Nolan's Oppenheimer

[DireWolfSpirit]

Apparently the U.S. Congress passed some legislation for reparations for victims of there Atomic testing program. In a case of gross oversight the inhabitants in vicinity of the Los Alamos were excluded from this compensation. New Mexico legislators are fighting to this day to try and get them relief.

As the article below mentions, the area was not entirely uninhabited and the fallout poisoned area tribes and ranchers.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/new-mexico-senator-calls-out-enduring-effects-of-oppenheimer-nuke-test_n_64bbf28ae4b0ad7b75f924d6

[Deadlines? What Deadlines?]

49 minutes ago, DireWolfSpirit said:

Apparently the U.S. Congress passed some legislation for reparations for victims of there Atomic testing program. In a case of gross oversight the inhabitants in vicinity of the Los Alamos were excluded from this compensation. New Mexico legislators are fighting to this day to try and get them relief.

As the article below mentions, the area was not entirely uninhabited and the fallout poisoned area tribes and ranchers.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/new-mexico-senator-calls-out-enduring-effects-of-oppenheimer-nuke-test_n_64bbf28ae4b0ad7b75f924d6

I’m currently going to through Adam McKay’s “Death on the Lot” podcast, which is about post-war Hollywood but he sneaks a lot of American history in there, like HUAC and red scare stuff.

episode 8 is about the production of The Conqueror. You can guess where that one goes.

Recommend.
 

[Deadlines? What Deadlines?]

Oh. I forgot to mention: at my showing of Oppenheimer…

There were cosplayers. I shit you not. A gaggle of clowns in fedoras and a few in “vintage” suits.

have I mentioned that a sold out imax theatre gets a little warm?

[Spockydog]

 

[Deadlines? What Deadlines?]

Get Woke Go B… oh. Never mind. 

[Ser Rodrigo Belmonte II]

Who is Ben Shapiro?

[Starkess]

I checked this out over the weekend. First time in the theater in probably at least a year? I'm not a big movie person. I enjoyed it, though I was pretty unfamiliar with any of the historical context outside of the Manhattan Project and I felt that made it a bit hard to follow. Felt like Nolan was making a film for people who already knew the story, in a way. My fiance and are both physicists (of the astro variety) and I was a nuclear engineer, but neither of knew the history (doubly so for him since he's not American) and felt that took away from the experience a bit.

I actually didn't have any issues with the sound mixing or the volume, something which I do regularly get annoyed with in other films.

On 7/23/2023 at 10:26 AM, IheartIheartTesla said:

Just got off the phone with the parents, and they were telling me about some protests (well, everything in India can either be celebrated or protested....not too different from here) because of Oppenheimer quoting some Gita verses during a sex scene. I dont know if that has any basis in reality or not, since my parents didnt watch either. 

Yeah this absolutely happened, it was one of the weirdest and cringiest scenes in the whole thing IMO. Threw me right out of the movie and fiance and I both exchanged eye rolling glances.

[Deadlines? What Deadlines?]

18 minutes ago, Starkess said:

Yeah this absolutely happened, it was one of the weirdest and cringiest scenes in the whole thing IMO. Threw me right out of the movie and fiance and I both exchanged eye rolling glances.

I mean, c’mon. Who hasn’t? It was the ‘40’s. Scientists and Lefties in those days liked to party. 

[Relic]

Every single seat for every single screening at the one imax in Prague has been sold out all week. Crazy, don't think that's ever happened here before. 

[Ser Rodrigo Belmonte II]

6 minutes ago, Relic said:

Every single seat for every single screening at the one imax in Prague has been sold out all week. Crazy, don't think that's ever happened here before. 

Yeah it’s the same in india, I had to book 2 weeks in advance to get two adjacent seats in a decent part of the theatre… 

[Raja]

Saw it on 70mm IMAX and I need to think on it more but it was pretty haunting, really.

Also, all the BFI IMAX screenings where I watched this are sold out all of this week.

[Corvinus85]

11 hours ago, Starkess said:

I checked this out over the weekend. First time in the theater in probably at least a year? I'm not a big movie person. I enjoyed it, though I was pretty unfamiliar with any of the historical context outside of the Manhattan Project and I felt that made it a bit hard to follow. Felt like Nolan was making a film for people who already knew the story, in a way. My fiance and are both physicists (of the astro variety) and I was a nuclear engineer, but neither of knew the history (doubly so for him since he's not American) and felt that took away from the experience a bit.

I don't know how accurately his work pre-Manhattan Project is depicted, but interesting to think that if no war and no reason to develop the bomb, Oppenheimer would have continued his work in what was alluded as black holes.

[IFR]

11 hours ago, Starkess said:

I checked this out over the weekend. First time in the theater in probably at least a year? I'm not a big movie person. I enjoyed it, though I was pretty unfamiliar with any of the historical context outside of the Manhattan Project and I felt that made it a bit hard to follow. Felt like Nolan was making a film for people who already knew the story, in a way. My fiance and are both physicists (of the astro variety) and I was a nuclear engineer, but neither of knew the history (doubly so for him since he's not American) and felt that took away from the experience a bit.

