The Odyssey is one of those rare movies that could've generated a lot of excitement without the release of a single trailer. Audiences worldwide were eager to watch it from the moment it was announced simply because Christopher Nolan was at its helm. After all, the Oscar-winning director has an impressive film career that spans highly acclaimed films such as The Dark Knight, Oppenheimer, Inception, Memento, and many more. But even though all of these projects are very different from one another, none of them feature a post-credits or mid-credits scene.
Fans were eager to discover whether The Odyssey would make history by breaking the trend and giving audiences one final sequence after the credits rolled. But while Nolan's latest film doesn't feature a mid-credits or post-credits scene, there's still a surprise for those who decide to stay seated after the final shot.
Christopher Nolan was one of the songwriters of The Odyssey's end-credits song, "When I'm Home"
We know Christopher Nolan for his exceptional filmmaking craft, and now he has ventured into yet another artistic field. Once the credits for The Odyssey start to roll, audiences will hear the song "When I'm Home", performed by James Blake, Travis Scott, and The Odyssey composer Ludwig Göransson. However, Nolan himself is one of the songwriters of the song, as confirmed by actor John Leguizamo, who portrays Eumaeus in the Greek epic.
The lyrics of "When I'm Home" can be initially difficult to make out, as the voice is heavily distorted during its first verse. However, some key words that resonate during the song are "A face. A plea. A war," which are the same words used during the opening of The Odyssey. Furthermore, the lyrics of the end-credits song also reference Odysseus' journey and—most importantly—one of the reasons why it took him so long to get home (but we won't go over that here to avoid spoilers).
The Odyssey also features a touching dedication to David Keighley during its end credits. Keighley was IMAX's first chief quality officer and was greatly involved in the evolution of large-format cinema. During an interview on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Christopher Nolan talked about how Keighley was one of the reasons why The Odyssey was able to be shot entirely with IMAX cameras:
"[Keighley] had been my IMAX mentor for almost 20 years. He is the guy who made so much of what we've done possible. I'm proud to say that before he passed, he was able to finish approving all of our last dailies and printing those. We miss him greatly, but I'm absolutely thrilled that he's memorialized in the name of this brand new camera."
During the same interview, Nolan stated that he always wanted to do an entire movie in IMAX format, but he couldn't because "the cameras are so noisy." The beloved director initially did tests using software solutions to filter the camera's noise and extract the raw dialogue, but the actors had to shout their lines in order for that to work. So, for The Odyssey, Nolan challenged IMAX to build an enclosure for the IMAX camera so that sound wouldn't be a problem, and that's exactly what happened. That's why this new type of camera is called the "Keighley."
Tom Holland, who portrays the role of Telemachus in the film, has talked about his experience working with IMAX cameras. He recalls that Nolan kept consistently cutting the scene as they were filming, and the British actor thought it was because the director didn't like his performance. It wasn't until later that he found out IMAX cameras are only able to roll for three minutes before the film magazine fills.
Even if The Odyssey doesn't feature a post-credits or mid-credits scene, audiences should definitely stick around for a touching dedication and a song written by Christopher Nolan himself. Additionally, after the song ends, fans will be treated to mesmerizing music composed by Ludwig Göransson (whose score throughout the movie was beyond exceptional and a high point of the film).
The Odyssey is now playing in theaters.
Add us as a preferred source on Google