The director who blew a young Christopher Nolan away: “I have so much respect for him”
After several decades of filmmaking, Christopher Nolan was awarded for his contributions to cinema with a ‘Best Director’ Oscar in celebration of his acclaimed 2023 film Oppenheimer. Praised for his ability to create movies that are technically impressive and complex, while also maintaining blockbuster appeal, Nolan is easily one of the most successful filmmakers of the 21st century.
In fact, his work could be said to define the current era of modern filmmaking. His movies are almost always guaranteed to earn significant amounts at the box office while also impressing critics, something he has achieved with titles like The Dark Knight, Inception, and Interstellar, in particular. That’s the beauty of his work—he is able to create grandiose worlds that feel expansive and epic, but at the same time, his characters are well-developed, and the plot is never betrayed in favour of flashy action sequences.
Everything in Nolan’s films, no matter how thrilling, has its place, making his movies the perfect balance of critically and commercially impressive. This is something that he has learnt from certain filmmakers who emerged before him, like Ridley Scott.
The British director began making movies in the 1970s and soon made his way to Hollywood, becoming a master of the sci-fi genre. His first significant film was Alien, which came during the late-70s science-fiction boom when films like Star Wars and Close Encounters of the Third Kind were proving that widespread audiences were taking an interest in space-themed movies. Alien was a lot darker, however, with the terrifying Xenomorph wreaking havoc in the same vein as a slasher killer.
While Alien wasn’t as family-friendly, many children watched the film and found themselves captivated by the horrifying events that played out on screen. Nolan was one of them, and he once explained his love for the filmmaker, who certainly impacted his approach towards making movies.
“I have always been a huge fan of Ridley Scott and certainly when I was a kid. Alien and Blade Runner just blew me away because they created these extraordinary worlds that were just completely immersive,” he told Media Factory.
Blade Runner, the film Scott made after Alien, was also highly acclaimed and is now considered one of the most influential movies of all time. It completely reinvented the landscape of sci-fi, and, as we know, Nolan has made several films that fall into the genre, from Interstellar to Tenet.
Nolan opened up about meeting Scott in an interview with Reel Blend, stating, “They say you should be careful not to meet your idols, but in the case of Ridley, it was wonderful to meet him. And I have so much respect for him.” In response, Ridley joked that hearing Nolan say that brought a tear to his eye. When the interviewer asked if that was true he replied, “No!” before adding, “But thank you, Chris.”
In the years since Scott directed Blade Runner, he has made acclaimed movies such as Thelma and Louise, Gladiator, Prometheus, Alien: Covenant, and Napoleon. The fact that he still makes so many movies is a testament to his status as one of cinema’s most beloved filmmakers.
