The Odyssey's Biggest Mistake: Why Cutting "Nobody" Ruined the Polyphemus Scene

[00:00:00]Who would have thought leaving nobody out of the Odyssey would become one of the movie's biggest problems? So, I just saw the Odyssey in theaters this weekend. Great movie, really great movie, but even I was shocked that they left out one of the most iconic pieces of dialogue from the original story by Homer. Cutting out the nobody dialogue scene is cutting out a huge piece of Odysseus's character and what made him so iconic. Let's dive into why Christopher Nolan decided to leave this beautiful piece of dialogue out of his newest adaptation of the Odyssey. But before we get into all of that, if you guys wouldn't mind smashing that like and subscribe button, really does a lot for this channel and goes a long, long way. Now, let's get right into it. My name is nobody.

[00:00:43]No body. Now, look, I understand adaptations always have to make some changes going from a book to a movie, but deciding to cut out the nobody scene was a real letdown for hardcore Odyssey fans. The 1997 TV show adaptation understood why this exchange mattered between Odysseus and Polyphemus. It wasn't just included because it's famous, but it showcases the intelligence of Odysseus, which happens to be the core of his brilliance. The Cyclops is stronger than all of Odysseus's men combined, but yet Odysseus outsmarted him, fooling Polyphemus not only to escape, but to prevent Polyphemus from calling for backup. By telling the Cyclops his name was nobody, it saved him and his men from being the target of more retaliation from the brothers of Polyphemus.

[00:01:33]And they didn't even include the part where Odysseus got Polyphemus drunk before he planned his escape.

[00:01:40]>> [music] >> Leaving all this out left out a huge part of how Odysseus is so smart and so slick from being a military commander to negotiating his way out of a jam. These elements showcase a lot of his character. Now, apparently according to Christopher Nolan, he stated that he wanted to include the famous nobody dialogue in this new adaptation, but apparently it didn't translate well on screen. According to Nolan, the pun didn't translate naturally into modern dialogue.

[00:02:09]>> [music] >> Now, allow me to be devil's advocate.

[00:02:12]It's not supposed to translate well.

[00:02:14]This story was written 3,000 years ago.

[00:02:16]It's not supposed to match the vocabulary we have today. But leaving out the nobody dialogue scene, I personally think it was a real shame. I believe if the writing team spent a little more time trying to map out how this nobody [music] scene could go down, it could have worked. On that same note, I'm curious what you guys think. What do you guys think about how the film left out the nobody scene? As always, let me know in the comment section. Thank you guys so so much for watching this [music] video. Always a pleasure doing this with you guys. If you guys like what you see, please be sure to smash that like [music] and subscribe button for more. And until next time, I'm MovieBoyMike.

[00:02:52]>> Was that MovieBoyMike?

[00:02:54]Oh boy, take it away MovieBoyMike.