Updated

Updated · Hollywood Reporter · Jul 18

The Odyssey Opens in Theaters With 17-Star Cast as Nolan Shoots Entirely on Imax 70mm

Updated

Updated · Hollywood Reporter · Jul 18

The Odyssey Opens in Theaters With 17-Star Cast as Nolan Shoots Entirely on Imax 70mm

Q: Is Nolan’s IMAX-only epic a cinematic revolution or an inaccessible spectacle for a select few?

It is both: a real technical leap in large-format filmmaking, but one whose full impact is available to only a small share of moviegoers. On the merits, “The Odyssey” is a landmark. Nolan shot the entire 172-minute film on IMAX 70mm cameras, the first feature to do so, after working with IMAX to solve long-standing problems such as camera noise during dialogue scenes. The production used roughly 2 million feet of film, relied heavily on practical effects and real locations, and was designed to maximize scale, clarity and physical presence. Critics have broadly praised the result as immersive, thunderous and unusually tactile for a modern blockbuster. That said, the ideal version of the film is scarce. Only 41 theaters worldwide can project it in IMAX 70mm, including about 25 in the United States. IMAX has spent a year refurbishing old projectors and training new projectionists because the equipment is rare, expensive and no longer manufactured at scale. Demand has been so intense that some fans have traveled long distances and bought tickets far in advance just to see Nolan’s preferred format. For most audiences, the film remains accessible in other formats, so it is not literally “IMAX-only” in exhibition terms. But the gap between seeing it and seeing it “as intended” is unusually large here. That makes “The Odyssey” both a cinematic revolution and, in its purest form, an exclusive spectacle shaped by infrastructure limits rather than artistic ambition alone.

3 articles · Updated · Hollywood Reporter · Jul 18

The Odyssey is now in theaters, prompting a detailed cast guide to Christopher Nolan’s Homer adaptation centered on Odysseus’ 10-year journey back to Ithaca after the Trojan War.
Matt Damon leads as Odysseus, with Anne Hathaway as Penelope and Tom Holland as Telemachus, anchoring the family at the heart of the story.
Zendaya plays Athena, Robert Pattinson plays suitor Antinous, and Charlize Theron and Samantha Morton take key mythic roles as Calypso and Circe.
The ensemble also includes Lupita Nyong’o in two roles, Jon Bernthal, Benny Safdie, Elliot Page and Travis Scott, whose acting debut opens and closes the film.
Nolan followed his Oscar-winning Oppenheimer with what is billed as the first feature shot entirely with Imax 70mm film cameras, mixing longtime collaborators with first-time partners.