Ancestors of The Odyssey

 

Filmmaker Christopher Nolan’s feature film adaptation of Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey is probably no one’s idea of a summer blockbuster let alone one of the biggest hits of all-time. As with most of his recent work, Nolan has utilized large format IMAX cameras to tell a monumental story. There have been many widescreen epics in the history of cinema that were photographed using many different screen formats. The biblical film Ben-Hur (1959) was shot in MGM Camera 65, a 65mm celluloid process projected at 2.76:1 aspect ratio and the World War II biopic Patton (1970) was made in Dimension 150, a 70mm celluloid camera process projected at 2.20:1 aspect ratio. These widescreen versions were shown on a giant curved screen that surrounded the audience’s peripheral vision, bringing them into the action on screen. Nolan’s preference for the IMAX process creates the same immersive experience for modern cinemagoers. Filmed in 6 countries, The Odyssey avoided computer generated images when possible, in favour of actual locations, practical effects and large sets. In this way, Nolan is paying direct homage to certain myth and fantasy films of the past. Here are some of the films that have influenced Nolan’s bold choice of a crowd-pleasing classical adaptation.

The first colour version of The Odyssey was Ulysses starring Kirk Douglas and was made in Italy in 1954. Although originally intended to be shot in 3D, Ulysses was a landmark fantasy film, not made for children, with a popular Hollywood actor in the lead role. Produced by Italians for the international market, they chose the hero’s Latin name Ulysses instead of the Greek name Odysseus. Except for co-star Anthony Quinn, the entire cast speaks in their own European languages but were re-voiced for English speaking territories. Although it is an abridged adaptation of the original source text, Ulysses still entertains with its charming special effects, colourful set pieces and charismatic lead performance. Available on Tubi and Blu-ray.

Homer’s epic poem, including parts of both The Iliad and The Odyssey, was filmed as Helen of Troy in Italy in 1956. It was directed by Robert Wise (The Sound of Music, Star Trek: The Motion Picture), and photographed in Cinemascope to be projected on the big screen at 2:55:1. Although hampered by two insipid actors in the leading roles, the spectacle of the Trojan Horse and hundreds of extras bringing to life the sacking of Troy make for a memorable film. British actor Stanley Baker, who stands out from the cast as Achilles later starred in the exciting widescreen siege film Zulu (1964), the film that introduced Nolan’s favourite actor Michael Caine. Available on Prime Video and Blu-ray.

Ray Harryhausen was one of the great special effects geniuses. His stop motion animation techniques were state of the art until his young disciples founded Industrial Light and Magic in 1975. Harryhausen was obsessed with bringing to life myths and legends with their larger-than- life creatures created in miniature for optical enlargement on the big screen. Having had a major success with The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad (1958), Harryhausen decided to adapt one of the Greek myths, The Odyssey-like seafaring voyage of Jason and the Golden Fleece, retitled Jason and the Argonauts (1963). The leading man may be a handsome block of wood but the film easily over comes this deficit with endless exciting moments, including the fight with the many headed serpent Hydra, the giant steel statue of Talos and the fighting army of skeletons. So mind-blowing at the time of its release Tom Hanks once called it “the greatest film ever made”. Nolan, who is on the record as a Harryhausen fan, uses some of the same in camera special effects techniques in The Odyssey. Available on Prime Video and Blu-ray.

Ray Harryhausen returned to the Greek myths in 1981 with Clash of the Titans, an adaptation of the Theseus and Medusa myth. Nolan acknowledges this film as a formative cinema going experience and a direct influence on his approach to bringing Homer’s tale to the screen. It stars the young and handsome yet capable leading man Harry Hamlin, who is assisted by a star-studded supporting cast as the gods of Mt Olympus: Maggie Smith, Claire Bloom, Ursula Andress and Laurence Olivier as Zeus. Containing many exhilarating scenes including the capture of Pegasus and the stunning Medusa sequence, it remains the ultimate demonstration of craft in handmade stop motion animation special effects. Available on Prime Video and Blu-ray.

