Christopher Nolan’s Favorite Psychological Thriller Is This 1920s Film

It's no secret that Christopher Nolan is one of the most celebrated directors in Hollywood, with blockbuster films like The Dark Knight and Oppenheimer under his belt. But what inspires him? In 2013, before the release of Interstellar, Nolan sat down with Criterion to discuss some of his favorite films, and among them was the 1924 silent film, Greed. The film is an early Hollywood psychological thriller about a woman whose life unravels after winning the lottery. Nolan describes the film as a work of genius by director, Erich von Stroheim. Greed, Nolan says, was an essential part of his research when developing a supervillain such as the Joker, but it doesn't just stop there. Nolan's films are also thematically similar to those explored by von Stroheim, specifically concerning experience, memory distortion, human morality, causality, and the construction of personal identity.