Series Site
Film critics don’t often lavish the attention they give to directors and stars on production designers, but the production designer’s sometimes unheralded art consists of nothing less than building the world of a movie, in the process doing a great deal to create those distinct cinematic environments that one wants to visit again and again and again. In this edition of Filmcraft we present the work and inspirations of renowned production designer Nathan Crowley, whose work has earned him a host of accolades, including six Academy Award nominations (including The Prestige, The Dark Knight, and Dunkirk), five BAFTA nominations, 10 ADG nominations, and an Emmy nod (West World). Metrograph is proud to pay tribute to Crowley, presenting two of his feted collaborations with Christopher Nolan, and two of his personal filmic inspirations.
“The destruction of Wayne Manor and the Batcave in Batman Begins presented a unique opportunity for The Dark Knight: a chance to fundamentally rethink Gotham’s design and aesthetic. This liberation allowed me to explore the concept of a modern city rooted in the vision of 1960s and ’70s modernist architecture. Influenced by the distinct modernist portrayal of government buildings in the political thriller The Parallax View, I aimed to imbue Gotham with a similar sense of detached authority and underlying corruption. By embracing modernism, we were able to present a Gotham that felt both familiar and radically new, a city where the shadows of the past were juxtaposed against the stark reality of the present. This visual transformation served as a powerful metaphor for the film’s central themes, creating a visually compelling backdrop for the epic struggle between order and chaos.”—Nathan Crowley