Christopher Nolan’s Favorite Movies: 42 Films the Director Wants You to See

‘Godzilla Minus One’ (2023)

Ahead of the 2024 Japanese theatrical release of ‘Oppenheimer,’ Nolan promoted the film by appearing in a video interview with ‘Godzilla Minus One’ director Takashi Yamazaki. In the interview, Nolan praised the ‘Godzilla’ entry, which sets the rampage from the iconic monster in the immediate aftermath of World War II, as a ‘tremendous film.’

‘I thought it was so exciting. I mean obviously it’s beautifully made, and the mechanics of it are so involving. It’s so exciting, but also I felt like it had a lot of the spirit of your earlier film, ‘The Eternal Zero,” Nolan said in the video. ‘It had a depth around the issues surrounding the main story, even though the main story is ‘Godzilla,’ and is an entertaining and exciting one. There was also wonderful depths of the characters, and a wonderful sense of history that I really appreciated.’ —WC

‘Past Lives’ (2023)

‘Oppenheimer’ was up for the Oscar against ‘Past Lives,’ but Nolan evidently didn’t feel too much competition against Celine Song’s heartbreaker ‘What Might Have Been’ romance. In a Time Magazine interview, Nolan called the film ‘tremendous,’ and one of his favorite movies of the past few years. —WC

‘Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby’ (2006)

In 2023, during promotion for ‘Oppenheimer,’ Nolan revealed on ‘The Rich Eisen Show’ that the 2006 comedy ‘Talladega Nights’ is a ‘remote drop’ film for him — a movie he won’t change the channel on when it comes on the TV. Nolan described the Adam McKay and Will Ferrell film that parodies the world of NASCAR racing as one of ‘the great comedies.’ —WC

‘The Hitcher’ (1986)

In 2001, Nolan contributed a list of his cinematic ‘guilty pleasures’ to Film Comment. One of the films that he included in the list is ‘The Hitcher,’ a 1986 horror thriller from director Robert Harmon that stars Rutger Hauer as a murderous hitchhiker stalking a young driver.

‘As a teenager, I never questioned the logic of this 80’s chiller, but now it seems mind-bendingly arbitrary plot-wise,’ Nolan wrote. ‘However, it does feature the criminally underappreciated Rutger Hauer in his finest and most influential Euro-psycho performance this side of ‘Blade Runner.” Nolan would later work with the late Hauer, who played a supporting role in 2005’s ‘Batman Begins.’

‘The Comb’ (1991)

‘The Comb’ is one of three films — along with ‘In Absentia’ and ‘Street of Crocodiles,’ also on this list — from stop motion animators the Quay Brothers that Nolan curated for a touring film series in 2015. The two brothers’ work is known for its Eastern European literature-inspired stories and dark, macabre humor. ‘The Comb,’ a short released in 1991, is a dreamlike and surreal short exploring a woman’s imagination from the perspective of a porcelain doll. —WC

‘On Her Majesty’s Secret Service’ (1969)

Nolan is one of the biggest James Bond fanboys in Hollywood, and one of his top favorites is ‘On Her Majesty’s Secret Service;’ sometimes considered the black sheep of the franchise due to being the only film headlined by George Lazenby, the movie is now generally seen as one of the franchise’s strongest, thanks to the tragic storyline that sees 007 meet and fall in love with Countess Tracy (played by a terrific Diana Rigg). In a 2010 interview with Empire, Nolan said that several sequences from “Inception” were inspired by “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.” 

“I think ‘Her Majesty’s Secret Service’ would be my favorite Bond. It’s a hell of a movie, it holds up very well,” Nolan said. “What I liked about it that we’ve tried to emulate in this film is there’s a tremendous balance of action, scale, and romanticism and tragedy and emotion. Of all the Bond films, it’s by far the most emotional. There’s a love story and ‘Inception’ is kind of a love story as well as anything else.”

‘Aftersun’ (2022)

The most acclaimed debut film of 2022, Charlotte Wells’ ‘Aftersun’ stars Paul Mescal as an young father who takes his daughter Sophie (Frankie Corio) to Turkey on a holiday. In an interview while promoting ‘Oppenheimer,’ Nolan praised the film as an example of an intimate movie that still deserves to be seen in cinemas.  

‘Why would you have to see something like ‘Aftersun’ on the big screen?’ Nolan told The Telegraph. ‘But of course you have to. It also plays wonderfully on TV, but that’s not the point.’

