Christopher Nolan’s favourite British directors

Posted On September 14, 2024September 14, 2024

After winning an Oscar for his biopic Oppenheimer, Christopher Nolan’s massive impact on modern cinema was finally acknowledged. The filmmaker has been creating movies since the late 1990s, and in the years that have followed, he has made many acclaimed films that have appealed to both mainstream cinema fans and critics. Evidently, Nolan knows how to strike the right balance when making a blockbuster, giving his characters and storylines adequate depth while also providing enough thrills and cinematic entertainment. 

His first feature, The Following, had a very low budget, leading Nolan to receive quite a shock when he started production on his next film, Memento, which suddenly had more financial backing and a bigger crew. The film was acclaimed, and within a few years, Nolan was the director of one of the 21st-century’s biggest trilogies, Batman. The Dark Knight, which hit cinemas in 2008, was the most successful, winning the late Heath Ledger an Oscar for his thrilling performance as the Joker.

Since then, Nolan has made more popular movies, like Inception, Dunkirk, and Interstellar, establishing himself as one of Britain’s most important filmmakers. But who are Nolan’s favourite British directors? He has cited many names over the years that he considers his favourites, and it is clear how some of them have shaped his approach to filmmaking.

Starting with more classic directors, Nolan loves Alfred Hitchcock, who, like him, often made movies with American casts, working more closely with Hollywood than his own country – at least for the latter half of his career. He 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.”

He’s also a fan of David Lean, best known for directing Lawrence of Arabia, a masterpiece of cinema. According to the producer Nick Varley (via Independent), Lean was “the Christopher Nolan of his day. Nolan delights in making these wonderful epic films on a big scale and Lean was the grandfather of the epic.” Evidently, the scope of Lean’s movies has demonstrated to Nolan that nothing is too ambitious or far-fetched, and he has taken this attitude with him to create some of the most successful blockbusters of the past two decades.

However, Nolan has been inspired by some more contemporary filmmakers, too, like Stephen Frears, who began making movies in the ‘70s but has arguably been most prolific through the 2000s. Some of his credits include ‘80s classics like My Beautiful Laundrette and Dangerous Liaisons and 2000’s High Fidelity.

Nolan is also a fan of Edgar Wright, the mastermind behind British comedy classics like Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead. During an interview for the Directors Guild of America podcast, Nolan told Wright that Baby Driver is a “phenomenal piece of work,” adding, “All the foot chases and car chases in this, it’s like you really mean it. You really enjoy that.”

Discover Nolan’s favourite British directors below.

Christopher Nolan’s favourite British directors:

• Edgar Wright
• Hugh Hudson
• Tony Scott
• Ridley Scott
• Alfred Hitchcock
• Stephen Frears
• David Lean

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