The crosscutting is one of the issues I had with the movie when I saw it; I mentioned it (and forgot that Inception has the same thing, but it's more obvious).
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Dunkirk |OT| You can practically see it from here...home.
- Thread starter WadiumArcadium
- Start date
The crosscutting is one of the issues I had with the movie when I saw it; I mentioned it (and forgot that Inception has the same thing, but it's more obvious).
One of the better reviews I've read on what Nolan was attempting to accomplish with this movie.
https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2017/07/christopher-nolans-war-on-time.html
https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2017/07/christopher-nolans-war-on-time.html
This is how I feel too.
It certainly was very beautifully shot and crafted, but I can't see myself watching this film again at home after knowing how the film plays out and with how the little story and few memorable characters there are (if any). It's a great cinema experience, that's it.
Patrick Bateman
Member
Thank you for clarifying!
WadiumArcadium
Member
Made the OT yet I've only just got around to watching it. I thought it was brilliant. My film of the year so far.
As a huge Nolan fan, I hate that I only just got to see it and on a fake Imax 
but such is life with two very little kids and zero free time.
Anyway, I really really liked it but wouldn't place it at the top of my list for Nolan movies. I knew going in it was very light on character and plot development so I enjoyed it for what it was, a great survival thriller with some of the best sound and visuals for a war movie ever put to screen.
but such is life with two very little kids and zero free time. Anyway, I really really liked it but wouldn't place it at the top of my list for Nolan movies. I knew going in it was very light on character and plot development so I enjoyed it for what it was, a great survival thriller with some of the best sound and visuals for a war movie ever put to screen.
Skiptastic
Member
After all this time, this is where I am on this one. I really, really liked it and can understand that it is technically astonishing and really well executed. But I have always enjoyed Nolan's characters and gotten very emotional at so many of his films, so with this film having less of that, I wouldn't put it near the top of my Nolan list either. I might even put it near the bottom, above Following but maybe less than Insomnia, even. Maybe around the same.As a huge Nolan fan, I hate that I only just got to see it and on a fake Imax
Anyway, I really really liked it but wouldn't place it at the top of my list for Nolan movies. I knew going in it was very light on character and plot development so I enjoyed it for what it was, a great survival thriller with some of the best sound and visuals for a war movie ever put to screen.
I haven't seen Following but I would def put it above Momento and Insomnia.
I really enjoyed it and was in awe the whole time and I see why to many critics this is his best movie ever, but I too like characters and storytelling over most directors, so I can't put it above the Batman movies, Inception, Interstellar, and def not over The Prestige.
Best film of the year.
MrPing1000
Member
Saw it tonight, enjoyed it for the most part but had two weird things. Theres 400k there but it felt like 25k max. It was hard to match the barren nature of what was presented visually with what was conveyed verbally. A handful of soldiers were able to walk off and get inside a boat that the Admiral can see with his naked eye, that the Germans are shooting at with no response. Bit weird.
But it was refreshing how simple it was laid out, the primal desperation of survival, the frustration in the air and damn it looked great.
But it was refreshing how simple it was laid out, the primal desperation of survival, the frustration in the air and damn it looked great.
Ignatz Mouse
Banned
Liked it, didn't love it.
First act was great, editing/convergence was great. Did not care one whit about the beach guys' story by the end, and too many drawn out almost drownings in the third act, to the point of it being tiresome rather than gripping.
Rylance was pretty awesome.
First act was great, editing/convergence was great. Did not care one whit about the beach guys' story by the end, and too many drawn out almost drownings in the third act, to the point of it being tiresome rather than gripping.
Rylance was pretty awesome.
Imp the Dimp
Member
It was boring and my mind hasn't changed. Worst Nolan movie I've seen and I've seen 'em all.
I could barely understand any of the dialogue. If Nolan loves the theater experience so much, he should really make his movies watchable without subtitles. This dude is way too precious about his shitty sound mixes.
The non-linear narrative seemed carelessly constructed, and I felt it detracted from any forward momentum.
I did like the overall aesthetic of the film. It was cool seeing a 70mm Imax film, and I wonder whether the movie would have any impact at all if seen on a TV.