‘Heat’ (1995)

While hosting the Academy’s 20th anniversary screening of Michael Mann’s “Heat” back in September 2016, Christopher Nolan recalled being skeptical about the film when he had heard critics calling it a new American Classic, citing how tired the cops and robbers genre had become on the big screen. Fortunately, Mann’s crime film delivered on the promise. “I’ve drawn inspiration from it in my own work,” Nolan admitted. Many reviewers cited “Heat” as an obvious inspiration for Nolan’s “The Dark Knight,” which had more in common with Mann’s grounded approach to action than the razzle-dazzle thrills of the superhero genre.

‘The Hateful Eight’ (2015)

Nolan is such a fan of Quentin Tarantino’s ‘The Hateful Eight’ that he hosted a 2015 awards screening for the Western drama for the Directors Guild of America. Nolan started his post-screening discussion with Tarantino by asking the audience, ‘Well that’s a hell of a movie, isn’t it?’ Nolan was an outspoken fan of the movie’s roadshow presentation, in which ‘The Hateful Eight’ screened in 70mm formats. ‘What an incredible thing and an incredible way to bring back the atmosphere and the beauty of seeing a film in a theater,’ Nolan remarked. ‘Watching this film, it felt like it had an increased level of formalism. There is a real calm and thought for where the camera is always. It’s also in the music. There is a great sense of the history of cinema in it.’

‘Baby Driver’ (2017)

Christopher Nolan loved ‘Baby Driver’ so much he interviewed writer-director Edgar Wright for the Directors Guild of America podcast. ‘It was a phenomenal piece of work,’ Nolan told the director. ‘For me, the action is so spectacularly well directed in this film. ‘World’s End,’ too. The fight scenes, I love the way you put those together. But all the foot chases and car chases in this, it’s like you really mean it. You really enjoy that. There’s something American about that. The showmanship of this movie.’

‘Chariots of Fire’ (1981)

Nolan named Hugh Hudson’s Best Picture Oscar winner ‘Chariots of Fire’ one of his favorites that inspired ‘Dunkirk,’ telling the BFI, ‘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.’

IndieWire is a big fan of ‘Chariots of Fire’ as well, and listed Vangelis’s music as one of the Best Scores of the 1980s.

‘Speed’ (1994) and ‘Unstoppable’ (2010)

In crafting the forward-momentum thrills of ‘Dunkirk,’ Nolan sought inspiration from two similarly-minded thrillers: Jan de Bont’s 1994 action classic ‘Speed’ and Tony Scott’s 2010 thriller ‘Unstoppable,’ starring Denzel Washington and Chris Pine. In an interview with the British Film Institute, Nolan praised the latter title for its ‘relentless’ pacing, adding it’s a superior example of using ‘the mechanics and uses of suspense to modulate an audience’s response to narrative.’ As for ‘Speed,’ Nolan called it a ‘ticking clock nail-biter’ of the highest order.

‘2001: A Space Odyssey’ (1968)

Stanley Kubrick’s science-fiction masterpiece left a huge impression on Nolan as a child. The director told Entertainment Weekly he saw the film in theaters as a young boy and was blown away. ‘I just felt this extraordinary experience of being taken to another world,’ Nolan said. ‘You didn’t doubt this world for an instant. It had a larger than life quality.’ Decades later, Nolan would be instrumental in touring a restored version of ‘2001’ around the world. 

’12 Angry Men’ (1957)

Nolan told Criterion that few films examine the dynamics between men as Sidney Lumet’s 1957 courtroom classic ’12 Angry Men.’ Henry Fonda and Lee J. Cobb star as members of an all-male jury who must decide whether or not to convict a teenager for the murder of his father.

‘Alien’ (1979)

Along with Kubrick, Ridley Scott was another filmmaker that left a big impression on Kubrick as he came of age. As Nolan told Media Company, ‘The director I have always been a huge fan of… Ridley Scott and certainly when I was a kid. ‘Alien,’ ‘Blade Runner’ just blew me away because they created these extraordinary worlds that were just completely immersive.’

‘All Quiet On The Western Front’ (1930)

”All Quiet on the Western Front’ said it first and best: war dehumanizes,’ Nolan told the BFI. ‘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.’

‘Bad Timing’ (1980)

Nicolas Roeg’s 1980 psychological thriller stars Art Garfunkel and Theresa Russell as a psychology professor and an American woman who get thrown into a turbulent relationship. Nolan told Criterion, ‘Nic Roeg’s films are known for their structural innovation, but it’s great to be able to see them in a form that also shows off their photographic excellence.’

