For a movie about theoretical physicists and the creation of the first atomic bomb, there’s a fair amount of sexuality in Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer. Certainly more than I would have expected! This may have some small part to do with Oppenheimer’s impressive opening weekend box-office total, which includes some $80.5 million in the United States. You’ve got to give the people what they want.
The adult content in the film includes several sex scenes between Cillian Murphy’s J. Robert Oppenheimer and Florence Pugh’s Jean Tatlock. But according to some viewers, at least one of these scenes has been centered in some international territories, including India. In the scene in question, Pugh’s Tatlock sits totally naked in a chair and carries on a post-coital conversation with Oppenheimer. In this edited version, a CGI black dress has been added to cover Pugh’s body.
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According to Variety, “like most movies that feature explicit sex or nudity, sources close to [Oppenheimer] confirm, those scenes were censored to secure a release in countries such as India and the Middle East, which don’t allow that type of content to play in theaters.”
This is not the first time a nude scene has been censored by the addition after-the-fact CGI clothes. Perhaps the single most infamous example occurred in Paul Verhoeven’s Showgirls, the ’90s camp classic that earned a rare NC-17 rating for a major Hollywood production for nudity and sexuality. In order to be able to show Showgirls on cable television, one network actually added CGI underwear to naked characters. It was a very jarring and deeply unconvincing effect. (If you thought Showgirls was funny before, it’s an uproarious comedy in this version.)
Oppenheimer is now playing in theaters everywhere. In the United States, at least, there are no CGI dresses added.
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