Great Cinematic Odysseys to Prepare You for The Odyssey
From Preston Sturges and the Coen brothers to Martin Scorsese and John Ford, the Criterion Channel’s “Odysseys” series traces the enduring appeal of Homer’s epic in American cinema.
John Turturro, Tim Blake Nelson, and George Clooney in the Coen Brothers’ Odyssey-inspired O Brother, Where Art Thou? (Touchstone Pictures)
There’s a new Criterion Channel series called “Odysseys” that is clearly meant as a tie-in with Christopher Nolan’s upcoming much-anticipated epic The Odyssey opening soon.
But before I get into the Criterion film picks, I must note that I have now had this conversation a few times in the past month when discussing, in vague ways, summer movie releases:
Me: The next one I have to review is The Odyssey.
Them: What’s that one about?
Me: It’s, you know, THE Odyssey.
Them: [blank stare]
Me: Homer’s Odyssey? Odysseus? Trying to get home after the Trojan War? Sirens? Cyclops? All that?
Them: [faking recognition] Oh! Oh, yeah. Right, right. That Odyssey.
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