The non-linear narrative seemed carelessly constructed, and I felt it detracted from any forward momentum.
I did like the overall aesthetic of the film. It was cool seeing a 70mm Imax film, and I wonder whether the movie would have any impact at all if seen on a TV.
I've seen this criticism of multiple of his films and personally never had a problem. Saw this at the BFI IMAX in London and all of the dialogue was clear and easy to make out.
Perhaps something to do with differing sound tech at different locations, because too many people have raised this for it to be isolated?
I am more and more angry about the beachfront buildings in Dunkirk near the start. The poorly dressed buildings and double glazed vinyl windows yanked me out immediately and kinda imbalanced the rest of the movie for me. From that moment on I kept looking for it.
Ironically the
]same thing
drastically improved the movie for me because the poor sets and wardrobe compound the twist.
LegendofDragoonLives
Member
Saw it a second time weeks later. First time I saw it, it was great and I enjoyed it. Seeing it a second time made it even better, think this is the best film of 2017 so far. I know it's a hackey meme on gaf to say the opposite, but what can you do? :\
One thing is that someone needs to talk to Nolan about using CGI a bit more. I love the fact that he is a director that doesn't rely on CGI, but cmon mate. Add some fucking CGI soldiers on the beach. That was my main issue with watching it a second, albeit a minor one. You could have easily added rows upon rows of soldiers making it even more chilling.
The dogfights are straight up incredible though, might be my favorite plane battles I've ever seen on cinema. Those long views where you get to see the vast ocean and sky give an incredible sense of scale. Unlike the first time, I felt a lot more for characters (despite not knowing their names lol). George, his friend and father are definitely the heart of the movie. Seeing his friend say George is fine when
to the shellshocked soldier is so fucking touching, as is the newspaper story. :'( Still get the feels when
Every segment, be it air, land or water, you have a very unfortunate thing happen to one major character. I also have to love the way Nolan fucks with time. Was a bit confusing first time around, but this time it was easy to follow and just made the movie so much better with it syncing perfectly. It's just a good spin instead of telling the story in a manner of which we're used to.
Can't wait for 2-3 more years until something else. Hope he makes another new IP once again. We're starved for quality new blockbuster IPs, and Nolan has consistently gave us what we wanted.
One thing is that someone needs to talk to Nolan about using CGI a bit more. I love the fact that he is a director that doesn't rely on CGI, but cmon mate. Add some fucking CGI soldiers on the beach. That was my main issue with watching it a second, albeit a minor one. You could have easily added rows upon rows of soldiers making it even more chilling.
The dogfights are straight up incredible though, might be my favorite plane battles I've ever seen on cinema. Those long views where you get to see the vast ocean and sky give an incredible sense of scale. Unlike the first time, I felt a lot more for characters (despite not knowing their names lol). George, his friend and father are definitely the heart of the movie. Seeing his friend say George is fine when
he died
the boats show up.
Can't wait for 2-3 more years until something else. Hope he makes another new IP once again. We're starved for quality new blockbuster IPs, and Nolan has consistently gave us what we wanted.
Expendable.
Member
Finally saw it a second time, this time on 70mm IMAX in Lincoln Square. The scale and beauty of the images are indeed impressive, but I was actually left colder and less involved as the first viewing. That tends to happen with second viewing of Nolan films though :/
This wasn't my experience. Movie got better with every viewing.
True Savior
Member
God damn right
also, China pre-sales are really strong right now
$500M dream is ALIVE!
That's an interesting point.
One thing I thought was unique about the film is that it never shows the enemy soldiers. You never hear a word of German, you never see their uniforms. They exist almost as a force of nature in the film
Edit: oh, there is that one shot at the very, very end. I think the point still remains.
Finally got a chance to see it.
I liked it, didn't quite love it.
I thought that it did a very good job of accurately depicting what went on at Dunkirk. Ending spoiler:
But I think that Nolan really captured the feeling of hopelessness, tension, and despair that a lot of those people probably felt.
It was a good survival movie, and it did a good job of telling a story from multiple perspectives.
