No one does spectacle like Christopher Nolan. The 52-year-old is one of the few filmmakers whose name alone can sell a movie. Over two decades, Nolan has perfectly balanced critically acclaimed films and commercially successful projects. From the indies (Following and Memento) and psychological thrillers (Insomnia and The Prestige) to comic book adaptions (The Dark Knight trilogy) and mind-bending epics (Inception and Interstellar), Nolan continues to create films that feel special and have a “can’t miss” appeal.
Nolan’s 12th film, Oppenheimer, is scheduled for release on July 21. Before experiencing the WWII biopic about the “father of the atomic bond,” revisit Nolan’s previous 11 films. Most of them are available on streaming services. However, there are a handful that must be purchased or rented.
Note: This list will feature every film directed by Nolan. It will not include films where he only served as a producer, i.e., Man of Steel.
Watch The Dark Knight Trilogy on Max
Nolan’s beloved trilogy about the caped crusader is available on Max. The three films in the trilogy: Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, and The Dark Knight Rises. Christian Bale stars as Bruce Wayne/Batman, the playboy philanthropist who served as Gotham City’s protector as a crime-fighting vigilante. The trilogy features memorable roles from Cillian Murphy as Dr. Jonathan Crane/Scarecrow, Tom Hardy as Bane, Gary Oldman as Jim Gordon, Michael Caine as Alfred Pennyworth, Morgan Freeman as Lucious Fox, and most notably, Heath Ledger as the Joker. The Dark Knight, in particular, is widely considered one of the best comic book adaptations of all time.
Watch Dunkirk on Max and Netflix
Dunkirk, the war epic about the famous World War II evacuation, is available to stream on Max and Netflix. Dunkirk utilizes Nolan’s signature nonlinear narrative to depict three perspectives of the evacuation: land, sea, and air. The large ensemble cast includes Fionn Whitehead, Tom Glynn-Carney, Harry Styles, Barry Keoghan, Cillian Murphy, Mark Rylance, Kenneth Branagh, and Tom Hardy. Considered one of Nolan’s best films, Dunkirk received eight Oscar nominations, including Nolan’s first directing nomination.
Watch Tenet on TBS
Nolan’s mind-bending thriller, Tenet, is available to stream on the TBS website with a TV provider. John David Washington stars as the Protagonist, a CIA operative recruited to travel back in time to stop a deadly attack that threatens the fate of humanity. Robert Pattinson, Elizabeth Debicki, Michael Caine, Dimple Kapadia, and Kenneth Branagh. Tenet famously opened at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in August 2020.
Watch Tenet on TBSWatch Interstellar on Prime Video and Paramount+
For a filmmaker who directed a comic book masterpiece (The Dark Knight), Interstellar, available on Prime Video and Paramount+, has arguably the strongest fanbase of any Nolan film on the Internet. After leaving Gotham City, Nolan went to space for Interstellar. Set in a dystopian future, Earth is ravaged by famine, forcing scientists to search for another planet to serve as the next home for the human race. Cooper (Matthew McConaughey), a former NASA pilot turned farmer, joins an expedition across the galaxy and through a wormhole to explore three planets that could be humanity’s new home. Come for the excellent visuals, but stay for Hans Zimmer’s spectacular score.
Watch Following on AMC+ or Tubi
Most fans cite Memento as his coming out party, but Nolan made one film two years prior, 1998’s Following. Serving as his debut feature, Following, now on AMC+ and Tubi, is a crime drama starring Jeremy Theobald as the Young Man, a London writer who tails strangers to use his observations as inspiration for a novel. After meeting the burglar Cobb (Alex Haw), the Young Man gets dragged into the criminal underworld. This 70-minute thriller provided the blueprint for the rest of Nolan’s career.
Watch Following on AMC+ Watch Following on TubiRent Memento, Insomnia, The Prestige, and Inception
Nolan’s four remaining movies (besides Oppenheimer) are Memento, a mystery thriller about a man (Guy Pearce) suffering from amnesia on the hunt for the person who raped and murdered his wife; Insomnia, a cat-and-mouse thriller staring Al Pacino and Robin Williams about a detective investigating the murder of a teenage girl; The Prestige, a physiological game of one-upmanship between two rival magicians (Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale); and Inception, an enigmatic action film starring Leonardo DiCaprio about the infiltration of dreams. All four movies are not on any streaming service as of July 19. However, they can be purchased or rented on Prime Video, Google Play, and iTunes.
Oppenheimer opens in theaters on July 21.
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