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Dunkirk (2017)
Dunkirk is a 2017 war film produced, written, and directed by Christopher Nolan that depicts the Dunkirk evacuation of World War II from the perspectives of people on the land, sea, and air. It features an ensemble cast including Fionn Whitehead, Tom Glynn-Carney, Jack Lowden, Harry Styles in his feature film debut, Aneurin Barnard, James D'Arcy, Barry Keoghan, Kenneth Branagh, Cillian Murphy, Mark Rylance, and Tom…
Directed by Christopher Nolan · Shot by Hoyte van Hoytema · Cut by Lee Smith · Music by Hans Zimmer · 106 min
How it was made
- Nolan wrote a 76-page screenplay, about half the length of his usual scripts, deliberately structuring the story to work through visuals rather than dialogue and backstory.
- Costume designer Jeffrey Kurland had wool uniform fabric rewoven from scratch, since the original 1940 stock had not been produced since the war, tailoring it for over a thousand extras and ageing it for three weeks at Longcross Studios.
- To minimise computer-generated imagery, the production used cardboard cut-out soldiers and vehicles alongside 3D-printed scale models and real reconditioned warships, including the retired French destroyer Maillé-Brézé, dressed to double as a 1940 Royal Navy ship since no wartime British destroyers with working engines survived.
- Because French authorities banned pyrotechnic charges to protect marine life, the crew used air cannons instead, and the mole set had to be rebuilt repeatedly after storm damage.
- The mole itself was rebuilt over four months from the original wartime blueprints.
Behind the scenes
Elsewhere
More by Christopher Nolan
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