‘The Battle Of Algiers’ (1965)

‘The Battle of Algiers’ was another major influence for Nolan while making ‘Dunkirk.’ Nolan has called Gillo Pontecorvo’s 1966 historical drama ‘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.’

‘Blade Runner’ (1982)

Scott followed the 1979 release of ‘Alien’ with his landmark science-fiction film ‘Blade Runner’ in 1982. The Harrison Ford-starring dystopian thriller was a direct influence on Nolan as he crafted the look of ‘Interstellar.’

‘Close Encounters Of The Third Kind’ (1977)

Nolan told IndieWire that Spielberg’s ‘Close Encounters of the Third Kind’ was a driving source of inspiration when he was developing ‘Interstellar.’ As the director explained, ‘With films like ‘Close Encounters’ and the way that addressed the idea of this moment when humans would meet aliens from a family perspective and a very relatable human perspective. I liked the idea of trying to give today’s audiences some sense of that form of storyline.’

‘First Man’ (2018)

On Damien Chazelle’s 2018 Neil Armstrong drama ‘First Man,’ Nolan raved, ‘It’s a masterfully staged re-creation of the space program with utterly compelling physical detail and layers of cinematic immersion that command credence and ensure that the radical and intensively subjective nature of Chazelle’s point-of-view comes as a gradually unveiled shock.’

‘For All Mankind’ (1989)

Al Reinert’s 1989 space documentary ‘For All Mankind’ draws on original footage of NASA’s Apollo program. Nolan told Criterion the film is ‘An incredible document of man’s greatest endeavor.’ Nolan offered up his own space movie with ‘Interstellar,’ and ‘For All Mankind’ is required viewing for any fans of that title.

‘Foreign Correspondent’ (1940)

Nolan is also a huge fan of Alfred Hitchcock, and as the ‘Dunkirk’ director told the BFI, ‘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.”

‘Greed’ (1924)

Erich von Stroheim’s 1924 silent film ‘Greed’ is ‘a lost work of absolute genius,’ according to Nolan. Von Stroheim famously shot 85 hours of footage for the drama, which follows three friends come undone by greed after winning a lottery. 

‘The Hit’ (1984)

‘Few films have gambled as much on a simple portrayal of the dynamics between desperate men,’ Nolan raved to Criterion about Stephen Frears’ 1984 British crime movie. The film, starring Tim Roth and a comeback performance from Terence Stamp, follows two hitmen as they transport a criminal to Paris for his execution. 

‘Koyaanisqatsi’ (1983)

‘An incredible document of how man’s greatest endeavors have unsettling consequences,’ Nolan told Criterion about Godfrey Reggio’s 1982 experimental documentary. ‘Art, not propaganda, emotional, not didactic; it doesn’t tell you what to think — it tells you what to think about.’

‘Lawrence of Arabia’ (1962)

In his fight to preserve celluloid against the onslaught of digital filmmaking, Nolan has often turned to David Lean’s ‘Lawrence of Arabia’ to prove why shooting on film provides a cinematic experience like no other. Nolan used ‘Lawrence’ to advocate for celluloid during a talk at the 2015 London Film Festival, bringing attention to “‘he very subtle shadow detail and the particular tonality of skies’ that pop because of Lean’s vision. ‘Here you can see them on the camel as they first come out of the desert far sooner than you can on Blu-ray,’ Nolan said.

‘Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence’ (1983)

Nolan cast David Bowie in his magician thriller ‘The Prestige’ after first falling in love with the musician as an actor in Nagisa Oshima’s 1983 war film ‘Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence.’ Nolan has said that ‘few films have been able to capture David Bowie’s charisma, but Oshima’s wartime drama is tailor-made for his talents.’

‘Metropolis’ (1927)

Fritz Lang’s iconic 1927 silent film ‘Metropolis’ is referred to by Nolan as a ‘key touchstone’ in the history of cinema. The effects of Lang’s expressionistic cinematographer and character design continue to ripple into cinema today and inspire a wide array of different directors across genres.

‘Mr. Arkadin’ (1955)

Orson Welles’ ‘Mr. Arkadin’ often gets overlooked compared to his other major directorial works, but Nolan praises the 1955 drama for how it preserves ‘the heartbreaking glimpses of Welles’ genius.’

‘The Right Stuff’ (1983)

‘You can’t pretend ‘2001’ doesn’t exist when you’re making ‘Interstellar,’ but the other film I’d have to point to is ‘The Right Stuff,” Nolan told IGN about Philip Kaufman’s space drama. ‘I screened a print of it for the crew before we started, because that’s a film that not enough people have seen on the big screen. It’s an almost perfectly made film. It’s one of the great American movies and people don’t quite realize how great it is — probably because it’s four hours long!’

