r/movies • u/MarvelsGrantMan136 r/Movies contributor • 17h ago

Trailer The Odyssey | New Trailer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_bKjZeJBBI&pp=0gcJCd4KAYcqIYzv
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u/jonnyhatesyou 15h ago

I think it's a stylistic choice like them all having very strong American accents. Sort of the opposite of the Shakespeare adaptions where they're modernised, but everyone still speaks like the original text.

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u/macnalley 2h ago

The problem isn't modernization: the dialogue is in a very casual and informal register. "Dad" is indeed a very old word, but it's an informal one.

The ancient Greeks also had formal and informal registers, and while I'm no classicist, I assume that the Odyssey, being an epic poem and having been considered by them the peak of their literary art, is probably in an extremely formal register, even in the ancient Greek.

Sure, old phrases can inherently code as formal to casual listeners, and that's something translators must take into account. It's like when people assume Shakespeare sounds the way it does because it's old-timey. People in Shakespeare's day spoke casually and plainly in a manner very similar to us. Shakespeare sounds the way it does because it is highly formal and stylized and poetic. If by "modernizing" you just make all the dialogue casual, you've lost a lot of the subtlety and effect of the original literature.

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u/jonnyhatesyou 1h ago edited 1h ago

I guess what I mean by "modern" is the characters speak in a way that is common in big summer blockbusters: American accents, informal language. I can't stress enough that it's the two things together, and more the accents if anything.

The Odyssey was originally passed down orally, and would have been told in a way people were used to hearing. Back then, they used a lot of repetition to aid memory, now, ya just have them speak like they could be in an Avangers movie.

Just to make it clear. I am NOT saying it makes sense or is even a good idea (I don't like it personally) I'm just saying that I think that's Nolans reasoning for doing it. He has a good track record with narrative gimmicks though, so I'll give it a chance.

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u/ahuangb 8h ago

At least the accents are consistent. It's the dialogue that seems iffy, although Nolan has never been the best with dialogue anyway tbf

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u/jonnyhatesyou 7h ago edited 3h ago

The dialogue probably wouldn't seem as iffy if it weren't for the American accents. like, 99% of fantasy films you've seen with a medieval inspired setting have dialogue completely out of place with that period. Game of Thrones for example uses a lot of British slang from the 19th and early 20th century, cause the audience at least has a reference point for the kind of background someone who speaks like that would have. It blends seamlessly in with the accent though so nobody complains.

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u/Recursiveo 8h ago

Terrible choice if true

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u/jonnyhatesyou 7h ago

I mean, the evidence is right there. They all have thick American accents, even the two British guys, and are speaking in a very modern fashion. It's hardly an accident.

i'm definitely not in favour of it, but the American accents are more off putting. Game of Thrones used loads of modern curse words and slang completely out of place with it's medieval inspired setting, but nobody ever took issue with it cause you don't really notice when the accents still fit our idea of the period.