Coming right after Christopher Nolan’s Tenet is the biographical film, Oppenheimer. Starring Peaky Blinders star Cillian Murphy as the titular American scientist who created the Atomic Bomb, the film hits theaters worldwide on July 21st, next to Greta Gerwig’s Barbie.
Now, apart from deciding which film you might want to see first, you might be wondering if Oppenheimer is based on a true life story or a book. Well, fear not, this article is all you need to prepare yourself before seeing Nolan's film.
Is Oppenheimer Based on True Life or a Book?
Universal Pictures’ official description for Oppenheimer reads:
The film is based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning book American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer by Kai Bird and the late Martin J. Sherwin. The film is produced by Emma Thomas, Atlas Entertainment’s Charles Roven and Christopher Nolan.
The short answer is, yes — to both. Oppenheimer is based on a biographical book, as mentioned in Universal Pictures’ description for the Christopher Nolan film.
The title of the book refers to the myth behind Prometheus, which was mentioned in the September 1945 issue of Scientific Monthly, where Oppenheimer and the ‘Manhattan Project’ (the World War II undertaking in the duration of creating the atomic bomb) were described as: “Modern Prometheans have raided Mount Olympus again and have brought back the very thunderbolts of Zeus.”
Essentially, Oppenheimer is a biographical film about the ‘father of the atomic bomb’ and although Oppenheimer was based on a book, the film director Christopher Nolan revealed to Empire about the process in how he had written the script for the film differently:
“I actually wrote in the first-person [point of view], which I’ve never done before. I don’t know if anyone’s ever done it before. But the point of it is, with the colour sequences, which is the bulk of the film, everything is told from Oppenheimer’s point of view — you’re literally kind of looking through his eyes. This is the story that you experience with him — you don’t judge him. You are faced with these irreconcilable ethical dilemmas with him.”
RELATED: Is ‘Oppenheimer’ a Sequel or a Prequel to ‘Tenet’?
Do You Need To Read The Oppenheimer Book To Understand The Movie?
As far as book adaptations go, it is entirely up to you as the viewer taking in Christopher Nolan’s movie.
Films can only adapt so much of the chapters, so of course, giving the biography book, American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer, a read would do wonders for an entirely different experience and take in the information for your own bidding.
Traditionally, reading the book would give out a more accurate and clearer understanding of the events taking place in the movie.
But on the off chance you would not be interested in taking the book’s value, the original source material could serve as additional research and intakes on how the world renowned scientist became the ‘father of the atomic bomb.’
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