When a Director Cannot Be Trusted (The Dark Knight Rises)

https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Podcasts112/v4/9f/07/6a/9f076a9a-524a-36ba-56da-60e9665c5055/mza_14434254034216831686.jpg/600x600bb.jpg

Cinema Theory with Eric Norcross

Eric Norcross

4 episodes

8 hours ago

A podcast hosted and produced by Eric Norcross that focuses on his interpretations of various creative choices made by filmmakers. As a filmmaker, Eric offers a unique perspective, breaking down his first instincts when watching a film, and paralleling his interpretations with that of reviewers, academics, and sometimes his contemporaries.

TV & Film

RSS

All content for Cinema Theory with Eric Norcross is the property of Eric Norcross and is served directly from their servers with no modification, redirects, or rehosting. The podcast is not affiliated with or endorsed by Podjoint in any way.

TV & Film

https://d3t3ozftmdmh3i.cloudfront.net/production/podcast_uploaded_nologo/35220241/35220241-1670340398270-bcdf421aa41b4.jpg

When a Director Cannot Be Trusted (The Dark Knight Rises)

Cinema Theory with Eric Norcross

1 minute 59 seconds

3 years ago

When a Director Cannot Be Trusted (The Dark Knight Rises)

What I see when I watch other people's movies, The Dark Knight Rises.

When The Dark Knight Rises first released into cinemas, there was a lot of discussion about whether or not Bruce Wayne survived the atomic bomb detonation. Despite the fact that Christopher Nolan provided all the necessary information for audiences to deduce that Wayne did indeed survive, there were still those who questioned whether or not Alfred was imagining Bruce at the cafe.

As a filmmaker, I interpret this discussion as a symptom of a filmmaker that has taught his audience that they cannot trust his storytelling. This is largely because Nolan has many twists at the end of his non-Batman films, and doesn't offer enough information to guide his audiences into seeing the ending that's obviously there. Even with a modest twist, like Bruce Wayne having survived a nuclear explosion, audiences begin to suspect that maybe the real twist is that he actually died. I mean, hey, there was a funeral scene, after all - and when a filmmaker gives you information, it must be regarded as important until it's verified to be unimportant.

As a filmmaker, Christopher Nolan has too many indecisive or unclear endings, like in that dream movie, or - A ha! The magician had a twin! or just a really complicated storytelling approach like with Memento. But The Dark Knight Rises is a comic book movie, and I'd like to think that with a movie meant for the widest possible audience, what you see is what you get - even with a modest twist - like "wala I fixed the fricken auto-pilot". What matters here is that, despite his Batman trilogy being a mastwork of cinema (there aren't a lot of perfect trilogies, but this is one of them), Christopher Nolan cannot be trusted as a filmmaker.

Subscribe to my YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@EricNorcross/

Eric on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ericnorcross

Subscribe, Like, Share - and get Cinema Theory with Eric Norcross and my original podcast, The Eric Norcross Podcast, on Youtube or wherever you get your podcasts!

Please contribute to my PATREON by visiting the URL: https://www.patreon.com/ericnorcross

And learn more about me at: http://www.EricNorcross.com

Eric Norcross is a filmmaker, writer, and artist.

Reach out, ask questions, and let's create! https://www.ericnorcross.com/contact