Andy and Ammon's Excellent Odyssey (ft. JB!)

Andy Wilson
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  • FILM HISTORY
  • UPDATED SEMIWEEKLY

Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey will be released July 17, 2026. A philosopher and a critic are joined by their very own Rufus (and sometimes guests!) to talk about Nolan, modern studio filmmaking, filmed and adapted versions of The Odyssey, and why a 2700 year old epic poem is still culturally relevant. Join us on this epic adventure!

  1. 5D AGO

    L'Odissea (1911)

    The earliest feature length adaptation of The Odyssey is this 1911 silent film created for the Turin World Fair. What do we think of this very straightforward adaptation and what does it say about our expectations for The Odyssey? All this and more-- and next week we're taking on Christopher Nolan's The Prestige!

    58 min

  2. FEB 13

    Lupita Nyong'o Makes Us Lose Our Artistic Integrity

    What makes an Odyssey adaptation an Odyssey adaptation? What baseline elements does it have to have to count as telling the story of The Odyssey? BUT FIRST, we discuss the recent (stupid) "controversy" over the rumored casting of Lupita Nyong'o as Helen of Sparta/Troy. Why we think this is actually good casting... but we all thought she was playing Calypso? Andy apologizes to all the Batman fans for misnaming Mr. Freeze. And then we reveal what we want in our fantasy version of The Odyssey. What elements we think Nolan is likely to use and why. (JB's version is the best) We want the Agamemnon spin-off. Next week we do the 1911 silent film L'Oddisea which you can find on youtube! If you'd like to set up your version The Odyssey, see the spreadsheet Andy set up of different Odyssey elements, plot points, etc. And you can still play our casting game here.

    1h 15m

  3. JAN 13

    Batman Begins

    It's our first of three Batman movies with Nolan at the helm-- 2005's Batman Begins. The history of Batman from comics to tv to film and the background of the 2005 film. A brief history of Frank Miller's "Batman: Year One" and also Allan Moore and the nebulous politics of this movie. We're not surprised about Liam Neeson and Ras al Ghul. We all love Tom Wilkinson. JB's and Andy's top 3 favorite character-driven superhero movies (we have the same #1!) and next time we'll cover what the essential elements are of an Odyssey film. For more, listen to Andy guest on the In Memoriam podcast to talk about Tom Wilkinson.

    1h 47m

  4. JAN 6

    Contempt

    Is Contempt really an Odyssey adaptation? Well, not exactly, but Goddard's story of a writer and his wife (Brigitte Bardot!) and Fritz Lang's attempt to film a version of The Odyssey for the most American film producer ever (Jack Palance) is a classic for a reason. We discuss Bardot's complicated legacy, the film and what it says about The Odyssey, and one of Ammon's favorite poets, Hölderlin. Next episode we talk Batman Begins.

    1h 19m

  5. 12/24/2025

    Shared Universes and Floor Almonds

    We have a ton of news and a holiday discussion, as we tackle the concept of shared universes. We wish you all a happy all the holidays-- the only podcast brave enough to wish everyone io, Saturnalia. Odyssey news: first 5 minutes revealed in theaters, new poster, new trailer. They're... ok. Casting! New announced casting-- and play our casting game along with us! Cinematic universe-- what are they, why do they matter? We talk about the MCU vs. Star Wars vs. Star Trek. Is there a Vince Gilligan shared universe? We take the Clickhole quiz "Does Master Like The ‘Which Marvel Superhero Are You?’ Quiz I Have Prepared For Him? Does It Please Master?" Our next Odyssey-related film is Contempt, and the Nolan episode after we'll tackle Batman Begins. Io, Saturnalia and happy all the other holidays!

    1h 56m

  6. 11/11/2025

    Insomnia

    We're back with another Nolan episode to talk about his 2002 film Insomnia starring Al Pacino, Robin Williams, and Hillary Swank. We compare it to the original Norwegian film, the addition of the very American subplot about the LAPD and internal affairs and Andy has a lot of cancelable takes on police misconduct! Also do NOT watch the Norwegian version if you don't wat to see Stellan Skarsgard shoot a stray dog, molest a 17 year old, or hate a box of kittens. We really explore the morality of Pacino's character and whether he's engaging in good problem solving or not (and how he just really needs to take a nap!) All this and more as we talk Insomnia!

    1h 29m

  7. 10/20/2025

    The Return

    The Return the Re-Re-Reupload. Sorry, our files keep getting Zucked by the powers that be. Hopefully this passes muster. And in this episode we discuss The Return with Ralph Fiennes as Odysseus washing up on the shore of Ithaca and having to deal with the parasitic and violent suitors who have taken up residence in his home. Thanks again to Ben for coming along for this boat ride! Did any of you see The Return? What did you think?

    1h 37m

  8. 09/18/2025

    Nietzsche vs. Odysseus vs. Memento

    We remind Andy that we DEFINITELY did a Memento episode already as we welcome our first castaway-- Ben! He's here as an expert on Nietzsche (and Foucalt!) AND he has opinions about Christopher Nolan, too! In the episode we delve back into active forgetting and what Nietzsche wrote about the genealogy of morals, the Greek gods, and other issues and how they relate to the ways we think of both Memento and The Odyssey. Is this a revenge tale? Next week we're delving more into that last question by watching 2024's The Return starring Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche-- join us as Ben returns to discuss more Odyssey!

    1h 30m
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Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey will be released July 17, 2026. A philosopher and a critic are joined by their very own Rufus (and sometimes guests!) to talk about Nolan, modern studio filmmaking, filmed and adapted versions of The Odyssey, and why a 2700 year old epic poem is still culturally relevant. Join us on this epic adventure!

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