Rebecca is channeling a bard, Jeff’s referencing multiple epics, Vanessa’s making noises about the score. The nerd factor is turned all the way up today, because we’ve all officially seen The Odyssey.
We always do the homework here at Book Riot, and we won’t even try to pretend that we don’t love it when the homework requires us to see the latest blockbuster. We’ve already told you everything you need to know about The Odyssey and called in award-winning translator Emily Wilson for tips about how to tackle intimidating books.
Now that we’ve seen Christopher Nolan’s epic adaptation of the ancient poem, we’re here to break down the big book-versus-movie questions. In this special episode of Zero to Well-Read, we discuss:
- What the adaptation gets right
- The major differences between the book and the film
- What it feels like to read and watch this classic story
- How Matt Damon’s portrayal of Odysseus differs from traditional interpretations
- How well the movie captures the major set pieces, including the Trojan Horse, the Cyclops, Circe turning the men into pigs, and the infamous sirens
🎧 Hear our conversation, and be warned: here be spoilers. Go see the film for yourself, send us your thoughts ([emailprotected]), and enjoy a few links about the process of bringing this epic story to the screen.
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- My dude Ludwig Göransson (and fellow USC Trojan, fight on) is on a roll: a frequent collaborator of Christopher Nolan and Ryan Coogler, he’s the composer behind projects like Sinners, Black Panther, and Oppenheimer. ForThe Odyssey, he composed the score using only ancient Greek instruments, scrap metal, and gongs. No orchestra, just old sounds and immaculate vibes.
- If you haven’t seen The Odyssey yet, you don’t quite understand why the scene on Circe’s island made my eyes bulge out of my head. Read this fantastic interview with Samantha Norton here about the (CGI-free) magic of filming that scene, and how that summer she spent working as a magician’s assistant decades ago came in handy.
- If you’re my kind of nerd, you might be wondering why Nolan made the choice not to include a certain 3,000-year-old joke from the Cyclops scene. Here’s why.
- The memes have been meming! Here are a few gems.
- While I don’t think familiarity with Homer or the Greek myths is necessary to enjoy The Odyssey, it does add a really delicious layer to the experience if you do. Here’s a crash course on some of the lore therein.