"Scott raises the game"— Christopher Nolan praises Ridley Scott's brilliance as he names Gladiator II his favorite film of 2024

In Variety's new feature, Directors Pick Favorite Films of 2024, published on Monday, December 18, Christopher Nolan named Gladiator II his best movie of the year. As to why it was his top pick out of other films released in 2024, the Oscar-winning director said:

"Like the best long-awaited sequels, "Gladiator II" must be a remake and a sequel in one, and it's [a] testament to Scott's brilliance that he manages to balance the individual pathos of the original with the expansionist remains of the sequel's central theme, bringing a lifetime of experience in controlling tone."

Nolan spoke of Scott's experience and how he "masterfully" gives the audience what they demand. He also praised the Gladiator II director for his "brilliance" and how he "raises the game." He said:

"Scott raises the game with the staging of his action—his incredible, hyper-observant, multi-camera mise-en-scene masterfully wrestles the action into clear and jaw-dropping sequences after sequence."

Christopher Nolan said that it was different from the original, further saying:

"The effect is not just to entertain, but to drive us towards awareness of the movie's themes."

Other filmmakers also made their favorite films of 2024 picks in the same Variety article, with Andrew Haigh picking Blitz, Alexander Payne picking Conclave, and Ritesh Batra's choice All We Imagine as Light. Dean DeBlois' pick was The Wild Robot, Michael Man's was Unstoppable, Michael Gracey's was Transformer One, Kevin Mcdonald's was September 5, Seth Rogen's was Saturday Night, and Kahlil Joseph's was The Piano Lesson.

Directors David Lowrey, Barry Jenkins, Chris Columbus, Fede Alvarez, Alfonso Cuaron, Rick Famuyiwa, and Taylor Hackford also named Nosferatu, Nickel Boys, My Old A**, Inside Out 2, I'm Still Here, The Fire Inside, and Emelia Perez, respectively, as their top picks.

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Christopher Nolan praises Ridley Scott as he names Gladiator II his favorite movie of 2024

Oscar-winner Christopher Nolan has plenty of praise for his fellow director Ridley Scott, as he named Scott's Gladiator II his favorite film of the year. Scott has directed numerous box office hits over the years. His name is attached to movies like Alien, The Martian, Blade Runner and Blade Runner 2049, American Gangster, Prometheus, Black Hawk Down, and Life in a Day. He also directed the first installment of the Gladiator movie.

According to Christopher Nolan, Ridley Scott's contribution to the movie scene has been underhyped despite his success. He said:

"Despite all his success, Scott's contribution to the evolution of cinematic storytelling has never been properly acknowledged."

He mentioned the "visual innovations" that the four-time Oscar nominee and his fellow directors of the 1970s contributed to cinema. He said that critics at the time missed the point in saying that those innovations were "superficial," adding that they changed the "visual language of movies." He said:

"The lavish photography and meticulous design brought new depth to the visual language of movies, mise-en-scene that could tell us what the worlds they portrayed might feel like."

The same "masterful" innovation, Christopher Nolan said, is clear in the opening shot of Gladiator II. As for Nolan, he's had a fair share of success in making movies. He directed Interstellar, the Batman trilogy, The Prestige, Memento, and Oppenheimer.