How Christopher Nolan Elevates the Movie Montage
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Published 2020-11-09
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Chapters
00:00 - What is a Montage?
00:53 - The Training Montage
01:57 - Character Montage — Batman Begin
03:14 - Epilogue Montage
04:16 - Thematic Montage — Dunkirk
05:29 - Emotional Montage — Interstellar
07:51 - Final Takeaways
From the very beginning, Christopher Nolan has changed the way we watch movies. From his experiments with non-linear timelines to his high-concept plots, Nolan brings something new to the table every time out. The same can be said for how he uses a rather tired cinematic trope: the movie montage. In this video essay, we’ll explore the inspired and creative ways Christopher Nolan takes the film language of a movie montage and elevates it beyond cliche.
When we think of a movie montage, what comes to mind? The typical training montage perhaps best associated with Rocky has been parroted and parodied endlessly (e.g., Team America: World Police). And, yet, somehow Christopher Nolan was able to bring legitimacy back to the movie montage — look no further than the Batman training montage in Batman Begins. The first way Christopher Nolan subverts the typical training montage is to place it in the middle of Act One. In this case, Bruce Wayne isn’t just training to fight the big, bad villain, we are given exposition, backstory, and the beginnings of his entire character arc.
Beyond elevating the training montage, Christopher Nolan also uses the movie montage to end his movies. In movies like Dunkirk, Interstellar, The Dark Knight Rises and The Prestige, Nolan gives us something like a “movie montage epilogue.” More than simply tying up loose ends, Nolan gives us a glimpse of the past, present and future. In the case of Dunkirk, he is able to use voice over to create a “thematic montage,” where the virtues and bravery of that particularly harrowing situation are honored and cherished in montage.
The final way Christopher Nolan reinvents the movie montage is to concentrate emotional catharsis. The best example of this comes from Interstellar as we watch Cooper watch a series of video messages sent from his children during the decades he’s been gone. The movie montage is often used to accelerate time but, in this case, he’s accelerating emotion.
In short, Christopher Nolan shows us that the movie montage is more than just a laughable trope — it can be wielded in fresh and exciting ways. Whether you take a training montage and use it to establish character, construct thematic and resonant endings, or amplify the emotions of your characters, a movie montage just might be the best way to do it.
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All Comments (21)
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Dang, that Interstellar's emotional and Dunkirk's thematic montage always hits hard.
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I'm a simple guy, I see Christopher Nolan on a video title, I see it immediately
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That montage when Cooper leaves her at her bed and then she runs after him only to discover he's already gone. We then hear the sound of the rocket while he's still in his car. Man, it always breaks my heart
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"PLEASE DONT STOP MAKING GOOD CONTENT"
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I wish you had your own Filmmaking school. I'd be the first to reserve my seat. 😊
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there's no ending montage like TDKR ending, wrapping up one of the best trilogies to ever be made
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Can we stop for a second and thank Studio Binder from the bottom of our hearts, please?❤️ That Interstellar scene made me cry once again tho.
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It's such an amazing thing to watch Christopher's progression throw his films, even when he didn't have huge possibilities he managed to make great movies with what's possible and making his best!
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The Interstellar videomessage scene is one of the best scenes I know. How the music builds and then stops abruptly a when the messages end and he is left alone, even the music leaves,just him in silence. Boy that made me cry.
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i love the transition from the Rocky music to the Inception score at 1:31. the fact that they’re in the same key is super satisfying.
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I love this channel. The essay on Nolan’s montage is amazing. He is one the best directors of our generation. The Dark Knight trilogy, Inception, Dunkirk, Interstellar, and The Prestige are some of best work to date.
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His Dark Knight montage’s are things of beauty and to see how he’s developed them is nothing short of phenomenal. The man definitely knows what he’s doing!
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I tried to figure it out why Christopher Nolan’ films make me so tearful. In spite of the lack of cruel and awful character’s destiny, as the majority of viewers, I constantly feel tension. I worry about the crucial character as friend. It caused by exceptional ability to make those montage. The impeccable example with scene in the Interstellar.
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I loved montage when the dream was collapsing in Inception, and the moment when DiCaprio opened his eyes.
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I love how StudioBinder is now incorporating Tenet footage when analyzing Nolan's work. Also clearly you watched Tenet, because the footage you guys used are part of montages as well!
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1998 Following 2000 MEMENTO 2002 INSOMNIA 2005 BATMAN BEGINS 2006 THE PRESTIGE 2008 THE DARK KNIGHT 2010 INCEPTION 2012 THE DARK KNIGHT RISES 2014 INTERSTELLER 2017 DUNKRIK Now wating for TENET 😍
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The Rocky montage was elevated homage in Creed to a point where the new main character Adonis is actually giving full acknowledgement to the former main character Rocky both on screen and in meta context to us behind the 4th wall. To think that the first Rocky montage was in preparation for the antagonist Apollo and now Apollo's son is doing the same in dedication to Rocky is pure Cinema Bliss!
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That one scene in interstellar is the emotional catalyst that lasts for rest of the movie.
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I accept all criticism, but i think the most emotional moment in Interstellar (and also in Nolan's filmographie) is Cooper's departure. It gaves me so much chills!
