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How Christopher Nolan Was Inspired by Francis Bacon

Film director Christopher Nolan reveals how paintings by artist Francis Bacon inspired the Joker's smeared make-up in 'The Dark Knight'.
Nolan talks about his longstanding fascination for Bacon's work, and why, when words fail him, he turns to art to help shape his creative vision.
This film is one of a series in which leading creatives share artworks from Tate Britain's collection that have inspired them.
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See more on the Tate website:
www.tate.org.uk...

Пікірлер: 155

  • @SuperKaren1007
    @SuperKaren100710 жыл бұрын

    For a guy who makes such action packed films,he is really calm

  • @TalkNerdyToMeChannel

    @TalkNerdyToMeChannel

    9 жыл бұрын

    It's not action, it's Nolanism.

  • @starkingbiker

    @starkingbiker

    9 жыл бұрын

    Action can be silent and beautiful too.

  • @nagolhayze9366

    @nagolhayze9366

    2 жыл бұрын

    It’s the money that does that ...

  • @NickQuinn1986

    @NickQuinn1986

    Жыл бұрын

    Please make it so!! I love horror, but most of its shit…

  • @rocksteady2198
    @rocksteady21984 жыл бұрын

    "To be an artist, you don't just study the art you specialize in, but you study different arts from different perspectives"

  • @garethgough4112
    @garethgough41126 жыл бұрын

    One of my favourite directors talks about his opinions on my favourite artist...well what could be better.

  • @jd899
    @jd89910 жыл бұрын

    Really fascinating to see what inspires Christopher Nolan. Francis Bacon seems like a rather unique I guess I'll try and research him more.

  • @adonaiyah2196

    @adonaiyah2196

    2 жыл бұрын

    Nolan looks incredibly like Bacon. Perhaps his son

  • @Crichjo32
    @Crichjo329 жыл бұрын

    I could listen to this man talk all day about art or films. He is so far ahead of many other Hollywood directors today, making the likes of Michael Bay look like primitive cavemen.

  • @PauLtus_B

    @PauLtus_B

    9 жыл бұрын

    Crichjo32 I don't think you need Christopher Nolan to make Michael Bay look like a caveman.

  • @Crichjo32

    @Crichjo32

    9 жыл бұрын

    PauLtus B Ha ha, probably true!

  • @pratikgoud1

    @pratikgoud1

    7 жыл бұрын

    Crichjo32 yes

  • @rogerdavis6451

    @rogerdavis6451

    6 жыл бұрын

    Yes I agree with what has just been said, no silliness.

  • @farid1406

    @farid1406

    4 жыл бұрын

    5 year olds with cell phones make Michael Bay look like cavemen

  • @1805movie
    @1805movie10 жыл бұрын

    I'd like to see him tackle horror films.

  • @MrOAKIL246

    @MrOAKIL246

    Жыл бұрын

    That'd be interesting

  • @jumpstart55million
    @jumpstart55million10 жыл бұрын

    This guy is on a whole another level of filmmaking. He is so far ahead of his peers.

  • @ferglovesguitar

    @ferglovesguitar

    9 жыл бұрын

    I agree. Check out Paul Thomas Anderson too. A living film-making genius

  • @LucianIsKing
    @LucianIsKing10 жыл бұрын

    great man, greater film director

  • @liamMCR
    @liamMCR9 жыл бұрын

    Nolan would've definitely related/looked at Batman (1989) in the scene where the Joker, played by Jack Nicholson destroys paintings in a museum - all but one by Francis Bacon for his Batman films.

  • @jalenjohnson1662

    @jalenjohnson1662

    7 жыл бұрын

    Very ironic

  • @jayv8068

    @jayv8068

    5 жыл бұрын

    Nolan copied many scenes from that Batman

  • @DenkyManner

    @DenkyManner

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@jalenjohnson1662 not ironic, Nolan deliberately referenced the Burton Batman films and earlier depictions of that Joker

  • @Tate
    @Tate10 жыл бұрын

    Which artist inspired the Joker's smeared smile in The Dark Knight? Christopher Nolan reveals all! #TateBritain kzread.info/dash/bejne/p2WGlqV_hdvQacY.html

  • @tanbeelang8775

    @tanbeelang8775

    10 жыл бұрын

    tan.michiyoo@gmail.co

  • @cealmotion

    @cealmotion

    10 жыл бұрын

    Was inspired by beetlejuice in the visual and manners of joker

  • @horrorheaux
    @horrorheaux10 жыл бұрын

    I would've loved to hear what he had to say about the significance of Bacon's "Study for the Head of George Dyer” being in Inception. Loved this video though, Christopher Nolan is always so well spoken.

