Having made some of the most influential and popular films of his time, Nolan's work has been as "intensely embraced, analyzed and debated by ordinary film fans as by critics and film academics". Several of his films have been regarded by critics as among the best of their respective decades, and according to "The Wall Street Journal", his "ability to combine box-office success with artistic ambition has given him an extraordinary amount of clout in the industry." Tom Shone deemed Nolan "the most successful filmmaker to come out of the British Isles since Alfred Hitchcock." In 2016, "Memento", "The Dark Knight", and "Inception" appeared in BBC's 100 Greatest Films of the 21st Century list. In the following year, five of his (then nine) films featured in "Empire" magazine's poll of "The 100 Greatest Movies". Nolan has been described as "American cinema's most experimental blockbuster auteur" and a "franchise unto himself."