MOVIE NEWS – After World War II’s Dunkirk, Christopher Nolan (Origins, Among the Stars, Batman: It Begins!) has made another historical film. Oppenheimer is the story of the inventor of the hydrogen bomb, who later sought the same strict controls on the military use of his invention as did the developers of the Hiroshima bomb, Leo Szilard and Ede Teller.
The film is now finished after almost six months of shooting, but the best is yet to come: Nolan is known for his ability to work for a year on post-production work on his productions, and he will do so again.
Oppenheimer stars Cillian Murphy (Burmingham’s Gangs) in the title role, who has a good working relationship with the director, having worked together on Dunkirk, Origin and the Batman trilogy. Emily Blunt plays the scientist’s wife Kitty, while Matt Damon plays General Leskie Groves, who ran the nuclear programme. Robert Downey Jr. plays the Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission, Lewis Strauss, and Benny Safdie as Ede Teller.
Oppenheimer follows the scientist from his university years until he began his experiments with the new atomic bomb in the Arizona desert.
The production looks like a strong biopic, which is what the Oscars like to award.
(Oppenheimer – domestic release: 20 July 2023)
Oppenheimer was the father of the atomic bomb, not the hydrogen bomb. The father of the hydrogen bomb was supposedly Edward Teller. From what I glean from the trailer, this movie is about The Manhattan Project, which led to the creation of the atomic bomb, designed and created by Oppenheimer at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). Interestingly enough, the Manhattan Project directly led to the eventual creation of the Department of Energy. In 1946, the Manhattan Project was taken over by the newly created Atomic Energy Commission (AEC). In 1974, the AEC was split into two divisions: Energy Research and Development Administration and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. In 1977, the US Department of Energy was created as an umbrella. All the national laboratories, such as LANL, PPPL, etc are owned/run (not sure exactly) by the Department of Energy.
Source: https://www.energy.gov/lm/brief-history-department-energy
In 1951, Project Matterhorn was created, sponsored by the AEC, and had a hand in the creation of the Hydrogen Bomb. After declassification, in 1961, Project Matterhorn was renamed Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL).
Source: https://nuclearprinceton.princeton.edu/project-matterhorn