Earlier this year saw the release of Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk. The film was set against the backdrop of World War II, but the filmmaker was very keen on making your average war film. The actions in the film wouldn’t be heroic, nor would they be based around some objective to achieving the goal of victory.

In this film, the main objective for the lead is survival. The dialogue is almost nonexistent here, and all the focus is purely on the the actions on the screen, and the direction from Nolan himself. It’s the filmmaking that takes center stage here.

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Now, The New York Times has released a brand new clip that shows Nolan breaking down a particularly tense scene from the film. The scene in question is the one where the lead character is huddled down in the cargo area of one of the destroyers. While below, the ship gets hit with a torpedo, and what ensues is a claustrophobic and terrifying display of survival.

In the video, Nolan states his main interest in the scene is the idea of being trapped as the water comes pouring in from the sea. Another interesting tidbit is that Nolan had read firsthand accounts from soldiers, and one of them refused to go below the decks of these destroyers, for fear of what actually took place in the flick.

Of course, check out the whole video above. It’s only just over three minutes in length, and it’s not everyday that you get to hear a master filmmaker break down his own scenes.

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SOURCE: The New York Times