Christopher Nolan has been one of the most successful movie directors of all time as he blends his artistic vision and designs it with mass appeal. Legendary filmmaker, Steven Spielberg has mastered the technique as well although subtle differences in their approach make them two distinguished directors.
While speaking of Nolan, Spielberg revealed that Nolan’s mastery of the craft has always been fascinating. Certainly, it is a delight to watch Nolan’s movies at any given time, at least, most fans would agree. While Nolan has been blessed with several accolades for his work, Spielberg believed that one particular movie should have been in the Oscar nomination.
Christopher Nolan’s Oscar Snub Was Upsetting For Steven Spielberg
Christopher Nolan shined bright at the 96th Academy Awards bagging seven awards for his 2023 blockbuster Oppenheimer including Best Picture and Best Director. But like Steven Spielberg and many fans and critics believe, Nolan’s one DC masterpiece should have been among the nominees for Best Picture but it was the timing that snubbed him of the spot.
The movie in the discussion here is The Dark Knight, not just one of Nolan’s best works but one of the greatest DC movies of all time that led the Late Heath Ledger to win an Oscar for his portrayal of Joker. Speaking of the movie released in 2008, Spielberg revealed his appreciation for the Academy for including mass pleasure narratives among the nominees but Nolan’s movie, he claimed, deserved a shot.
“I’m really encouraged by that. It came late for the film that should have been nominated a number of years ago, Christopher Nolan’s, The Dark Knight. That movie would have definitely garnered a Best Picture Nomination today, so having these two blockbusters solidly presented on the top 10 list is something we should all be celebrating,” he told Deadline.
Of course, to secure a spot on Spielberg’s top 20 favorite movies of all time must endure intense scrutiny and The Dark Night has passed the test as it went on to claim the 11th spot in his list.
Christopher Nolan Revealed How He Pulled Off The Dark Knight
The Dark Knight went on to be one of the greatest superhero films ever because of the immaculate vision of the director seeing the iconic DC character in the light he intended. It was certainly one of the most ambitious movies of Nolan with utmost responsibilities on his shoulders. “We were trying to figure out how do you move on from what you’ve done in but maybe how do you make the film bigger and more than Batman Begins” without compromising the story, Nolan said (via JoBlo Celebrity Interviews).
“I wanted to push further and further in the in the direction of shooting on location and shooting with a real-world scale because even with some of the interiors you know, the office spaces or boardrooms and things like that the biggest set you could possibly build isn’t going to be as big as the real world version of it. And so shooting on real locations you’re able to get some of that scope and scale very naturally and organically into the film and it felt to me that Gotham had to become this huge arena in the movie for these characters to face off him,” he added.
Nolan’s prowess lies in the fact that Gotham City has become a character as fans could see it coming to life, not just a playground for a hero and his adversary.
The Dark Knight is available to stream on Max.
