By Ben Protheroe
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Summary
- Nolan's memorable movie quotes showcase the power of his scripts.
- Often collaborating with his brother, Nolan has developed his style over the years.
- Nolan's dialogue is as crucial as his action, with his best quotes reflecting deeper meanings in his high-concept films.
Christopher Nolan is known for his intelligent, action-packed blockbusters, but he also produces scripts which are packed full of memorable lines. Some of his most famous quotes rank among the best of the 21st century, reflecting his place as the master of large-scale high-concept movies. The dialogue isn't always the most memorable feature of Nolan's movies, but his scripts are often more powerful than they are given credit for. Christopher Nolan's flair for action may be more eye-catching, but his dialogue is just as important.
Nolan writes many of his scripts alone, although he also has co-writers from time to time. His most frequent collaborator is his brother Jonathan, who also works as a writer, director and producer for several popular TV shows including Westworld and the new Fallout series. Nolan has the luxury of being able to cast some of the best actors in the world in his projects, and they can make his most memorable quotes stand out even more.
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All 12 Christopher Nolan Movies Ranked Worst To Best
Christopher Nolan is one of the most acclaimed, distinctive filmmakers of his generation. Here's our ranking of his films from worst to best.
12 "You Take It Away To Show Them What They Had."
Cobb in Following (1998)
Christopher Nolan's first feature film doesn't have as many fans as his later works, but Following still bears some of the director's hallmarks, such as characters questioning their own mental state and a brilliant twist ending. The story follows a struggling writer who starts following people to gain inspiration for his next book, but his experiment takes a dark turn when he gets too closely involved with a burglar.
Cobb explains that his crimes aren't just about material gain. Like the writer, he has deeper reasons for his actions. He wants to prove a point about people's complacency and materialism, and he ends up turning this lesson on the writer. Even early on in his career, Christopher Nolan showed that he could fill scripts with memorable quotes which sum up the broader themes of the movie.
11 "I Have To Believe In A World Outside My Own Mind. I Have To Believe That My Actions Still Have Meaning, Even If I Can't Remember Them."
Leonard in Memento (2000)
Memento
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- Director
- Christopher Nolan
- Release Date
- May 25, 2001
- Cast
- Joe Pantoliano, Guy Pearce, Carrie-Anne Moss, Stephen Tobolowsky, Mark Boone Junior
- Writers
- Christopher Nolan
After the modest success of Following, Christopher Nolan directed his first big hit with Memento. Guy Pearce stars as a man suffering from a rare form of amnesia which means he lacks the ability to form new memories. He uses a complex series of Polaroids, notes and tattoos to remind him what he needs to know to track down his wife's killer. Memento is one of Nolan's early experiments with non-linear storytelling, as two narratives run forwards and backwards concurrently.
Leonard's peculiar condition means that his experience of daily life is unlike anybody else's, and he struggles with figuring out the basics of his reality. This quote emphasizes how, despite his extensive notes and clues, he has to give himself over to blind faith at some point. Leonard lacks any real connection to the world around him, since he forgets every new experience that he has.
10 "You Don't Get It, Do You Finch? You're My Job. You're What I'm Paid To Do. You're About As Mysterious To Me As A Blocked Toilet Is To A F***ing Plumber."
Will Dormer in Insomnia (2002)
Insomnia
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- Director
- Christopher Nolan
- Release Date
- May 24, 2002
- Cast
- Al Pacino, Robin Williams, Hilary Swank, Oliver Zemen, Martin Donovan, Paul Dooley
- Writers
- Hillary Seitz, Nikolaj Frobenius, Erik Skjoldbjærg
Insomnia stars Al Pacino as an LAPD detective who travels to Alaska to assist with a homicide investigation. Pacino is on top form, and Robin Williams is also excellent as the criminal who develops a strange dynamic with him. This quote shows that Detective Dormer wants to pull away from Finch. He is only forced into an uneasy alliance with him so that he can cover his own tracks in an accidental shooting, so he feels ashamed at the fact that he has to spend any time with him.
Christopher Nolan cites Insomnia as his most underrated movie, and it's clear to see why. It lacks the fireworks and bold spectacle of some of his bigger blockbusters, but the intense story of crime and corruption is just as captivating. Dormer is one of Nolan's most compelling characters. In some ways, he aligns with the archetype of a grizzled, world-weary detective, but some of his quotes show that he's not so straightforward. He's a man who wants to do his job and go home, even if the nature of his work makes this impossible.
9 "You Must Become More Than Just A Man In The Eyes Of Your Opponent."
Ra's al Ghul in Batman Begins (2005)
Batman Begins
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- Director
- Christopher Nolan
- Release Date
- June 15, 2005
- Cast
- Ken Watanabe, Liam Neeson, Gary Oldman, Tom Wilkinson, Linus Roache, Christian Bale, Katie Holmes, Mark Boone Junior, Michael Caine, Rutger Hauer, Cillian Murphy, Morgan Freeman
- Writers
- Bob Kane, David S. Goyer, Christopher Nolan
Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy shook up the superhero genre, adding more elements from crime dramas and a deeper sense of realism. It remains the benchmark by which all Batman movies are measured, and its influence has spread to other superhero movies and action blockbusters. The dialogue picks certain memorable quotes directly from Batman comics, but there are also plenty of original quotes which have since become just as famous.
