Inception

Inception (2010)

Timing: 2:28 (148 min)

8.372/10
38990

8.671/10
1095156

8.8/10
2800000

All about film

Video 33

Photo 199

Actors and characters

Release date

2010-07-15

Country

United Kingdom, United States

Production

Syncopy, Warner Bros. Pictures, Legendary Pictures

Genre

Action, Science Fiction, Adventure

Budget

$160 000 000

Revenue

$839 030 630

Website

https://www.warnerbros.com/movies/inception

Director

Christopher Nolan

Actors

Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ken Watanabe, Tom Hardy, Elliot Page, Dileep Rao, Cillian Murphy, Tom Berenger, Marion Cotillard, Pete Postlethwaite
All actors and roles (10)

Scenario

Christopher Nolan

Producer

Christopher Nolan, Emma Thomas, Kanjirô Sakura, Yoshikuni Taki, Kanjiro Sakura, Chris Brigham, Thomas Tull

Operator

Wally Pfister

Composer

Hans Zimmer

Artist

Matt Sims, Abdellah Baadil, Chris Kitisakkul

Audition

John Papsidera

Editing

Lee Smith, Elona Tsou
All team (748)

• James Franco began negotiations with Christopher Nolan regarding a role in the film. However, due to inconsistencies in the actor's schedule, he was unable to join the cast. The role intended for Franco was played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt.
• Filming began on July 13, 2009.
• Leonardo DiCaprio was the first actor to agree to participate in the project.
• The character Leonardo DiCaprio plays is named Dom Cobb. Cobb introduces himself as a professional thief in Nolan's debut film, "Following" (1998).
• The original title of the script was "Oliver's Arrow".
• The film's characters emerge from the dream state to the song by Édith Piaf, Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien ("No Regrets"). Marion Cotillard played Édith Piaf in 2007.
• Nolan initially wanted to cast Evan Rachel Wood as Ariadne, but the actress stated she was not interested in collaborating. Kira Knightley, Emily Blunt, Emma Roberts, Jesse Schram, Taylor Swift, and Carey Mulligan were also considered for the role of Ariadne.
• "Inception" was the first film by Tom Berenger since "Training Day" (2001) to be released in US cinemas.
• During the script revision process, the names of the main characters were also changed. The character played by DiCaprio was called Jacob Hastings, and the character played by Elliot Page (formerly known as Ellen Page) was called Isabella.
• The film's title, designed in the style of a labyrinth, resembles the logo of Christopher Nolan's production company, "Syncopy".
• Leonardo DiCaprio was the first and only candidate for the role of Cobb.
• Christopher Nolan first presented the idea for the future film to Warner Bros. studio after finishing filming "Insomnia" (2002). The studio liked the project, and Nolan received the green light. However, at that time the script had not yet been written and existed only in the author's mind. Christopher believed it would be easier for him to write the script without signing a preliminary contract, and then present it to the studio. According to him, he then expected to finish the script in a couple of months: he just needed to transfer the finished text onto paper. However, working on the script took Nolan almost eight years.
• The film was delivered to cinemas under the title "Hour Glass".
• At one stage of production, the studio suggested making the film in 3D, but Nolan refused, arguing that the three-dimensional format would only distract from the story told in the film.
• Kilian Murphy's character, Robert Fischer, was named after the famous chess player Bobby Fischer. Robert's father, Maurice Fischer, received his name in honor of the artist M.C. Escher (full name – Maurits Cornelis Escher), whose works served as inspiration for many of the special effects in the film. For example, the 'Penrose stairs' that Arthur shows Ariadne are a reference to M.C. Escher’s painting 'Ascending and Descending'. Escher is known for his works exploring the plastic aspects of the concepts of infinity and symmetry, as well as the peculiarities of psychological perception of complex three-dimensional objects.
• The Arabic name Yusuf corresponds to the Jewish name Joseph. In 'The Old Testament, Genesis 37-50', there is a story about Joseph, who had the gift of interpreting dreams. He helped the Pharaoh prepare for 'seven years of famine.' A similar story is told in the Quran.
• In Greek mythology, Ariadne is the daughter of King Minos of Crete and Pasiphae. When Theseus decided to kill the Minotaur, he received from Ariadne, who loved him, a ball of thread that led him out of the labyrinth where the Minotaur lived.
