The Odyssey

[SimonDoom]

Anybody else stoked about seeing The Odyssey? I haven't seen it yet but am scheduled to see it with some family in a couple of weeks. I'm a fan of Nolan's movies, and a fan of the story, and I'm eager to see how he interprets it.

No spoilers, please!

 

[crookedletter]

I saw it over the weekend. I loved every beautiful second of it.

I'd like to see it again, possibly in IMAX. The IMAX theaters around here were all pretty well booked up when I got tickets. Which is a good thing, I think. It's nice to see people going to theaters again.

 

[Rob_Royale]

I'm looking forward to it.

 

[TheLobster]

Nah. If I wanna watch a dumpster fire, I can just drive downtown.

 

[AwkwardlySet]

I'll comment on it once I watch it, definitely. Nolan is one of the few good directors and storytellers left. There is some starting bias due to some of his choices and the reasons for those choices. I guess you can't escape politics no matter what you do these days.

But I will try to be objective about the movie. The guy has made too many good movies to deserve anything else, even if I believe Interstellar was his last great movie. Dunkirk was pretty good, but I didn't care for anything after it.

 

[SimonDoom]

But I will try to be objective about the movie. The guy has made too many good movies to deserve anything else, even if I believe Interstellar was his last great movie. Dunkirk was pretty good, but I didn't care for anything after it.

I take it, then, that you didn't like Oppenheimer. I enjoyed Oppenheimer a lot. It reminded me of Lawrence of Arabia (although it wasn't THAT good) in the sense of being a study of an interesting character on a grand cinematic scale.

I strongly recommend Memento to any Nolan fans who have not seen that movie. It's completely different from anything else you've ever seen. Plus The Prestige, which is worth seeing for, among other things, watching David Bowie play Nikola Tesla.

 

[IWroteThis]

You mean it's an actual movie, not just an Internet meme? Huh?
Strange times we're living in…

 

[TheLobster]

The guy has made too many good movies

Maybe, but just like you say, his quality has been on a steadily declining trajectory for a while now, and Odyssey (if the few nonpolitical reviewers I watched are to be trusted) brings together all his recurring problems.

It has the disjointed, patched-together and convoluted for no reason story structure that made Oppenheimer a mess.
It has the ridiculously bombastic score combined with atrocious sound mixing that makes dialogue barely audible, which is his trademark since Interstellar.
And of course, he is once again bringing that certain actor actress actor who has no business being in the movie, just like in Inception.

And these are all problems on top of all the questionable "artistic" choices he's made that make a mockery out of one of the most cherished epics in history.

So yeah, I'll pass.

 

[KittyOfSteele]

Someone spoiled it for me, and...

The books are better.

I never thought I'd say that about Homer. It feels like a sin to write that unwritten law.

 

[GuiltyCowboy]

Maybe, but just like you say, his quality has been on a steadily declining trajectory for a while now, and Odyssey (if the few nonpolitical reviewers I watched are to be trusted) brings together all his recurring problems.

It has the disjointed, patched-together and convoluted for no reason story structure that made Oppenheimer a mess.
It has the ridiculously bombastic score combined with atrocious sound mixing that makes dialogue barely audible, which is his trademark since Interstellar.
And of course, he is once again bringing that certain actor actress actor who has no business being in the movie, just like in Inception.

And these are all problems on top of all the questionable "artistic" choices he's made that make a mockery out of one of the most cherished epics in history.

So yeah, I'll pass.

I’ve actually seen the film. And I was excited to see it.

I’m not scared of other people’s political ideas or trans actors though.

Anyway, a quick correction on one particular point - which might be important for you hard-of-hearing old fogies: Unlike some of his previous films, The Odyssey lacks a bombastic score and you can hear the dialogue just fine.

As for critics who claim the story is ‘patched together’…just they wait until they find out it’s also written in dactylic hexameters.

For my money, Dunkirk is the best of his recent films, as it expertly combines that grand historical sweep with excellent individual performances, meaningful emotion and cinematic poetry, for want of a better term.

Anybody else stoked about seeing The Odyssey?

I don’t want to spoil the film for you so I won’t say more. Happy to share thoughts after you’ve seen it. There’s much to enjoy, much to discuss and, inevitably, much to be disappointed by. It’s a three hour film of the freaking Odyssey after all.

My advice: do a pee beforehand, grab a large bucket of popcorn, and enjoy it.

 

[TheLobster]

The books are better.

Not in this case, apparently. As bad as the movie supposedly is, I've heard a few times that the translation Nolan used as the base for his script is even worse.

 

[AwkwardlySet]

I take it, then, that you didn't like Oppenheimer. I enjoyed Oppenheimer a lot. It reminded me of Lawrence of Arabia (although it wasn't THAT good) in the sense of being a study of an interesting character on a grand cinematic scale.

I didn't enjoy it, no. It had some fascinating cinematography, but that's it. There was no emotion, no idea, no arc, and even no significant philosophical and moral component one would expect from a movie about that particular subject. In many ways, it felt like a documentary.

 

[KittyOfSteele]

Not in this case, apparently. As bad as the movie supposedly is, I've heard a few times that the translation Nolan used as the base for his script is even worse.

Well, the translation that I have isn't bad, so the book is still better?

