EPIC FILM: Christopher Nolan uses two million feet of film to create The Odyssey | Odyssey

Christopher Nolan says he used more than two million feet of film in his adaptation of Homer’s Odyssey, which is in post-production, after the director finished shooting in August.

In an interview with Empire magazine, Nolan said: “I was out [the sea] For the past four months. We got the actors playing the crew of Odysseus’ ship out there on real waves, in real places… We really wanted to capture how difficult those journeys were for people. The leap of faith made in an uncharted and unknown world. “We shot more than two million feet of film,” he added.

The Odyssey was filmed entirely using the Imax wide format, which uses much more film than standard 35mm cameras. According to In Deep Cine, Imax cameras use about 337 feet of 65mm film per minute, compared to 90 feet for 35mm. This suggests that Nolan shot approximately 100 hours of raw footage – which actually compares relatively favorably to some other recent films; A log by editor Vashi Nedomansky indicates that Mad Max: Fury Road was filmed for 480 hours of raw footage, and Gone Girl was filmed for 500 hours.

Nolan also explained in the interview his reasons for choosing the project, as he was set to direct another Homeric epic, Troy, more than two decades ago. “As a filmmaker, you’re looking for holes in cinematic culture, things that haven’t been done before. And what I saw was that all this great, legendary cinematic work that I grew up with — the Ray Harryhausen films and other things — I’d never seen that done with the kind of heft and credibility that an A-budget and a big production company in Hollywood and IMAX could do.”

He added, “By embracing the physicality of the real world in your filmmaking, you’re telling the story in interesting ways. Because you’re confronted daily with a world that opposes you.”

Speaking to the same magazine, Matt Damon, who plays Odysseus, was effusive in his praise of Nolan: “I can say, without exaggeration, that it has been the best experience of my career…” I’ve seen [Trojan] A horse on the beach and I was like, “Fuck.” It was so cool.

Nolan’s film, which also stars Tom Holland as Telemachus, son of Odysseus, is scheduled to be released in July 2026.