‘Saving Private Ryan’ (1998)

Nolan is such a fan of ‘Saving Private Ryan’ that he actually consulted with Steven Spielberg before mounting his own war movie ‘Dunkirk.’ Speaking to Variety about Spielberg’s WWII drama, Nolan raved, ‘The film has lost none of its power. It’s a truly horrific opening, and there are later sequences that are horrible to sit through. We didn’t want to compete with that because it is such an achievement.’

‘The Spy Who Loved Me’ (1977)

The James Bond franchise is one of Nolan’s favorites, which is one reason his name has often floated around every time a list of possible 007 directors goes viral online. As Nolan said during a 2012 Q&A, ‘One of the first films I remember seeing was ‘The Spy Who Loved Me’ and at a certain point the Bond films fixed in my head as a great example of scope and scale in large scale images. That idea of getting you to other places, of getting you along for a ride if you can believe in it — in ‘The Spy Who Loved Me,’ the Lotus Esprit turns into a submarine and it’s totally convincing, and it works and you go ‘Wow, that’s incredible.”

‘Ryan’s Daughter’ (1970)

David Lean’s 1970 romance ‘Ryan’s Daughter’ 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.’

‘Star Wars’ (1977)

Like many of his generation’s filmmakers, ‘Star Wars’ changed everything for Nolan and drove him towards filmmaking as a young child. ‘That came out in the ’70s and I’d been experimenting using Super 8 films and stuff,’ Nolan told Business Insider. ‘And then from the second I saw ‘Star Wars’ everything was spaceships and science-fiction.’

‘Street of Crocodiles’ (1986)

Nolan loves stop-motion animators Stephen and Timothy Quay so much that he brought together three of their films for a national tour on 35mm in 2015. The filmmaking duo’s 1986 short ‘Street of Crocodiles’ remains a landmark for Nolan. ‘As soon as you see an image from that film you can’t take your eyes away,’ Nolan has raved. ‘It has some of the most extraordinary things that have ever been photographed.’

‘Sunrise’ (1927)

F. W. Murnau’s 1927 silent romantic comedy-drama ‘Sunrise,’ starring George O’Brien and Janet Gaynor proves the ‘endless possibilities of purely visual storytelling,’ Nolan raved to the British Film Institute. ‘Sunrise’ is far from the intense wartime thrills of ‘Dunkirk,’ but Murnau’s visual storytelling prowess is something Nolan strived for while making his war movie.

‘Superman – The Movie’ (1978)

Nolan left his mark on the superhero film genre with his iconic ‘The Dark Knight’ trilogy, and it was Richard Donner’s 1978 movie ‘Superman’ that got him hooked on the genre. The filmmaker has said the Christopher Reeves-led superhero movie ‘made a huge impression’ on him as a director.

‘The Testament of Dr. Mabuse’ (1933)

Fritz Lang is another favorite of Nolan’s. The director says the German filmmaking icon is at ‘his most wicked and entertaining’ in the 1933 crime movie ‘The Testament of Dr. Mabuse.’ Nolan mentioned the film is ‘essential research for anyone attempting to write a supervillain.’

‘The Thin Red Line’ (1998)

Nolan has called Terrence Malick’s 1998 World War II drama ‘The Thin Red Line’ an ‘extraordinary vision of war.’ The sprawling ensemble drama earned seven Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director. ‘Thin Red Line’ would be used as a source of inspiration for Nolan during the development of ‘Dunkirk.’ Nolan’s film also picked up Best Picture and Best Director Oscar noms, among others.

‘Topkapi’ (1964)

‘As style-over-substance movies go, this is fabulously entertaining,’ Nolan told IMdB about Jules Dassin’s Technicolor heist movie, ‘I love it not just for its often imitated dangling-from-the-ceiling heist sequence but also for Peter Ustinov’s incredible comic performance.’

‘The Tree Of Life’ (2011)

Nolan adores Terrence Malick so much that he agreed to take part in a special commentary feature for the release of ‘The Tree Of Life,’ another peak Malick effort for the ‘Inception’ director. ‘Terrence Malick, more than almost any other filmmaker I can name, his work is immediately recognizable,’ Nolan said. ‘His films are all very, very connected with each other and they’re very recognizably his work, but it’s very tough to put your finger on why that is or what you’re seeing in that the technique is not immediately obvious.’