Christopher Nolan, the director of Interstellar, Oppenheimer and The Dark Knight to name a few, has taken on Homer’s The Odyssey as his next adventure.
The story details Odysseus’ journey home to Ithaca after the Trojan war, encountering gods and monsters along the way; it originates as an epic poem from around the 7th-8th century BC.
The poem is widely regarded as a pillar of modern literature, so its adaptation to the big screen has not been without discussion, writes Film News Blitz’s Jude Chisman.
How has the way Nolan filmed the epic created controversy?
The Odyssey is the first feature film to be completely shot on IMAX film, the full capabilities of this film is only available to see on a 70mm IMAX screen, of which there are only 41 in the world.
The only existing screens that can play the film as Nolan intended are in North America (Canada and the US), Europe (the UK, Czechia and Belgium) and Australia.
The film can be viewed on a 35mm IMAX screen which is much more widely accessible as The Odyssey is being screened in theaters around the world without access to the larger IMAX screens.
Fans of both Nolan and Homer’s work have expressed concern over this, many stating that they believe it is ‘limiting’ the full experience of the film and is unfair to restrict who is able to see Nolan’s full vision, some even calling Nolan a ‘gatekeeper’.
Many have also highlighted the fact that the country Greece has no 70mm screens, this has been seen as problematic as this is the country where the story of The Odyssey originated.
The film has also come under fire prior to its release for its lack of Greek and Mediterranean actors, with people stating it would have been an opportunity for talent from the country to be uplifted and in the spotlight.
But do we really need another film about ‘The Odyssey’?
Besides the controversies the film has come under, another question people are asking is why has Nolan chosen to create an adaptation of the famous epic poem when its predecessor The Iliad, another epic by Homer, has been adapted and parodied significantly less.
The Odyssey is arguably the more famous of the two, having multiple feature length film adaptations, its own Simpsons parody, and even being a large inspiration for the The Spongebob Squarepants Movie.
The Iliad is set during the last days of the Trojan war and has been adapted for the silver screen a few times with Troy (2004) and Helen of Troy (1956) etc.
One reason may be that The Iliad is a less flashy story, taking place across days rather than a span of 10 years, having less interaction with Ancient Greek monsters and creatures and being primarily focused on combat.
Many viewers may not want to sit through a three-hour epic that is purely driven by war and violence.
Another reason is that the story is less character driven, there isn’t an overarching hero of the story like Odysseus in The Iliad with the perspective of the story changing throughout.
The much-loved Greek Gods are still present, however, and take a more active role than they do in The Odyssey, fighting in the Trojan war.
It is likely Nolan’s The Odyssey is not the last adaptation we will ever see, but hopefully one day The Iliad gets some of the same treatment and gets an updated blockbuster adaptation.
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