Nonfiction

The Nolan Variations: The Movies, Mysteries, and Marvels of Christopher Nolan

The Nolan Variations: The Movies, Mysteries, and Marvels of Christopher Nolan

  • Downloads：8490
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-11-02 09:54:28
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Tom Shone
  • ISBN：0525655328
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
  • Download

Summary

An in-depth look at Christopher Nolan， considered to be the most profound， commercially successful director at work today， written with his full cooperation。 A rare， revelatory portrait， as close as you're ever going to get to the Escher drawing that is Christopher Nolan's remarkable brain （Sam Mendes）。

In chapters structured by themes and motifs （Time; Chaos; Dreams）， Shone offers an unprecedented intimate view of the director。 Shone explores Nolan's thoughts on his influences， his vision， his enigmatic childhood past--and his movies， from plots and emotion to identity and perception， including his latest blockbuster， the action-thriller/spy-fi Tenet （Big， brashly beautiful， grandiosely enjoyable--Variety）。



Filled with the director's never-before-seen photographs， storyboards， and scene sketches， here is Nolan on the evolution of his pictures， and the writers， artists， directors， and thinkers who have inspired and informed his films。

Fabulous: intelligent， illuminating， rigorous， and highly readable。 The very model of what a filmmaking study should be。 Essential reading for anyone who cares about Nolan or about film for that matter。--Neal Gabler， author of An Empire of Their Own: How the Jews Invented Hollywood and Walt Disney， The Biography

Download

Reviews

Jim Malakwen ，

Essential reading for any fan of Christopher Nolan's work！ Essential reading for any fan of Christopher Nolan's work！ 。。。more

Michael Jolls ，

I had seen this title a number of times when searching for something to read， but after I decided to give it a go， I never actually saw or picked up the physical book until I went to go get it。 （It’s thick！） “The Nolan Variations" is the current definitive retrospective that covers a wide range of material， specifically production backstory with emphasis on art direction， screenwriting， sound mixing and score。 The book is an elongated interview between the author， Tom Shone， and Nolan that clear I had seen this title a number of times when searching for something to read， but after I decided to give it a go， I never actually saw or picked up the physical book until I went to go get it。 （It’s thick！） “The Nolan Variations" is the current definitive retrospective that covers a wide range of material， specifically production backstory with emphasis on art direction， screenwriting， sound mixing and score。 The book is an elongated interview between the author， Tom Shone， and Nolan that clearly took place over the course of a year or so。 The book dives heavily into supplemental material outside the realm of filmmaking， specifically painting， architecture， science， and physics。 "The Nolan Variations" is an entire film class fused into a thick book。 It's occasionally very wordy and heady as it attempts to convey complicated ideas - yet how else does can one really unlock Nolan's cinema。 Worthwhile reading/listening if you want to take a film course for cheap。 The very end of the book - concluded in a way I’ve never seen a film book do - made me smile， validation that Shone totally mastered this material， understanding the Nolan corkscrew narrative。 。。。more

Ashish Kukreja ，

A must read for those who have enjoyed these extraordinary movies。 The mystique remains！！！

John Funderburg ，

As a complete Nolan junkie， this book was thrilling and hypnotic。 I loved getting a peek behind the curtain on his processes。 Very highly recommended。

Oli Turner ，

Part biography， part making of， part retrospective， part thematic analysis。 Impressive and genuinely ‘fascinating’ （😉 #iykyk）。 Strikes the perfect balance between interesting， thought provoking and informative without becoming pretentious， sycophantic or self-congratulating。 Even the structure of the book mimics a christopher nolan film particularly with the beginning and end。 Bravo

