History Trivia / Dunkirk

* CastingGag: Creator/KennethBranagh in a WWII film - but for once, he's ''not'' [[Film/Conspiracy2001 playing]] [[Film/{{Valkyrie}} a Nazi]].

* ActorAllusion:
** Nolan regular Creator/MichaelCaine is heard giving orders on the radio early on, in reference to his role in ''Film/BattleOfBritain''.
** Not only does Creator/TomHardy have a good part of his face covered after ''Film/LayerCake'', ''Film/TheDarkKnightRises'', and ''Film/MadMaxFuryRoad'',[[note]]This was very much deliberate by Nolan, who wanted to see just how much of his face could be covered before his performance started suffering.[[/note]] [[spoiler:but he lets himself be captured by enemy troops in the end. Whether or not he eventually breaks out just as dramatically as Bane or Max is up to a viewer's own imagination.]]
*** In the last Creator/ChristopherNolan [[Film/TheDarkKnightRises film]] Hardy was in, he gained MemeticMutation for [[Memes/TheDarkKnightTrilogy "crashing this plane"]]. In this movie, Hardy's character is explicitly trying to ''not'' crash his plane... though he does crash a German bomber. With no survivors.
** Creator/CillianMurphy [[Film/BatmanBegins once again]] plays an otherwise calm and composed character who then dramatically loses his sanity and is left in fear-stricken trauma for the remainder of the film.

* DawsonCasting: George is 17, and the actor who plays him, Barry Keoghan, is in his mid-20s.
* DoingItForTheArt: In true Nolan tradition, he chose to shoot entirely in film rather than digital, going so far as to shoot entirely in 70mm film.[[note]]His previous films used 35mm film in some capacity.[[/note]] He also opted to go for real naval destroyers for the battle scenes (rather than CGI).

* FakeBrit: Irishmen Creator/CillianMurphy and Barry Keoghan both use an English accent.

* CastingGag: Creator/KennethBranagh in a WWII film - but for once, he's ''not'' [[Film/{{Conspiracy}} playing]] [[Film/{{Valkyrie}} a Nazi]].

* StarMakingRole: For newcomer Fionn Whitehead. Music/HarryStyles is already known as one of Music/OneDirection's members, but ''Dunkirk'' is his first acting role. Barry Keoghan also rose to fame with this film, along with Film/TheKillingOfASacredDeer.

* DuelingWorks: With ''Film/DarkestHour'' as both films are based on the Dunkirk evacuation. However, while ''Dunkirk'' is focused on the soldiers who were evacuated from the town, ''Darkest Hour'' focuses on Prime Minister Winston Churchill during the events at home.

* DuelingFilms: With ''Film/DarkestHour'' as both are period piece films based on the Dunkirk evacuation. However, while ''Dunkirk'' is focused on the soldiers and civilians who were evacuated from the town, ''Darkest Hour'' focuses on Prime Minister Winston Churchill during the events at home.

** Creator/TomHardy [[Film/TheDarkKnightRises once]] [[Film/MadMaxFuryRoad again]] has the lower half of his face covered for a good amount of screen time. This was very much deliberate by Nolan, who wanted to see just how much of his face could be covered before his performance started suffering.

* ThoseTwoActors: In addition to the Nolan films they've worked on, Creator/CillianMurphy and Creator/TomHardy both starred in ''Series/PeakyBlinders'' together (although they never share a scene in this film).

* StarMakingRole: For newcomer Fionn Whitehead. Music/HarryStyles is already known as one of Music/OneDirection's members, but ''Dunkirk'' is his first acting role (Creator/ChristopherNolan insisted he had ''no idea'' who Styles was and cast him purely on the strength of his audition). Barry Keoghan also rose to fame with this film, along with Film/TheKillingOfASacredDeer.

** Creator/TomHardy [[Film/TheDarkKnightRises once]] [[Film/MadMaxFuryRoad again]] has the lower half of his face covered for a good
** Creator/KennethBranagh in a WWII film - but for once, he's ''not'' [[Film/{{Conspiracy}} playing]] [[Film/{{Valkyrie}} a Nazi]].
amount of screen time. This was very much deliberate by Nolan, who wanted to see just how much of his face could be covered before his performance started suffering.

