All posts tagged: Nolans

Emily Wilson to retranslate The Odyssey from scratch after declaring Nolan’s version ‘abysmal’

Emily Wilson to retranslate The Odyssey from scratch after declaring Nolan’s version ‘abysmal’

Published by Daniella Wilson

Get the latest entertainment news, reviews and star-studded interviews with our Independent Culture email Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Emily Wilson is retranslating Homer’s The Odyssey from scratch, less than a decade after her acclaimed first version and weeks after she called Christopher Nolan’s film adaptation of the Greek epic “abysmal”. “It’s a complete retranslation. It’s not a revision of the old version,” Wilson told the Associated Press, adding that she was already “about halfway through”. Wilson’s first translation, published by WW Norton in December 2017, was the first complete English translation of The Odyssey by a woman. It became a major bestseller, selling more than a million copies, and was particularly praised for its contemporary, accessible English, and for matching the number of lines in Homer’s Greek original. Nolan later cited Wilson’s version as an influence on his adaptation, particularly its opening, “Tell me about a complicated man”. Released in July 2026, the film stars Matt Damon as Odysseus …

10 Books to Read Before Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey

10 Books to Read Before Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey

Published by Jenni Sidey

Film adaptations usually send a trickle of readers back to the source. Nolan’s The Odyssey has sent a flood. The numbers are genuinely unusual: Emily Wilson’s translation has passed a million US copies and reached No. 2 on the overall bestseller list, while Publishers Weekly reported Robert Fagles’s rival translation up 93 per cent and Madeline Miller’s Circe up 128 per cent in the same week. Which raises a practical question for anyone holding a ticket. The poem is long, the mythology is dense, and the film assumes a certain amount of knowledge. Here are ten books to read before Nolan’s The Odyssey, ordered by how much work each one actually does for you. The Two Essentials Before Nolan’s The Odyssey 1. The Odyssey by Homer. Obviously. The only real decision is whose English you read it in, and that decision matters more than most people expect. Wilson’s 2017 version is fast, plain and metrically disciplined, which is why it has become the default. Fagles is more theatrical. Lattimore is the most literal. We have …

The Odyssey becomes Christopher Nolan’s highest-grossing film

The Odyssey becomes Christopher Nolan’s highest-grossing film

Published by Daniella Wilson

Get the latest entertainment news, reviews and star-studded interviews with our Independent Culture email Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Sir Christopher Nolan’s latest cinematic endeavour, The Odyssey, has sailed past the one billion US dollar mark at the global box office, cementing its place as the highest-grossing film of his illustrious career. This monumental achievement comes less than a month after its highly anticipated release. The blockbuster, which premiered on 17 July, is a sweeping adaptation of Homer’s ancient Greek epic. It stars Matt Damon as Odysseus, the legendary Greek king of Ithaca, chronicling his arduous 10-year journey home following the Trojan War. Garnering strong critical acclaim, the film has amassed an impressive 1.104 billion dollars (£819 million) worldwide. This figure surpasses Nolan’s previous record-holder, the 2012 Batman instalment The Dark Knight Rises, which earned 1.085 billion dollars (£805.70 million). Its 2008 predecessor, The Dark Knight, had previously grossed 1.005 billion dollars (£745 million). The film stars Matt Damon and …

Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey Is Now His Highest-Grossing Movie Ever

Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey Is Now His Highest-Grossing Movie Ever

Published by Daniella Wilson

Christopher Nolan has conquered his previous titles with The Odyssey, as the recent Universal Pictures release is now the highest-grossing movie of the acclaimed filmmaker’s career. The studio confirmed Sunday that the mythological epic has made $1.104 billion worldwide in its first month in theaters following its initial July 17 release. This surpasses 2012’s The Dark Knight Rises, which earned $1.085 billion, and 2008’s The Dark Knight at $1.005 billion, as Warner Bros.’ two Batman films had previously held the top spots on the list of the director’s biggest global sums. As of Sunday, The Odyssey has collected $461.1 million domestically and landed in second place for the weekend behind Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Starring Matt Damon as Odysseus on his arduous journey home after the Trojan War, the film also stars Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway and Robert Pattinson, marking the highest-grossing movie globally for Damon, Hathaway and Pattinson’s careers. Nolan and Emma Thomas produce for Syncopy. The adaptation of Homer’s ancient poem is now the second-highest-grossing R-rated film domestically and globally, behind only 2024’s …

Tell us: has Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey stoked your interest in classics and poetry? | Classics

Tell us: has Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey stoked your interest in classics and poetry? | Classics

Published by Sam Flores

UK poetry sales are on course to reach a record high this year, thanks to the success of Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster film adaptation of Homer’s The Odyssey. We would like to hear from people for whom the film has piqued their interest in Homer’s poetry. Has it led to a greater interest in classics or poetry in general? Tell us below. Share your experience You can share your response using this form.  Your responses, which can be anonymous, are secure as the form is encrypted and only the Guardian has access to your contributions. We will only use the data you provide us for the purpose of the feature and we will delete any personal data when we no longer require it for this purpose. For alternative ways to get in touch securely please see our tips guide. How has Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey stoked your interest in classics or poetry in general? Please include as much detail as possible. What have you been reading as a result of seeing the film? Please include as …

