Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer was the only film in 2023 that could even attempt to rival the popularity of Barbie and it seems to have paid off.
Nolan was able to put butts in seats across the world depicting the story of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the man that would become known as the father of the atom.
Oppenheimer follows the story of the American scientist, played by Cillian Murphy, and his role in developing the atomic bomb which was used in World War II.
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Rather than simply glorify this achievement, the film highlights Oppenheimer’s own reservations about the use of the bomb, and the development of nuclear weapons after the end of war.
Nolan has become known for his use of practical effects and rarely shies away from the expense of shooting in real locations.
With this in mind, it means his films rely less on small sets and green screens, allowing him to showcase just how good of a director he is.
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The film can prove difficult to follow if you aren’t clued up on all the secrets projects the US was working on away from the frontlines during WW2.
However, the viewing experience proved to be iconic and got people talking about the its constant switches from color to black-and-white.
However, some people thought it was simply done to signify past and present as you may expect.
Yet Oppenheimer appears in color in scenes when he was a college student, as well as scenes in the later stages of his life.
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So, it turns out the color scenes are from Oppenheimer’s point of view whereas the black-and-white is supposed to be from Strauss’.
Oppenheimer production notes provided to Insider explain: “Nolan decided that the scenes told through Oppenheimer's perspective would be in color (he also wrote them in the first person, an unconventional choice for a screenplay), with occasional cutaways to evocative, surreal imagery that symbolically expressed his interior world.
“The scenes that centre on Strauss would be in black and white."
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Nolan also made clear he is aware of the impact Oppenheimer had on the cinema going public and how he thinks this marks a good step forward for the industry.
Speaking to Empire in December last year he said. “I’ve just made a three-hour film about Robert Oppenheimer which is R-rated and half in black-and-white – and it made a billion dollars. Of course I think films are doing great.
“The crazy thing is that it’s literally the most successful film I’ve ever made. I’ve been doing this for 20 years and in the United Kingdom it’s my highest-grossing film. So I feel great about the state of the movie business, based on my own experience. But also based on seeing other movies break out, seeing audiences come back.”
Topics: Christopher Nolan, Oppenheimer, Oscars