This is a fair criticism. Even though this is a movie about physicists, it is pretty light on actual physics, except for name recognition ("hey, they said fission!"), and rudimentary explanations. The movie is much more interested in the history of these people and their personalities and relationships. The book the movie is based on is much the same way. I have a particular interest in the history of science, and so I did wonder how much my familiarity of the events and Oppenheimer's life prejudiced my impressions of the movie itself.

Aside from the highly skilled technical execution of the movie's presentation, it won a lot of points with me for minimizing the artistic license that plagues so many biographies of scientists (I'm looking at you Imitation Game and The Theory of Everything). There were a few (I felt) relatively minor fictions, but overall this was about as accurate a depiction of historical events as one could hope for from a major Hollywood movie.

[Raja]

I didn't have much trouble following it, obviously sure I missed some nuances but I wasn't super familiar with the story and still think I kept up with most of it - didn't keep up with some names though.

I'm still thinking about the movie but what I will say is that Nolan continues to be the few directors who I won't think twice about going to the biggest screen I can find and watching his movies ( Same with Villeneuve, Claire Denis, Alex Garland)

Ludwig's soundtrack was quite good, I thought.

Edited July 25, 2023 by Raja

[DireWolfSpirit]

1 hour ago, Raja said:

Saw it on 70mm IMAX and I need to think on it more but it was pretty haunting, really.

Listened to a BBC Nolan interview last night and he discusses how many viewers have had that sort of haunting impression. He seemed relieved with those reactions. 

I sincerely believe he wasnt interested in any sort of celebratory take on the overall message for this work. We should probably all be weighing this history with some humility and remorse for all the lives affected in that period.

[DireWolfSpirit]

Oppenheimer"s meeting with Truman where he's talking about "Blood on my hands", clearly meant to depict some of that haunting Robert fealt himself. Also the discussions with Einstein where they both are sort of alluding to the gravity of what to do with this power their advanced understanding gave them.

I think they had to wrestle with  where this would lead the World. We are seeing inklings of such thought with AI presently.

Also the discussion with the person left to caretake his infant where hes told "Its alright, youve had to see the future and be burdened with it" or something to that effect.

A lot of emotional wrestling at play with his character throughout this.

Except for hard-ass Harry Truman, whos telling his aide "Don't let that  crybaby (Oppenheimer) back in this office!"

[Raja]

Also, is the Hartnett-aissance afoot?

[Deadlines? What Deadlines?]

1 hour ago, DireWolfSpirit said:

Oppenheimer"s meeting with Truman where he's talking about "Blood on my hands", clearly meant to depict some of that haunting Robert fealt himself. Also the discussions with Einstein where they both are sort of alluding to the gravity of what to do with this power their advanced understanding gave them.

I think they had to wrestle with  where this would lead the World. We are seeing inklings of such thought with AI presently.

Also the discussion with the person left to caretake his infant where hes told "Its alright, youve had to see the future and be burdened with it" or something to that effect.

A lot of emotional wrestling at play with his character throughout this.

Except for hard-ass Harry Truman, whos telling his aide "Don't let that  crybaby (Oppenheimer) back in this office!"

That conversation between Oppenheimer and Truman and the quotes are real; except I thought Truman called him a “sonofabitch” and not “crybaby”. Truman was a bit insecure and he was definitely feeling himself after the end of the war. He didn’t have time for eggheads struggling with the morality of things. 

I’m not sure if the conversations with Einstein ever happened or if those are artistic license. 

[IFR]

1 hour ago, Deadlines? What Deadlines? said:

That conversation between Oppenheimer and Truman and the quotes are real; except I thought Truman called him a “sonofabitch” and not “crybaby”. Truman was a bit insecure and he was definitely feeling himself after the end of the war. He didn’t have time for eggheads struggling with the morality of things. 

I’m not sure if the conversations with Einstein ever happened or if those are artistic license. 

Spoiler

In American Prometheus it states that accounts on what Truman said varies. One such account had him saying "crybaby", though not within Oppenheimer's hearing.

As for the conversations with Einstein, Einstein really was documented to have told Oppenheimer to not subject himself to the witchhunt and that he doesn't owe his loyalty to an America that will turn on him, and Oppenheimer is reported to have asserted his love for America.

The philosophical conversation on the future is not a documented one, but it is entirely plausible to have occurred. 

The conversation where Oppenheimer brought his concerns on igniting the atmosphere is fabricated. And probably my biggest dislike of the movie. He didn't go to Einstein with these concerns, and it's crazy to think he would. Oppenheimer talked to Arthur Compton about this matter.

 

[Deadlines? What Deadlines?]

22 minutes ago, IFR said:

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The conversation where Oppenheimer brought his concerns on igniting the atmosphere is fabricated. And probably my biggest dislike of the movie. He didn't go to Einstein with these concerns, and it's crazy to think he would. Oppenheimer talked to Arthur Compton about this matter.

 

Yeah, I figured. I’d view that as acceptable artistic license. 

In the 1980 miniseries, Einstein doesn’t even appear. I don’t think Vannevar Bush doesn’t either, so it was nice to see him in this movie. 

Maybe it’s just me, but I always thought Bush was a more obvious choice to lead the Manhattan Project than Oppenheimer, at least to the decision makers in Washington. I wonder if he was ever offered it.