The first full trailer for Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer has been released alongside an
IMAX version shown in theatres in front of James Cameron's Avatar The Way Of Water, and it gives
us a fantastic new look at the Auteur blockbuster filmmaker's latest feature. The new footage
itself promises a visceral and tense cinematic experience with standout performances from
Cillian Murphy and the rest of the huge cast in the director's latest project. In this video,
I'm going to be giving you my reaction and breakdown for the Oppenheimer trailer released
online and the theatrical IMAX version, presenting my early thoughts on what we saw and what I
think about Christopher Nolan's new world war 2 biopic. Before I get into my breakdown of the
trailers though, if you want to keep up to date on any of my content surrounding Christopher Nolan's
Oppenheimer, then don't forget to support this video by giving it a like rating,
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lets dive into the new trailers for Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer.
So the new trailers for Oppenheimer gives us a great indication of the story, themes and what
the different sequences in Christopher Nolan's latest film will contain. We had two trailers,
one which has now released online and another shown before IMAX screenings of Avatar The Way
of Water, giving us insights into what kind of narrative Nolan's latest picture will centre on.
Both trailers shared footage but there was some different things in each, with the IMAX version
focussing more on a conversation between Cillian Murphy and Matt Damon, which counts down to
the trinity test. Before I get into the IMAX version though, starting with the online trailer,
we got a good look in this one at the different stages in Oppenheimer's journey, whether it
be his early life, his beginnings at Los Alamos Labratory or the development and buildup to
that previously mentioned trinity test. We get a long voiceover from Cillian where he starts by
saying, "we imagine a future, and our imaginings our horrifiers." The overlayed footage shows
Oppenheimer looking at the rain on the window and we look at water on the foor outside,
becoming a some what contrast to the engulfing fire shots that fill the frame throughout. It's
as if Nolan is playing with the elements yet showcasing both the power yet melancholy that
take form within Oppenheimer's life at it's different stages. And one of those next stages
is the Manhattan Project, a government research effort centered around the creation of nuclear
weapons that took place from 1942-1946. He was director of Los Alamos Laboratory, where the
bombs were physically assembled and alongside a brief look at the base in the new trailer, we do
see images of the first bomb being assembled. Over the footage, Cillian's Oppenheimer says
"they won't fear it until they understand it, and they won't understand it until they've used it".
This speaks to exactly the dillemma that was present in building the atomic weapon, as they
had no choice but to make it because of the rising tensions of war and other powers potentially
succeeding at pulling this off before them. But then when those bombs went off,
there was no turning back from the horrors that had been loosed
on the world. It's quite the heavy situation and one that this trailer makes blindingly clear,
not just through it's powerful nuclear reaction visuals that flash onscreen, but also through
the guilt that we see on Cillian Murphy's face in every frame. He says "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". It looks like Nolan is going to put us right
in the middle of the whole process, including all the experiments that he, the lab workers
and members of the government witness, but then also highlight the fear, grief and emotion in
Oppenheimer and others both before and after the trinity test. And in mentioning all those
different stages of his life, I think this adds to what Nolan might be doing both with the colour
and black and white footage in the film. All the footage in colour focuses on the building
of the atomic bomb at the labratory and his early life teachings at Berkeley, but then there is
only one piece of Black and white footage, which has Oppenheimer walking through a wave of press.
In the IMAX trailer it's the same thing apart from an extra shot of Robert Downey Jr in
court at the end saying "and we all know what happened next". This is during the atomic energy
commitee where Oppenheimer was investigated both politically and with his workings on the
bomb, and Robert's character ended up opposing him in these hearings. So it looks like Nolan is
building this film around two sequences. One in colour with all the moments leading up to the
trinity test explosion and then intercutting that with black and white segments about the court
hearings and the more physchological moments that followed surrounding Oppenheimers life
after that nuclear test. Nolan did say in his total film article that he was returning a bit
to the format of Memento with his use of Black and white photography so I think that's what
we're seeing here when it comes to the narrative structure. And in mentioning the nuclear test,
the end of this trailer and the IMAX one does focus a lot on that. We see the bomb being
raised into position on the tower, while Josh Peck and Matt Damon's characters are on standby
for launch, and Cillian's Oppenheimer saying "is anyone, ever, going to tell the truth about
what's happening here". And with that we get really brief flashes of the atomic
bomb going off, which Nolan says was filmed without the use of CGI.
