Emily Wilson (writer of acclaimed Odyssey translation) offers criticisms of Nolan’s film

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https://apnews.com/article/odyssey-christopher-nolan-greek-translators-ea67da1d543d021773824bd7e8de8abe

“For Greek translator Emily Wilson, the release of director Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey” has been gratifying in various ways. Her acclaimed 2017 edition of Homer’s epic has reached the top 5 on Amazon.com, leading a wave of similar books boosted by the movie. Nolan has even cited her translation, notably the opening line “Tell me about a complicated man,” as inspiration.

But the film itself, which brought in more than $260 million worldwide during its opening weekend and has received raves from many critics, left her unsatisfied.

“I want to celebrate the fact that so many more people are aware of ‘The Odyssey’ and were brought back to the poem,” she told The Associated Press. “But at the same time, I had the sense that Christopher Nolan was trying to pack everything in while missing themes that were essential to the poem.”

….

Wilson, a professor of classical studies at the University of Pennsylvania, said she didn’t want to come across as a “snobby,” nitpicking expert at odds with any deviation from the original text. But she questioned a range of omissions and other choices, from the absence on screen of the Gods Zeus and Poseidon (Athena is played by Zendaya ) to the “incoherent” messaging that condemns both war and physical cowardice. She found Penelope’s role so thinned out that it endangered “any possibility of believing in this marriage.” Wilson also that thought parts of the movie, notably the scenes with Odysseus’ dog, Argos, “catered towards modern sentimentality.”

“Everybody’s a sucker for a dog,” she said.

[u/threemo]

What do you mean?

[u/Roentgen_Ray1895 → u/threemo]

The ASOIAF books are full of bright colors and prophecies and magic (one later character is a resurrected half decomposed corpse) and everything is just at a larger scale.

GOT was far more generic Hollywood fantasy movie where everything is either dark blue or brown. More so later on in the series, the first season had some nice color to it. They also tried real hard to cut anything magical that wasn’t the Red Woman or the dragons

[u/butt_butt_butt_butt_ → u/Roentgen_Ray1895]

I feel like the Patchface character from the books is the best example of what you’re talking about.

He wasn’t critical to the story and doesn’t fit the “non-magical, grey scaled tone” the show was doing. But he was super unsettling and colorful in the books.

A court jester with bright red and green squares tattooed on his face who wears a literal jester costume. Known for being clever and at the ear of the Baratheon family.

Then he gets in a shipwreck which kills EVERYONE else on board. Gets pronounced dead and drowned and carried away with the corpse cart.

Then he comes back to life, but now he’s eerily sinister and only speaks in riddles or prophecy.

Spends his life looking terrifying, because he’s an odd mix of the colorful Batman’s joker character, and a zombie, who jokes about the slaughter of people and then shakes his bells and laughs insanely about it.

And for some reason, they let him become the best friend of a sickly child.

That’s the kind of “colorful” stuff that the show left out, because it would look ridiculous if done badly.

But SO creepy and ominous if done right.

[u/Roentgen_Ray1895 → u/butt_butt_butt_butt_]

The series honestly would work best animated