‘Oppenheimer’ fan points out historical error in Christopher Nolan epic

Viewers have spotted a historical error in director Christopher Nolan’s biographical epic Oppenheimer.

During a scene set in 1945, J. Robert Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy) goes to deliver a speech to a crowd waving American flags.

• READ MORE: ‘Oppenheimer’ review: Christopher Nolan’s mind-blowing biopic hits like a bomb to the brain

The flags featured however are the current version of the flag, with 50 stars representing 50 states. This flag was first introduced in 1959, over a decade later than the scene in the film.

In 1945, the US flag only had 48 stars to represent 48 states – excluding Alaska and Hawaii.

Noting the mistake on Twitter, a fan wrote: “It was good and all, but I’ll be that guy and complain they used 50-star flags in a scene set in 1945.”

In response, one user pointed out how the correct flag was used elsewhere in the film, during a scene set at Trinity base camp.

The use the right 48 star US flag else where e.g., at Trinity base camp… pic.twitter.com/8ChZ613bbt

— Casillic (@Casillic) July 22, 2023

Another provided a compelling argument as to why the error may have been intentional, writing: “Personally I think it was done intentionally, because coloured scenes were from Oppenheimer’s perspective which is his present day memory that was after the 50-star flag was established.”

Alongside Murphy, Oppenheimer stars Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, Robert Downey Jr., Florence Pugh, Josh Hartnett, Casey Affleck, Rami Malek and Kenneth Branagh.

Recently, Nolan expressed interest in directing a James Bond movie. “The influence of those movies in my filmography is embarrassingly apparent,” the director said on the Happy Sad Confused podcast. “It would be an amazing privilege to do one. At the same time, when you take on a character like that you’re working with a particular set of constraints.”

In a five-star review, NME wrote: “Not just the definitive account of the man behind the atom bomb, Oppenheimer is a monumental achievement in grown-up filmmaking. For years, Nolan has been perfecting the art of the serious blockbuster – crafting smart, finely-tuned multiplex epics that demand attention; that can’t be watched anywhere other than in a cinema, uninterrupted, without distractions. But this, somehow, feels bigger.”

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