10 Secrets That Made Recent Movies Awesome

10. The Nuclear Explosion Was Recreated Practically - Oppenheimer

While Oppenheimer was in production, director Christopher Nolan revealed that the historic Trinity nuclear bomb test had been recreated practically for the film.

This prompted some very funny, hopefully not-remotely-serious speculation that Nolan actually detonated a nuclear weapon for real in the deserts of... somewhere.

Nolan, who favours practical effects over CGI wherever possible, did however execute the jaw-dropping test scene with entirely in-camera effects, employing a combination of miniatures, forced perspective photography, and other secret techniques to pull it off without computer assistance.

It's known that Nolan went to the New Mexico desert to shoot the sequence, and the explosion involved use of gasoline, propane, aluminum powder, and magnesium to generate a sufficiently large and bright reaction on-screen.

The end result is certainly an impressive testament to the tactile quality of practical effects, and hopefully Nolan might be a little more forthcoming about how he and his crew pulled it off once Oppenheimer hits home video.