 

[BobbyBrandt]

I'm waiting for the book to come out.

 

[AG31]

I didn't enjoy it, no. It had some fascinating cinematography, but that's it. There was no emotion, no idea, no arc, and even no significant philosophical and moral component one would expect from a movie about that particular subject. In many ways, it felt like a documentary.

That pretty much sums up my reaction, but, to my surprise, my never read a novel, intellectual hubby said, "Well, I thought that was pretty good!"

 

[GuiltyCowboy]

In many ways, it felt like a documentary.

Well, the film was based on a non-fiction book, a work of historical research that was awarded various prizes, including the Pulitzer for biography. So that documentary quality isn’t surprising. Not to say that you had to like it because of that.

For me, however, its attempt at historical accuracy is what made it more worthwhile as a film.

 

[MillieDynamite]

All I can say about it, in the theater in my hometown, it's doing nothing. According to my father's replacement, it sucks. But that's his opinion, not mine, but I won't go while it's in theaters; I'll wait for streaming. Since it's an Amazon production, that won't take long if it actually bombs.

 

[TheLobster]

For me, however, its attempt at historical accuracy is what made it more worthwhile as a film.

There certainly was an attempt.

 

[MillieDynamite]

Historical accuracy on a poem, that may or may not have had some amount of truth in it, from a time when the world believed in a myriad of gods and monsters (which to some degree we still do have), is at best a tenius thread. You still have Athena in physical form as his protector. Poseidon: while never seen as a man in a costume; instead, his wrath is entirely credited and shown through the punishing, unpredictable sea and weather. And Circe (Samantha Morton) and Calypso (Charlize Theron): Both divine/supernatural figures play major roles in enticing or assisting Odysseus on his journey. It's also an epic that recounts the events and aftermath of the Trojan War, which took place during the Late Bronze Age, at least 400 years after the fact and cobbled together from oral traditions.

Well, the film was based on a non-fiction book, a work of historical research that was awarded various prizes, including the Pulitzer for biography. So that documentary quality isn’t surprising. Not to say that you had to like it because of that.

For me, however, its attempt at historical accuracy is what made it more worthwhile as a film.

 

[GuiltyCowboy]

All I can say about it, in the theater in my hometown, it's doing nothing. According to my father's replacement, it sucks. But that's his opinion, not mine, but I won't go while it's in theaters; I'll wait for streaming. Since it's an Amazon production, that won't take long if it actually bombs.

Interesting about your hometown...I wonder why...but $264m globally in the opening weekend is not to be sniffed at.

Historical accuracy on a poem, that may or may not have had some amount of truth in it, from a time when the world believed in a myriad of gods and monsters (which to some degree we still do have), is at best a tenius thread. You still have Athena in physical form as his protector. Poseidon: while never seen as a man in a costume; instead, his wrath is entirely credited and shown through the punishing, unpredictable sea and weather. And Circe (Samantha Morton) and Calypso (Charlize Theron): Both divine/supernatural figures play major roles in enticing or assisting Odysseus on his journey. It's also an epic that recounts the events and aftermath of the Trojan War, which took place during the Late Bronze Age, at least 400 years after the fact and cobbled together from oral traditions.

The discussion about historical accuracy is about Oppenheimer not the Odyssey! At least, that's what I was referring to.

 

[MillieDynamite]

Okay, sorry, MY BAD once again. Small-town theaters are experiencing a slow and painful death. Anything under 60,000 population these days is a small town.

Interesting about your hometown...I wonder why...but $264m globally in the opening weekend is not to be sniffed at.

The discussion about historical accuracy is about Oppenheimer not the Odyssey! At least, that's what I was referring to.

 

[GuiltyCowboy]

There certainly was an attempt.

In terms of historical accuracy, I think one could fault it for not explaining that a key motivation for racing to finish and indeed demonstrate the bomb was to show the Soviets that, come the end of the war, America would have no need of making any concessions with them over Europe's future.

The other fault, arguably, is that there's no Japanese point of view. The fact that America had to drop two of the damn things before they surrendered suggests that forewarning the Japanese would have had little effect. But the film never explores that.

Anything else?

 

[sirhugs]

Christopher Nolan just doesn't do it for me. not sure why. To much spectacle not enough substance?
Different strokes.
not criticizing fans.
Just don't get the appeal.
I may be missing some inherent discernment.

 

[MillieDynamite]

In today's market, a $ 30,000,000 domestic opening against a $250 million budget means the film won't recoup its budget in the US market. Despite whatever they make worldwide, the movie is a flop here. There will be tax write-offs for it in this country, and yes, it may or may not make a tidy profit worldwide. But still, in this country, in spite of it being John Nolan's biggest hit worldwide, it's sucking its way through theaters. In around 4,000 locations, with many of the bigger cities having it on up to 8 screens and 8 constant showtimes, it's still a dud. Thank god, he and it will win dozens of awards, that best refuge for films that don't make money.

 

[TheOneUpright]

If you’re a fan of Nolan, you’ll probably enjoy it. If you’re a fan of Homeric dactylic hexameter, you probably won't. Hopefully the hype gets some to look up the actual poem, but they’ll probably land on the wokist Emily Wilson instead of decent translators like Mendelsohn, Fagles, or Lattimore.