Video: How Michael Mann Influenced Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Dark Knight’
If you ask me,Christopher Nolan’sThe Dark Knightis a masterwork, not just as a superhero movie but as a film. But like most great filmmakers, Nolan wears his film influences on his sleeves, and it’s very evident in his work. We’ve talked previously about how Nolan’s love for the James Bond franchise has shown up in his films from time to time (For instance,The Dark Knight Risesopening sequence wasclearly inspired by 1989’s Licence to Kill). A new video essay presents scenes from directorMichael Mann’s films side by side with sequences from Nolan’s work onThe Dark Knight.
The Dark Knight Michael aMnn Influences Video Essay
Glass Distortionput together the above video which shows scenes fromThe Dark Knightnext to scenes from Michael Mann films (Heat,The Insider,Collateral, andLA Takedown). The influence is unmistakable, and Nolan has often credited Mann’s films when talking about hisBatman Beginssequel. He told variety that he screenedHeatfor all his department heads before going into production.
In 2007, the director discussed the Michael Mann inspirations in an interview withIGN:
In the case ofThe Dark Knight, we’re attempting to tell a very large, city story or the story of a city. In the same way that, I don’t know, Michael Mann’s films, likeHeator something. That was sort of an inspiration. If you want to take on Gotham, you want to give Gotham a kind of weight and breadth and depth in there. So you wind up dealing with the political figures, the media figures. That’s part of the whole fabric of how a city is bound together.
The influence can be particularly felt inThe Dark Knight’s opening bank heist sequence, which borrows a bit from the big heist sequence inHeat. Nolan admitted that the idea to cast William Fichtner as the bank manager in the robbery sequence was “a bit of a nod to” Heat. Both films are also very frequently cast in blue tones. There arelong essaysdiscussingMann’s influences on Nolan’s filmography. In fact, last year Nolan even moderated aHeatscreening with Mann and the cast in Los Angeles.Read our coverage from that event here.
Mann’s influence can also be felt in Nolan’s other films, althoughInterstellar’s Dr. Mannis not named after the filmmaker.
“I did apologize to Michael Mann, too,” Nolan said. “I told him, ‘It’s not intended as an affront!'”
