You Can’t Miss ‘The Odyssey, The Making of an Epic’ Now Streaming

Christopher Nolan has dedicated his career to exploring stories that seem too grand for a single screen, and his latest endeavor takes that ambition to new heights. After much anticipation regarding how he would approach one of literature’s most ancient and expansive tales, audiences can now witness the intricate process behind bringing it to life.

Nolan’s adaptation of Homer’s epic has already made its way to theaters, showcasing the scale and ambition that fans have come to expect from his work. Interestingly, the narrative of creating the film is nearly as captivating as the film itself.

This behind-the-scenes journey is now fully available through Peacock, which has released ‘The Odyssey, The Making of an Epic,’ a 22-minute documentary that offers an unfiltered glimpse into the production. The special highlights the extensive shooting schedule for ‘The Odyssey,’ which lasted 91 days and took place across six countries, including Morocco, Greece, Italy, Iceland, and Scotland.

The documentary also reveals the astonishing scale of the production, featuring over 5,300 custom-designed costumes and base camps that required a 45-minute hike to access. It illustrates a commitment to practical filmmaking, emphasizing real locations, physical sets, and live extras over digital effects whenever possible.

Nolan has consistently advocated for shooting on film rather than relying on visual effects, and ‘The Odyssey’ took that philosophy to unprecedented levels. He previously shared with Empire that over 2,000,000 feet of film were shot during production, describing the experience as a quest to fill gaps in cinematic history.

This hands-on approach extended to the film’s ocean scenes, which Nolan has called some of the most physically challenging aspects of the shoot. He noted that the cast spent four months navigating real waves, describing the experience as primal, vast, terrifying, wonderful, and benevolent as conditions fluctuated throughout filming.

Producer Emma Thomas also features in the documentary, discussing the immense ambition that fueled the project and reflecting on how massive it became once filming commenced. The special further explores Nolan’s choice to film entirely with IMAX cameras, a goal he has aspired to since his teenage years, alongside innovative sound engineering developed to handle the notoriously loud equipment during dialogue-heavy scenes.

The timing of the documentary’s release has clearly been advantageous. ‘The Odyssey, The Making of an Epic’ quickly climbed to number four on Peacock’s most popular movies chart in the United States shortly after its debut, nestled between titles like ‘Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2’ and ‘Men in Black II.’

This streaming success reflects the positive reception of the film itself, which has emerged as one of Nolan’s best-reviewed projects to date. ‘The Odyssey’ currently boasts a 96 percent critics score and a 97 percent audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, surpassing acclaimed Nolan films like ‘Memento,’ ‘The Dark Knight,’ and ‘Oppenheimer.’

The film follows Odysseus, portrayed by Matt Damon, as he embarks on a perilous journey home after the Trojan War, encountering legendary figures such as the Cyclops Polyphemus and the Sirens along the way. The cast also includes Anne Hathaway, Tom Holland, Robert Pattinson, Lupita Nyong’o, Zendaya, and Charlize Theron.

With the documentary now available for streaming alongside the film’s theatrical release, fans can finally appreciate the extensive effort that went into transforming one of the oldest stories ever told into a modern IMAX spectacle.

What are your thoughts on the scale revealed in ‘The Odyssey, The Making of an Epic’? Share your opinions in the comments.