Oppenheimer: Christopher Nolan Explains the Use of Black and White and Coloured Sequences in the Film

Christopher Nolan recently revealed the purpose behind the use of coloured and black-and-white scenes in his film Oppenheimer.

In an interview with Konbini (via Screen Rant), Nolan and Cillian Murphy visited a video club, where they exchanged film recommendations with each other and the audience while also talking about Oppenheimer. During this conversation, the topic of the transitions between the black-and-white and coloured sequences in the film was brought up.

Nolan clarified the structure of the film, explaining that there are “two strands” to it. The first perspective is from “Oppenheimer’s point of view,” portrayed through coloured sequences, while the second perspective is from Lewis Strauss’ point of view, depicted in black and white sequences. You can watch the complete conversation between Nolan and Murphy in the embedded video below.

Cillian Murphy open to role in Barbie 2

The critically acclaimed actor recently revealed that he would be open to starring in Barbie’s sequel, despite it being a direct competitor to their film, Oppenheimer. In a recent interview with Omeleteve, (via Screen Rant) Murphy finally addressed the burning question of whether he would play Ken in Barbie 2.

Murphy was prompt to answer, “Sure, yeah.” He added that he would want to read the script and have a “conversation” about it, and said that he can’t wait to see Barbie. It will surely be intriguing to see Murphy in a more casual role after witnessing his serious performances over the years. Watching Murphy as the goofy Ken will undoubtedly be a breath of fresh air for both him and the audience.

Oppenheimer’s history mistake

Nolan is known for making his films as accurate as possible. However, there was one mistake that slipped his notice. Spotted by user Fake History Hunter on Twitter, one of Oppenheimer’s scenes set in 1945 shows audiences waving American flags with 50 stars on them. The problem here is that the American flag only had 48 stars until the 1960s.

This may be seen as a minor goof up by most fans, but it could certainly bother Nolan, given his commitment to authenticity in his films. It was also revealed that Oppenheimer has managed to include the correct flag for the majority of the film’s scenes, except for this specific one. This is a common mistake found in Hollywood films set in eras before the American flag was updated with 50 stars. Films like Jojo Rabbit and A Bridge Too Far have also made the same error, using flags with 50 stars instead of the correct number for the time period depicted.