For nearly 3 hours, audiences were satisfied with a magnificent epic blockbuster, rich in emotions about images, sound, art, and the perfect acting of many A-list Hollywood stars. The film's flow is fast, dramatic, with many thrilling, engaging details that captivate viewers and send many humanistic messages. This is the latest epic film by director Christopher Nolan adapted from Homer's epic of the same name, telling about the 10-year journey of hero Odysseus on his way back to his hometown of Ithaca after the end of the Trojan War. He has to face gods, monsters and terrible challenges on the way home......
Considered one of the most influential filmmakers of the 21st century, Nolan is famous for his ambitious works such as "The Dark Knight", "Inception", "Interstellar", "Dunkirk" and "Oppenheimer", always combining blockbuster scale with breakthroughs in cinematic language and recording technology.
After nearly 2 decades of constantly expanding the limits of IMAX technology, Christopher Nolan continues to create a new milestone with "The Odyssey". The epic film adapted from Homer's epic officially becomes the first film in history to be filmed entirely with an IMAX 70mm film camera.
The predestined relationship between Nolan and IMAX began in 1986, when he first experienced this format at the Science and Industry Museum in Chicago. The overwhelming image quality made the 16-year-old teenager wonder why feature films were not made with this technology. That question became his motivation for 4 decades.
In 2008, Nolan made history with "The Dark Knight", the first commercial film to use IMAX film cameras. Since then, he has continuously pushed technology limits to "The Dark Knight Rises", "Interstellar", "Dunkirk" and "Oppenheimer", even collaborating with Kodak and IMAX to develop the world's first black and white IMAX film.
In "The Odyssey", Nolan and filmmaker Hoyte van Hoytema continued to collaborate with IMAX to develop a new generation of soundproof cameras, allowing full filming of the entire film with IMAX. Although the IMAX Keighley weighed more than 130kg, the crew still overcame a series of technical challenges with many creative solutions. The achievement is an unprecedented milestone in film history, with more than 610km of feature films used to create a comprehensive IMAX image experience from beginning to end.
If technology is half of Christopher Nolan's ambition, then the other half lies in the story. "The Odyssey" follows King Odysseus (played by Matt Damon) on a 10-year journey back to Ithaca after the Trojan War. In parallel with that is the journey of maturity of Telemachus (played by Tom Holland), the son forced to leave his homeland to find his father, while protecting his mother Penelope and the throne from those who are plotting to seize the kingdom.
According to Christopher Nolan, this is not only the story of Odysseus but also the adulthood journey of Telemachus. That is also the reason he chose actor Tom Holland. "Tom is one of the best actors of his generation. He combines innate talent with discipline and always aims for absolute truth in each role," Nolan commented. Tom Holland himself also considers this the biggest challenge in his career. Although he has had many years of filming action scenes with the role of Spider-Man, the actor said that he almost has to "learn from scratch". Without a mask covering his face, each battle scene now has to convey the emotions and psychological changes of the character. "Chris always reminds me that every action scene must tell a story. I have to learn to act right in every blow and every movement," Holland shared.
To recreate the Greek mythological world, the film crew filmed at a series of spectacular locations in Greece, Italy, Morocco and Scotland. Ancient fortresses, pristine coastlines, legendary caves and ancient citadels in the desert not only create epic scale but also contribute to bringing viewers into a world where nature, mythology and people blend together.
With the combination of pioneering IMAX technology, the largest production scale in Christopher Nolan's career, and a cast including: Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, Tom Holland, Zendaya, Robert Pattinson, Charlize Theron and Lupita Nyong'o, the film has brought a very worthwhile epic cinematic experience on the big screen.