And this brings us to the second trailer that was released in IMAX in front of Avatar The Way Of
Water. This trailer is apparently not getting released online and is remaining theatrical
only, so if you do want to see that alternate version, then I'd recommend going to watching
it before Avatar 2 in theatres. And may I say that this version of the trailer was actually
incredible. It's a different tone to the online one, because it focuses more on the characters
not realising the problem they had created until after they had used it. The online trailer
is more aimed at the scale and epic tone that the film is boasting,
while the IMAX version has a much tenser format. From early shots of Oppenheimer
climbing the bomb tower, to an intercut sequence of him speaking to Matt Damon's Leslie
Groves about the chance of destroying the world and to detonation countdown, it really conveys
a heightened sense of fear. I particularly loved the visual of raging fire fading over
the shot of Oppenheimer's close up and how the dialogue from Damon at
the beginning makes it clear that they are not certain that this will all
work. We do get more brief looks at some of the other characters too, ones which
aren't present in the online version, such Emily Blunt's Kitty Oppenheimer,
as she and her husband drive towards the secret labratory in
which they developed the bomb at. And seeing the blitz of reaction visuals on an IMAX
screen promises that this theatrical experience is going to be both an
assault on the sensse and the eyes. Overall, it's a trailer that you have to see to really
feel and I would really recommend checking it out in IMAX while it's still playing.
So what did I think of the full length trailer and IMAX footage for Oppenheimer. Well, all
the new footage looks great and specifically, the IMAX trailer might be one of my favourite Nolan
trailers in recent memory. I was particularly in love with the cinematography, the rising score
and the reaction visuals that were intercut throughtout. You really get a sense of the
racing against time to build the atom bomb and then the foreshadowed guilt that Oppenheimer
would face following those nuclear detonations in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The potential use of
black and white IMAX photography during the downfall of Oppenheimer and all the commitee
hearings is something that I didn't expect to see, but now when I think about it, it makes complete
sense when it comes to the tone and portrayal of this man's story. You have all the colour
sequences that show the growth of Oppenheimer and the developing stages of the Manhattan project
and then intercut within that in typical Nolan fashion is a narrative thread that takes place
after and shows the struggles and political problems he faced. It reminded me of how Memento
used Black and white sequences mixed with colour to really get into the mindset of the central
character. And I expect Nolan will be using these tools to convey something like that for
Oppenheimer's story. Not to mention that these black and white scenes have been filmed using
newly developed IMAX cameras, so I'm sure it'll look gorgeous on the big screen. It really had
an authentic and rich look to it when I saw it in IMAX and I think intercut throughout, it'll
be a really interesting segment to add to the tension in the colour scenes. Also, just in the
close ups of Cillian Murphy we get a sense of the weight that must have been put on
this person's shoulders, and it's like what Nolan said years ago about how as a performer, Cillian
Murphy's piercing eyes do a lot of the character work just on their own. He really has a distinct
look and one that fits the appearance and depiction of the central character. Coupled with
the gorgeous photography from Hoyte Van Hoytema, both in intimate and large scale establishing
shots, and we get a sense that there's no slowing down from Nolan when it comes to his focus
on large scale blockbuster filmmaking. I love the way both trailers all build up to the trinity
test, with the furious yet abstract scientific visuals that fill the frame, showing just how
powerful the weapon that Oppenheimer created really is. Ludwig's score is unbelivably hype as
well, making Nolan's new film feel like it's going to be historically epic in terms of relating
it to the biopic genre. I just can't wait to see how Nolan and the composer balance this sense of
achieving the unachievable, but then also conveying a post sense of dread in what's
happening too. The themes of Nolan's previous work in time, guilt and personal identity are
all at the forefront again here, and based on this early footage, I can't think of a better story
for Nolan to attach his cinematic style too. Overall, Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer looks
like a film that is going to focus more on the historical story of the nuclear scientist in the
midst of an epic scale biopic that only Nolan knows how to combine. I
can't wait for it and I expect that when that countdown in the original teaser
hits zero, that we will get another classic Nolan film to obsess over.
But that was my video discussing my thoughts and breaking down the official trailer and
IMAX footage for Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer. Overall, these new trailers gave us an epic new
look at Nolan's film displaying the tension and fear around Oppenheimer's development of
the atomic bomb. It's looking like it's going to be another well made Nolan picture with superb
performances and mindbending visuals and physics. Combine that with the sonic building of Ludwig
Goranson's score and stunning IMAX cinematography, and we are likely in for a big cinematic
treat in 2023. But if you've already seen the trailer or the IMAX version of it in theatres,
let me know down below in the comments section what you thought of the new look at Oppenheimer,
alongside whether it get's you even more excited for Christopher Nolan's new film.
For much more videos and news on Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer, then subscribe to the
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I hope you guys enjoyed it, I've been Cortex and as always make some noise.