Zach Koenig ，

Since bursting onto the film scene in the early 2000s， director Christopher Nolan has become an institution in and of himself behind the camera。 From mind-benders like Memento & The Prestige， epics like Interstellar， & his Dark Knight trilogy， his name now comfortably rests amongst the likes of Spielberg， Hitchcock， and the like。 Even with all that success， however， Nolan is still a bit of a mysterious figure in that he normally avoids the spotlight （interviews， press， etc。） and prefers to conce Since bursting onto the film scene in the early 2000s， director Christopher Nolan has become an institution in and of himself behind the camera。 From mind-benders like Memento & The Prestige， epics like Interstellar， & his Dark Knight trilogy， his name now comfortably rests amongst the likes of Spielberg， Hitchcock， and the like。 Even with all that success， however， Nolan is still a bit of a mysterious figure in that he normally avoids the spotlight （interviews， press， etc。） and prefers to concentrate on his work。 As such， the access that author Tom Shone gets in "The Nolan Variations" is largely the draw here。Basically， this book follows a series of interviews/conversations that Shone was somehow granted with the iconic director。 It goes in chronological order from his childhood in England to Following， Memento， and everything up to Tenet。 These are basically never-before-heard thoughts from Nolan about his own life and works。Of course， those interviews alone cannot fill an entire weighty tome like this， so Shone takes many of Nolan's statements and expands upon them， drawing from other artistic （or even philosophical） realms to help break down each Nolan film or life situation。 If one is not a die-hard Nolan fan （like myself）， this is where you might catch yourself skimming a bit， as the tangents can stray a bit far afield from "Nolan stuff"。 Much like a Nolan film itself， ironically， you'll take from it about as much mentally energy as you put into it。Overall， the simple fact that this is the most comprehensive piece ever done on Nolan's oeuvre was enough to garner 5 stars from me。 If you've watched multiple Nolan films and love his work， there's much to take from Shone。 More casual fans might be a bit overwhelmed by the deep-dive approach， but still likely to take at least something away knowledge-wise。 。。。more

Jack Bentele ，

One of the best filmmaking profiles ever

Glenn ，

This is hands down one of the best books I have ever read about an artist in any medium， not just film。 Nolan allowed author Tom Shone extraordinary access over a period of several years to pick his brain — and what a brain it is。 The book covers in detail all 11 feature films directed by Nolan （including his most recent Tenet） and for each covers the origin of the concepts， pre-production， filming， and post。 One bit I found most interesting is how each musical score was developed in close colla This is hands down one of the best books I have ever read about an artist in any medium， not just film。 Nolan allowed author Tom Shone extraordinary access over a period of several years to pick his brain — and what a brain it is。 The book covers in detail all 11 feature films directed by Nolan （including his most recent Tenet） and for each covers the origin of the concepts， pre-production， filming， and post。 One bit I found most interesting is how each musical score was developed in close collaboration with Hans Zimmer from a single sound， such as a watch ticking （Dunkirk） or just a two note cue for Batman。 10 stars。 Very entertaining， thorough， and at times challenging — Nolan is a very intelligent man and poses more than a few questions to Shone to ponder。 Many illustrations are included to clarify ideas under discussion。 This book goes on the top shelf of Great Books About Film with Truffaut/Hitchcock， Herzog’s Guide for the Perplexed， and the Kubrick Archives book。 。。。more

Arka James Saha ，

If you're a Nolan fan， this is the book that you need to read。 Gives an inside look look into the mind of an auteur。 Indeed， in Nolan we trust。 If you're a Nolan fan， this is the book that you need to read。 Gives an inside look look into the mind of an auteur。 Indeed， in Nolan we trust。 。。。more

Sahil Parab ，

Minds don't wander on a Christopher Nolan set。This is not a biography book， but what happens behind the scenes on the set。 Christopher Nolan is knows as greatest cinematographer of our time， who has directed Interstellar and Inception masterpieces。What makes him the best in the world is his mind， photographic memory， strategic thinker， great storyteller and introverted personality。 Minds don't wander on a Christopher Nolan set。This is not a biography book， but what happens behind the scenes on the set。 Christopher Nolan is knows as greatest cinematographer of our time， who has directed Interstellar and Inception masterpieces。What makes him the best in the world is his mind， photographic memory， strategic thinker， great storyteller and introverted personality。 。。。more