• Tom Hardy's character, Eames, is named after Charles Eames and Ray Eames, renowned furniture and building designers.
• The film features approximately 500 shots with special effects.
• The role of Saito was specifically written for Ken Watanabe.
• Initially, Christopher Nolan planned to shoot some scenes of the film with an IMAX 65mm camera, but due to the extensive use of handheld cameras during filming, the idea had to be abandoned: the 65mm cameras are too heavy to allow for handheld shooting.
• In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Christopher Nolan stated that the main characters of the film, to varying degrees, mirror the professions of people involved in film production: Cobb – director; Arthur – producer; Ariadne – production designer; Eames – actor; Saito – film studio head; Fischer – audience member.
• The numbers 3, 5, 0, and 2 appear throughout the film in various combinations: 3502 – the train number, 2305 – the taxi number; 5302 – the hotel room number.
• If you combine the first letters of the main characters' names – Dom, Robert, Eames, Arthur/Ariadne, Mal, Saito – you get the word Dreams.
• Kate Winslet was offered the role of Mal. She declined, as she couldn't imagine herself in the part.
• Miranda Nolan, Christopher Nolan's cousin, played a flight attendant.
• Inception is the third Nolan film in which a bag is placed over the head of a character played by Cillian Murphy.
• The film's runtime (2 hours 28 minutes) is a reference to Édith Piaf's song 'Non, je ne regrette rien,' whose first studio recording lasted 2 minutes 28 seconds. The song frequently appears in the film and helps the characters 'jump' out of the dream.
• The film features 399 questions, the majority of which are asked by Cobb (113), Ariadne (93), and Arthur (44).
• Phonetically, “Cobb” means “dream” (khwab) in Sanskrit, Hindi, Urdu, and Punjabi. In the film, Cobb dreamed of returning home.
• In the rotating hotel corridor scene, Joseph Gordon-Levitt performed all the stunts himself, without the use of stunt doubles.
• Explaining why he believes implanting an idea is impossible, Arthur says “don’t think about elephants” in order to actually make Saito think about them, and thus “implant” the idea. This phrase is a reference to George Lakoff's book on cognitive semantics, “Don't Think of an Elephant.” The book discusses conceptual frames, mental structures that define our vision of the world. Using frames in the form of certain phrases allows one to subtly instill the necessary ideas in a person.
• Marion Cotillard's character is named Mal, short for Malorie. The name comes from the French word “Malheur,” which means misfortune or unhappiness.
• In all scenes in the hotel, Ariadne's hair is styled in a bun. This was done intentionally to make the work of the special effects team easier, as they didn't have to figure out how the hair should move in zero gravity.
• The appearance of Fisher's 'snow fortress' incorporates elements of the Geisel Library at the University of California.
• Despite being mentioned on the poster, Michael Caine appears on screen for only three minutes.
• The characters emerge from limbo to the song “Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien” by Édith Piaf (“No Regrets”). Marion Cotillard played Édith Piaf in 2007.
• The film was delivered to cinemas under the title “Hour Glass”.
• The character of Robert Fischer, played by Cillian Murphy, was named after the famous chess player Bobby Fischer. Robert's father, Maurice Fischer, was named after the artist M.C. Escher (full name – Maurits Cornelis Escher), whose works inspired many of the special effects in the film. For example, the Penrose stairs that Arthur shows Ariadne are a reference to M.C. Escher’s painting “Ascending and Descending.” Escher is known for his works exploring the plastic aspects of concepts like infinity and symmetry, as well as the peculiarities of psychological perception of complex three-dimensional objects.
• If you combine the first letters of the names of the main characters – Dom, Robert, Eames, Arthur/Ariadne, Mal, Saito – you get the word Dreams.
• The film's duration (2 hours 28 minutes) is a reference to Édith Piaf's song “Non, je ne regrette rien,” whose first studio recording lasted 2 minutes 28 seconds. The song frequently appears in the film and helps the characters “jump” out of the dream.