New Delhi: Fresh off the global success of The Odyssey, filmmaker Christopher Nolan revisited some of cinema’s greatest classics during a visit to the Criterion Closet in New York. While browsing through the acclaimed film collection, the Oscar-winning director reserved special praise for Satyajit Ray, describing him as “one of the greatest Indian filmmakers” and revealing that Pather Panchali had left a profound impression on him.
Nolan is seen selecting multiple films in a video shared by the Criterion Collection on X that have inspired him over the years. Among them was The Apu Trilogy, prompting him to speak about Ray’s enduring influence.
“And then there’s the Apu Trilogy by Satyajit Ray, one of the greatest Indian filmmakers. The trilogy starts with Pather Panchali, which is an absolutely incredible film. It just blew my mind. I haven’t yet seen parts two and three of the trilogy, so I’m pretty excited to get this and complete the story,” Nolan said.
Ray’s celebrated trilogy comprises Pather Panchali (1955), Aparajito (1956) and Apur Sansar (1959). Based on the novels of Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay, the films chronicle Apu’s journey from his childhood in rural Bengal to adulthood.
Nolan also selected Martin Scorsese’s collection of short films, saying, “Scorsese shorts, I’m going to have to grab that. I’ve seen The Big Shave, but I haven’t seen the other ones, so that’s pretty exciting.”
Speaking about Fritz Lang’s The Testament of Dr Mabuse, he revealed its influence on The Dark Knight, adding, “Fritz Lang’s The Testament of Dr Mabuse, an amazing mastermind criminal. My brother and I looked at Dr Mabuse a lot when we were making The Dark Knight, particularly for the character of the Joker.”
His selections also included Malcolm X, Lost Highway and the Qatsi Trilogy, among other acclaimed titles.
Nolan recently travelled to India while promoting his IMAX epic The Odyssey, marking his third official visit to the country. He had earlier filmed portions of Tenet in India in 2019 and shot scenes for The Dark Knight Rises at Mehrangarh Fort in Jodhpur in 2011.
Reflecting on his association with the country during a recent press conference, Nolan said, “I first came to India years ago for a conference on the future of film culture. My friend Shivendra Singh Dungarpur brought me here. I met a lot of filmmakers and got to know a little bit about the film culture here. I’ve never been anywhere else in the world with such an appreciation of what movies can be and what they should be for audiences.”
He added, “We actually intended to come here for the premiere of Tenet, which we filmed here, but we couldn’t because of the pandemic. So, coming to India has really been on our minds for a very long time.”
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