I would have liked to maybe see just a LITTLE bit of story from the German perspective. Not sure how that would have fit in, though. Aside from the iron cross being briefly seen on the planes, and aside from the silent kid
, a person who didn't know anything about WW2 wouldn't even know it was the Germans that they were trying to escape from.
I do agree that the dialog was a bit muddled. I saw it with my dad; he even commented that he wants to buy the blu-ray when it comes out...not just because he liked it, but because he'll be able to watch this English movie with English subtitles.
I liked it, didn't quite love it.
I thought that it did a very good job of accurately depicting what went on at Dunkirk. Ending spoiler:
It wasn't a victory for the Allies at all; in fact it was a solid defeat.
It was a good survival movie, and it did a good job of telling a story from multiple perspectives.
I would have liked to maybe see just a LITTLE bit of story from the German perspective. Not sure how that would have fit in, though. Aside from the iron cross being briefly seen on the planes, and aside from the silent kid
being accused of being a German spy
I do agree that the dialog was a bit muddled. I saw it with my dad; he even commented that he wants to buy the blu-ray when it comes out...not just because he liked it, but because he'll be able to watch this English movie with English subtitles.
sankt-Antonio
:^)--?-<
Just seen the movie, with like three other people in a big ass cinema. Was annoyingly loud at times.
Since I was on media black out (seen two trailers before), I have not read this thread yet, maybe i didn't get something and everybody in here is in love with the movie
While the movie contained some very nice shots I felt somewhat let down. It was "set-piece" the movie, and seeing the same sequence from a different perspective got old fast. Lack of scale was another thing, apparently 300.000 man where rescued by the time the movie hits the end, I've seen 20 private boats getting some hundred back to shore, did the citizens get back again? I don't know. the death of the boy didn't ad anything to the story or mood, it just happened and didn't seem to bother anyone (with might be the point, but why include it then)?
I liked the way Nolan was able to portray the futility in trying to escape, where one option after the other fails the man. At the same time, only two guy seem to really want to go home, the other stand silent on the coast, not in distress but in unison ... seemed strange.
I liked the way Nolan was able to portray the futility in trying to escape, where one option after the other fails the man. At the same time, only two guy seem to really want to go home, the other stand silent on the coast, not in distress but in unison ... seemed strange.
Ignatz Mouse
Banned
I loved the book.
Late to this, but (spoilers for book and movie):
I think they botched the ending/twist. What came off as confessional and deeply depressing the the book as a bit of a misfire on film, an artifact of adapting a prose trick to a movie I suppose.
I liked Dunkirk and I liked Atonement, but they're wildly different. The Dunkirk scene in Atonement is the best part of it by far. I got a much better feel for the desperation there (and it's not whitewashed).
I just came back from seeing it in the IMAX and while I thought it was a pretty good movie I don't get any of the praises for the music at all.
It wasthroughout the film making any of the intense scenes not that much impactful since you've been basically hearing the same music just at a lower beat the whole film. It also makes a great majority of the film hard to hear when a character speaks, which is troubling since there is not that much dialogue in the film. I didn't understand almost any of the dialogue haha
I guess this is one of the films where, while it's nice to see it visually in IMAX, it may be shouldn't be seen due to the emphasis in music. Also kind of ruined me on Hans Zimmer. I honestly don't think Nolan is too great with sound mixing with audio as also seen in interstellar.
It wasthroughout the film making any of the intense scenes not that much impactful since you've been basically hearing the same music just at a lower beat the whole film. It also makes a great majority of the film hard to hear when a character speaks, which is troubling since there is not that much dialogue in the film. I didn't understand almost any of the dialogue haha
I guess this is one of the films where, while it's nice to see it visually in IMAX, it may be shouldn't be seen due to the emphasis in music. Also kind of ruined me on Hans Zimmer. I honestly don't think Nolan is too great with sound mixing with audio as also seen in interstellar.
Head of Vengarl
Banned
I'm a big fan of Nolan, so when I heard he was making a war movie my hype level went through the roof. I think that may have been the first problem; it's always a mistake to go into a movie with high expectations.