  • @janeburton2589

    @janeburton2589

    10 жыл бұрын

    Ah yes, he talked about the Bacon painting in Inception when I interviewed him for this Tate video, but we didn't have room to include it. Perhaps next time. What a brilliant man.

  • @horrorheaux

    @horrorheaux

    10 жыл бұрын

    Jane Burton Sucks that there was no room for it! Did love what he had to say about Heath's Joker makeup being heavily influenced by Bacon's work so it wasn't entirely a loss. (: And he is a brilliant man indeed!

  • @sotalist

    @sotalist

    4 жыл бұрын

    @@janeburton2589 What did he say? bacon painting in inception.

  • @itsaashish
    @itsaashish4 жыл бұрын

    Just listening to him is a University in and off itself!

  • @azrael6280
    @azrael62805 жыл бұрын

    He looks like Francis Bacon

  • @ciel_crible_d_etoile

    @ciel_crible_d_etoile

    8 ай бұрын

    Handsome guy

  • @stevrgrs

    @stevrgrs

    4 ай бұрын

    100%. That’s how I found this video lol. I was like “you know who could play Francis Bacon in a biopic?? CHRIS NOLAN!!!” Glad I’m not the only one that sees it 😂

  • @mauricemaroni7101
    @mauricemaroni710110 жыл бұрын

    Mr. Nolan is the BEST director of this generation, he takes his time makes great realistic films, he made batman fans love batman again, making it as real as possible , barely no cgi.

  • @bobbillings

    @bobbillings

    9 жыл бұрын

    Maurice Maroni Great yes, best no

  • @PopCultureguy
    @PopCultureguy10 жыл бұрын

    this is the mot fascinated interview of chris nolan work amazing

  • @oliverwatson4488
    @oliverwatson448810 жыл бұрын

    seeing the greatest director of all time discussing art makes me smile :)

  • @oliverwatson4488

    @oliverwatson4488

    9 жыл бұрын

    MASONBUCHKO.COM Absolutely,(in my opinion) film makers of this generation such as Martin Scorsese, David Fincher, Steven Spielberg ,Ridley Scott etc, they truly make GREAT movies, Christopher Nolan doesn't do great, he does LEGENDARY

  • @oliverwatson4488

    @oliverwatson4488

    9 жыл бұрын

    MASONBUCHKO.COM i honestly don't care how much money a film makes or how popular it is, these characteristics have no impact to the quality of the film, i for one i'm very open minded to movies whether it'd be a blockbuster movie or an indeppendant indie film. ratings and critics reviews shouldn't matter to one's view of a movie.

  • 9 жыл бұрын

    how old are you? if you don't mind me asking

  • @oliverwatson4488

    @oliverwatson4488

    9 жыл бұрын

    i'm 17

  • @JustusEiflerAutor

    @JustusEiflerAutor

    9 жыл бұрын

    Mason Buchko For me, it's Kubrick, after that there's a BIIIIIGGGG gap, and then there are guys like Fincher, Scorsese, Miyazaki, Tarantino and Nolan (although I didn't like the Dark Knight Rises)

  • @mrhypnagogia
    @mrhypnagogia10 жыл бұрын

    the man himself talking about the man himself

  • @Langkowski
    @Langkowski10 жыл бұрын

    I think this is actually the first time I have heard Christopher Nolan talk.

  • @SnowingAsh111

    @SnowingAsh111

    10 жыл бұрын

    Lol, yea i never even knew he was British.

  • @ricky93100

    @ricky93100

    10 жыл бұрын

    Nice! did you know before that he's british? I can listen to him talk this stuff all day. He is brilliant.

  • @cinique2478

    @cinique2478

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@SnowingAsh111 well he's half British and half American.

  • @antona.1327
    @antona.13275 жыл бұрын

    It may be an assumption, but I think that the inspiration for the Inception was Jacob's Ladder, which also used Bacon's paintings for its monster designs.

