Five Interesting Facts to Know About 'Oppenheimer' Before Its Release

Oppenheimer was shot using a combo of IMAX 65 mm and 65 mm large-format film, making it the first film to shoot certain sections of the movie in IMAX black and white photographic film, and for a limited amount of time after its release, viewers will have an opportunity to watch the movie in IMAX 70 mm in select locations, which is how it is intended to be watched.

In a statement given IMAX.com Christopher Nolan says:

“IMAX film brings images to life. From resolution and color to sharpness and overall quality, there is nothing compared to using IMAX film cameras. The IMAX film format is the Gold Standard of motion picture photography.”

Only in these IMAX theaters will sequences shot with IMAX film cameras expand vertically to fill the entire screen, which feature 15 perf / 70mm film, and these scenes will expand images up to a 1.43:1 aspect ratio.

You can take a look at all of the locations offering the IMAX 70 mm showing here.

Apparently the casting process for Oppenheimer was so strict and the actors didn't know what part they landed until they officially signed on. What makes this so funny is the fact that this is an ensemble cast with so many big names like Robert Downey Jr., Emily Blunt, and Matt Damon. Thee Robert Downey Jr. auditioned/signed on for a movie without having any clue what part he was going to play beforehand. Guess when you've been in the game longtime, something like that is a fun little shake up.

Not sure how we got here because these two films are so extremely different from one another, but indeed Oppenheimer is in a same- day summer blockbuster battle with...Barbie—it's actually quite comical when you think about it, and while some of the folks involved in both films have denied there's any "competition" going on, the hype surrounding both movies and the fact that they are being release on the same day is inevitably going to cause competition. As much we don't want to admit it there will be box office comparisons, so get ready.

Yep—Oppenheimer is Christopher Nolan's first R-rated film in over two decades. The directors last was 2002's Insomina, which is actually a great movie to watch/re-watch if you're in the mood for a Christopher Nolan flick before July 21st.

This really shouldn't surprise anyone because its clear Christopher Nolan was determined to make Oppenheimer as close to the real-time experience as possible, but real explosives were used during filming to basically avoid/limit using CGI. According to an interview with Total Film, Nolan referred to Oppenheimer as being one of the most challenging projects he's ever taken on saying:

"I think recreating the Trinity test [the first nuclear weapon detonation, in New Mexico] without the use of computer graphics, was a huge challenge to take on. Andrew Jackson – my visual effects supervisor, I got him on board early on – was looking at how we could do a lot of the visual elements of the film practically, from representing quantum dynamics and quantum physics to the Trinity test itself, to recreating, with my team, Los Alamos up on a mesa in New Mexico in extraordinary weather, a lot of which was needed for the film, in terms of the very harsh conditions out there – there were huge practical challenges."

That means we'll be seeing the real deal people. The absolute real deal.