I will say this first: the visuals and sound effects were incredible. Those wide shots of the airplanes flying over the ocean were so damn good, and the cracks and booms of the gunshots and explosions were reminders of why I love watching war movies in the theater.
However, other than that I was honestly quite underwhelmed. The plot was paper thin. I didn't give a shit about any of the characters, because there is zero backstory or character development for any of them. I was shocked, for all of the loud explosions and gunfire and sinking ships, to find myself actually getting bored while watching it. I just didn't find this movie at all emotionally affecting. I wish I was a good enough critic to explain what it was missing for me, but I can't. I just didn't find it compelling, which is insane because the Miracle of Dunkirk is a hugely compelling historical event.
I will say this first: the visuals and sound effects were incredible. Those wide shots of the airplanes flying over the ocean were so damn good, and the cracks and booms of the gunshots and explosions were reminders of why I love watching war movies in the theater.
However, other than that I was honestly quite underwhelmed. The plot was paper thin. I didn't give a shit about any of the characters, because there is zero backstory or character development for any of them. I was shocked, for all of the loud explosions and gunfire and sinking ships, to find myself actually getting bored while watching it. I just didn't find this movie at all emotionally affecting. I wish I was a good enough critic to explain what it was missing for me, but I can't. I just didn't find it compelling, which is insane because the Miracle of Dunkirk is a hugely compelling historical event.
Merchandise
Member
I like the music in a vacuum (I still listen to the score) but it really does annoy during the film. It's trying to keep constant tension but all that does is just... remove all the tension. There's hardly ever a payoff; it just cuts to something else for more tension.
That's basically my main gripe with the OST and the movie. Saw it for the first time tonight in a 4K CinemaScope digital showing and while it probably looked much worse than IMAX Laser or 70mm it still had an amazing quality to it. The movie is a blast from a pure audiovisual perspective. I legit got goosebumps when the bomb attack in the first few minutes happened and I flinched at some of those gunshots because they were so freaking loud. Amazing stuff.
I really liked the movie, but if someone is expecting any highlight scenes they won't get them. It's basically a soberly told account of what happened there. Sure, there is fighting, but it's not really a war epic where two sides clash. Just like the Battle at Dunkirk was. Those dogfights had me on the edge of my seat, by the way. As a pure cinema experience, this was amazing. If it still holds up on Blu-ray? I don't know.
Just my luck... after being out of the country for the past 2 months, I was looking forward to experiencing this movie in IMAX 70mm... like really looking forward to it.
I just got back last night... and I've been tired and sleeping all day (although i could've got up)
I fire up Fandango to see if it's still in theaters and up right there...start time 4pm. And nothing after that....nothing the next day or the day after. :/
So I missed the last day it was available in 70mm? Fuck me.
I live in the Bay Area, California. Anyone know if it was indeed the last day for 70mm?
I just got back last night... and I've been tired and sleeping all day (although i could've got up)
I fire up Fandango to see if it's still in theaters and up right there...start time 4pm. And nothing after that....nothing the next day or the day after. :/
So I missed the last day it was available in 70mm? Fuck me.
I live in the Bay Area, California. Anyone know if it was indeed the last day for 70mm?
MrOogieBoogie
BioShock Infinite is like playing some homeless guy's vivid imagination
This is a prime example of a one-and-done movie. I have zero desire to ever watch it again.
Cool visuals and sound effects, and some touching moments, but the editing killed it for me.
Cool visuals and sound effects, and some touching moments, but the editing killed it for me.
I've liked/loved every Nolan film so far (have seen all except Following), but unfortunately i can't say same about Dunkirk. Well, it was ok, but disappointment. Confusing timeline, didn't really get it. I have a feeling that i should have knew something about it before seeing it. Now i went blind. Nice sounds though and few great moments, but overall... Maybe should watch again to get more of it.
LegendofDragoonLives
Member
timeline is easier to understand on second watch (I struggled a bit with it on first watch)
Movie is 450M+ atm, legit has a chance to hit 500m. When was the last time a war movie hit 500m?
Finally got around to seeing this. Not the best of circumstances; the projection didn't even fill up the entire 21:9 screen so we got black bars both on the top and on the bottom. But it didn't matter as we were still sitting near enough to the screen and the sound system was decent.