  • @supergangsterish1234
    @supergangsterish12347 жыл бұрын

    the inscrutable attention this man has to even individual elements of action films is pretty remarkable; comparing him to most other action film directors (e.g. michael bay) just shows how impressive he is as a film-making talent

  • @sanjidparvez
    @sanjidparvez10 жыл бұрын

    Not only Joker but IMO Chris Nolan have given us most of the best Villains in Superhero movie genre i.e. Harvey 'Two-face' Dent, Dr. Jonathan Lane aka Scarecrow & lastly Bane. That's why lately I've made a tribute video for the Best Villains in Superhero movies (including Nolan's Batman's villains with Magneto [1st class] & Loki!), using Imagine Dragon's IT'S WHERE MY DEMONS HIDE in the background. Please check my channel for it.

  • @cobiwegner3631

    @cobiwegner3631

    10 жыл бұрын

    *Crane

  • @contactkeithstack

    @contactkeithstack

    7 жыл бұрын

    Sanjid Parvez ra's al ghul, his daughter, falcone, there's a couple major and minor villains

  • @vocazone5421
    @vocazone542110 жыл бұрын

    Brilliant! Looking forward to more :-)

  • @hamidrahman120
    @hamidrahman1209 жыл бұрын

    Would somebody please kindly tell me what the music is playing in the background during this video please? Its very soothing. Many thanks

  • @Goodlar
    @Goodlar10 жыл бұрын

    The last shot of the clown figure looks (obviously) immensly similar to the Heath Ledger joker. I would have loved to hear a few words on the relationship between that clown figure and the final design.

  • @allaboutmyart5706
    @allaboutmyart57065 ай бұрын

    You don't need to use oils to achieve texture or "thickness"! Today, there are MANY acrylic mediums (Golden Light Molding paste ROCKS! Texture galore and SUPER lightweight). Nearly any texture or sheen you can imagine can be had with acrylic additives, saving a fortune on pricey paints. I start with acrylics, for weird brights you cannot get with oils (linseed oil dulls). After the acrylic underpainting is completely dry - I pile on top the deep, rich, luminous tones that can only had with certain oils. There's plenty of color crossover but you can forget about getting the delicious depth of Alizarin Crimson oil with the "same" shade in acrylic. Not even close. You learn as you DO. But painters haven't needed to RELY on oils in decades, if it's thickness or texture they're after.

  • @supergangsterish1234
    @supergangsterish12346 жыл бұрын

    i think it would've been great if when he opened that book, there were literally just pictures of streaky bacon

  • @liamCOMEDYscarborian
    @liamCOMEDYscarborian10 жыл бұрын

    Francis bacon is class

  • @kumaSOevl
    @kumaSOevl4 жыл бұрын

    If Nolan directed a silent hill movie that would be amazing

  • @BurstShotzX
    @BurstShotzX10 жыл бұрын

    This director can do almost anything. Inception was my favorite out of all his movies until he make more of course.

  • @sergiolobato1798
    @sergiolobato179810 жыл бұрын

    I also understand that the movie "Dude where's my car" was inspired by Chaucer!

  • @jacobdominguez7808
    @jacobdominguez78085 жыл бұрын

    Simply brilliant.

  • @dvir971
    @dvir9718 жыл бұрын

    KING NOLAN IMMORTAL LORD GOD!! The smartest man alive

  • @bubblefumes7213
    @bubblefumes72137 жыл бұрын

    I seen the joker picture made francis bacon at the last scene,is it real things?

  • @hannsoonsmokur8625
    @hannsoonsmokur862510 жыл бұрын

    incredible

  • @ChronologyKid
    @ChronologyKid10 жыл бұрын

    Bane at 1:16?

  • @karanvirkooner1993
    @karanvirkooner19935 ай бұрын

    Francis Bacon inspired Jacob’s Ladder(1990) and the Silent Hill series

  • @benquinn6297
    @benquinn629710 жыл бұрын

    Does anyone else think that Nolan reminds you of Harry Enfield?

  • @ayylmao4806

    @ayylmao4806

    7 жыл бұрын

    Looks like Loadsamoney

  • @stevrgrs
    @stevrgrs4 ай бұрын

    The irony is that Chris Nolan could be the PERFECT Francis Bacon in a biopic 😂

  • @migueltornel931
    @migueltornel9315 жыл бұрын

    Anyone know what book that is?

