THE SEVEN most dangerous words anyone can say to a film aficionado(爱好者，狂热分子) are: “What do you think of Christopher Nolan?” The question will almost certainly elicit one of two reactions: a long, fevered disquisition(长篇论述，专题演讲) on the masterful(精湛的，熟练的) craftsmanship of his 12 feature films (now 13, with the release of “The Odyssey”)—or eye-rolling(翻白眼的，表示厌恶) contempt. Almost nobody will shrug(耸肩（表示不在乎）) and say, “Eh, he’s fine.”
任何一个电影爱好者最危险的七个字是：“你觉得克里斯托弗·诺兰怎么样？”这个问题几乎必然引发两种反应之一：要么是一篇关于他12部（现在因《奥德赛》上映变为13部）故事片精湛工艺的长篇狂热论述，要么是翻白眼的鄙视。几乎没有人会耸耸肩说：“嗯，他还行。”
Perhaps that is unsurprising: ambitious artists tend to provoke strong reactions, and Sir Christopher Nolan is nothing if not(极其，非常（强调）) ambitious. He is the seventh-highest-grossing(票房收入第七高的) film director ever, and the most important British film-maker(电影制作人) since Alfred Hitchcock(阿尔弗雷德·希区柯克，悬疑大师). Like Hitchcock, he is devoted to(致力于，投身于) the technical work of film-making: “The Odyssey” is the first blockbuster to be shot entirely on IMAX film, a format that produces sumptuous images but is harder to work with than digital cinematography.(《奥德赛》是首部完全IMAX胶片拍摄的大片，该格式图像华丽但操作更难。)
也许这并不奇怪：雄心勃勃的艺术家往往引发强烈反应，而克里斯托弗·诺兰爵士如果说不是雄心勃勃，那简直一无是处。他是史上票房收入排名第七的电影导演，也是自阿尔弗雷德·希区柯克以来最重要的英国电影人。和希区柯克一样，他致力于电影制作的技术工作：《奥德赛》是第一部完全用IMAX胶片拍摄的大片，这种格式能产生华丽的图像，但比数字电影摄影更难操作。
Sir Christopher stands out from(从……中脱颖而出) his peers(同龄人，同行) for having the widest-ranging(范围最广的), most original and brainiest(最聪明的) oeuvre(全部作品（尤指艺术家的）). Like many directors working today, he has done franchise flicks(系列电影（非正式）)—he made three Batman films between 2005 and 2012—but they were an interlude(插曲，间歇) rather than the capstone(顶点，巅峰) of his career. So what is it about Sir Christopher that makes him such a divisive(引起分歧的，有争议的) film-maker?
诺兰爵士在同行中脱颖而出，因为他拥有最广泛、最原创、最聪明的作品。和当今许多导演一样，他也拍过系列电影——2005年至2012年间他制作了三部蝙蝠侠电影——但它们更像是职业生涯中的插曲，而非巅峰。那么，诺兰爵士身上到底有什么特点使他成为如此具有争议性的电影人呢？
