design. These elements combine to make it one of the best World War II movies you will ever see.
10. Tenet (2020)
Genre: Action, Thriller, Sci-fi
IMDB: 7.3/10
Budget: $205 million
Box Office: $365.9 million
Tenet is a mind-fu*king action-thriller from Nolan. The lead role Protagonist (he remains nameless the whole movie and is introduced as ‘The Protagonist’) is assigned to prevent World War III by going backward in time through ‘Time Inversion’.
Christopher Nolan is broadly known for the complexity of the narrative of his movies. And without any doubt, Tenet has one of the most complicated plots of all of his movies. Also, it was one of the most ambitious projects by Nolan. To avoid CGI, Nolan orchestrated the crash of a real 747 airplane for the film, which ironically won the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects that year. Too much complexity and the lack of proper character development make this movie hard to follow.
9. Following (1998)
Genre: Crime, Mystery, Thriller
IMDb: 7.5/ 10
Budget: $6000
Box Office: $126,052
Following is a movie about a man who begins following random people in London. Things get intense when he gets too involved in their lives and eventually, it becomes his habit. With just 70 minutes of run time, ‘Following’ provokes thought and keeps you on the edge with its blend of thriller and mystery elements.
Following is the debut feature film by Christopher Nolan with only 6000 USD as budget. To avoid the cost of color grading, the movie was released in black and white. Also, Nolan introduced his signature non-linear narrative through the Following.
8. Batman Begins (2005)
Genre: Action, Crime, Drama
IMDB: 8.2/10
Budget: $150 million
Box Office: $373.7 million
Batman Begins is the first movie in ‘The Dark Knight Trilogy’. The movie explores the origin of the iconic superhero of the DC comic, Batman. Along with that, the movie dives deeper into the darkness and psychological aspects of Bruce Wayne’s character. Unlike other Batman movies, it explores themes of fear and justice in a more grounded and realistic way which sets a new tone for the Batman character. Christian Bale nailed it as Bruce Wayne. And Nolan showed the world, how to make a Batman’s origin movie properly.
7. Oppenheimer (2023)
Genre: Biography, Drama, History
IMDB: 8.4/10
Budget: $100 million
Box Office: $961.9 million
Oppenheimer is a biographical film about the life of the American physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, known as the father of the atomic bomb. During World War II, he was chosen to lead the Manhattan Project to develop nuclear weapons. As we all know, he succeeds in that. But the movie is not just about making an atomic bomb. Christopher Nolan explored the complexity of Oppenheimer’s character, his moral dilemmas, and the impact of his work on the history of mankind. The movie makes us think about the ethical implications of scientific progress.
Cillian Murphy did an excellent job as Oppenheimer without any doubt. The 96th Academy Award for Best Male Actor speaks for itself, right? Along with that ‘Oppenheimer’ won Oscars in 7 categories including Best Picture and Best Director. Nolan fulfilled his destiny by winning the Academy Award for Best Director through Oppenheimer.
6. Memento (2000)
Genre: Mystery, Thriller
IMDB: 8.4/10
Budget: 9 million
Box Office: $40 million
A man named Leonard Shelby looks to solve the mystery of the murderer of his wife. The problem is that he has short-term memory loss disease. He forgets literally everything that happens to him and cannot make any new memories. He loses new memories after about 15 seconds. So, he tattoos himself with the necessary pieces of information all over his body. He also keeps a Polaroid camera with him all the time so that he can take photos of anyone he meets and write down their name and short notes about them.
The movie stems from B&W scenes intercut with color scenes where B&W scenes narrate the story forward and color scenes go backward. The non-linear story-telling and forward-reverse pace of the movie give a completely different experience to the audience.
Memento is the second featured film by Christopher Nolan. Through this movie, he established his filmmaking standards, which he has maintained to this day.
5. The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
Genre: Action, Drama, Thriller
IMDB: 8.4/10
Budget: $250 million
Box Office: $1.085 billion
The Dark Knight Rises takes place eight years after Batman flees, falsely accused of killing Harvey Dent. After that, under the Dent Act (a law aimed at eradicating crime at its root) Gotham City was declared secure. Thousands of Gotham’s criminals were imprisoned under this law which was obviously built on a lie. When Gotham City is lulled into safety by its false sense of security, Bane, a member of the ‘League of Shadows’ appears and shatters the illusion by revealing the truth that was hidden for years. The menacing appearance of Bane makes Bruce Wayne put on the Batman suit once again.
Alongside Bane, The Dark Knight introduced a couple more characters from Batman comics including Catwoman/ Salena Kyle, Talia Al Ghul, Robin, etc.
4. The Dark Knight (2008)
Genre: Action, Crime, Drama
IMDB: 9.0/10
Budget: $185 million
Box Office: $1.006 billion
The Dark Knight is arguably the best Batman movie, featuring the breathtaking narrative centered around Batman’s battle against his nemesis Joker. The movie dives deep into concepts like morality, chaos and order, the blurred line between hero and villain, etc. Heath Ledger, who played the Joker, stole the spotlight of the movie and took this character to a whole new level. He even won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for this role.
The Dark Knight was nominated for 8 categories at the 81st Academy Awards and won 2 of them. As of today, the movie holds the 3rd position on IMDb’s Top 250 Movies chart by rating.
3. The Prestige (2006)
Genre: Drama, Thriller, Sci-fi
IMDB: 8.5/10
Budget: $40 million
Box Office: $109.7 million
The Prestige is about two rival magicians in 19th century London, Robert Angier and Alfred Borden. The intense rivalry soon turns into a vicious battle, driving them to hurt each other in any way possible. As the race to be superior begins, with the reveal of secrets the line between reality and illusion becomes blurred. With its suspenseful plot twist and extraordinary performances from Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman, The Prestige will keep you on the edge of your seat throughout the whole movie.
For any psychological thriller fan or mystery movie enjoyer, The Prestige is a must-watch movie.
2. Inception (2010)
Genre: Action, Adventure, Sci-fi
IMDB: 8.8/10
Budget: $160 million
Box Office: $839 million
Dom Cobb (played by Leonardo DiCaprio) is a skilled thief who specializes in stealing valuable information or secrets from other’s subconscious minds of others during the dream state. He forms a team, each member selected for their specific talents, after being hired by a mysterious businessman for a mission. In that particular mission, instead of stealing the idea or secret, the objective shifts to planting an idea inside the targeted person’s mind —a process known as Inception.
Inception features a multi-layered plot (literally). The premise may sound kind of simple, but Inception is an extremely complex film. The thin line between reality and dreams shown in the movie will leave you wondering, “Is this real or am I dreaming?”
1. Interstellar (2014)
Genre: Adventure, Drama, Sci-fi
IMDB: 8.7/10
Budget: $165 million
Box Office: $731 million
The movie is set in a future when the earth is devasted by drought and extreme weather, bringing humanity to the brink of annihilation. At that point, a mysterious wormhole near Saturn is discovered, offering humanity a chance to find a habitable planet in another star system where future generations could survive.
Cooper (played by Matthew McConaughey), a former NASA pilot and engineer, who became a farmer is chosen to lead the mission in search of the habitant planet. Leaving his family behind, Cooper and his team travel beyond our galaxy and go through thrilling events.
The movie combines complicated scientific concepts like Blackhole, time dilation, and wormholes with deep emotional connections.
Christopher Nolan collaborated with Nobel winner physicist Kip Thorne to ensure the accuracy of scientific concepts used in the movie. Interstellar is considered as one of the most striking and visually stunning in the sci-fi movie history.
