Christopher Nolan's big-screen adaptation of Homer's *The Odyssey*, starring Matt Damon, has become the summer's biggest box-office draw, taking $264m globally on its opening weekend alongside strong reviews, including a five-star notice from the Guardian's Peter Bradshaw. With few other major blockbusters due for release this summer bar Spider-Man: Brand New Day, the film looks set to dominate cinemas for weeks, drawing fans travelling long distances to see it on rare Imax 70mm screens.

The Guardian piece is a spoiler-filled breakdown of the film's production and craft, exploring how Nolan, buoyed by Oppenheimer's best picture Oscar win, spent a reported $250m budget shooting across six countries including Iceland, Scotland, Greece, Italy, Malta and Western Sahara – the latter drawing criticism over filming in a disputed, UN-classified non-decolonised territory. Nolan avoided CGI for the Mediterranean sea sequences, using a real Viking ship and a giant water tank with jet-engine-powered waves, while continuing his long-standing use of Imax cameras, first pioneered in blockbuster action scenes with The Dark Knight in 2008.