11 Films that Inspired Dunkirk
Before you see Dunkirk (2017) come this July, 2017, Christopher Nolan recommends that you watch one or more of the following films.
Which of the following eleven eclectic films would you like to watch for the first time (or watch again) and make the connection with Dunkirk?
Source:
http://www.indiewire.com/gallery/dunkirk-christopher-nolan-films-inspired
Discuss your answer here!
Which of the following eleven eclectic films would you like to watch for the first time (or watch again) and make the connection with Dunkirk?
Source:
http://www.indiewire.com/gallery/dunkirk-christopher-nolan-films-inspired
Discuss your answer here!
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- DirectorErich von StroheimStarsGibson GowlandZasu PittsJean HersholtThe sudden fortune won from a lottery fans such destructive greed that it ruins the lives of the three people involved.Nolan calls this Erich von Stroheim classic a “silent epic.”
- DirectorF.W. MurnauStarsGeorge O'BrienJanet GaynorMargaret LivingstonA sophisticated city woman seduces a farmer and convinces him to murder his wife and join her in the city, but he ends up rekindling his romance with his wife when he changes his mind at the last moment.F. W. Murnau’s romance helped Nolan to “explore the possibilities of purely visual storytelling.”
- DirectorLewis MilestoneStarsLew AyresLouis WolheimJohn WrayA German youth eagerly enters World War I, but his enthusiasm wanes as he gets a firsthand view of the horror.Nolan cites Lewis Milestone’s classic as a game changer: “One look at James Jones’ essay on ‘Phony War Films’ (in which he takes down several of my old favorites) immediately shows you the perils of taking on real-life combat in a dramatic motion picture. In Jones’ estimation, ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’ said it first and best: war dehumanises. Revisiting that masterpiece it is hard to disagree that the intensity and horror have never been bettered. For me, the film demonstrates the power of resisting the convention of finding meaning and logic in individual fate.”
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsJoel McCreaLaraine DayHerbert MarshallOn the eve of World War II, a young American reporter tries to expose enemy agents in London.“No examination of cinematic suspense and visual storytelling would be complete without Hitchcock, and his technical virtuosity in ‘Foreign Correspondent’s portrayal of the downing of a plane at sea provided inspiration for much of what we attempted in ‘Dunkirk,'” Nolan said.
- DirectorHenri-Georges ClouzotStarsYves MontandCharles VanelPeter van EyckIn a decrepit South American village, four men are hired to transport an urgent nitroglycerine shipment without the equipment that would make it safe.Nolan referred to Henri-Georges Clouzot’s high-octane film as an “established classic of tension.”
- DirectorGillo PontecorvoStarsBrahim HadjadjJean MartinYacef SaadiIn the 1950s, fear and violence escalate as the people of Algiers fight for independence from the French government.Nolan cited Gillo Pontecorvo’s war film as “a timeless and affecting verité narrative, which forces empathy with its characters in the least theatrical manner imaginable. We care about the people in the film simply because we feel immersed in their reality and the odds they face.”
- DirectorDavid LeanStarsRobert MitchumTrevor HowardJohn MillsSet in the wake of the 1916 Easter Rising, a married woman in a small Irish village has an affair with a troubled British officer.David Lean’s romance moved Nolan because of the “thrilling windswept beaches and crashing waves…The relationship of geographical spectacle to narrative and thematic drive in these works is extraordinary and inspiring. Pure cinema.”
- DirectorRidley ScottStarsSigourney WeaverTom SkerrittJohn HurtThe crew of a commercial spacecraft encounters a deadly lifeform after investigating a mysterious transmission of unknown origin.Ridley Scott’s seminal thriller was another film Nolan referred to as an “established classic of tension.”
- DirectorHugh HudsonStarsBen CrossIan CharlesonNicholas FarrellTwo British track athletes, one a determined Jew and the other a devout Christian, are driven to win in the 1924 Olympics as they wrestle with issues of pride and conscience.“The visual splendor, intertwined narratives and aggressively anachronistic music of Hugh Hudson’s ‘Chariots of Fire’ combined to create a masterpiece of British understatement whose popularity rapidly obscured its radical nature,” Nolan said.
- DirectorJan de BontStarsKeanu ReevesDennis HopperSandra BullockA young police officer must prevent a bomb exploding aboard a city bus by keeping its speed above 50 mph.Director Jan de Bont’s pacing inspired Nolan, as it’s a “ticking-clock nail-biter.”
- DirectorTony ScottStarsDenzel WashingtonChris PineRosario DawsonWith an unmanned, half-mile-long freight train barreling toward a city, a veteran engineer and a young conductor race against the clock to prevent a catastrophe.“The relentless ‘Unstoppable’…explores the mechanics and uses of suspense to modulate an audience’s response to narrative,” Nolan said.