Christopher Nolan's "Dunkirk" (July 21, 2017) - Part 2

[NotNickFury]

Didn't say it earlier, but just to also comment, even though it's been said already, but the sound direction in this film is just beautiful, even more so with IMAX. Every wave, every single bullet whizzing by, every plane hovering overhead, it's a very intimate experience from an audio perspective.

 

[jmc]

You're not crazy. It's going to be a divisive movie. Some will love it and some won't. I'm just amazed the studio gave him this much control of the project.

I don't think this is going to be a divisive movie in the traditional sense. It's basically going to come down to taste - whether you wanted to be more engaged with the characters or if you were perfectly engaged with the events happening around them. I don't think anyone is going to seriously argue it's a bad movie. At worst I think most people will appreciate this movie, at best they are going to love it.

 

[Kreem Pi]

Well, its cinemascore rating his higher than both Inception and Interstellar so far.

 

[Boom]

Spoiler

I didn't find the nonlinear narrative difficult to follow at all. Personally, I thought Memento and Interstellar were much more ambitious with their depiction of time.

 

[redfirebird2008]

I just got out of my third viewing of it. I am now comfortable rating it whereas after the first viewing I didn't feel comfortable at all trying to rate it. For now I'm going to slot it just behind Prestige and Memento, but I believe Dunkirk could easily be viewed as Nolan's best work decades from now.

Prestige - 9.6/10
Memento - 9.5/10
Dunkirk - 9.4/10
Inception - 9.1/10
Interstellar - 9.0/10

Rest are 7.0-8.5 movies.

 

[jmc]

Spoiler

I didn't find the nonlinear narrative difficult to follow at all. Personally, I thought Memento and Interstellar were much more ambitious with their depiction of time.

I thought it was pretty obvious when the title cards for each storyline popped up what was going to happen. But then again it may just be because I know how Nolan works so I figured it out more easily than others who might not know him as well.

 

[Kreem Pi]

That's an interesting rating, and very specific decimal numbers too. For me, the more I watch flicks the more I realize they can't be reduced to number or letter or star grades and have dropped it entirely.

 

[OutOfBoose]

For me only Memento felt confusing. Piecing it all together took some effort. The rest of his films were easy to follow.

 

[terry78]

Went back to see it earlier and I think I may have been the youngest person in the theatre at age 39, lol. It made for a better experience though with all the oldies fixated on the screen.

 

[StormC]

I wonder what age range I can expect for an 8 PM Sunday showing.

For me only Memento felt confusing. Piecing it all together took some effort. The rest of his films were easy to follow.

I thought Nolan did a good job with Memento in how the scenes bleed into each other by about 10-20 seconds. If it was just hard cuts between them it would have been a bit hairy to follow. But I wasn't too lost, on my first viewing, barring a few minor details.

 

[Agent Orange]

Not sure if people can watch the video in this link outside of Canada but it's a good read nonetheless. The video made me tear up. This man is a treasure.

http://globalnews.ca/news/3617564/c...ived-dunkirk-causes-a-stir-at-movie-premiere/

 

[Batmannerism]

Not sure if people can watch the video in this link outside of Canada but it's a good read nonetheless. The video made me tear up. This man is a treasure.

http://globalnews.ca/news/3617564/c...ived-dunkirk-causes-a-stir-at-movie-premiere/

Wow, forget the critics, if there was ever an endorsement for this film, that was it. Emotional stuff.

 

[Blitzkrieg]

It looks like Dunkirk will receive a solid bump from it's true Friday numbers. Recovering nicely from the OD front-loadedness. The movie is playing extremely well to the older demographic. WOM is looking good so far.

Not sure if people can watch the video in this link outside of Canada but it's a good read nonetheless. The video made me tear up. This man is a treasure.

http://globalnews.ca/news/3617564/c...ived-dunkirk-causes-a-stir-at-movie-premiere/

Thanks for the link. This part really hits the heart

Sturdy hopes the movie sends a message to a new audience of the sad nature of war and our apparent inability to avoid it.

“Don’t just go to the movie for entertainment. Think about it. And when you become adults, keep thinking, “ Sturdy advised.

 

[jmc]

Not gonna lie, listening to that old soldier talk about how the film brought back memory of Dunkirk brought a tear to my eye.

 

[inomilan]

AMAZING MOVIE! Really original way of storytelling. One of the most intense movies I have ever seen, and probably my favorite Nolan film because of how unique he told the story of Dunkirk. 10/10 amazing

 

[BatLobster]

Hell of a film. This is one of those ones that stays with you, I had to sleep on it and I woke up still thinking about it. I thought all those tweets about people saying they were feeling like they were catching their breath after the film were hyperbole, but I literally noticed myself letting out a deep breath when my wife and I got up to leave and I instantly understood what all those people meant.

Some of those shots towards the end in full IMAX were literally some of finest images I've seen put to screen. I had chills. The ending in general, I found was extremely affecting- in true Nolan fashion.

I also agree that

Spoiler

the timelines weren't hard at all to follow.
It made total sense as a way to tell this story in a suspenseful way that gradually built up the larger picture of the event.

In terms of emotional investment, I was in it with Tommy from the first shots of the film and rooting for him to survive. Fion just has a face that's very easy to empathize with, and I thought he did great even with little dialogue to work with. I've heard some complaints about the sea storyline with Rylance, his sons and Cillian but I'm not sure I get that. I found that storyline and how it resolved unbelievably moving.

I will definitely be seeing this at least once more in IMAX. I'm not sure how much I'm going to return to this movie, because it's a hell-ish experience. But I definitely need that IMAX experience at least one more time.

Hats off to Nolan, this is a legacy film.

 

[The Chris]

Good to hear what you thought Bat. Definitely planning on seeing it again in IMAX and also the Brooklyn Alamo Drafthouse in 70mm. I left the theatre with the exact same wide eyed full of shock reaction i had after TDK, mixed with my "i can't believe he did it again" reaction after Inception.

 

[OutOfBoose]

In terms of emotional investment, I was in it with Tommy from the first shots of the film and rooting for him to survive. Fion just has a face that's very easy to empathize with, and I thought he did great even with little dialogue to work with.

I felt the same.

 

[Boom]

Still can't get over the aerial shots.

 

[Ozbridge]

I walked across Cinemateket in Oslo today and apparently they're having showings of Dunkirk, Insomia, Inception and Interstellar in the next 2 weeks, then the Batman trilogy for 2 weeks after that (starting August 7th), and there're also other movies like District 9, Paterson and The Fifth Element too, So maybe it will be of interest for Nolanite and filmbuff out there who want a Nolan marathon (ticket is 10 euro for non-member, so quite reasonable).

There's also a 70mm festival in early September and they have showings of Lawrence of Arabia and The sound of Music, etc which I want to go but that's after my holiday ends.

 

[Blitzkrieg]

https://***********/BORReport/status/889133792861888518

BoxOfficeReport.com
@BORReport

Dunkirk debuted with an estimated $50.5M this weekend.

This weekend's estimated IMAX gross of $11.71M represented 23.2 percent of the overall $50.5M weekend gross for Dunkirk.

 

[terry78]

That seems about right, it wasn't gonna be some 100 mil in its first week thing. The legs of this upcoming week will see.

 

[Kreem Pi]

It is better than expected. Tracking had it at 40 even last week.

 

[OutOfBoose]

Well-deserved.

 

[Blitzkrieg]

It is better than expected. Tracking had it at 40 even last week.

This is all on Nolan. WB marketed it well but Nolan deserves maximum credit. His name recognition counts big time. He is truly a powerhouse at the BO.