Before Christopher Nolan Took on “The Odyssey,” He Came to Pittsburgh
Courtesy of Universal
The Odyssey is a tale as old as time, an epic poem that was composed around the 8th or 7th century BC and became widely known in Greek literary circles as early as the mid-6th century BC. The twenty-four books that make up The Odyssey tell the story of Odysseus, King of Ithaca, the ten years he spent fighting in the Trojan War, and the journey he undertook to return home. It’s a narrative rooted in the passage of time, so it’s no surprise that a man who built his directorial voice playing with that construct would be interested in adapting it for the big screen. Christopher Nolan may have spent time in Europe filming The Odyssey, but he’s no stranger to Pittsburgh.
Before The Odyssey, Oppenheimer, and Dunkirk, Nolan was in our neck of the woods. In 2012, the final entry to his Batman trilogy was released. The Dark Knight Rises saw Christian Bale reprising his role as Bruce Wayne/Batman as he faced the threat of Tom Hardy’s Bane. Of the three films in Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy, the last installment was the only one shot in Pittsburgh, and it has one of the most memorable sequences of the entire franchise.
Nolan’s first take on the caped crusader, Batman Begins, was shot in the United Kingdom, Chicago, and Iceland. The Dark Knight returned to Chicago and England with major scenes shot in Hong Kong. When it came time for The Dark Knight Rises, production began in Jodhpur, India, at the Mehrangarh Fort before moving to the Steel City.
Like most film productions, The Dark Knight Rises operated under a false name, Magnus Rex, while shooting. Of course, when you gather 11,000 extras to pretend to blow up what was once Heinz Field, transport a mysterious “new vehicle” through the Wabash Tunnel, and have a Tumbler on the streets of downtown Pittsburgh, people might start making some guesses.
The explosion at Heinz Field is one of the most memorable aspects of The Dark Knight Rises. Among the 11,000 extras, there were some notable names, including members of the Steelers football team. They acted as the Gotham Rogues, but didn’t have to give up their black-and-gold colors. The Steelers/Rogues faced off against the Rapid City Monuments, who were led by then-mayor of Pittsburgh, Luke Ravenstahl, as the team’s kicker.
Nolan and his team lucked out. The Steelers had been planning to replace the stadium’s turf, and that allowed Chris Corbould and his special effects team to detonate explosives on the field itself. A platform was built on top of the field so the players could have a place to run as the explosions went off around them.
According to Nolan’s 2012 interview with Deadline, “We had a great time in Pittsburgh. Everyone was extraordinarily welcoming to us, especially considering we were shutting down entire sections of the city for weeks at a time. That really helped us to achieve a lot of shots that would have been virtually impossible to do anywhere else.”
While Pittsburgh did play a major role in the imagery of The Dark Knight Rises’ version of Gotham, it wasn’t the only city to lend its architecture to create this fictional, crime-laden city. Los Angeles and New York were also used, and sometimes stunts were choreographed over all three cities. That means a car could turn left down a street in LA, wind up on an avenue in NYC, and then cross a bridge in Pittsburgh. The amount of time, effort, and planning that went into stunts and locations was nothing short of herculean.
Aside from the football sequence, there are a few more notable Pittsburgh locales to watch for in your next The Dark Knight Rises rewatch. The Mellon Institute at Carnegie Mellon University acted as Gotham City Hall for the scene where Bane makes a speech about Commissioner Gordon (Gary Oldman). Anne Hathaway’s Catwoman takes a spin downtown on the Batpod. Eagle-eyed viewers will catch sight of a Fifth Avenue sign, as well as the Batpod speeding under the One Oxford Centre signage just before Batman flies over the U.S. Steel Tower and around the Smithfield-Liberty garage. The entire Batman & Catwoman vs. Talia al Ghul sequence is a treasure trove for spotting downtown locales.
Before Christopher Nolan’s take on The Odyssey hits theaters on July 17, take time to rewatch his visit to the ‘Burgh.
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