UNLOCKED: 139: Oppenheimer (with Corey Atad)

Junk Filter

In honour of Oppenheimer winning the Oscar for Best Picture, we're unlocking our July 26, 2023 premium episode about the film. Over 30% of Junk Filter episodes are available exclusively to patrons of the podcast: you can support the show directly and get every episode by going to patreon.com/junkfilter

The film writer Corey Atad returns to the show for a deep dive into Christopher Nolan’s historical epic Oppenheimer.

Beyond a discussion of the film itself we review the several film formats Oppenheimer has been released in theatrically, take a look at how this movie reflects and departs from the source material (the biography American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer), and compare the film to its major stylistic influences, including Oliver Stone’s JFK, There Will Be Blood and The Man Who Fell To Earth.

We also discuss the Christopher Nolan redemption arc in general; how he uses the IMAX screen to create intimate horror, his fantastic cast of actors, the callbacks to his earlier works (Memento and even the Batman trilogy) and how some of the bozo decisions he often takes as a director somehow don’t take away from this film’s power.

Follow Corey Atad on Twitter.

Trailer for Oppenheimer (Christopher Nolan, 2023)

Christopher Nolan and Cillian Murphy in the aisles of Vidéo Club in Paris.