The Christopher Nolan Director’s Collection is one of those fabulous Blu-ray sets that very few people will actually need. Nolan is a genius to be sure, but it’s hard to imagine that most DVD collectors don’t already have one or more of these terrific films. All of the Blu-ray releases in this set are just repackaged versions of what has been available previously, there is NO new actual disc content. Due to licensing reasons, the collection does NOT include Nolan’s first film “Following” (rumored to be a potential Criterion release) or “The Prestige.” This is still an awesome group of five films, all of which look great in Blu-ray. If you don’t own them, this comes with the highest recommendation. As most are familiar with the movies themselves, I will limit my comments to what is included in this item’s contents.
In addition to movies, the set has the following exclusive content: 10 Collectible Photo Cards, 40 Page Photo Book and an (up to) $8.00 Movie Cash Credit to see “The Dark Knight Rises” in theaters.
The box has five movies over 7 discs. All of the Bonus Features are from the original releases, but I’ll include them here as a reference point.
1) Memento (2000): Here you get the more comprehensive release that was put out for the film’s tenth anniversary. Bonus Features include “Remembering Memento” (a 10-year anniversary look back on the making of the film), “Anatomy of a Scene,” IFC Interview with Writer/Director Christopher Nolan, Audio Commentary with Director Christopher Nolan, “Memento Mori” (Short Story by Jonathan Nolan), Feature Script, Tattoo Gallery, and Leonard’s Journal.
2) Insomnia (2002): Bonus Features include an additional scene, Commentary by Nolan, Commentary by Hilary Swank, production designer Nathan Crowley, editor Dody Dorn, cinematographer Wally Pfister and screenwriter Hillary Seitz. There are four featurettes: Day for Night: Making The Movie, 180 Degrees: A Conversation with Nolan and Al Pacino, In the Fog: Cinematography and Production Design, and Eyes Wide Open: The Insomniac’s World.
3) Batman Begins (2005): Bonus Features that include MTV’s Tankman Begins spoof, The Journey Begins: Creative Concepts, Story Development and Casting, Shaping Mind and Body: Christian Bale’s Transformation into Batman, The Tumbler: Reinvention of the Batmobile, Gotham City Rises: Production Design of Gotham City, the Batcave, and Wayne Manor, Saving Gotham City: Development of Miniatures, CGI, and Effects, Genesis of the Bat, Confidential Files, Cape and Cowl: The New Batsuit, Path to Discovery: Filming in Iceland, and Character/Weaponry gallery.
4) The Dark Knight (2008): This is two discs with Bonus Features that include Gotham Uncovered: Creation of a Scene, BD-Live: An Interactive Gateway to Exclusive Content, Batman Tech: Gadgets and Tools, Batman Unmasked: The Psychology of The Dark Knight, Gotham Tonight: 6 episodes of Gotham Cable’s premier news program, and the Galleries: The Joker Cards, Concept Art, Poster Art, Production Stills, Trailers and TV Spots.
5) Inception (2010): This is two discs with Bonus Features that include an Extraction Mode Describing The Film’s Signature Moments, Dreams: Cinema of the Subconscious, The Cobol Job: Comic Prologue in full animation and motion, 5.1 soundtrack selections from Hans Zimmer’s score, Conceptual Art, Promotional Art, and Trailer/TV Spot Galleries. KGHarris, 6/12.