I watched this movie with people that liked and probably loved the movie. Before watching the film, the odyssey, I read most of reviews. I was surprised by the number of negative reviews I found. I read most of the positive reviews and quite honestly no negative reviews. Why, because I am a big fan of Homer’s Iliad and the Odyssey and I just did not want to hear it at the time. I was excited to finally see the movie. A lot of what was written about the Odyssey that often contained the word “EPIC”.
Good examples of an Epic in literature would have to start with War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy, Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien, The Whale (Moby Dick) by Herman Melville and of course Homer’s the Iliad and the Odyssey. There are many more but these stand out for me.
There are many more epics in literature than there are epic movies. A short list of epic films that I have watched would include Doctor Zhivago (Great Story Telling) directed by David Lean 1965, Citizen Kane (Prophetic) directed by Orson Welles 1941 and Apocalypse Now (Clear Message in Metaphors) directed by Francis Ford Coppola 1979.
However, ever since I watched this movie on a 2 volume VHS edition, Lawrence of Arabia 1962 is and always will be my baseline for what I consider an Epic film. Directed by David Lean, 10 Academy Awards nominations and winner of 7 Academy Awards. Streamed online now, but I don’t believe it’s available in Ultra Widescreen format which makes the film. Don’t forget this was all done in 1962!
back the the odyssey by christopher nolan
Watched this movie at a Warehouse Cinemas, nice screen, comfortable seating and great sound. But soon after the first 20 minutes of the movie, I was let down quickly, it wasn’t doing anything for me. I loved the Trojan War and Trojan Horse sequence, it was very good and well done. After this episode I found myself filling in spots that were omitted from Homer’s Odyssey or completely lost altogether!
I could not concentrate solely on the movie because I knew parts are being left out or disguised that were important to me and the complete story. Very little and very quietly was anything mentioned about Greek gods or why Odysseus was having such a hard time reaching home after 10 years of war with Troy. The deal he had to make with the goddess Circe to have his crew restored to human form. Many little parts of the Odyssey were left out (Greek gods) or changed (Giants in Armor – laestrygonians) or added something (Sinon – Elliot Page character) not even in the book. Honestly, I was so distracted and disenchanted with the storytelling that I’m not even sure the movie covered anything about the Aeolus Bag of Winds.
could i have liked the movie odyssey
Who would not like the Odyssey movie. It’s lengthy, it’s loud and complete with high value actors. If you only had a passing knowledge of the Odyssey, you will like this movie. If you are vaguely familiar with the story behind the Odyssey, you might like this movie. If you love the story of the Odyssey and just wanted to see how it might be presented on a big screen, you also might like it. If you feel the Odyssey is about undying love between two people separated by time and space, you might like this movie as well. (This wasn’t really spelled out but Odysseus spent seven years sharing a bed with with Calypso and at least one year with Circe. By the way, Odysseus fathered a child with each. All the while, Penelope chose to wait for however long it took for Odysseus to return even with suitors at her doorstep).
I had no problem with the cast, no one seemed out of place or out of their league. I’m sorry, but Matt Damon is going to have to do another movie if he wants to make anything close to a “David Lean” film. Additionally, the dialog was about as minimal as it could be for a 350 to 500 page book (Standard Paperback Edition).
it was not meant for me & the storytelling incomplete
If you are a fan of Greek Mythology it may not satisfy your expectations. If you are an avid fan of the Iliad and the Odyssey and all it’s segments, you may not like this movie. The movie tried to improve on the story behind Homer’s Odyssey by making it more “user friendly”. All this accomplished was an incomplete story that left out important elements in the Odyssey. However, it did make the movie more “user” friendly, made it less intellectually demanding and more like a Raiders of the Lost Ark action movie but BIGGER and LOUDER.
The storytelling was simply not there or maybe it’s the best that the production crew could come up with for time allowed. The press build up for the film was nothing short of spectacular. Like a baseball player hitting a towering fly ball to center field, the crowds anticipated something big, maybe a home run but only to be caught at the warning track for a routine out. Or maybe best described as, “close, but no cigar”. But I did not feel it could even be called close. It maybe better described as “more or less”. Or better yet, “to a certain extent”, after all, they share the same title, The Odyssey.
and you may ask yourself
How important were the Greek gods in Homer’s Odyssey – “Greek gods are essential to Homer’s Odyssey, acting as the primary drivers of the plot, the enforcers of cosmic and moral justice, and the ultimate arbiters of fate who dictate Odysseus’s suffering and return home.” The Collector
What did Homer’s Odyssey mean to me: In one word KARMA. Or to use an age-old idiom, “you reap what you sow”. Biblically, Luke 6:31: “Do to others as you would have them do to you.”
Feel free to message Rick Santiago at 443-390-6599 or theunartist@outlook.com