Christopher Nolan’s Odysseus could only be Matt Damon

Christopher Nolan’s Odysseus could only be Matt Damon

Published by Sam Flores

Allow me to sing, o Muse, of a recent dinner conversation about “The Odyssey.” The setting was not a Greek restaurant but a Vietnamese joint. My friend Sharon and I had just settled at our table and ordered our dinner and drinks when she steered our conversation toward Christopher Nolan’s latest opus. Have I seen it? she asked. Of course. What did I think? It was fine, I said. A little too long, definitely overhyped. I think I described it as Nolan’s baroque reward for “Oppenheimer.” Then, like Odysseus himself, she aimed at her main target of derision: Matt Damon. What on Earth possessed Nolan, a notoriously detail-oriented director, to tap the all-purpose flour of movie stars to portray one of the most storied heroes in literature? “What, was Leo not available?” she asked, as if petitioning the gods. But divine entities stopped intervening in man’s affairs long ago; besides, I had the answer drawn and nocked since I’d walked out of the theater days before. Why not Leo? Because nobody would believe Leonardo DiCaprio …

‘The #Odyssey’: What’s missing from #Nolan’s film according to Homer’s translator

‘The #Odyssey’: What’s missing from #Nolan’s film according to Homer’s translator

Published by Sam Flores

Since Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey” came out, it has generated over $300 million…  and a growing conversation about what is missing compared to the original poem. But what is that exactly? In a scathing review published recently, classicist and translator of Homer’s epic, Emily Wilson, had much to say about what differed from the original poem. Her translation, published in 2017, was widely acclaimed, and Nolan said she was one of the inspirations for his film in early publicity. FRANCE 24 spoke to her a few days before she published her review, and here’s what she had to say. Keywords for this article Source link

Discussing Christopher Nolan’s Odyssey with Daniel Mendelsohn

Discussing Christopher Nolan’s Odyssey with Daniel Mendelsohn

Published by Jenni Sidey

In this special hour-long edition of NYRSeminars recorded July 29, 2026, Daniel Mendelsohn, Editor-at-Large of The New York Review and author of the most recent translation of Homer’s epic, discusses Christopher Nolan’s polarizing blockbuster adaptation of the Odyssey. Mendelsohn outlines his judgment of the film, which he reviewed at length for the Review, and then opens the floor to questions from audience members. Among the topics addressed are the debate over the fidelity of the film’s sets, ships, and costumes; the film’s handling of its female characters; and the question of whether the director’s vision of Odysseus represents a betrayal of the epic’s values. For a limited time, we are offering a special 25% discount code toward purchase of the recordings of Mendelsohn’s six-part Odyssey seminar as well as his classics-related books Three Rings, Ecstasy and Terror, and Waiting for the Barbarians, published by New York Review Books. Use the links above or the code “odysseyevent” at checkout in our shops to receive the discount. About Daniel Mendelsohn Daniel Mendelsohn is an award-winning author, critic, essayist, and translator. His eleven books include the international …

‘Odyssey’ translator Emily Wilson rips apart Nolan’s film adaptation

‘Odyssey’ translator Emily Wilson rips apart Nolan’s film adaptation

Published by Sam Flores

Emily Wilson, whose translation of Homer’s “The Odyssey” published in 2017 served as inspiration to Christopher Nolan when crafting his blockbuster adaptation of the nearly 2,800-year-old poem, has some thoughts on the film. In a biting missive for the London Review of Books, the British American classicist dissected Nolan’s work with a scalpel so sharp that he may need to borrow some of Matt Damon’s armor to read it all the way through. Last fall, the acclaimed director quoted Wilson’s translation when telling Empire magazine why he was drawn to the story. “I think it’s the Emily Wilson translation that begins, ‘Tell me about a complicated man,’” he said. “The genius of the character, the cleverness, the inventiveness of him, that was a huge part of what interested me. He’s not just a soldier. He’s an amazing strategist, a very wily person.” Wilson, although admittedly “humbled” by the nod from the filmmaker, wrote: “But I would be ashamed to have written any part of this script.” A professor of classical studies at the University of …

Christopher Nolan’s God-Haunted ‘Odyssey’ – The Atlantic

Christopher Nolan’s God-Haunted ‘Odyssey’ – The Atlantic

Published by Daniella Wilson

Toward the end of Homer’s Odyssey, Odysseus and Penelope finally see each other after 20 years apart. Odysseus, disguised as “an ancient old man” by the goddess Athena, tells Penelope that her husband will return to kill the suitors who have tormented her. “Not one will avoid his death and destruction,” he says. This is Homer’s protagonist: wily, aided by a god, and eager for revenge—reflective of a culture that prized honor, strength, and fealty to a set of interventionist deities. This is not, however, Christopher Nolan’s protagonist. At key moments in the recent blockbuster adaptation of the ancient-Greek poem, Odysseus’s story seems more biblical than Homeric. Read: The Fear of Missing The Odyssey In the film, when Odysseus reunites with Penelope, he hasn’t been turned into an old man. Nolan keeps his identity secret through more naturalistic means: a dimly lit room, a cloak over his body, and latticed sliding doors that separate the two characters. The doors, which are not found in Homer’s poem, are evocative of the screen between priest and penitent …