Hoyte van Hoytema (Dunkirk) Dunkirk
Dutch-Swedish cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema shot Dunkirk as his second collaboration with Christopher Nolan after Interstellar (2014). Approximately 75% of the film was captured on IMAX 65mm — the largest film format available — with the remainder on 65mm large-format Panavision. It was the first feature film to use IMAX cameras hand-held, and van Hoytema has called it the most challenging film he ever worked on.
Seventy percent IMAX, thirty percent 65mm Panavision
The two formats were mixed for practical reasons. IMAX cameras produce extraordinary image clarity but are loud — too loud to record dialogue. Scenes requiring audible speech were shot on the quieter 65mm Panavision System 65.
"Roughly 70 percent of the movie was lensed with Imax cameras in 15-perf 65mm...and the rest with 5-perf 65mm using Panavision cameras." — Hoyte van Hoytema, The Hollywood Reporter (2017)
The choice to shoot on film rather than digital was non-negotiable for Nolan. But for van Hoytema, the format served a specific visual goal — maximum clarity with no filtration between the audience and the image.
"It was very important to us to try to be as close to the subject as possible — an unfiltered window into the world — and to use the clarity of the format as much as possible." — Hoyte van Hoytema, The Hollywood Reporter (2017)
Hand-held IMAX was pioneered on this film
IMAX cameras weigh over 80 pounds. Before Dunkirk, they had been used exclusively on tripods, cranes, or vehicle mounts. Steven Spielberg and Ron Howard advised Nolan that hand-held was the best way to shoot on vessels — and van Hoytema made it work through surf, sand, and tidal pools.
"We tried to handhold as much as possible for the film — really to be in there, reacting. We wanted to make it as responsive as a GoPro." — Hoyte van Hoytema, The Hollywood Reporter (2017)
"In many ways it was the most challenging film I have ever worked on." — Hoyte van Hoytema, The Hollywood Reporter (2017)
The hand-held work produced an unexpected benefit: IMAX close-ups. The format is designed for landscapes and vistas, but van Hoytema discovered that a face in IMAX carries the same scale of detail as a panorama.
"I think a good portrait can be as powerful as a wide vista...close-ups work like a landscape, too — there's so much detail. It lends itself to intimacy." — Hoyte van Hoytema, The Hollywood Reporter (2017)
The aerial sequences required custom camera rigs on real planes
A custom-built twin-engine Aerostar aircraft, matched to Spitfire speed, carried two IMAX rigs — one nose-mounted, one tail-mounted — for pursuit shots. Snorkel and periscope lenses were designed specifically for mounting on the Spitfires and Hispano Buchons used in the film.
"We'd get so close and witness dogfights in the open air. It was a boy's dream come true." — Hoyte van Hoytema, The Hollywood Reporter (2017)
For one crash sequence, the production mounted an IMAX camera on a plane and crashed it into the English Channel, then sent divers to retrieve the camera and its footage. (wikipedia)
All footage was captured in natural light
Van Hoytema relied on available light throughout the shoot — the overcast skies of the French coast provided soft, diffused illumination that served the film's commitment to realism. The camerawork was reactive rather than prescribed: positions were adjusted in response to weather, tides, and the movements of extras and real aircraft. (wikipedia)
The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Cinematography at the 90th Academy Awards. Van Hoytema went on to shoot Tenet (2020) and Oppenheimer (2023) with Nolan — winning the Oscar for the latter.