In 2004’s Troy, the story of the Trojan Horse was once again adapted for the big screen this time written by future Game of Thrones co-creator David Benioff. Mega star Brad Pitt at his most chiselled, stars as Achilles alongside a superb cast including Brian Cox, Peter O’Toole, Brendan Gleeson and Julie Christie. German director Wolfgang Petersen (Air Force One, The Perfect Storm) directs with an epic eye for sweeping action and ancient pageantry. Eschewing the Gods mentioned by Homer in The Iliad, Benioff brings the story down to earth concentrating on the betrayals and rivalries that fuel this famous conflict. In contrast to Christopher Nolan’s style, digital imagery abounds but it doesn’t notably distract from Petersen’s engaging cinematic storytelling. This works as a good prequel to The Odyssey, especially in its recent 4K restoration. Available on Prime Video or Blu-ray.

A Pocket History of Canadian Cinema

Canadians have never been as proud of their national cinema as most other countries. Since the dawn of cinema the United States has flooded our movie screens with their Hollywood product while we have barely been able to maintain Canadian film culture within our own borders, let alone distribute our movies to the rest of the world.

For many decades most Canadians seemed happy enough to primarily watch what Hollywood and Britain had to offer. In the 1960s European and Asian films started to gain popularity in North American art house cinemas, encouraging budding filmmakers here to dream of making their own feature films without having to leave Canada.

This opportunity finally arrived in the early 1970s with the so-called “tax shelter era” when  Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau’s government introduced tax breaks for those who invested in the nascent Canadian film industry. This resulted in many productions of varying quality often featuring international stars for marquee value. The first of these tax write-off films to impress critics and audiences worldwide came in 1974. It was The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz, based on an acclaimed novel by Montrealer Mordecai Richler and starring Richard Dreyfuss. Black Christmas (1974) made in Toronto and starring Yellowknife native Margot Kidder was another trailbrazer, being the original film in the slasher horror genre. One of the very best was the nail-biting thriller The Silent Partner made in 1978. It starred Elliott Gould as a conniving Toronto bank teller who gets into a deadly cat and mouse game with a ruthless and psychopathic thief played with reptilian menace by native son Christopher Plummer (see above photo). Directed by Vancouver’s Daryl Duke and scored by Montreal-born jazz legend Oscar Peterson, the film also featured Toronto’s John Candy in his first memorable role as Gould’s jokey fellow bank employee.

In 1979 Canadian cinema hit its first milestone with Meatballs an Ontario set summer camp  comedy from Toronto filmmaker Ivan Reitman and starring Bill Murray. As one of the most popular movies of the year it went on to become the highest grossing Canadian film to date, awakening America and the world to the talent within our borders. In the 1980s after the tax incentives had expired and a viable production base had been created many young and ambitious Canadian filmmakers started to make their their mark on the international scene, including Toronto born David Cronenberg (Videodrome, Dead Ringers), and Deschambault native Denys Arcand (The Decline of the American Empire, Jesus of Montreal). 1982 saw the burgeoning talent of Vancouver based director Philip Borsos whose British Columbian western The Grey Fox became one of the year’s most lauded films. Perhaps the most maple-flavoured of all movies made during this era was 1983’s Strange Brew (see above), a goofy big screen adventure for SCTV’s popular Canuckleheads, Bob and Doug McKenzie played and directed by Toronto’s Rick Moranis and St. Catharines’ Dave Thomas. Gleefully packed with every Canadian cliché and climaxing at Kitchener’s Octoberfest, Strange Brew is an hilarious send-up of our nation’s hang-ups and stereotypes.

The 1990s saw the establishment of many Canadian auteur directors, some from the Toronto New Wave like:  Atom Egoyan (Exotica, The Sweet Hereafter), Bruce McDonald (Highway 61 Revisited, Hard Core Logo), Patricia Rozema (I’ve Heard the Mermaids Singing) and Deepa Mehta (Sam & Me, Fire). Meanwhile, in the wake of the success of Denys Arcand (The Barbarian Invasions) and Jean Claude Lauzon (Leolo), the dawn of the new millenium signalled the full flowering of the Quebec New Wave of filmmakers who would go on to change  world cinema right up until the present day. Names like Jean Marc Vallee (C.R.A.Z.Y.), Xavier Dolan (I Killed My Mother), Philippe Falardeau (Monsieur Lazhar) and Denis Villeneuve (Polytechnique, Incendies) are as familiar for their feature films as they are for their contributions to television series on both sides of the border. In the past decade independent Canadian feature films have fought an uphill battle for recognition with very few projects breaking through to the public with odd exceptions film like Clement Virgo’s Scarborough set hip-hop drama Brother or Matt Johnson’s southern Ontario business success story Blackberry. As competition from other platforms continues to grow, filmmakers today have a complicated and difficult route to recognition and acclaim. Thanks to the very recent surge in patriotic nationalism perhaps the next great Canadian film is just around the corner.

Being Thankful For Physical Media

When I was a kid, going to the cinema was big event. Recent films were not available on television right away; sometimes we had to wait for years after their release to watch them at home. There was no internet, no streaming, no DVDs, no Blu-rays. When the popular VHS format started to catch on in the 1980s it was miracle that I could own a copy of a favourite film. Video stores had limited stock at first but just looking at the box art of these video cassettes could be as a thrilling as the movies themselves. Of course, video tapes were a cumbersome and low-resolution medium compared to the 16K digital transfers of today.

Streaming and watching films on a big 4K home screen can be a satisfactory way to approximate the movie-going experience but before you think these films can be owned it is important to know your rights. Any film purchased for home viewing from a streamer can be withdrawn from the purchaser’s account or cloud service at anytime. As well, any digital copy of a film can be altered for content without the purchaser’s permission. This is why I still collect movies on disc. Sure they take up room, but they are mine to keep, and no one can edit or change them while I’m not looking. Everyday I am grateful for the honour of holding the fruits of many people’s artistic labours in my hands. I know the effort that goes into making a movie. Therefore, it is imperative that films be preserved on physical media – in the versions their creators intended -- for future generations to collect and enjoy. Here are some of my favourite home video versions over the years:

1982 - Star Wars (1977) was a milestone release on video tape in the VHS and Betamax formats. It is hard to describe to contemporary audiences how monumental this moment was for movie buffs and specifically Star Wars fans. The transfer may have been slightly fuzzy and the film’s Panavision glory panned and scanned into a 4:3 full screen presentation but it was still thrilling to own this historically popular film. This was the last time the film was released in its original theatrical version with no extra FX or sound additions. It has recently been announced that in 2027 the original cut of Star Wars will be made available once again probably in the hi-definition 4K format. It will be a turning point for disc collectors who have finally been vindicated after years of protesting against the inferior and bastardized versions approved by filmmaker George Lucas himself.

1991 – The first four James Bond films, starting with Dr. No (1962), were released by Criterion on the Laserdisc in letterboxed versions with an audio commentary by director Terence Young. For the very first time, viewers could see these early Connery classics uncut and accompanied by interesting background stories provided by the director. Due to the uncensored nature of these comments and anecdotes, the discs were eventually withdrawn and much sought after by collectors. After decades of audio and video tampering the Connery Bonds have only recently been restored to something close to their theatrical versions. Meanwhile, Criterion continues to be the premier releasing company of classic films on all subsequent disc formats.

1997 – The Digital Video Disc or DVD format was introduced, and Warner Bros. produced one of the best early examples. Sam Peckinpah’s The Wild Bunch (1969) was finally made available in the widescreen director’s cut, and the disc also included an important Oscar-nominated short documentary about the film. This release demonstrated the possibilities of both presentation and scholarship that the DVD format could provide to burgeoning numbers of film buffs and collectors. Unfortunately age and technology has done no service to this Western masterpiece which continues to be passed over for restoration and release on improved optimal formats. 

2007 – After a brief competition to decide which company would control the home video market’s higher resolution 1080p format, Sony emerged the winner with Blu-ray discs.

Ever since VHS there had been special edition box sets with various paper reproductions and other sundries housed in an elaborately designed case. However, all previous box sets paled in comparison with the Blade Runner 5 Disc Ultimate Collector's Briefcase Edition. This was the culmination of a long journey for Blade Runner (1982). During its original cinema release it was considered an unpopular failure. Surprisingly, the revised R-rated edition on tape was a big hit, as was the so-called director’s cut, shown in theatres in 1992 and later available on DVD. By 2006, director Ridley Scott was finally able to fix all the problems he had had with previous versions by creating Blade Runner - the Final Cut on Blu-ray. The Briefcase edition features this much improved edit along with all other available cuts of the film. In this very special edition there is also a 3.5 hour making-of documentary, numerous audio commentaries, photo galleries, featurettes as well as deluxe booklets, framed drawings and even toy replicas to display on your shelf. One of the great collectable sets for the ultimate Sci-fi cinephile!

2020 – In 2016 the next generation of Hsigh-Definition disc format was introduced – the 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray. This improvement meant discs could now be viewed in twice the resolution as the standard Blu-ray. No film has deserved this superior presentation more than Lawrence of Arabia (1962). If you haven’t seen this film in the cinema on an Imax or other large format screen, then the next best option is with this 4-disc UHD package, with the film transferred from an 8K scan of the original negative. If your home setup is up to the task, you should feel the sand of the desert in your eyes as you are enveloped in the spectacular images created by cinematographer Freddie Young under the direction of master filmmaker David Lean. In the style of its original road show screenings the movie is divided onto two discs with an intermission coming at the end of disc one. The third disc is a standard Blu-ray copy of this nearly 4-hour film. Disc four contains voluminous extras including: informative documentaries, featurettes, interviews, and deleted scenes. Restored by Columbia archivist Grover Crisp this is one of the most impressive showcases for the new 4K UHD disc technology and a must-have for the true movie buff.

Scares from Down Under

 

Australia didn’t become an international filmmaking destination until the mid-1990s.  Prior to then many American actors journeyed down under to act in local films that were being made by enterprising Australian directors. Road Games (1981) is a suspenseful killer-on-the-loose film made by Alfred Hitchcock disciple Richard Franklin who would later direct the underrated Psycho II (1983). The film stars Stacy Keach as a long-haul trucker crossing the desolate wilderness of Western Australia with only his pet dingo as a driving companion. Observing people along the road, Keach comes to suspect that a mysterious man in a green van might be the serial killer wanted for some gruesome murders. 80s scream queen Jamie Lee Curtis enlivens the narrative as a hitchhiker who teams up with Keach as they try to catch the dangerous and elusive murderer. A wild ride that is both startling and funny in equal measure. Available on Blu-ray and Shudder.

A different kind of vehicle provides the jolts in Dead Calm (1989), a suspense thriller from the producers of the Mad Max series that takes place mostly at sea. Starring Sam Neill and Nicole Kidman, in her breakout film role, as a couple who embark on an oceanic sailing vacation in a valiant attempt to heal the recent wound caused by the death of their son. After encountering a sinking schooner they take on board a lone survivor played with darkly photogenic charm by Billy Zane. Thus begins a cat and mouse game between the three protagonists as they struggle to survive at sea in an increasingly deadly situation. Neill as always anchors the film, but the raw performances of Kidman and Zane made audiences at the time take note of two new talented actors to watch. Available on Blu-ray

Considered by many to be one of the scariest films ever made, The Babadook (2014) is an experience that never leaves you. Writer-director Jennifer Kent creates a near perfect nightmare of dread and fear as we witness a single mother struggling to understand her emotionally disturbed young son. Things go from bad to worse when they are haunted by a ghostly creature seemingly come to life from the pages of a sinister children’s storybook. An unnerving depiction of mental breakdown and parental anxiety that will have you staring into the dark corners of your bedroom for weeks afterward. Available Blu-Ray and Shudder

If sideburns, bell-bottom pants and psychedelic 70s décor scare you then Late Night with the Devil (2024) is a truly frightening experience. In their spookily accurate recreation of a late night Hollywood talk show from 1977, Australian filmmakers Colin and Cameron Cairnes’s videotape homage will have you laughing and gasping in equal measure. The gimmick of a “live” exorcism gone wrong provides the shocking set pieces, but it is the attention to character details as well as production design and cinematography that will amaze vintage viewers who remember this pre-internet era of broadcasting. Available on Blu-Ray and Shudder.