One of the things you do as a writer and as a filmmaker is grasp for resonant symbols and imagery without necessarily fully understanding it yourself.

Christopher Nolan Explains How ‘Dunkirk’ Draws On His Love Of Silent Films 

We shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be.

“Well done. Well done, lads.”

Dunkirk (2017) dir. Christopher Nolan
- opened in the US, UK and 14 other countries July 21, 2017

cinematography appreciation: dunkirk

Dunkirk (2017) dir. Christopher Nolan

We shall go on to the end. We shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be. We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender.

Cinematography by: Hoyte van Hoytema
Dunkirk (2017)*
Directed by Christopher Nolan

“The camera wants to follow the action. Our actors are kind of pulling the camera wherever the camera needs to be. It’s a very reactive way of filming. You could compare it with doing a documentary, where you’re always a little bit behind the action. You’re not waiting there for the bomb to hit — you pan onto it as it happens. We tried, as much as possible, to give that firsthand experience.” — Hoyte van Hoytema

*Academy Award nominee for Best Cinematography in 2018

Dunkirk(2017) | dir. Christopher Nolan

films watched in 2018 → dunkirk (2017) dir. christopher nolan

“We shall go on to the end. We shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air. We shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be.”

Movies I’ve watched in 2017 → Dunkirk (2017)

“You can practically see it from here.”
“What?”
“Home.”

Variety Top 10 Shots of 2017 - 8) Dunkirk, director of photography: Hoyte van Hoytema.

“It was very stressful because we had one plane to burn and we were shooting it all in the magic hour. We only had one shot at it. It’s always complicated with fire, to get that perfect exposure, but it worked out. I think in some earlier versions it was the last shot of the film, but there might not have been much material from the shot to use. An IMAX camera can only shoot two minutes before you have to reload and every time you reload, the dusk has changed.”