Prologue: From Pinewood to Hollywood

Abstract

One of the most successful British directors in Hollywood today is also one of the least Anglophile in his tastes, as well as one of the more accomplished interpreters of iconic American culture. Indeed, London-born Christopher Nolan is so immersed into Hollywood and wider American film sensibilities that it is often forgotten that his roots lie across the Atlantic. But the man who has re-defined the noir thriller with Memento (2000) and Insomnia (2002) and who single-handedly revived the Batman franchise in the 2000s replicates many of the characteristics of other British directors who have established their careers in Hollywood. From the Scott brothers, Ridley and Tony, to John Boorman, Peter Yates, John Schlesinger, Michael Apted and further back Edmund Goulding and James Whale, as well as many more, all of them moved to America’s film capital seeking creative control and freedom, while bringing British taste and sensibility even to the most American of subjects. From Blade Runner and Top Gun to Bullitt, Midnight Cowboy, Coal Miner’s Daughter, Dark Victory and Show Boat, the Brits have always had a taste for the milieu of American society and culture.