Christopher Nolan vs. Interstellar — The Nolan Crosscut

This video examines one of Christopher Nolan's trademark techniques—the crosscut—by dissecting The Dark Knight, Inception, and Interstellar.

Written by:
- Michael Tucker
Edited by: Alex Calleros

[LessonsfromtheScreenplay]

Alright, let's hear it: What is your favorite Christopher Nolan Film?

[TripleTSingt]

I like how every Nolan film has these crosscutting sequences, but Dunkirk IS a crosscutting sequence. 24/7 drama.

[captprice]

That TENET homage at the end when you say "next Nolan crosscut" and the van comes back up inverted in time... Well done! 👏

[icywinterof]

God the music from interstellar. I can't hear it without feeling emotions well up

[richieangel]

Easily one of the consistently best screenwriting channels on YouTube. Well done once again.

[lekodraws]

i think there is a specific dramatic question to Interstellar’s crosscutting: will selfishness prevail over love? Tom puts his family in danger out of stubbornness as a protest to the way his father left them. he’s being selfish and petty because of his trauma. on an obvious larger scale, but nonetheless treated with the same importance (which is the point of the film), Mann puts the crew and Humanity’s survival at risk, as his isolation has driven him to desperation to go back to earth. i do agree that there’s a discrepancy in instant urgency, but i feel it thematically comes together anyway.

[prernaathreya]

This was so brilliant... I hadn't thought of crosscuts like this..

[robertparker]

It's great to see someone knowledgeable give insight on how even the greatest filmmakers can still stumble at their highest points. Very inspiring for newcomers who might otherwise feel an unfair amount of burden to produce something perfect or incredible. Love your videos.

[doxazo]

I think the urgency for Murph is less immediate than for Coop, but it’s not any less strong. For her she’s exploring her last resource, while fighting her brother, while people die, after her mentor has died, and when humanity’s time left on earth can be measured in months

[T-hk]

soo true. The sense of urgency in the earth plot is slightly forced by using the same background music, which btw works for some extent!

[robchuk]

Inception coming out so soon after TDK may partially explain why the techniques match up so well and are so similar. But yea. That dream heist is probably the most thrilling sequence Nolan has ever done. Hard to compare anything to it at the end of the day.

[elmertjee]

As an aspiring editor, I am constantly amazed how Nolan executes these cross cuts between 3 stories. The use of music, editing and rising tension make these sequences on of the best in cinema and my absolute favorites. What a guy.

[beneisma]

I agree that the equality of urgency is not comparable between Inception and Interstellar, but I think part of that is down to the fact that Inception is a film driven mainly by its plot, whereas Interstellar is driven very heavily by its main character. In Inception, equality of urgency is necessary for us to maintain interest in each subplot, so they all have the same weight; while the Interstellar crosscut has urgency instilled in it because of Cooper’s connection to Murph. The whole movie is about Coop’s desperation to get back to his daughter, and ultimately her working out the gravity equation is the string that guides Cooper back through the labyrinth, so we’re invested because he is. Sort of like how the end of Infinity War was upsetting not because we thought those characters weren’t coming back, but because of how we knew it affected the characters that remained who believed their loved ones were truly gone.

The focus on character (and the score) is why Interstellar remains my personal favourite, but if people prefer the plot driven narrative of Inception I totally get that too.

[lec_R]

I disagree with the equality of urgency bit.
Here's why: IRL we do a lot of stuff that is full of tension but the physical act may not portray the tension (eg: standing outside a building on the lookout for someone dangerous) but it is equally as important (for eg: a car chase to catch bank robbers) as other adrenaline pumping jobs.

I feel like Nolan did justice to the movie by showing how important Murph's job was by using cross cutting.

I really like realism in movies and the stakes IRL are often not comprehensive to everyone, but those who get it, really do get it.

[InfinitePlaylist]

LFTS: ~extremely valid criticism against Interstellar~
me: I pretend I do not see

[inderveersingh]

Whenever you cut into Interstellar's background score with it's scene, it makes me fall in love with the movie all over again..

[hiikarinnn]

I feel like the more emotional family drama nature of the interstellar crosscut scenes reflects the tone Nolan wanted for the movie well actually

[javiermiranda]

Micahel (and co.) this is possibly your best video/argument/cinema lectures you've ever done. Phenomenal job. I love this channel and a video like this why. Keep it up!

[Rayquazadv]

To be honest, I loved the cross-cut in Interstellar the most, the music just gave me goosebumps.✌🏻

[schauzeit]

Plot twist: Christopher Nolan directed this episode of LFTS