As for the film itself, maybe it's just me but I loved it precisely because it lacked a "story." I'm the kind of person who really likes films that go for a tone and atmosphere above all else, and Dunkirk really delivers on that. Knowing what random soldier #142 did before he went to war doesn't matter to me and, unlike SPR, would have only hampered the film as a whole. A 100 minute bout of pure tension is exactly what this film is to me, and I really liked it for that.
My main criticism is on the scale of things. Some CGI soldiers on the beach or boats in the distance would have improved things quite drastically, especially since most of the action scenes were very claustrophobic in scale. I never understood the timeline criticisms; maybe the "One Week" story should have been done better but I can't understand how someone could fail to understand that the three storylines were happening at different times.
So, yeah, 11/10 GOAT movie would watch every day for the rest of my life.
As for the film itself, maybe it's just me but I loved it precisely because it lacked a "story." I'm the kind of person who really likes films that go for a tone and atmosphere above all else, and Dunkirk really delivers on that. Knowing what random soldier #142 did before he went to war doesn't matter to me and, unlike SPR, would have only hampered the film as a whole. A 100 minute bout of pure tension is exactly what this film is to me, and I really liked it for that.
My main criticism is on the scale of things. Some CGI soldiers on the beach or boats in the distance would have improved things quite drastically, especially since most of the action scenes were very claustrophobic in scale. I never understood the timeline criticisms; maybe the "One Week" story should have been done better but I can't understand how someone could fail to understand that the three storylines were happening at different times.
So, yeah, 11/10 GOAT movie would watch every day for the rest of my life.
30yearsofhurt
Member
It's much better the second time round. You can see the same events at either end of the movie and understand more about whats happening.
Discotheque
Banned
this guy been meeting all the gods in the last couple years whenever they stop by Japan lol.
Just got around to going out to see this today and it was kind of a bummer to be honest. I love all of Nolan's other movies but this just felt like a compilation video of "war movie scenes" not even really particularly cool ones and then they tacked some unearned story beats onto the end that tried to have emotional resonance without doing the work to build them out.
It wasn't a horrible movie and it had some really nice looking plane dogfighting scenes that I appreciated but it wasn't really standout in any way either. I wouldn't have minded if it were more of a deep contemplation on war without much action. However, instead it feels like a movie that wants to have all the bombast and it doesn't do that well and it wants to be an emotionally charged movie but doesn't do that well either.
Glad it did well so Nolan can continue doing what he does but this one didn't work for me unfortunately.
It wasn't a horrible movie and it had some really nice looking plane dogfighting scenes that I appreciated but it wasn't really standout in any way either. I wouldn't have minded if it were more of a deep contemplation on war without much action. However, instead it feels like a movie that wants to have all the bombast and it doesn't do that well and it wants to be an emotionally charged movie but doesn't do that well either.
Glad it did well so Nolan can continue doing what he does but this one didn't work for me unfortunately.
Vault Dweller 111
Member
Still my favorite of the year so far. But Oscar season hasn't begun yet.
Manny Calavera
Member
Same for me but I've actually only seen 16 (out of 115 I've seen total this year) movies from this year so far and most nothing memorable but I've feeling this will end up quite high on my list when it's all said and done. Really looking forward to the 4k blu-ray and seeing how this holds up on my second viewing.
Even though it's still early I think Nolan actually has a real chance to best director Oscar this year, Dunkirk is still the highest ranked wide release in Metacritic with 94 and #3 overall and among the highest in Tomatometer with 8.7 rating. Still I'd be surprised if he ends up winning and it doesn't really matter but it's fun to speculate. Wonder if we see similar scenario as with Saving Private Ryan with Spielberg winning best director but losing best picture. (Who still even remembers Shakespeare in Love..)
i need sci-fi nolan back
Skiptastic
Member
I only saw it once in IMAX but it's a movie you'll want to see in a big screen. Go for it man.I still haven't seen this movie, is it still worth seeing on a regular (non-IMAX) screen?
It's no longer being played in IMAX