Christopher Nolan, the director of “Oppenheimer”, has just revealed that he discovered “Blade Runner”, one of the great classics of the seventh art, illegally, in this case on a pirated VHS.
If Christopher Nolan is today a major name in the seventh art, he undoubtedly owes it largely to his vast cinephile. A true lover of cinema, the Oppenheimer director recently discussed the subject with one of his illustrious peers, Denis Villeneuve. The opportunity for the Briton to reveal that he had discovered a great classic… illegally!
“They value SF in the very long term”
Asked about the “life” of a film and the impact it can have on the public over the years, Christopher Nolan, who has a strong opinion on fan theories, thinks that a particular style is made to perpetuate the works. “I think science fiction is the genre where the long term vision takes precedence”notes the filmmaker. “People revisit this type of film. They value SF in the very long term.”
At the microphone of The Associated Press as part of a cross-interview with his colleague Denis VilleneuveChristopher Nolan then evokes a science fiction classic to support his remarks. “THE Blade Runner original, no one paid attention to it when it came out, it was a famous flop”he emphasizes. “And then over time, people, including me, discovered the film.”
“In pirated VHS”
Christopher Nolan then talks about how he discovered Ridley Scott’s classic, and it’s quite astonishing. “I think I was 13 when I saw Blade Runner for the first time, it was on VHS”he declares. “Did you discover Blade Runner on VHS?”then asks Denis Villeneuve, who signed Blade Runner 2049 in 2017. “In pirated VHS”specifies Nolan. “Me too !”replies the director of Dune!
Christopher Nolan And Denis Villeneuve pirates? We won’t go as far as this conclusion, but it is amusing to note that these two major figures of contemporary cinema have no real reservations about admitting that they watched films illegally in order to shape their cinephilia.
The trailer for Denis Villeneuve’s “Blade Runner 2049”: