Christopher Nolan previews intense new Dunkirk footage, fans react on Twitter

A propeller stops midair. Soldiers packed like sardines on a pier cower in fear of an unseen threat.

Those are the images Christopher Nolan left CinemaCon audiences hanging onto Wednesday as he premiered new footage from Dunkirk, his long-awaited epic about the storied World War II evacuation.

“It’s something British people grow up with. It’s in our DNA,” Nolan said. “It’s something that’s been close to my heart for a long time.”

Nolan told the audience of theatre owners that he wanted to tell the story in the most visceral way possible, putting audiences on the beaches, in the air and running with the troops.

The Interstellar and Dark Knight director shot the film entirely on large format celluloid and said theatres are the only way to experience the suspenseful survival story.

“The only platform I’m interested in talking about is theatrical exhibition,” Nolan said. “I want to thank you all for everything you’ve done for my films. Without you there is no audience.”

The film’s large eclectic ensemble cast includes veterans like Kenneth Branagh and Mark Rylance, Nolan mainstays Tom Hardy and Cillian Murphy, pop star Harry Styles and a few newcomers like Fionn Whitehead.

Here are some reactions to the footage on Twitter:

It arrives in theatres on July 21.