Dunkirk
Christopher Nolan's Oscar-winning World War II thriller, with Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy and Mark Rylance (Bridge of Spies). Nominated for eight Academy Awards and winner of film editing, sound editing and sound mixing.
Chronicles the plight of Allied forces, driven to the edge of Europe - the seaside town of Dunkirk - by the German army. Hundreds of thousands of English troops are trapped on the beach, desperate for evacuation as the enemy pushes towards them. Picked off by terrifying Stuka dive bombers, their escape craft attacked by U-boats, it'll take the courage of Spitfire pilots and civilian sailors to get more than a handful of survivors home.
- Director:
- Christopher Nolan ('The Dark Knight' trilogy, 'Interstellar', 'The Prestige')
- Writer:
- Christopher Nolan
- Cast:
- Tom HardyCillian MurphyHarry StylesMark RylanceKenneth BranaghJames D'ArcyMiranda NolanAneurin Barnard
Reviews & comments
Variety
press[Nolan has] found a way to harness that technique in service of a kind of heightened reality, one that feels more immersive and immediate than whatever concerns we check at the door when entering the cinema.
Total Film
pressHaunting, thrilling and emotional, Dunkirk is a prestige pic with guts and glory that demands multiple views.
Time Out
pressThis is a film without heroes or a straightforward story. The action is the attraction. If that means some of the film feels a little distant and chilly, it's in the admirable service of avoiding simplistic drama.
The Guardian
pressBritain's great pyrrhic defeat or inverse victory of 1940 has been brought to the screen as a terrifying, shattering spectacle by Christopher Nolan.
Stuff
pressAn audacious, intelligent and near-revolutionary film. It will be watched and talked about for decades. Bravo.
FilmInk
pressOne of the most gut-tightening, engrossing, downright suspenseful films of the year.
Empire Magazine
pressEffectively one enormous, stunningly rendered and thunderously intense set-piece stretched to feature-length, Dunkirk thrusts you into a pressure cooker and slams the lid on.
'Dunkirk' is not just a fleet, white knuckle survival thriller, a rousing portrayal of both small- and large-scale heroism, or a seemingly effortless exercise in gargantuan visual storytelling occasionally reminiscent of the silent epics of the late twenties; it's also a heartfelt call for compassion in the face of intense provocation, a plea for European...
It may not be entirely historically accurate or particularly sensitive to the French but this still ranks as one of the most stirring war films I have seen, and I've see many. The combination of sharp cinematography and editing, minimal dialogue and a soundtrack which gives equal voice to every ship and aircraft makes for a thundering portrait of this...
The screenplay mainly follows three story lines - an RAF pilot, a small boat on a rescue mission to Dunkirk and the attempts at escaping Dunkirk by a rag tag group of soldiers - rather than concentrating on the battle's big picture. A history lesson this is not - it barely mentions the brave rearguard action to protect the perimeter by the French and...
If you are looking for bloody splattered realism and DOWN WITH THE NAZIS, this movie is not for you. If you want a unique cinematic visceral experience then this is for you. Nolan continues his attack on the Blockbuster Mainstream with another Blockbuster Arthouse movie. With converging timelines and seeing the chaos of the Dunkirk mayhem live out on...
One of the great war movies. I admire the risk it takes it providing only the minimum of background information, and dispensing with romantic interludes. The use of sound reinforced the horrors of warfare, especially in the sinking ship with steam hissing, machinery breaking up and boilers exploding. The music too blended in with and enhanced the sound...
A fitting depiction of this historical event, for me what took the film to the next level was the underlying musical score, it just seemed to take the film to an amazing level (hence the emotional journey).
There are two viewpoints to the Battle of Dunkirk: that of the British troops and that of the French'. One of triumph or so we are being told, one of a lost cause and ultimately defeat. That Nolan felt the need to portray the French troops as cowards when it is well documented the French held the German troops in the Dunkirk region and beyond (Lille) leaves...
As the movie world erupts in loud applause for Dunkirk (2017) there is a serious question being overlooked. A defining characteristic of historical drama is that it leaves us with a better understanding of history. If a viewer knew nothing of the history of Dunkirk would this film make sense? In other words, does this film have a coherent narrative that...
Variety
press[Nolan has] found a way to harness that technique in service of a kind of heightened reality, one that feels more immersive and immediate than whatever concerns we check at the door when entering the cinema.
Total Film
pressHaunting, thrilling and emotional, Dunkirk is a prestige pic with guts and glory that demands multiple views.
Time Out
pressThis is a film without heroes or a straightforward story. The action is the attraction. If that means some of the film feels a little distant and chilly, it's in the admirable service of avoiding simplistic drama.
The Guardian
pressBritain's great pyrrhic defeat or inverse victory of 1940 has been brought to the screen as a terrifying, shattering spectacle by Christopher Nolan.
Stuff
pressAn audacious, intelligent and near-revolutionary film. It will be watched and talked about for decades. Bravo.
FilmInk
pressOne of the most gut-tightening, engrossing, downright suspenseful films of the year.
Empire Magazine
pressEffectively one enormous, stunningly rendered and thunderously intense set-piece stretched to feature-length, Dunkirk thrusts you into a pressure cooker and slams the lid on.
'Dunkirk' is not just a fleet, white knuckle survival thriller, a rousing portrayal of both small- and large-scale heroism, or a seemingly effortless exercise in gargantuan visual storytelling occasionally reminiscent of the silent epics of the late twenties; it's also a heartfelt call for compassion in the face of intense provocation, a plea for European...
It may not be entirely historically accurate or particularly sensitive to the French but this still ranks as one of the most stirring war films I have seen, and I've see many. The combination of sharp cinematography and editing, minimal dialogue and a soundtrack which gives equal voice to every ship and aircraft makes for a thundering portrait of this...
The screenplay mainly follows three story lines - an RAF pilot, a small boat on a rescue mission to Dunkirk and the attempts at escaping Dunkirk by a rag tag group of soldiers - rather than concentrating on the battle's big picture. A history lesson this is not - it barely mentions the brave rearguard action to protect the perimeter by the French and...
If you are looking for bloody splattered realism and DOWN WITH THE NAZIS, this movie is not for you. If you want a unique cinematic visceral experience then this is for you. Nolan continues his attack on the Blockbuster Mainstream with another Blockbuster Arthouse movie. With converging timelines and seeing the chaos of the Dunkirk mayhem live out on...
One of the great war movies. I admire the risk it takes it providing only the minimum of background information, and dispensing with romantic interludes. The use of sound reinforced the horrors of warfare, especially in the sinking ship with steam hissing, machinery breaking up and boilers exploding. The music too blended in with and enhanced the sound...
A fitting depiction of this historical event, for me what took the film to the next level was the underlying musical score, it just seemed to take the film to an amazing level (hence the emotional journey).
There are two viewpoints to the Battle of Dunkirk: that of the British troops and that of the French'. One of triumph or so we are being told, one of a lost cause and ultimately defeat. That Nolan felt the need to portray the French troops as cowards when it is well documented the French held the German troops in the Dunkirk region and beyond (Lille)...
As the movie world erupts in loud applause for Dunkirk (2017) there is a serious question being overlooked. A defining characteristic of historical drama is that it leaves us with a better understanding of history. If a viewer knew nothing of the history of Dunkirk would this film make sense? In other words, does this film have a coherent narrative that...
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