  • @Nikkifrenchbulldog
    @Nikkifrenchbulldog6 ай бұрын

    Does anyone know what the title of the book with the Batman images is?

  • @antona.1327
    @antona.13276 жыл бұрын

    Nolan I trust.

  • @viola4029
    @viola40295 жыл бұрын

    He actually looks like Bacon

  • @farid1406

    @farid1406

    4 жыл бұрын

    bacon?

  • @fatimabaali661

    @fatimabaali661

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@farid1406 francis bacon the painter he is talking about

  • @farid1406

    @farid1406

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@fatimabaali661 Oh cool. Is that extra crispy?

  • @chriscameron4706
    @chriscameron47066 жыл бұрын

    'Oh it would've been when I was very young... oh'.

  • @vincentlab.4488
    @vincentlab.448810 жыл бұрын

    reportage très intéressant

  • @XmassSong
    @XmassSong8 жыл бұрын

    music?

  • @Neurodrill
    @Neurodrill10 жыл бұрын

    He had me at "bacon."

  • @rocksteady2198
    @rocksteady21984 жыл бұрын

    Is this a fucking coicedence? Now look; 1. My main goal is to make films 2. I just came from studying about francis bacon (I got inspired by his theory) in a unit I do in college called creative thinking. 3. Then I searched on youtube; "Christopher Nolan's reading process" And this appears in the top list. Wtf

  • @tharindu207
    @tharindu20710 жыл бұрын

    NOLAN! :D

  • @Sideshows-Carnival
    @Sideshows-Carnival10 жыл бұрын

    \Carnival Luv/

  • @petehill8885
    @petehill88854 жыл бұрын

    wow

  • @EamonnKehoeProductio
    @EamonnKehoeProductio10 жыл бұрын

    Film meets 500 Years of British Art! Francis Bacon was Irish!

  • @LeonardLuzon

    @LeonardLuzon

    10 жыл бұрын

    The word British is an umbrella term of Northern Irish, Scot, English, and other Great Britain territories

  • @shelley2he844

    @shelley2he844

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@LeonardLuzon no. British is Scotland, England and Wales. UK is Scotland, England, Wales and northern Ireland. The Republic of Ireland is nothing to do with Britain. We fought a war in Ireland for 800 years against the British to retain our individual culture and identity. Bacon was born in Dublin, Ireland. He was Irish.

  • @plasticweapon
    @plasticweapon Жыл бұрын

    strange how nolan's "influences" never "influence" anything he does in any significant way.

  • @ballpointpress
    @ballpointpress10 жыл бұрын

    In Tim Burton's 1989 Batman, Joker prevented one of his goons from slashing a Francis Bacon piece when they were marauding the art gallery. "Not this one, I kinda like it." I wonder if that scene was the inception of this Bacon influence for Christopher Nolan? twitter.com/wdnky

  • @user-bk3gn7wl1e
    @user-bk3gn7wl1e4 ай бұрын

    Irish art

  • @Jaxer4
    @Jaxer42 жыл бұрын

    Paprika > inception no contest

  • @nagolhayze9366
    @nagolhayze93662 жыл бұрын

    Is Christopher Nolan, Francis Bacon’s son ? What’s going on ... ?

  • @BrunosGeekReviews
    @BrunosGeekReviews10 жыл бұрын

    So no mention of Lee Bermejo, who started working on the Joker graphic novel with Greg Rucka while Nolan and his team were still deciding what the Joker would look like in the next movie? Okay.

  • @BrunosGeekReviews

    @BrunosGeekReviews

    10 жыл бұрын

    jigyoda To repeat myself and state the obvious, they started working on it and made concepts earlier than that.

  • @nickaldr

    @nickaldr

    10 жыл бұрын

    Bruno's Geek Reviews Hi Bruno, Chris did mention other interpretations of the Joker during his interview, but we didn't have time to include them in our film.

  • @BrunosGeekReviews

    @BrunosGeekReviews

    10 жыл бұрын

    Nick Aldridge O.k. I mentioned it because the Joker drawn by Bermejo was, unless a HUGE coincidence happened, basically the visual template for the one seen in The Dark Knight. It goes beyond just the notion that previous versions had an influence here and there. Since in the interview Nolan mostly addressed the visual side of the creation I was taken aback by how Bermejo wasn't even mentioned in passing. (Especially considering how the uninformed bash the artist by saying he ripped off the Dark Knight look, which makes it even worse.) In any case and regarding what concerns you, this video was very well done and had good transitions, congrats.

