Christopher Nolan‘s “Oppenheimer” is one of the movie events of the summer for several reasons. Reason #1: it squares off again Greta Gerwig‘s “Barbie” at the box office on its opening weekend; who wins there may also be 2023’s biggest summer film. Reason #2: It’s Nolan’s film since 2020’s “Tenet,” which got lost in the shuffle theatrically due to the COVID-10 pandemic. And Reason #3, which fans know thanks to Variety (via the AP): “Oppenheimer” is Nolan’s first film with R-rating since 2002’s “Insomnia.”
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That new may be a shock for Nolan fans considering his penchant for heady but crowd-pleasing blockbusters for the past two decades. But Nolan wanted his biopic to pull zero punches in terms of narrative and craftsmanship. And the director hasn’t shied away from his usual IMAX theatrics for his latest film. “Oppenheimer” is Nolan’s longest movie yet, with a runtime just under three hours. As a result, IMAX prints for the film are “11 miles of film stock,” according to The Associated Press, and “weight some 600 pounds.” That’s a lot of movie, in more ways than one.
As per usual for Nolan, he shot “Oppenheimer” using large format film cameras. And Universal plans to release the film in several formats: IMAX 70mm, 70mm, IMAX digital, 35mm, Dolby Cinema, and more. Nolan thinks it’s his best-looking film yet. “The sharpness and the clarity and the depth of the image is unparalleled,” said the director. “The headline, for me, is by shooting on IMAX 70mm film, you’re really letting the screen disappear. You’re getting a feeling of 3D without the glasses. You’ve got a huge screen and you’re filling the peripheral vision of the audience. You’re immersing them in the world of the film.”
Versimilitude is important for Nolan in “Oppenheimer,” particulary because he creates an atomic bomb explosion for the film without relying entirely on VFX. So if moviegoers thought previous Nolan movie were big and loud, just wait until this film hits the big screen. “We knew that this had to be the showstopper,” Nolan continued to the AP. “We’re able to do things with picture now that before we were really only able to do with sound in terms of an oversize impact for the audience—an almost physical sense of response to the film.” Furthermore, Nolan expressed that the “best possible experience” for viewing “Oppenheimer” is in the IMAX 70mm film format. Unfortunately, that experience will only be available across 25 screens in North America in major cities.
In “Oppenheimer,” Nolan follows theoretical physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer as he leads the Manhattan Project and creates the atom bomb in an effort to end World War II. Cillian Murphy stars as Oppenheimer with Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, Florence Pugh, Robert Downey Jr., and Rami Malek leading the cast. Benny Safdie, Josh Harnett, Kenneth Branagh, Alden Ehrenreich, Jason Clarke, Matthew Modine, and Jack Quaid also star amid a truly gigantic ensemble cast.
Ready to get blown away by “Oppenheimer”? The wait is nearly over, as the film hits theaters on July 21. Watch the latest trailer for the film below.