Why Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer Is In Black & White

The release of the official trailer for Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer has revealed the movie will be almost completely in black and white. Nolan’s new project is a biopic about J. Robert Oppenheimer, played by Cillian Murphy, the theoretical physicist, and creator of the first nuclear weapon. Oppenheimer focuses on the physicist and his time working on the Manhattan Project during World War II, yet its black and white appearance has led to questions about Nolan’s creative choice.

Nolan’s biopic is set to release in 2023 and features a huge ensemble cast alongside Murphy, including Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, Robert Downey Jr., Florence Pugh, Rami Malek, Matthew Modine, Alden Ehrenreich, Kenneth Branagh, and Gary Oldman. The new Oppenheimer trailer was released by Universal Pictures, unusually, as a live video on YouTube and a live announcement on Twitter. The trailer places emphasis on time, which is not so unusual for Nolan, with the countdown to the movie’s release being a prominent aspect of the trailer, as well as revealing the movie being shot in black and white.

Related: Why Christopher Nolan Is So Obsessed With Time In His Movies

Why Oppenheimer Is In Black & White

The trailer revealed Oppenheimer is mostly black and white which is most likely due to the era it is set in. Although the precise plot details are being kept under wraps, Oppenheimer is based on Oppenheimer’s biography: American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer and his contributions to the Manhattan Project so the use of black and white fits with the World War II era. Nolan hasn’t shot in black and white since Memento where the use of color and black and white shots represented scenes unfolding in different orders, although this can be watched chronologically on Memento‘s blu-ray version.

Oppenheimer Being Mostly Black & White Can Make Nolan’s Movie Even Better

The Oppenheimer trailer showed the movie to be mainly black and white, particularly when showing Murphy in his scenes, but there are moments of color only for the explosions. These feature heavily in the trailer and are a major part of Oppenheimer’s story, particularly as he was dubbed the “father of the atomic bomb”. Nolan’s choice to make Oppenheimer mostly black and white is a conscious one for the era and Nolan isn’t the only director to do this, since movies such as Belfast have also used black and white to reflect the era. However, keeping the explosions in color can make Oppenheimer even better because of the contrast against the black and white scenes.

Nolan’s cinematography choice in Oppenheimer, which could fix Nolan’s broken box office streak, will mean the explosions have a greater impact on the audience especially as they become used to the black and white visuals. The colorful explosions are an important choice for this film as they will reflect not only the impact the atomic bomb made in that era, but the permanent change it made on all weaponized conflict. Nolan’s choice to add color to these explosions will massively increase the impact on them and will make Oppenheimer’s black and white visuals even better.

Next: Nolan’s Next Movie Sets Him Up To Repeat Spielberg’s Career Pattern