Tenet Is Now Off the Release Calendar. Dive Into Chris Nolan’s Mind With These Films Instead.
It was supposed to be the blockbuster that would bring cinemas back with a bang — and the ringing of tills — as early as this month. But fittingly for a film so complex one of its stars is still trying to get his head around it, the twists keep on coming for Tenet.
After two somewhat optimistic release date adjustments, Christopher Nolan’s latest brainy actioner is now stuck in limbo, perhaps hanging out somewhere with Leonardo DiCaprio’s Cobb and his spinning/toppled Inception totem.
With the pandemic still rampant in parts of the US, Warners has now temporarily taken Tenet off its release calendar. The $200m tentpole appears set to have a gradual release schedule that is likely to see it open abroad first.
While the delay is not surprising, particularly given California’s recent slide, the news that foreign viewers may get to watch the mysterious film first will add extra anxiety to long-awaiting — and spoiler-cautious — Nolan fans.
To help with the shakes, I will be rewatching his extremely rewatchable filmography. I’m particularly looking forward to finding even more magic in The Prestige, giving black sheep Insomnia another chance and checking up on that spinning top ten years on.
But you can also take a dive into the films that made the filmmaker, just days before he turns 50. Here are some picks from the famously tea-loving and dinner jacket-wearing director’s favorite films and inspirations, as mentioned in interviews and features over the years:
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2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY (1968)
We couldn’t start anywhere but with Stanley Kubrick’s seminal masterpiece.
Nolan — who was first awed by it at the age of seven — not only celebrated 2001 in his own time-bending blockbuster Interstellar; he personally oversaw its restoration for a glorious IMAX re-release two years ago, complete with original intermission.
It is, then, also a link to the British director’s purist and crusading view of the movie theater as the place to truly experience film — which had made Tenet such an apt choice to lead the eventual re-opening of economically-ravaged cinemas, particularly at a time of spiking streamer power.
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HEAT (1995)
Much like 2001, if you haven’t seen Heat, well, I’m glad we’re having this chat.
Michael Mann’s slow-burning epic brought face-to-face peak De Niro and peak Pacino, with a side of near-peak Kilmer. Before Marvel and DC’s cinematic avalanche, this is what a blockbuster superhero clash looked like.
Nolan has spoken openly of its influence in the making of The Dark Knight, having gone as far as screening it to his crew before the shoot. It is that character-rich urban crime thriller DNA — and visual inspiration — that makes it such a unique comic book film.
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KOYAANISQATSI (1982)
Wading into the deeper cuts, this — fair warning — experimental film is often cited by Nolan as one of his favorites. And its cult status is well-earned.
No dialogue, no characters, no voice-over. Just striking scenes of natural landscapes, urban stress and mechanization, often in time-lapse form, set to a haunting (and earwormy) soundtrack.
The result is a mesmeric time capsule that warns humanity’s progress may be dangerously out of harmony with nature, something echoed in Interstellar. It is powerful without being preachy and even in this day of astonishing 4K documentaries, it still feels groundbreaking and exciting.
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Following the structure of a film, I like to make recommendations in threes: fly out of the gate with a ‘classic’, bring a ‘crowd-pleaser’ for the second act and end with a ‘wildcard’ twist.
But for Christopher Nolan, whose DVDs/Blu-rays are packed with special features, we have a bonus deep cut:
PAPRIKA (2006)
This feature-length anime by the celebrated late Satoshi Kon —who was a major influence on Darren Aronofsky— is not a film Nolan has spoken about. But it’s one that has become a source of debate, a fun curiosity for the completist Inception fan or Japanese animation lover.
With a story built around a machine that gives access to people’s dreams, some have suggested plagiarism. That’s a massive reach, despite a couple of very similar details. Whereas Nolan’s film is, as ever, constructed with millimetric precision, this takes the idea down its most surrealist avenue.
In the best anime tradition, there are some touches of genius amid a nutty and confounding but entertaining spectacle.
Are you a fan of The Testament of Dr Mabuse or the Battle Of Algiers? I’d love to hear what is your favorite Nolan inspiration, and why.
