Following filmography polls on Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, Ridley Scott, The Coens, Steven Soderbergh, Francis Ford Coppola, here’s yet another one centered on the most popular filmmaker of the moment.
On the occasion of “The Odyssey,” which has resulted in a slew of published lists this week ranking all of his films—see below—I’ve decided to update this poll, from three years ago, adding more than 50 additional critics’ lists. The results have now been firmly locked.
Critics who participated were asked to submit just a single film—the one they consider to be Christopher Nolan’s greatest achievement. Nearly 200 critics voted for the best film directed by Nolan. The top vote-getter was the most obvious populist choice—and the biggest film of his career.
The blockbuster “The Dark Knight” topped the list. The “Batman” film, starring the late Heath Ledger, changed the industry when it was released in 2008 and catapulted Nolan’s career in ways that are still being felt today. It’s quite impressive that, 18 years later, and with many more epics released—including a Best Picture winner—this remains the consensus pick. “The Dark Knight” ultimately appeared on 25% of all ballots.
One look at the IMDb Top 250 reveals that 2014’s “Interstellar” has an incredible 8.6 rating. That’s good enough to rank as the 25th greatest film of all time on the list. And yet, the sci-fi epic barely made a dent in the poll, managing to amass only nine votes from the nearly 200 critics surveyed. This only further illustrates the disconnect between mainstream audiences and critics when it comes to the film, which has been reassessed by many since its release.
In our critics poll, “Memento” came in at No. 2, but the biggest surprise was 2006’s underrated “The Prestige” finishing at No. 4—that film has clearly built a major following in the years since its release. Rounding out the top five were “Dunkirk” (No. 3) and “Oppenheimer” (No. 5).
Two Nolan films did not garner a single vote: “The Dark Knight Rises” (2012) and “Tenet” (2020). In fact, even his 1998 debut, “Following,” received one vote, while “Insomnia” (2002) garnered two. Speaking of “Insomnia,” Nolan has gone on the record calling it the “most underrated” work of his career.
Of course, at the time of publishing, not many of those who participated had seen “The Odyssey.” But among the lucky few who had, two voted for the film. It’ll be interesting to see how well it ages, as it’s currently one of the best-reviewed films of Nolan’s career.
On a lighter note, one of Nolan’s most prominent detractors, National Review’s Armond White, selected “Man of Steel” as his pick—but “only because Nolan is listed as producer.”
POLL RESULTS:
1. The Dark Knight (2008) — 35 votes
2. Memento (2000)— 24 votes
3. Dunkirk (2017) — 21 votes
4. The Prestige (2006) —19 votes
5. Oppenheimer (2023) — 19 votes
6. Inception (2010) — 15 votes
7. Interstellar (2014) — 9 votes
8. Following (1998) — 3 votes
9. Batman Begins (2005) — 2 votes
10. Insomnia (2002) — 2 votes
FULL LIST OF CRITICS:
Thelma Adams (AARP), Kaleem Aftab (BFI), Carlos Aguilar (The Wrap), Ethan Alter (Yahoo Movies), Jeff Ames (Coming Soon), Jeffrey M. Anderson (SF Examiner), Fernando Andres (BFI), Edwin Arnaudin (mxArts), Michael Atkinson (The Village Voice), Nicolas Bell (IONCINEMA), Alex Billington (First Showing), Chuck Bowen (Style Weekly), Liz Braun (Toronto Sun), Matt Brunson (Film Frenzy), Jim Brunzell (Festival Director), Christopher Bumbray (JoBlo), David Cairns (Criterion), Zach Caruso (Freelance), Erik Childress (eFilmCritic), Daryl Chin (Film Comment), Nick Clement (Variety), Laura Clifford (Reeling Reviews) Adam Cook (CinemaScope), Ben Croll (The Wrap), Freja Dam (Sound Venue), Tony Dayoub (CinemaViewfinder), Peter DeBruge (Variety), Edward Douglas (Above the Line), Bilge Ebiri (Vulture), David Edelstein (Slate), Steven Erickson (Film Comment), Max Every (Slash Film), Marshall Fine (NYFCC), Jim Farmer (Festival Director), Scott Feinberg (THR), Daniel Fienberg (THR), Garth Franklin (Dark Horizons), Roger Friedman (Showbiz411), Jon Frosch (THR), Owen Gleiberman (Variety), Jaky Goldberg (Les Inrockuptibles), Bill Goodykoontz (AZ Republic), Karen Gordon (Freelance), David Greven (UofSC), Jason Guerrasio (Insider), Zaki Hasan (The Film Stage), Patrick Heidmann (Zeit), Barry Hertz (Globe and Mail), Matt Hoffman (Film School Rejects), Robert Horton (Film Comment), Peter Howell (Toronto Star), Andrea Hudson (Freelance), Jason Gorber (THAT SHELF), Matthew Jacobson (The AV Club), Richard T. Jameson (Film Comment), Mark Johnson (Awards Daily), Dave Karger (TCM), Elizabeth Karlin (Freelance), Don Kaye (Den of Geek), Peter Keough (Boston Phoenix), Jonathan Kiefer (Freelance), Robert Koehler (CinemaScope), Harry Knowles (Ain’t it Cool), Kevin Laforest (Extra Beurre), Joanna Langfield (The Movie Minute), Eric Lavallée (IONCINEMA), Marcos Levy (Freelance), Craig D. Lindsey (Nashville Scene), Wesley Lovell (Cinema Sight), Piers Marchant (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette), Eric Marchen (Rogers TV), Steven Mears (Film Comment), Amanda Mae Méyncke (Happiness Spells), Myron Meisel (LAFCA), Scott Mendelson (Forbes), Scott Menzel (We Live Entertainment), Jared Mobarak (The Film Stage), Rafael Motamayor (The Playlist), Matt Neglia (Next Best Picture), Michael Nordine (Paste Magazine), Brian Owens (Festival Director), Michael Patterson (Michael’s Telluride Blog), John Powers (Vogue), CJ Prince (The Film Stage), Mara Reinstein (US Weekly), Rene Rodriguez (Miami Herald), Timothy Rhys (MovieMaker), Jordan Ruimy (World of Reel), Nick Schafer (Slant Magazine), Christopher Schobert (The Film Stage), Niles Schwartz (Slant Magazine), Diego Semerene (Slant Magazine), Don Shanahan (Film Obsessive), Marlow Stern (The Daily Beast), Yael Shuv (Time Out Tel Aviv), Steven Shaviro (Professor), Viguen Shirvanian (Freelance), Alex Simon (Freelance), Amie Simon (Freelance), Jeff Simon (Buffalo News), Jeff Sneider (Above the Line), Tony Joe Stemme (Freelance), David Sterritt (Christian Science Monitor), Sara Stewart (New York Post), Ed Symkus (The Boston Globe), Bob Strauss (San Francisco Chronicle), Drew Taylor (The Wrap), Luke Y Thompson (The AV Club), Benjamin Tovias (Yedioth Ahronoth), Kent Turner (Film Forward), Mel Valentin (Screen Anarchy), Richard Von Busack (Freelance), Daniel Waters (Screenwriter), Max Weiss (Baltimore Magazine), Jeffrey Wells (Hollywood Elsewhere), Matthew Wilder (Filmmaker), Chuck Wilson (L.A. Weekly), Addison Wylie (Wire)
All the Nolan lists published this month: THR, Exclaim!, Axios, Esquire, Variety, Slant, The Week, The Independent, GQ, Radio Times, Slant Magazine, Flickering Myth, MovieMaker, Slash Film, IGN, IndieWire, Vulture, Time Out, ScreenRant, The Wrap, The Mary Sue, CinemaBlend, The Guardian, Dexerto, Tech Radar, High on Films,
The exact details of the MPA’s rating for “Wildwood” are as follows: Rated PG-13 for “strong fantasy violence/bloody images, thematic material, suicide related material, brief partial nudity and language.”