Christopher Nolan’s highly anticipated “The Odyssey” arrives in theaters today. It’s Nolan’s 13th film, an ambitious film (but aren’t all his films ambitious?) shot in Morocco, Greece, Italy, Iceland, Scotland, and the United States using over 2 million feet of IMAX film – not to mention costume designer Ellen Mirojnick having to design and produce 5,300 costumes.
The nearly three hour, $250 million film stars Matt Damon as Odysseus, whose grueling 10 year journey to reunite with his wife, Penelope, and son, Telemachus after the Trojan War is riddled with encounters with mythical creatures, including a cyclops, a six-headed sea monster, as well as deities with supernatural powers, like Circe, Calypso, and Athena (and you think driving home at 5pm on the Palmetto Expressway is rough?)
The ensemble cast includes Tom Holland, Robert Pattinson, Lupita Nyong’o, Samantha Morton, Zendaya, and Charlize Theron. Nolan and his wife Emma Thomas produced the film through their production company, Syncopy. The soundtrack is by Ludwig Göransson, a three-time Oscar winner who previously collaborated with Nolan on “Tenet” and “Oppenheimer”. At Nolan’s request, he didn’t use an orchestra to score the film. Instead, Göransson rented thirty-five bronze gongs of various sizes, recorded them, and combined them with synthesizers.
Nolan on the set of “The Odyssey” with cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema
The “Oppenheimer” director’s latest blockbuster, the first feature film shot entirely on IMAX (a 400 pound IMAX system!), can only be fully appreciated in a handful of theaters being that there are only 41 theaters in the entire world (25 in the US) that can project IMAX 70mm film (most theaters replaced their film projectors with digital ones years ago) and tickets to those venues have been sold out for weeks. According to IMAX, many of the components needed for the projectors are difficult to source, and maintaining the systems requires specialized expertise that has become increasingly rare since the industry’s transition to digital projection.
Fortunately, the AutoNation IMAX Theater, right here in Fort Lauderdale is one of those theaters.
So to celebrate Nolan’s historic achievement, I’m doing something I haven’t done in a loooooong while, a post featuring alternative movie posters from the film. Click on the images to identify the artist. Enjoy…
Epilogue (and rant): One thing that has vexed me about Nolan’s films (and I haven’t seen them all) is the lack of bloodshed (try to find a drop of blood anywhere in the Dark Knight films – I challenge you!). I can give him a pass on that particular trilogy being that they were so enjoyable. But after watching the 98% bloodless (and soulless) “Inception”, I figured he’d go all “Saving Private Ryan” on us for “Dunkirk” – I mean, it’s a friggin’ war film, right? I was wrong. There’s pretty much nary a drop of blood or gore in the film. A war film! A war film where soldiers get shot and blown up! *deep breaths*
Now, I’m no fan of gratuitous movie violence but people do bleed when those things happen, no? That maybe somewhere, after all those bombs and bullets, there’d be a small puddle of blood somewhere. An arm or a leg, perhaps? Can I get a toe at least? I’m figuring Nolan’s just the queasy type. I’m curious to see what “The Odyssey” brings when sword strikes flesh. Rant over.