** Creator/TomHardy [[Film/TheDarkKnightRises once]] [[Film/MadMaxFuryRoad again]] has the lower half of his face covered for a good amount of screen time. This was very much deliberate by Nolan, who wanted to see just how much of his face could be covered before his performance started suffering.

* CastingGag: Creator/KennethBranagh in a WWII film - but for once, he's ''not'' [[Film/{{Conspiracy}} playing]] [[Film/{{Valkyrie}} a Nazi]].

* StarMakingRole: For newcomer Fionn Whitehead. Music/HarryStyles is already known as one of Music/OneDirection's members, but ''Dunkirk'' is his first acting role (Creator/ChristopherNolan insisted he had ''no idea'' who Styles was and cast him purely on the strength of his audition).

* GenreKiller: Its success may have done more than Disney's pulling away from the Blu-ray 3D market and 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray not including specifications for 3D presentations have to [[http://www.slashfilm.com/imax-3d-phasing-out/ end the Millennial 3D Craze]].

* CaliforniaDoubling: Some parts of the Netherlands doubled for Dunkirk, while the real town of Dunkirk, notably the beach scenes, appear playing as itself.

* CastingGag: Creator/KennethBranagh in a WWII film - but for once, he's ''not'' [[Film/{{Conspiracy}} playing]] [[Film/{{Valkyrie a Nazi]].

* DyeingForYourArt: Much publicity came from the fact that Harry Styles cut his long curly hair completely short for the role.

* FakeBrit:
** Creator/CillianMurphy is Irish doing an English accent.
** Ditto with Barry Keoghan.
** A bit of a variation of this occurs with the English Harry Styles portraying a Scottish soldier.

** This marks the seventh time for both Lee Smith as an editor & Nathan Crowley as a production designer on Christopher Nolan's films.

* StarMakingRole: Possibly for newcomer Fionn Whitehead. Harry Styles is already known since he's one of Music/OneDirection's members, but ''Dunkirk'' is his first acting role (Christopher Nolan insisted he had ''no idea'' who Styles was and cast him purely on the strength of his audition).
* StuntCasting: Subverted. It was believed that this was the case with Harry Styles, but then Christopher Nolan revealed in an interview he had no idea who Styles was and cast him on the strength of his audition.
* ThoseTwoActors: In addition to the Nolan films they've worked on, Cillian Murphy and Tom Hardy both starred in ''Series/PeakyBlinders'' together (although they never share a scene in this film).

* ExtremelyLengthyCreation: Nolan apparently wrote the first story treatment in 1992, but sat on it until he had experience making big-budget films (he took a similar approach with ''Film/{{Inception}}'', but without such a long interval). Production and post-production took a fairly typical length of time for a film of this scale.

* ExtremelyLengthyCreation: Nolan apparently wrote the first story treatment in 1992, but sat on it until he had experience making big-budget films (he took a similar approach with ''Film/{{Inception}}'', but without such a long interval).

* HeAlsoDid: After over a decade of exclusively directing sci-fi and superhero films, Nolan returned to more grounded and realistic territory with this film (indeed, being a reasonably historically accurate film based on real events it's his most realistic film so far).

* ThoseTwoActors: In addition to the Nolan films they've worked on, Cillian Murphy and Tom Hardy both starred in ''Series/PeakyBlinders'' together.

** Nolan regular Creator/MichaelCaine is heard giving orders on the radio early on, in reference to his role in ''Film/TheBattleOfBritain''.

** Creator/ChristopherNolan has worked with Creator/CillianMurphy and Creator/TomHardy in ''Film/TheDarkKnightTrilogy'' and ''Film/{{Inception}}''. It is, however, his first film since ''Insomnia'' not to feature Creator/MichaelCaine onscreen[[note]]he does have a voice cameo however[[/note]]. Nolan's uncle John also played in ''Film/TheDarkKnightTrilogy'', and has a cameo in ''Dunkirk'' as the blind old man who welcomes and congratulates British soldiers after they make it home.