Ra's al Ghul's teachings shape Bruce Wayne's ideas of what Batman must represent, even though he later turns away from his mentor. This quote succinctly summarizes the entire arc of Batman in the Dark Knight trilogy, as he learns that the idea of a noble crusader against injustice is a more powerful source of change than simply beating up thugs on the street. Batman must become a popular movement in the hearts of the people of Gotham.
8 "Now You're Looking For The Secret. But You Won't Find It Because, Of Course, You're Not Really Looking. You Don't Want To Work It Out. You Want To Be Fooled."
Cutter in The Prestige (2006)
The Prestige
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- Director
- Christopher Nolan
- Release Date
- October 20, 2006
- Cast
- Michael Caine, Christian Bale, Hugh Jackman, Scarlett Johansson, Piper Perabo
- Writers
- Jonathan Nolan, Christopher Nolan
The Prestige tells the story of two competing magicians in Victorian London who go to extreme lengths to provide the perfect disappearing trick for their audiences. It examines the relationship between the performer and the audience, and the suspension of disbelief that's required to believe in magic. In many ways, it's also an examination of the relationship between a filmmaker and their audience.
Cutter sums up The Prestige's ethos perfectly. The allure of a magic show isn't discovering the secret behind the illusion. The moment when a magician can fool the audience into believing in something that defies logic is what's really important. Alfred understands this, but Angier is willing to do anything to outdo him, even if that means dying every night on stage using Nikola Tesla's machine.
7 "Some Men Just Want To Watch The World Burn."
Alfred in The Dark Knight (2008)
The Dark Knight
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- Director
- Christopher Nolan
- Release Date
- July 18, 2008
- Writers
- Christopher Nolan, Jonathan Nolan, David S. Goyer
- Cast
- Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Nestor Carbonell, Ritchie Coster, Cillian Murphy, Chin Han, Gary Oldman, Eric Roberts, William Fichtner, Aaron Eckhart, Maggie Gyllenhaal, David Dastmalchian, Anthony Michael Hall
The Dark Knight is Christopher Nolan's most quotable movie. Many of the best lines from the second installment in the Dark Knight trilogy have entered common parlance, and they have been parodied and mimicked ad nauseam. "Why so serious?" and "You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain" are two of the most notable examples, but no quote sums up the movie as neatly as Alfred's warning to Bruce Wayne.
The Joker is a new type of villain for Batman to face, and it takes a while for him to grapple with his philosophy. He can't be defeated like most other villains because his motives aren't beholden to ordinary criminal psychology. He is an unaffiliated anarchist who wants to wrestle the soul of Gotham away from Batman and the corrupt city officials. Batman needs to internalize this lesson from Alfred if he ever has a chance of defeating the Joker.
6 "Dreams Feel Real When We're In Them. It's Only When We Wake Up That We Realize Something Was Actually Strange."
Cobb in Inception (2010)
Inception
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- Director
- Christopher Nolan
- Release Date
- July 16, 2010
- Cast
- Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Elliot Page, Tom Hardy, Ken Watanabe, Dileep Rao, Cillian Murphy, Tom Berenger, Marion Cotillard, Pete Postlethwaite, Michael Caine, Lukas Haas, Tai-Li Lee, Claire Geare, Magnus Nolan, Taylor Geare, Johnathan Geare, Tohoru Masamune, Yuji Okumoto, Earl Cameron, Ryan Hayward, Miranda Nolan, Russ Fega, Tim Kelleher
- Writers
- Christopher Nolan
Inception could be the quintessential Christopher Nolan movie, as it perfectly combines a thought-provoking high-concept premise with plenty of jaw-dropping action. The mystery surrounding Inception's final scene focuses on whether Cobb is awake or whether he is still dreaming. As this quote explains, the answer may not be important, because the feeling of reality is just as tangible as reality itself.
Inception uses dreams to examine the nature of reality, and it posits that what is real is not as important as what we believe to be real. This can be applied to delusions and fantasies as well as dreams, giving Inception a more nuanced and relatable side to its sci-fi premise. Some of Inception's musings on dreams can also be applied to the experience of becoming captivated by a movie.
5 "You Do Not Fear Death. You Think This Makes You Strong. It Makes You Weak."
The Blind Prisoner in The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
The Dark Knight Rises
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- Director
- Christopher Nolan
- Release Date
- July 16, 2012
- Cast
- Christian Bale, Tom Hardy, Anne Hathaway, Gary Oldman, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotillard, Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine
- Writers
- Christopher Nolan, Jonathan Nolan, David S. Goyer, Bob Kane, Bill Finger
In The Dark Knight Rises, Batman faces another strange foe. Bane pushes him to his limits, and he proves that Batman's approach has been flawed. By trying to shrink into anonymity, Batman has numbed himself to the true danger of his work. He needs to learn to accept some fear and some darkness if he wants to defeat Bane. His first fight with Bane shows that he isn't ready, as he attacks him without fearing for his own safety.
