Oliver Stone Turned Down an Oppenheimer Movie, Calls Christopher Nolan’s Film a ‘Classic’ He ‘Never Believed Could Be Made in This Climate’

Many reviews for Christopher Nolan‘s “Oppenheimer” noted that the film felt like the director’s own version of Oliver Stone‘s sprawling historical epic “JFK,” and now Stone himself has weighed in on Nolan’s latest achievement. The “Platoon” Oscar winner took to social media to deem Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” a new film classic, while also revealing he flirted with making his own film in the past about theoretical physicist and “father of the atomic bomb” J. Robert Oppenheimer.

“I sat through 3 hours of ‘Oppenheimer,’ gripped by Chris Nolan’s narrative,” Stone wrote. “His screenplay is layered and fascinating. Familiar with the book by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin, I once turned the project down because I couldn’t find my way to its essence. Nolan has found it.”

“His direction is mind-boggling and eye-popping as he takes reams of incident and cycles it into an exciting torrent of action inside all the talk,” Stone continued. “Each actor is a surprise to me, especially Cillian Murphy, whose exaggerated eyes here feel normal playing a genius like Oppenheimer.”

“‘Oppenheimer’ is a classic, which I never believed could be made in this climate,” Stone concluded. “Bravo.”

Stone is far from the only prolific director to publicly praise Nolan’s epic. Before “Oppenheimer” released in theaters, Paul Schrader posted a rave reaction on social media. The “Taxi Driver” writer called Nolan’s film “the best, most important film of this century.”

“If you see one film in cinemas this year it should be ‘Oppenheimer,’” Schrader added. “I’m not a Nolan groupie but this one blows the door off the hinges.”

“Oppenheimer” has since become a box office blockbuster despite its three-hour runtime and R rating. The film has already surpassed $400 million at the worldwide box office in under two weeks of release. It’s now playing nationwide courtesy of Universal Pictures.