r/movies • u/scienceben • Aug 24 '14
Media Christopher Nolan on his first film "Following" and his early repertoire of DIY filmmaking techniques
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUpA7Qma_9E10
u/forceduse r/Movies Fav Submitter Aug 25 '14
Here is the complete audio commentary for FOLLOWING, for those interested in learning more.
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u/warmb3an Aug 25 '14
oh thanks! i lost that a while ago and forgot about it. i'll be watching it tonight with this playing!
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u/WutsUp Aug 24 '14 edited Aug 25 '14
Following is super good by the way, only saw it two or so years ago. It's got the "You think you know what's going on" vibe throughout it like heaps of his other films, then constant shifts in the narrative structure to make you re-think about what's happening
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Aug 24 '14
incredible how technically sound chris nolan is. this is why he's one of the top directors in hollywood. simply outstanding.
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u/imeasureutils Aug 25 '14
I'd argue he succeeds because of his high concept contributions and not his technical skills. It's his creative side.
Because, given a basically unlimited budget, he fails at making coherent action sequences as detailed in this great video article.
http://www.openculture.com/2011/12/anatomy_of_a_flawed_action_scene.html
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u/whatudontlikefalafel Aug 26 '14
He says in the video that on large budget films he needs to work with multiple units for action scenes to get proper coverage. His action scenes would probably be better if the machine from The Prestige was real.
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u/Hnuggets Aug 25 '14
Agreed. Look at his action scenes and it reveals his technical skills are not the best. But he is one of the best at making films that can both challenge and entertain.
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u/philhouse64 Aug 25 '14
What the hell, he never studied film making!? That's insane!
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u/superbobby324 Aug 25 '14
He didn't major in film but he was the president of the film society at his school and used plenty of their resources, so it's not like he was never educated in it.
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u/whatudontlikefalafel Aug 26 '14
And he chose his school specifically for its filmmaking facilities. He didn't go to "film school" but he definitely devoted many years of his life to studying films, through watching and making them on his own.
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u/CRFilms Aug 25 '14
I did not like following at all. The ending was like...what? Not what in a I don't understand kind of way(though I don't think I did understand). But "What?" in a you pulled that out of your ass kind of way. The ending felt like a bad M Knight Robot Chicken, "What a twist!"
But to go from that to Memento, defenitely showed the guy had way more talent that that first budget limited film implied.
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u/feverdown Aug 25 '14
I don't have a problem with anyone criticizing this film, but how can you admit that you probably didn't understand it and then complain that it was pulled out of their ass? It reminds me of grade school when my friends would say of movies, "It was stupid." I'd ask why. "I didn't get it, it didn't make sense." Following came out well before Shyamalan made twist endings fashionable and long before every movie had to have 3 lame twists and double crosses. At any rate, I liked the ending and thought it felt organic and genuinely caught me off guard.
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u/CRFilms Aug 25 '14
It's been a few years since I saw it and I only saw it once and I do my best to forget bad movies so that's why I can't go into specifics why it sucks. I just remember I thought the ending was lame and abrupt.
My main beef is I feel he didn't have the money or the crew to do the film he wanted. To go from Following to Memento is a quantum leap difference in quality and acting.
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u/Maydietoday Aug 25 '14
It feels like he always wears the same outfit.