Daniel ，

Every once in a while I get bogged down in a book。 I've been trapped in this one for three months。 It's an interesting discussion of each of Nolan's films including his 2020 release "Tenet，" and it was done with his full participation。 So it's certanly an essential book for anyone wanting to know more about his work。 My problem was that as a working film critic I have seen all his features， but except for "Memento" I haven't seen them more than once。 I suspect that when I get the opportunity to Every once in a while I get bogged down in a book。 I've been trapped in this one for three months。 It's an interesting discussion of each of Nolan's films including his 2020 release "Tenet，" and it was done with his full participation。 So it's certanly an essential book for anyone wanting to know more about his work。 My problem was that as a working film critic I have seen all his features， but except for "Memento" I haven't seen them more than once。 I suspect that when I get the opportunity to rewatch "The Dark Knight" or "Inception" or "Interstellar" I'll want to back and reread that particular chapter while the movie is fresh in my head。 。。。more

Steven Belanger ，

Engrossing book about Nolan and his movies， for his fans only。 This is a truly remarkable biography of sorts， more of his movies than of the filmmaker， though of course they blend。 A tour de force。One of the great treats of this book is the sheer knowledge of film， art， music and literature that Nolan and Shone share。 One of the joys is to see how Borges， for example， influenced many of Nolan’s films。 I copied the short story titles down and will read them。 I wrote the titles of everything menti Engrossing book about Nolan and his movies， for his fans only。 This is a truly remarkable biography of sorts， more of his movies than of the filmmaker， though of course they blend。 A tour de force。One of the great treats of this book is the sheer knowledge of film， art， music and literature that Nolan and Shone share。 One of the joys is to see how Borges， for example， influenced many of Nolan’s films。 I copied the short story titles down and will read them。 I wrote the titles of everything mentioned that I hadn’t yet read， seen or heard， so that I can now do so。 Reading this book is encyclopedic， as Nolan’s brain is。 I also hoped to watch each movie after reading its chapter， but I have to bring the book back。 But I did it for Insomnia， and got more out of it having first read about it。 Borges’s influence， and that of other movies， brought out a lot。Another interesting thing is that reading it didn’t make me like his films any better， especially the ones I don’t much like， such as Tenet。 The ending of Inception still annoys me， though I understand better why Nolan left it that way。 Obviously， he likes the audience to think， and decide from their own perspective， which is why the top neither stands nor falls。 It’s up to us to decide if we think he’s still dreaming or not。 But Nolan points out that it doesn’t matter because Cobb has already stopped caring if he’s dreaming or not。 He’s with his kids， and that’s all he cares about。 Hadn’t considered that。And reading about the germination of the ideas for each of these movies was a blast。 All of those other movies and music and artwork and literature！ A little bit of each， and there’s the theme or story。 Really interesting to see how much he borrows and stirs。If you’re looking for some juice about Pacino， Robin Williams， Bale or any of the other actors he’s worked with a ton of times， forget it。 All you’ll get is a throwaway sentence about how Nolan might think of Michael Caine as a good luck charm。 That’s it。 And， yeah， Nolan works incredibly closely with his wife， his brother and whomever the film’s composer and cinematographer are， but you should’ve already known that。 I didn’t know how inexpensive his films were， or how much less than you’d expect that he uses CGI。 He’s really old school。So， yeah， fascinating stuff， if you’re interested in the intellectual mind of this particular filmmaker。 。。。more

Will Clemmons ，

Reading through this book deepened my appreciation for Nolan and also depended my appreciate for good writers。 I could never write something this good。 I’m just not gifted in that area， but Shone clearly is。 So many references that enrich our understanding of Nolan and his films。 So much research that must have been done for this。 If you are a fan of Nolan’s films， I would definitely recommend reading this book。 If you’re not， who knows， this book might convert you。

