Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer has become the second-highest-grossing R-rated film in history, having crossed the $900 million mark at the worldwide box office.
Despite Nolan’s pedigree and the powerful ensemble cast of Cillian Murphy, Robert Downey Jr., and Emily Blunt among others, not many expected a documentary feature on a scientific figure to make such a run at the box office. But thanks to the esteemed filmmaker’s magical touch, the movie has turned out to be a lot more than just a three-hour-long drama about the moral quandaries of J. Robert Oppenheimer.
For fans of the action genre, Nolan has delivered a true cinematic experience by recreating a nuclear explosion without CGI. Giving the fans an idea of how overwhelming the Trinity Test was, was a huge challenge, but as we have seen throughout his career, the British-American filmmaker has never been afraid to go to extreme lengths to avoid using computer-generated imagery.
Christopher Nolan Stunned Fans With Impossible Truck Flip Scene in The Dark Knight
Christopher Nolan entered the superhero movie genre in 2005 with Batman Begins – the first of the Dark Knight trilogy. Many predicted that the genre that has always relied on CGI to make things click might force the director to change his ways.
Nolan has always preferred to use practical effects, with the heavy lifting of his action scenes carried out by his genius plans and an incredible team of stunt coordinators. The Memento filmmaker didn’t steer away too much from his plans for DC Studios’ film either and yet managed to leave fans in awe with one particular scene in The Dark Knight.
Halfway through the movie, Joker (Heath Ledger) tries to follow Harvey Dent’s police transport through the streets, but Batman (Christian Bale) proves to be the ultimate roadblock, as he flips Joker’s 18-wheeler truck with the help of his Batpod and cables.
Many filmmakers would’ve opted to take help from supercomputers to turn this idea into reality, but Nolan achieved the feat without CGI. However, this also apparently became a nightmarish experience for his stunt coordinators.
Gary Oldman Reveals What Christopher Nolan Told His Stunt Coordinators During The Dark Knight’s Filming
Gary Oldman, who was also part of the movie, portraying Gotham City police officer James Gordon, made an appearance on Late Night with Conan O’Brien to talk about the movie.
During the interview, host Conan O’Brien said he found the movie unbelievably amazing and remarked: “The effects are fantastic. I realized [while] I was watching it, I don’t think this is CGI.”
“No there’s not a great deal of CGI in it,” Oldman admitted. “Chris Nolan, the director, favors the real thing in camera stunts.”
“They really flipped that truck, the 18-wheeler. He said to his stunt guys, ‘I want you to flip this truck in the street.’ They said, ‘Well we are not sure how to do it.’ And he said, ‘Well go work it out.'”
Stunt coordinators’ hard work really paid off and fans found the whole sequence incredible. The movie, as a whole package, was also brilliantly received at the box office, grossing just over $1 billion globally.
Source: Late Night with Conan O’Brien
