Oppenheimer Fans Spot Historical Error In Christopher Nolan’s Biopic
Movie lovers who flocked to the cinema to see Oppenheimer on its opening weekend have spotted a historial error in Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster biopic.
The film charts the life and career of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the American scientist who oversaw the invention of the world’s first nuclear weapons during WW2.
One scene set in 1945, sees Oppenheimer (played by Cillian Murphy) give a speech after the bomb’s successful test run at the then-top secret Los Alamos laboratory.
As ‘the father of the atomic bomb’ makes his way through the crowd, his fellow scientists and their families can be seen celebrating with American flags.
However, as eagle-eyed fans have pointed out on Twitter, the flags shown in the film feature 50 stars – two more than it really had at that time.
Alaska and Hawaii did not officially become US states until 1959, which is when the flag was changed to look as we know it now, with 50 stars instead of its previous 48.
It was good and all, but I’ll be that guy and complain they used 50-star flags in a scene set in 1945. pic.twitter.com/nvcwpGFkzh
— Andy Craig (@AndrewRCraig) July 21, 2023
Moviegoers report a historical error in an #Oppenheimer scene set in 1945 that features Americans waving the 50-star flag, which was established in 1959. pic.twitter.com/KwAUB803MF
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) July 23, 2023
People on IMDb are VERY hung up on the wrong flags being used in #Oppenheimer ???? pic.twitter.com/T2Pq9FV2X0
— Dom (@dom_d21) July 24, 2023
Imagine being paid a hefty amount of money to be the Set dresser for Oppenheimer and using the wrong flags for the time period in a HISTORICAL PIECE MOVIE. pic.twitter.com/sfjizwH7em
— Mark Bland (@markbland) July 23, 2023
oppenheimer had this big ass budget but still put the wrong american flag in
— noelle (@NOL33333) July 24, 2023
Some fans did offer a possible explanation for the decision:
Nolan was clearly valuing symbolism! The current flag represents how similar the horrors of Oppenheimers work are still reflected in current day America! (I haven't seen the movie and just made this up but I will do mental gymnastics to defend this film) (i actually don't care) https://t.co/SK1pOSskFz
— toby (@HalfARack) July 23, 2023
I doubt it was a mistake. Those scenes were from Oppenheimer's memory, which was subjective. The scene after the initial project is complete features the correct flag, so the film makers were well aware that the flag was different during that time period pic.twitter.com/5a4bjhOooJ
— ????Dead but Delicious???? (@_AbraMacabre) July 23, 2023
Oppenheimer has proved a huge hit with critics, who praised its “laser-sharp” script while calling for the film and its cast to land Oscar nominations.
The film then broke box office records on its opening weekend – which also saw Greta Gerwig’s Barbie arrive in cinemas.
Early figures revealed the film has given director Nolan his biggest opening weekend numbers for a non-Batman movie, taking a whopping $174.2m (£136m) worldwide.
Meanwhile, Barbie celebrated the highest first weekend takings ever for a film by a female director and surpassed The Super Mario Bros. Movie to land the biggest opening weekend of the year.