Weibo Xiong ，

諾蘭電影迷想要瞭解大師的必讀。

evangeline ，

4。5

Dustin ，

As thorough a look at the private director I’ve read yet。 Only thing I would have preferred was more details about the ideation phases of his films; for example there’s only one sentence about John Nolan’s original idea for Interstellar。 But overall， it’s a really enjoyable look through his career this far。

Jon LeGris ，

Far from perfect， but an extremely intimate and expansive portrait of one of our most dependable and gifted modern filmmakers。 Dips in and out of a conversational structure in favour of a more linear （and sometimes rather straightforward） analysis， but is ultimately well-organized， sticks its landing， and makes for a compelling， comprehensive read。

Mark Schoen ，

I really appreciated that there was an entire chapter dedicated to the casting of Timothee Chalamet in Interstellar。

Julien L ，

Just finished this cool ass coffee table book about Nolan movies。 This is a filmmaker I've loved， hated， then loved again， and getting insights into the creative process， influences behind， and analyses of his works was a real treat。 From the interpretive politics of the batman movies to the influence of Jorge Borges on his stories to cool editing stuff， this book has it all。 It blends biography， interview， criticism， and research together。 Much like the director's work ， the writing style can b Just finished this cool ass coffee table book about Nolan movies。 This is a filmmaker I've loved， hated， then loved again， and getting insights into the creative process， influences behind， and analyses of his works was a real treat。 From the interpretive politics of the batman movies to the influence of Jorge Borges on his stories to cool editing stuff， this book has it all。 It blends biography， interview， criticism， and research together。 Much like the director's work ， the writing style can be pretentious in places （the intro is a godawful mess of gushing purple prose） but overall the book has a pretty easy to understand core thesis。 I think the stuff I gravitated towards the most were the philosophical ideas and questions that Nolan himself raises in the interview portions。 。。。more

Derek ，

Okay， this is what I'm looking for in criticism: not just a rundown of the plot， or what it's about， or interesting trivia from the production but rather a focus on the cultural significance versus authorial intention。 This book somehow made me like Nolan's movies less and appreciate them more。 Okay， this is what I'm looking for in criticism: not just a rundown of the plot， or what it's about， or interesting trivia from the production but rather a focus on the cultural significance versus authorial intention。 This book somehow made me like Nolan's movies less and appreciate them more。 。。。more

William Evans ，

LET BE WRIT IN STONE THAT CHRISTOPHER NOLAN IS A FAN OF THE FAST AND FURIOUS FILMS。 It makes me like him 10% more。

Federico Marchisio ，

A very unique approach to a book about movies， and quite fitting for the director in question！ Written with Nolan himself over a series of interviews， it’s a fascinating journey into his mind and the influences that led to the inception of the movies， the seeds that planted the ideas for the stories or some famous scenes。 There are some biographical anecdotes， like the dormitory in England that first inspired a story about collective dreaming， or the rough boat trip to Dunkirk that gave him the A very unique approach to a book about movies， and quite fitting for the director in question！ Written with Nolan himself over a series of interviews， it’s a fascinating journey into his mind and the influences that led to the inception of the movies， the seeds that planted the ideas for the stories or some famous scenes。 There are some biographical anecdotes， like the dormitory in England that first inspired a story about collective dreaming， or the rough boat trip to Dunkirk that gave him the idea for a story about survival on those unforgiving waters。 Literature plays a big role in inspiring his extremely original scripts。 Elements of Borges’ short stories are in pretty much every movie， the Moonstone inspired the dreamer thief of Inception， a Tale of Two Cities is at the heart of Dark Night rises and there are many more books recommendations。 His life-long obsession with time， this desire to understand it， manipulate it is not really explained， but there is a long reflection on how the camera is the only tool enables man to do slow it down， fast forward and even reverse it。 It allows Nolan to treat is as a dimension， a physical element in the architecture of the movie， and this is something that is fundamental in his way of developing the stories。 。。。more