The best quote in The Dark Knight Rises doesn't come from Batman, Bane, or even an important secondary character like Alfred. Instead, it comes from a blind prisoner who meets Bruce Wayne at his lowest moment, when he and Gotham both seem doomed. The Dark Knight Rises may not enjoy the same reputation as Batman Begins or The Dark Knight, but it still has some undeniably powerful moments.
4 "We Used To Look Up At The Sky And Wonder At Our Place In The Stars. Now, We Just Look Down And Worry About Our Place In The Dirt."
Cooper in Interstellar (2014)
Interstellar
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- Director
- Christopher Nolan
- Release Date
- November 7, 2014
- Cast
- Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, Mackenzie Foy, Ellen Burstyn, Michael Caine, Bill Irwin, Timothée Chalamet, David Oyelowo, John Lithgow
- Writers
- Jonathan Nolan, Christopher Nolan
Interstellar's best moments are split between mind-bending sci-fi visuals and intelligent dialogue-based scenes. Some moments even manage to combine both. Matthew McConaughey delivers an outstanding performance as a former NASA pilot who agrees to pioneer humanity's search for new habitable planets. This quote highlights his optimistic streak, even though humanity as a whole has turned from wonder toward worry.
This quote also acts as a warning to all humanity, suggesting that people need to see the big picture and hope for better rather than getting too caught up in the minutiae of pointless struggles. There's a message of togetherness that runs throughout Interstellar. The heroes are those who are willing to sacrifice their happiness and their lives for the greater good. The villains like Mann are those motivated by self-interest.
3 "He's Shell-Shocked, George. He's Not Himself. He Might Never Be Himself Again."
Mr. Dawson in Dunkirk (2017)
Dunkirk
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- Director
- Christopher Nolan
- Release Date
- July 21, 2017
- Cast
- Kenneth Branagh, Aneurin Barnard, Mark Rylance, Tom Hardy, James D'Arcy, Jack Lowden, Cillian Murphy, Harry Styles, Fionn Whitehead, Barry Keoghan
- Writers
- Christopher Nolan
Dunkirk has a different feel to most of Christopher Nolan's other movies. The dialogue is very sparse and naturalistic, which adds a sense of realism and authenticity. Dunkirk is based on a true story, and Nolan makes a choice not to fabricate too much dialogue based on unrecorded conversations. The focus remains on the tension among the stranded British soldiers and the bursts of action as the Germans close in around the French coastal town of Dunkirk.
Although there aren't as many memorable quotes in Dunkirk as in some other Nolan movies, the action does slow down at times to explore some of the characters in more detail. Mark Rylance's character sums up the condition of the shivering soldier, referring to "shell-shock," which was a common term for PTSD at the time. Mr. Dawson's compassion hints toward his own experiences fighting in wars as a younger man, and this also explains why he lies to the shivering soldier later by telling him that he didn't kill George.
2 "Don't Try To Understand It. Feel It."
Barbara in Tenet (2020)
Tenet
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- Director
- Christopher Nolan
- Release Date
- September 3, 2020
- Cast
- Kenneth Branagh, John David Washington, Michael Caine, Robert Pattinson, Elizabeth Debicki, Dimple Kapadia, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Clemence Poesy
- Writers
- Christopher Nolan
Christopher Nolan has developed a reputation for his cerebral, complex blockbusters, so one of the criticisms most commonly lobbied against him is that his stories can be difficult to understand. Even by Nolan's usual standards, Tenet confounded audiences when it was released in 2020, and there are still people who may struggle to decipher the deeper meaning of Tenet and the logic behind its timeline.
This quote by Barbara, a Tenet scientist who teaches the Protagonist about the concept of inversion, seems to be a subtle nod toward the audience, and also toward Nolan's harshest critics. Barbara's scene is supposed to help the audience understand the concept too, so Barbara is talking to the audience and the Protagonist at the same time. This quote also helps uncover Nolan's ethos on most of his movies. His stories are meant to be experienced and felt, and the exact outline of the plot is secondary.
1 "I Believe We Did."
J. Robert Oppenheimer in Oppenheimer (2023)
Oppenheimer
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- Director
- Christopher Nolan
- Release Date
- July 21, 2023
- Writers
- Christopher Nolan
- Cast
- Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, Robert Downey Jr., Rami Malek, Florence Pugh
Oppenheimer marks the triumphant culmination of Christopher Nolan's career so far, and it has what is arguably his best script yet. Oppenheimer is filled with brilliant quotes which reveal the darkest corners of the title character's psyche and the moral conflict surrounding the creation of the bomb. The fact that the story is true makes it all the more compelling to see it play out.
As the movie draws to a close, the reality of Oppenheimer and Einstein's conversation by the lake is revealed. Oppenheimer asks Einstein if he remembers talking about the potential of setting off a chain reaction that could destroy the world. Although this didn't literally happen, Oppenheimer feels immense guilt at the state of the world that he helped create, with the Cold War developing into a chaotic arms race and wars becoming potentially more deadly than ever.
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