How ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ Pulled Off That Gushing Oil Shot in the Opening
variety.comJazz Tangcay Artisans Editor SPOILER ALERT: This article has minor spoilers for “Killers of the Flower Moon,” now playing in theaters.
There is a scene near the beginning of Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon” that shows crude oil spurting out from the ground — “black gold.” It’s a joyful moment for the Osage tribes. “Scorsese kept talking about oil gushing up in the air,” cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto tells Variety. “When you find oil, it bubbles under the surface, but he wanted to do something surreal and joyful, which contrasts with what that black gold brought them.” So, the shot required an oil pump as well as a derrick oil rig.
Based on the non-fiction book by David Grann, set in the 1920s, the film stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro and Lily Gladstone.
Weaving a narrative of exploitation and murder, the story tracks the mysterious deaths within the Osage Nation that led to a federal investigation and the birth of the FBI.
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