Harry Styles’ may be the popular sweetheart of the heavyweight ensemble in Christopher Nolan’s latest film, Dunkirk, but history buffs and cinephiles alike are frothing on the most recent war film that is set to knock Hacksaw Ridge out of the ring.
Visual storytelling peaked in the first trailer for Dunkirk, released in IMAX last December. The narrative of the Battle of Dunkirk evacuation in 1940 is succinctly covered through stunning, simple images that build to anxiety-inducing tension. The economic shots of Kenneth Branagh, Tom Hardy and Harry Styles’ provide flashes of recognition that leave us wanting more.
The sound design here was just as powerful. A ticking clock leads into the rattle of gun fire before being transformed into a thudding heartbeat. The transition of the heartbeat into Hans Zimmer’s pounding score was seamless.
The official trailer dropped on May 6th, has thrown out all the subdued suspense of the popular IMAX release. Bloated with dialogue, replete with lens flares and campy title transitions, the official trailer takes twice as many original elements and blends them together half as well, creating a chaos of celebrity and action that leaves a sour taste of tired propaganda.
Regardless, the latest Dunkirk trailer has created twice the social media buzz of current cinematic heavyweights Alien: Covenant and Wonder Woman within the past week, according to Variety Magazine. This cut of the trailer seems hardly indicative of the final film. With authentic period costume design and Christopher Nolan at the helm of his tenth directorial, Dunkirk is set to be a gripping retelling of one of WW2’s greatest military disasters.
Dunkirk is slated for Australian release on July 20, 2017, US release on July 21.