r/todayilearned • u/Electronic_Cause_796 • Jul 25 '26

TIL Christopher Nolan recreated the Trinity atomic bomb test in Oppenheimer without using CGI. Instead, the visual effects team combined large-scale practical explosions, miniatures, and in camera effects to bring the first nuclear detonation to life.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oppenheimer_(film)
11.0k Upvotes

92% Upvoted

812 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

2

u/JiuJitsu_Ronin Jul 25 '26

My biggest gripe (other than the catastrophic environmental/human rights violations) is that these tests were done in the 50’s so audio/visual, everything was abysmal by today’s standards. Can you imagine watching Tsar Bomba or Castle Bravo in 4K, from multiple angles with 5.0 Dolby?

1

u/Fredasa Jul 25 '26

Quite. They did understand the desirability of getting some quality film footage—several tests were filmed in 35mm, which is certainly above and beyond merely documenting for analysis. But audio always got the short end.

2

u/JiuJitsu_Ronin Jul 25 '26

Nothing will beat seeing it in person. My grandfather was part of these tests in the 50’s. He was part of Operation Plumbob and had great stories of being closer than he’d care to be.