*Spoiler alert* They cut to a video of the atomic bomb dropping when Oppenheimer starts dropping atomic loads on Florence Pugh. It's only in the IMAX version so you have to see it in IMAX for IMAX sized atomic facials.
I have to admit I chuckled and then pictured @Jontro at the next IMAX show, bored out of his mind, and then the scene arrives, and he's like "wait, wait... what? what? No! robbbbiiieeeeeee!"
Even for what amounted to relatively small roles they nailed the casting. I mean, Truman was really only in the movie for one scene and muttered his way through a small handful of lines (though one in particular was pretty important) and they got Gary freaking Oldman to play that part! I think that's part of the beauty of Christopher Nolan and his reputation. He can get just about anyone he wants for his movies because people just seem to love working for him.
Following Oppenheimer I’ve been studying up on the history around WWII and physicists. Werner Heisenberg who headed the German effort to build an atomic bomb’s story is fascinating and I think more interesting than Oppenheimer’s story. Even though he wasn’t an anti Semite and hated the Nazis he still chose to work for them. He had a several opportunities both before the war and even during the war to leave Germany. Also like Oppenheimer both Max Bourn and Nils Bohr were mentors and the relationship between Bohr and Heisenberg was very complicated. Also many legendary names in Physics like Max Planck, Erwin Shrodinger, Lise Meitner and Otto Hahn all dealt opposed, worked for or both for the Nazis during WWII. Each of their stories could make good movies too.
Whether or not he's fun to work with, actors know they'll work with a varsity-level staff and have a final product they won't be ashamed of. That's gotta count for something.
Agree with most of this review except for the instance of it being "super, super loyal to factual accounts" - the poison apple scene at the beginning almost got Oppenheimer kicked out of Cambridge - although it's thought to have not been a poisonous apple. The film could've operated as a three part film/tv show so to wrangle the cut to three hours is a feat onto itself. Pre-Manhattan Project Manhattan Project Post-Manhattan Project (Court Room Drama) Jennifer Lame is a shoe-in to win the Oscar for Best Editing coming off her last film, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. It's really, really, really hard for an editor to cut as effectively as she did. Dense material, building relationships and keeping the film moving. Just incredible. While she isn't necessarily cutting audio, editorial did a fantastic job of overcoming some of Nolans biggest pitfalls related to audio. Hearing dialogue wasn't an issue for me. I had the chance to see it in IMAX 70mm at Universal City Walk and every screening has been max capacity - incredible experience. It's probably winning many Oscars and it's Nolan's best film by a mile.
I was talking about the movie to another friend of mine who was a physics major at Cornell. We discussed one of the greatest questions about the German atomic effort. In the movie when Nils Bohr finally gets to Los Alamos he tells the team there that Heisenberg was in the wrong track. What isn’t mentioned in the movie is that not only was Heisenberg ahead theoretically but also had a reactor that was more successful. Heisenberg’s reactor had an accident on 1942 that crippled their program and practically ended any chance to surpass the Allies. One mystery of the war is whether Heisenberg and others might’ve have deliberately undermined or their own efforts preventing the Nazis from developing the bomb. Heisenberg had told many he hated the Nazis and in a meeting in Copenhagen in 1941 he revealed to Bohr that he was working on nuclear power for the Nazis. Bohr up to then wasn’t aware of that and while Denmark was occupied by the Nazis Bohr and many others still could get info out to the Allies. Heisenberg likely knew this and suspicion is that he deliberately told Bohr this so the Allies could get their own effort going.
They made it out like Oppenheimer was conflicted about using the bomb, but he was happy to use it on Nazis.
The Pugh nudity added nothing to the film and felt exploitative and un-Nolan like. Her entire character wasn't developed at all really, and so her death had no real emotional impact.
Oppenheimer was Jewish so it shouldn't seem odd he was more for using it against the Nazis than the Japanese.
The whole point of it was to show how vulnerable Oppenheimer was regarding Jean Tatlock. That he metaphorically and literally was naked when he was around or even thinking of her showed how much of a weakness and issue his relationship was to her.
Posts about Nazi progress on building an atom bomb remind me of a great book I'd recommend. https://nealbascomb.com/books-bascomb/the-winter-fortress/ Norwegian resistance to Nazi efforts to acquire materials in Norway. I really enjoyed it.
There was a movie too called Heroes of the Telemark which is based on a true story of Norwegians sinking a ferry carrying heavy water for German atomic research. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Heroes_of_Telemark
I didn't know there was a movie! that's the subject of the book!! I'll have to check that out. Any book/movie about resistance in Nazi occupied countries is just fantastic to me...I love those stories. Real "Andor/Rogue One" vibes
He was more conflicted about the size of the bomb, not so much the use of it. He felt a much smaller bomb would send a very clear message to Japan...we could make a much bigger bomb if we wanted to. Nolan did a good job at piquing ones interest about Oppenheimer, but I do feel like a lot of information was left out.
Haven't read through the thread; anybody seen this in IMAX 70mm? The theater in Dallas that has it in 70mm is still sold out for a while.
Yes, it's a a must watch or just a standard 70mm. Once this run ends, it's going to be vaulted only for special screenings. One can assume for awards season, it'll come back briefly, then be stored somewhere safe for decades.
You might love the book Heisenberg's War -- really delves into whether or not he intentionally sandbagged this project for Hitler. On the topic of the movie, I've now had two very different friends (one a poet, one a data designer / tech guy) both wish the movie had an explanatory moment to describe more about the bomb's functioning. One guy took his two tween boys and they both came away bummed that they didn't understand the parts of the original atom bomb. One guy said Nolan just needed one chalkboard scene like they had in Apollo 13 (?) or similar. I didn't come away feeling like I missed out, but I'm also not so interested in the inner engineering of a bomb.
I saw it and I thought Cillian hung dong? Oh well..... might have missed it. Really great movie... so many great actors playing small roles. Felt like Robert Downey Jr stole the show and took me a moment to realize it was him. Also Cillian Murphy just kills it in whatever he is in.
