7 Scenes From Christopher Nolan Movies That Put Superhero CGI To Shame

In the contemporary era, movies loaded with computer graphics are taking the mantle too fast. Not that these films aren’t persuasive enough in terms of strong plotline, but the CGI effects add the missing spice to the movie. In these evolving times, legendary director Christopher Nolan is travelling on divergent paths and tossing balls of surprises towards the audience by dishing out spectacular movies with limited CGI. Here is the rundown of scenes from Nolan-verse movies that appears like technical finesse but are real.

1/7 INTERSTELLAR: CORNFIELD SCENE

The cornfield scene that is featured at the beginning of the movie which involves Matthew McConaughey and his kids chasing an Indian drone is not computer graphics. Instead, the director ensured an actual field was purchased and then the scene was shot. Also, at the end of production, the field was sold at profits.

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Video Credits: Jay M 2/7 INCEPTION: THE TRAIN SCENE

One of the scenes from Inceptions includes a freight train rampaging through the city of Los Angeles. At first, it may appear like computer magic but in reality, it was a well-planned shot. A truck was camouflaged as a train and then hurled in the streets towards those cars. 

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3/7 Interstellar: TARS and CASE

The humanoid machines TARS and CASE were not the blessings of perfect CGI. It was an actual 200-pound puppet that was carried on set and shot alongside cast members to make them as real as possible. Interestingly, TARS was voiced was comedian Bill Irwin.  

Related: The Batman Will Be Darker Than Dark Knight, Christopher Nolan Hints

4/7 INCEPTION: ROTATING HALLWAY

This movie is no short of conceptual cinematography. One of the scenes in which Joseph Gordon Levitt is battling some bad guy in dreams and then the hallway instantly start rotating is essentially a gift of Nolan’s creative abilities and actor’s daring spirit. The scene was pulled off by building a hotel room that could be turned upside down. Further, the actors themselves performed the scene despite it inheriting serious health hazards.

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Video Credits: Aniruddh Chaudhary 5/7 THE DARK KNIGHT: TRUCK CHASE

The Batman trilogy has many gravity-defying stunts that leave the audience in awe. In a chase scene between Bruce Wayne and Joker on the streets of Gotham, Nolan flipped an 18-wheeler vehicle by employing catapulting ram. He also used miniature sets to further intensify the effects.

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Video Credits: WagonTrainProduction 6/7 THE DARK KNIGHT RISES: MID-AIR HIJACKING

 The opening scene of Dark Knight Rises features Bane kidnapping a doctor from CIA custody. This impressive scene was filmed in Scotland and performed by stuntmen. It included an actual dropping of the plane of which permission was taken beforehand. And finally, topping it with a dramatic touch, the plane was destroyed on a miniature set.

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Video Credits: Movieclips 7/7 DUNKIRK: REPLACING MASSIVE EXTRAS

One of the aspects of the war movie is the requirement of a massive number of extra artists to fill the set. While a lot of directors resort to putting in place intense visual graphics for such shots. Nolan thought out of the box by limiting the CGI and replacing those extra artists with paper cut-outs in many shots of the movie. Easy peasy lemon squeezy!!

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Video Credits: FilmIsNow Movie Bloopers & Extras

Nolan has always strived to achieve practicality rather than running to digital effects. It is one of the reasons why such movies are often deemed as blockbusters.

Let us know if you were also shocked by learning that mentioned movie scenes were not computer magic but Christopher Nolan’s magic.

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