  • @ULYSSES-31

    @ULYSSES-31

    10 жыл бұрын

    Nick Aldridge He wouldn't get the admiration of the critics he wants if he didn't cite accepted 'high art' as influence rather than the real source.

  • @robmartin7657

    @robmartin7657

    10 жыл бұрын

    This clip is about the inspiration he took from Francis Bacon. Not about all the influences they took making The Joker.

  • @chrismhp
    @chrismhp7 жыл бұрын

    Nolan...a filmmaker who can make the most pretentious things, sound not so pretentious.

  • @MM-hk4pb

    @MM-hk4pb

    4 жыл бұрын

    @Chris HP Le you were being pretentious with your comment.

  • @leonardodicaprio3993
    @leonardodicaprio399310 жыл бұрын

    👉THANK YOU FOR MASTERPIECING MY OXYMORE💀☕ Léo

  • @Black_Blow_Fly
    @Black_Blow_Fly3 жыл бұрын

    Bacon’s paintings do not reflect anything noble just pain

  • @LEOMARIANOartistBR
    @LEOMARIANOartistBR8 жыл бұрын

    FAN PAGE : facebook.com/Leomarianobrasil

  • @ErelfBow
    @ErelfBow4 жыл бұрын

    I am not impressed to hear that a mainstream director loving francis bacon because he is something popular but francis bacon' s paintings are understood loved by small amount of people even today. I am sorry but this is the truth. The inspiration isn't sensed at all. His movies and bacon's paintings are not related at all

  • @MM-hk4pb

    @MM-hk4pb

    4 жыл бұрын

    @Erelf for you. Claiming to have the truth is pretty much a bit out of the way considering the subjective medium you are talking about. He wasn’t saying that all of his movies or every part of them were inspired by Bacon all the way through.

  • @yasmin9473

    @yasmin9473

    3 жыл бұрын

    you as an audience have the right to claim you don't see them related. but you don't get to claim that as a fact. and a mainstream director needs your permission to be interested about and inspired from a great artist? why do you think you people are gate keepers of "true art"? annoying

  • @DarkAngelEU
    @DarkAngelEU6 жыл бұрын

    So this guy needed a painting to actually come up with the idea to make The Joker more realistic by smudging his make-up and giving him actual scars? That's a really pretentious curve.

  • @vb8428

    @vb8428

    5 жыл бұрын

    You're pathetic

  • @jayv8068

    @jayv8068

    5 жыл бұрын

    I actually agree with this. He didn't get that from the paintinng lol. I noticed artists never reveal their true innspirations, they always say it's from something else. The Crow, A ClockWork Orange, Batman 1989, Heat = Dark Knight

  • @vb8428

    @vb8428

    5 жыл бұрын

    @@jayv8068 Fuck off you pissants.

  • @MM-hk4pb

    @MM-hk4pb

    4 жыл бұрын

    JAY V Nolan has mentioned Heat as an inspiration for the TDK. How about you two do a bit of research before pretentiously saying things like that. And when you’re doing something, you don’t always take every work in existence into consideration to do your projects because that’s even maybe impossible. Some things are just coincidences. Have you read about multiple discovery? You should.

  • @DarkAngelEU

    @DarkAngelEU

    4 жыл бұрын

    @@MM-hk4pb Whatever dude, it's easy for artists to just name drop other artists to make themselves look more educated. It's like a Pinterest Wall and you go "oh yeah, I had all this INSPIRATION" and go off on a tangent, being like "oh, that shook me soooo bad, I HAD to do something with it". Been there, done that. No one except art plebs care.

  • @ronankerrigan7821
    @ronankerrigan78218 жыл бұрын

    doesn't he look like L. Ron Hubbard or Scientology?

  • @mariussicone
    @mariussicone9 жыл бұрын

    i didnt liked any of his movies.i think batman is the biggest bullshit ever.

  • @shadowrage2593

    @shadowrage2593

    Жыл бұрын

    1000% THIS. However Batman Begins was ok.