Kyle Driscoll ，

Quite good！

JMarryott23 ，

Chris Nolan has been my favorite director since the late 2000s， and I’ve put insane hours into watching， analyzing， and learning more about his films。 Nolan himself has often been borderline reclusive - he mostly let’s his work speak for itself。 That’s why this book is such a treat。 Each of his movies get their own chapter dedicated to them， and the book goes deep into what influenced them。 These influences aren’t rip offs， they generally aren’t even noticeable。 This book helped me understand th Chris Nolan has been my favorite director since the late 2000s， and I’ve put insane hours into watching， analyzing， and learning more about his films。 Nolan himself has often been borderline reclusive - he mostly let’s his work speak for itself。 That’s why this book is such a treat。 Each of his movies get their own chapter dedicated to them， and the book goes deep into what influenced them。 These influences aren’t rip offs， they generally aren’t even noticeable。 This book helped me understand that Nolan wants to take an influence he loved and take it further， do something that’s never been done before。 His ambition can make flaws more apparent， but his work is better off as a whole。 And so I can say quite easily that more is revealed about Nolan private life than all other public information that was previously released， and that his life experiences have shaped his films more than anyone realized。 The story isn’t written on his career （well I guess it kinda is here）， as he’s just 50 years old and his filmography will likely double in size。 This book made me more excited about his existing work and the work that is still to come。 。。。more

Robert Brinker ，

Excellent view into the mind of a genius

Mike Merrill ，

Probably my newest favorite director 。。done all of Hitchcocks now on to Nolan。。 Brilliant ideas expressed impressively

Jed Richardson ，

Really great read！ Appreciated how it pretty much dives straight into everything， without the generic introduction most artbooks and film essays provide， with the foresight to recognise that the only people who are going to read a Christopher Nolan book， are Christopher Nolan fanatics。It was super fun to go through this while re-watching each Nolan film， as well as catching up with some of his earlier work that I'd missed。 Nolan was the director that got me into film in the first place， and it w Really great read！ Appreciated how it pretty much dives straight into everything， without the generic introduction most artbooks and film essays provide， with the foresight to recognise that the only people who are going to read a Christopher Nolan book， are Christopher Nolan fanatics。It was super fun to go through this while re-watching each Nolan film， as well as catching up with some of his earlier work that I'd missed。 Nolan was the director that got me into film in the first place， and it was really awesome to find out some of his history， and the stories behind the making of all of his work。Tom Shone was an excellent guide I might add。 There was just a little bit of fat in places， but this was ironed out towards the final few chapters I felt。 I will say that it will be interesting to look back at this book in ten years time。 This leaves off before the release of Tenet， and already， so much has gone on with that film and Nolan's career， that it'll be interesting to see where things go next。 Perhaps we'll get a revised edition？Regardless， I can't see you regretting reading this if you're already a Nolan fanboy。 Really good book。 。。。more

Cooper ，

Learned a lot about one of my favorite filmmakers。 Very interesting behind the scenes stuff。 There should be something like this for Paul Thomas Anderson。

Steve Marshall ，

A。 MUST FOR FILM BUFFSThis book Is a If you haven't seen breed for cinephiles。 It digs down into the complexities of Christopher Nolan's entire body of work。 If you haven't seen all of his movies， you'll want to by the time you finish this excellent book。 A。 MUST FOR FILM BUFFSThis book Is a If you haven't seen breed for cinephiles。 It digs down into the complexities of Christopher Nolan's entire body of work。 If you haven't seen all of his movies， you'll want to by the time you finish this excellent book。 。。。more

Dwight Davis ，

What I think this does， so much better than I could have hoped， is paint Nolan first and foremost as a collaborator and not as a singular genius making films on his own。 A really fantastic deep dive on one of our most successful and distinctive living directors。

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Nolan Variations: The Movies, Mysteries, and Marvels of Christopher Nolan

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Nolan Variations: The Movies, Mysteries, and Marvels of Christopher Nolan&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Nolan Variations: The Movies, Mysteries, and Marvels of Christopher Nolan&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0