Christopher Nolan rejects CGI and will use real battleships for ‘Dunkirk’

Dunkirk film: Real battleships to be used on Christopher Nolan’s next film: Director decides against the use of CGI.

The Dunkirk film continues to shoot in northern France.

Christopher Nolan has refused to go for all out CGI for his next film, the World War II epic that will be Dunkirk, and will use real battleships for some scenes in the film, which is now shooting.

Of course, this news shouldn’t surprise you as Nolan hasn’t really used that much CGI in most of his big Hollywood movies that kicked off with Batman Begins all of the way back in 2006.

French nautical magazine Presse Océan, is reporting that Nolan is planning to use the French T-47 Class Destroyer, Maillé-Brézé for his WWII Dunkirk film, which will be towed to Saint-Nazaire in Brittany where it will be fitted and transformed into a working vessel.

We don’t know too much about Dunkirk, other than that the story is set in World War II during the Dunkirk evacuation.

We do know that amongst the cast we have the likes of Bridge of Spies Oscar winner Mark Rylance, Kenneth Branagh, and Cillian Murphy, as well as Legend star Tom Hardy and One Direction’s Harry Styles.

Shooting continues in northern France where yesterday Styles was pictured in action.

Harry on the set of Dunkirk in Urk yesterday #2 pic.twitter.com/RgL48Tsg3A

— best harry pics (@thestylespics) 14 July 2016

Harry on the set of Dunkirk in Urk, Netherlands (July 13th) via hitkrant.nl #1-4 pic.twitter.com/4QSFU54v77

— 1D Updates Asia (@1DAsiaCrew) 14 July 2016

#Video | Harry walking on set of Dunkirk. • July 11. – ©@ollg_emma pic.twitter.com/6aBHvoPADE

— Harry Updates. (@TheHarryNews) 14 July 2016

Some background on the historic events of Dunkirk 1940.

Dunkirk evacuation, (1940)World War II, the evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) and other Allied troops from the French seaport of Dunkirk (Dunkerque) to England. Naval vessels and hundreds of civilian boats were used in the evacuation, which began on May 26. When it ended on June 4, about 198,000 British and 140,000 French and Belgian troops had been saved.

British Expeditionary Force: evacuation from Dunkirk [Credit: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.]play_circle_outlineThe immediate context of the Dunkirk evacuation was Germany’s invasion of the Low Countries and northern France in May 1940. On May 10 the German attack on the Netherlands began with the capture by parachutists of key bridges deep within the country, with the aim of opening the way for mobile ground forces. The Dutch defenders fell back westward, and by noon on May 12 German tanks were on the outskirts of Rotterdam. Queen Wilhelmina and her government left the country for England on May 13, and the next day the Dutch army surrendered to the Germans.

We’ll bring you more on Dunkirk as we get it.