The Nolan Variations

The Movies, Mysteries, and Marvels of Christopher Nolan

De: Tom Shone

Narrado por: Nicholas Guy Smith

An in-depth look at, and written in collaboration with, the man considered to be the most profound, and commercially successful director at work today--a franchise unto himself--whose deeply personal million-dollar blockbuster movies (The Dark Knight (2008), Inception (2010), Dunkirk (2017) among them) have earned more than $4.7 billion worldwide: his work, his influences, his vision, his enigmatic childhood past, and much more.

A rare, intimate portrait of Christopher Nolan with the full cooperation of Nolan himself who opened up more fully than ever before in his talks with Tom Shone. In chapters structured by themes and motifs ("Time"; "Chaos"), Shone writes of Nolan's thoughts on movies, on plots; on time, identity, perception, chaos, daydreams. Here is Nolan on the evolution of his pictures, and the writers, artists, directors, and thinkers who have inspired and informed his films. To write the book, Tom Shone, who has known Nolan for more than two decades and who spent months with the director, was given unprecedented access to Nolan's notes, scripts, storyboards, and artwork.

In this riveting portrait of an artist, Shone deftly navigates Nolan's themes, influences, and working methods (both in writing and directing). Here is his dislocated, trans-Atlantic childhood ("It makes you feel very differently about the concept of 'home'") . . . how he dreamed up the plot of Inceptionlying awake one night in his dorm ("I prized the imaginative space of listening to music in the dark, thinking about things, imagining things, films, stories") . . . his color-blindness and its effect on Memento ("People are fascinated by other people's perception of the world and the way in which it differs") . . . his obsession with puzzles and optical illusions . . . and much, much more.

Reseñas de la Crítica

"This is the book for which Christopher Nolan's many admirers have long been waiting ... Shone sat with Nolan for numerous conversations over three years, producing what is almost a coauthored exploration of Nolan's creative process, his extensive influences, and his films ... Shone seamlessly weaves these conversations within a narrative that stretches from Nolan's formative boarding school days in England to the evolution of his career and work ... a thoroughly entertaining and fascinating portrait. For the foreseeable future, this is the definitive word on Nolan and a must for film buffs."--Library Journal (starred review)

"Nolan is a wonderfully unlikely contemporary filmmaker. We're fortunate indeed to have him, and fortunate now to have this book."--William Gibson

"Drawing on interviews conducted over three years, film critic Shone shines a light on Christopher Nolan, who has 'long perfected the art of talking about his films while giving away nothing about himself.' Shone devotes a chapter to each of Nolan's films [and] provides thoughtful context for Nolan's commentary."--Publishers Weekly

"An up-close and personal look at one of Hollywood's most successful directors ... unique access to the 'most successful filmmaker to come out of the British Isles since Alfred Hitchcock.' This erudite book is packed with extensive, expansive discussions about Nolan's films, all written or co-written by the director; insight into what he was trying to accomplish with each film; methodologies; and the movies, directors, books, art, architecture, and music that influenced him ... revealing ... invaluable."--Kirkus (starred review)

Narration/Story

Wonderful read! It breaks down all of Nolan’s films from The Following all the way up to Tenet. If you are a Christopher Nolan fan, then this is a must read for you!

Quite Engrossing

Nolan seems to have a universal appeal though as this audiobook amply demonstrates, he is quite the intellectual auteur. These are dispiriting times, but how incredible it is to realize we have people like Nolan and Villeneuve and the utter legend Ridley Scott creating art for us to enjoy in the world's most fertile visual medium. Nolan is the 21st century Hitchcock, and much more. This bio will fascinate anyone who loves film, philosophy and a story of a dedicated artist.

Extremely informative but …

… the reader had me wanting to lapse in to a 3 level deep dream state. He was slow, pompous and grating, I have a hard copy. I think thsy will suit me better.

A Must-Read for any Christopher Nolan fan

This is a must-read for any fans of Christopher Nolan movies. Chronicling Nolan's movie career and offering insight to his upbringing and influences, this book was a fantastic inside look to Christopher Nolan.

This is more or less a collection of interviews that Tom Shone has had with Nolan over the years, where he talks through the making of and influences of his film career. Don't read this book with the expectation that he'll offer an explanation to the ending of more of his controversial movies (Inception, Interstellar, Tenet).

Overall, this was a very interesting read and offered excellent expose and insight to Christopher Nolan's filmography. It was also written with ease and flowed very well.

Pros: this book offers first hand interviews with Christopher Nolan as he discusses all of his movies and influences.
Cons: None.
Bottom line: this book makes me want to re-watch many of my favorite Nolan movies and I will certainly re-read this book again.

Analysis of C Nolan one of our great directors

Tremendous analysis of all of his movies (to date) with how he came up with the ideas, how the movie was made, analysis of what the darn thing means - as complete as a single volumn can be. Example of the detail: discusses a sound technique used in several of his movies called a Shepard Tone. Look it up. Nolan is like David Lynch in that he goes out of his way to be mysterious. The mystery is never without a purpose rather the mystery clarifies either the story or the characters (especially in Memento). If you are a fan, this book will make you a bigger fan and enrich your appreciation of his talent.