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Oppenheimer (2023)
Oppenheimer is a 2023 epic biographical thriller film written, co-produced, and directed by Christopher Nolan. It follows the life of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the American theoretical physicist who helped develop the first nuclear weapons during World War II. Based on the 2005 biography American Prometheus by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin, the film dramatizes Oppenheimer's studies, his direction of the Los Alamos…
Directed by Christopher Nolan · Shot by Hoyte van Hoytema · Cut by Jennifer Lame · Music by Ludwig Göransson · Ratio 2.2:1 · 10809 min
How it was made
- Nolan wrote the screenplay in the first person, the first time he had done so, to keep the narrative tied to Oppenheimer's own perspective.
- The film alternates between colour and black-and-white cinematography, using colour for Oppenheimer's subjective point of view and black-and-white for a more objective perspective from another character.
- The production team included visualised sequences of Oppenheimer's mental images of quantum waves and energy to keep the film anchored to his subjective experience.
- Universal's financing deal gave Nolan a $100 million production budget matched by an equal marketing budget and an exclusive theatrical window of 90 to 120 days.
- Cillian Murphy lost an undisclosed amount of weight to match Oppenheimer's gaunt appearance, and Nolan arranged a phone call between Murphy and physicist Kip Thorne, who had attended some of Oppenheimer's seminars as a graduate student.
Behind the scenes
Elsewhere
More by Christopher Nolan
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