: OPPENHEIMER THE REAL STORY Trailer (Dailymotion)
When director Christopher Nolan (perhaps still best known for the smashing trilogy The Dark Knight) embarks on a new project, Hollywood’s A-list wants in—and million of viewers all over the world rush to see it, turning each of his pictures into blockbusters.
His latest epic undertaking, the biopic Oppenheimer, is based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning biography American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer.
The biopic follows J. Robert Oppenheimer, played by Cillian Murphy, the scientist who famously led the Manhattan Project–the risky, momentous effort to create an atomic bomb during World War II.
Oppenheimer is the director’s 12th film and Nolans’ sixth time working with Murphy. Previously, the pair worked together on three Batman films, Inception and Dunkirk.
“I’ll always turn up for Chris, whatever the size of the part,” Murphy notes. “Chris will call me up and I’m there. Isn’t it wonderful that filmmakers are still making challenging, demanding films within the studio system, shot on film? I think he’s flying the flag.”
Nolan describes Oppenheimer as one of his “most challenging projects, a story of immense scope and scale.” He elaborates: “There were big, logistical, and practical challenges. But I had an extraordinary crew, and they really stepped up. I’m thrilled with what my team has been able to achieve.”
The movie attracted one of the starriest casts that the Oscar-nominated director (Dunkirk) has ever assembled. Emily Blunt appears as Oppenheimer’s wife Kitty; Matt Damon portrays Lt. Gen. Leslie Groves, who oversaw the construction of the Pentagon and directed the Manhattan Project; Downey Jr. plays Lewis Strauss, who served two terms on the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission.
Other members of the illustrious cast include Florence Pugh (Little Women), who plays Oppenheimer’s mistress, Jean Tatlock; Oscar winner Gary Oldman (Darkest Hour) as President Harry S. Truman; Jack Quaid, and Rami Malek.
“The difference with this story is everybody knows what happened. But Christopher is telling it in a totally different, innovative way,” Murphy said.
Viewers can expect a thrilling cinematic experience. Nolan said that utilizing IMAX technology was “massively important in transporting the audience into the mind and experience of this person who forever altered our world.”
Most important man who ever lived?
The first peek at Oppenheimer arrived a year ago, in July 2022. As images from the movie flash alongside a countdown clock, a voiceover described Murphy’s character as “the most important man who ever lived,” while the tagline read, “The world forever changes.”
The film’s official trailer dropped December 18, 2022. The two-minute teaser opens with a massive explosion. The camera then cuts to Murphy’s character, who appears to be orchestrating the creation of the infamous atomic bomb.
“They won’t fear it until they understand it. And they won’t understand it until they’ve used it,” Oppenheimer is saying. “Theory will only take you so far. I don’t know if we can be trusted with such a weapon. But we have no choice.”
In May 2023, Universal premiered a second trailer. At three minutes long, it was the most in-depth look at the upcoming film yet. “This is a national emergency. We’re in a race against the Nazis. And I know what it means if the Nazis have a bomb. We’ve got one hope,” Oppenheimer says to a group of men in suits.
Believing that the Nazis have an 18-month head start on their own atomic bomb, Oppenheimer and Matt Damon’s character, Lt. Gen. Leslie Groves, rush to recruit scientists from all across the country.
“Why? Why? How about because this is the most important thing to ever happen in the history of the world,” Groves yells at a scientist who questions “why” he should move his family to the “middle of nowhere for who knows how long.”
Oppenheimer and Groves are then having a private but significant conversation. “Are we saying there’s a chance that when we push that button, we destroy the world?” the lieutenant asks. To which Oppenheimer replies, “Chances are near zero.”
The movie contains a significant speech from the legendary physicist: “I can perform this miracle. The world will remember this day. Our work here will ensure a peace mankind has never seen before.”
“There’s a wealth of stuff out there and I will read it all,” Murphy said about his preparation for the role. “I am never, ever going to understand quantum mechanics, no matter how hard or how many times people try to explain it to me. There’s 0.0001 percent of the population on the planet who have the brainpower to understand that. But I can begin to understand, conceptually, what those guys were trying to do.”
Murphy says: “With something like a Nolan movie, you know it can be great and he’s setting you up to be great. All you have to do is rise to the occasion and be prepared. You feel those nerves until you get there on the day and you realize that ‘Oh, this is just like anything else, it’s just the best version of it.’ ”
Murphy shared that the role felt “immense and terrifying” when it was first presented to him. “But if I felt it was easy, I wouldn’t be interested. I do get nervous, anxious and insecure, but then you go, ‘f–k it. I have been doing it for 25 years and I have done it before. So just keep going,'” he said.
The admiration is mutual. Nolan notes: “The best part is you get to direct a guy like Cillian, who is one of our greatest actors, and then he’s also a gem of a person, which is a rare combination.”
Oppenheimer was primarily shot in New Mexico, with select scenes filmed in New Jersey and California.
Blunt equated filming with the sprawling cast in New Mexico to being at “summer camp.” “We were all in the same hotel in the middle of the New Mexican desert,” she recalls. “We only had each other. Me and Matt were roommates and we were like, ‘Let’s go to have dinner.’ ”
Sadly for Murphy, he rarely got to join in due to the daunting task of leading a Nolan’s film. “The sheer volume of what he had to take on is so monumental,” marvels Blunt. “Of course, he didn’t want to come and have dinner with us.” Damon agrees, saying, “He couldn’t. His brain was just too full.”
Adds Murphy, “You know that when you have those big roles, that responsibility, you feel it’s kind of overwhelming.”
Oppenheimer will hit theaters on July 21, and moviegoers can see it on standard or on IMAX screens (Nolan’s choice).
