Finished Nolan’s The Odyssey? Here's 10 more mythic adventures to watch next

If Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey left you clamouring for more ancient heroes, monsters, and impossible travel arrangements, you're not exactly short of options. Greek myths, epic poems, and adventure legends have been keeping the film industry in business for decades, long before caped crusaders took centre stage. And honestly, if you want big journeys, magical beasties, and gods mucking about in mortal affairs, these films are as good as anything you'll find in a multiplex this century.

Let's cut to the chase. If you enjoyed Nolan's take, here are ten proper mythological adventures that are worth your time. Sword-and-sandal epics, legendary quests, and a few oddball tricks — all here, all essential viewing for anyone with a weakness for heroics and the supernatural.

Myth, Monsters, and Old-School Magic

1. Jason and the Argonauts (1963) — If you fancy one film that manages the same blend of myth, monsters, and catastrophic luck that Odysseus faced, this is it. Loosely based on the epic Argonautica, Jason leads a who's-who of Greek heroes on a quest for the Golden Fleece. What makes it brilliant isn't the wooden acting or the script, but Ray Harryhausen's stop-motion effects: Talos, Harpies, Hydra, and the legendary skeleton fight that every fantasy nerd secretly loves. It didn't exactly clean up at the box office, but sixty years on, it's the gold standard: a genuine classic.
2. The Sinbad Trilogy (1958–1977) — Not technically Greek, but the same heroic voyage energy. Three stop-motion fantasy gems, backed by Harryhausen again: The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, The Golden Voyage of Sinbad, and Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger. Sinbad (played by a rotating cast of lantern-jawed Americans) faces cyclops, centaurs, evil wizards, and the sort of magical bric-a-brac that CGI still can't top for charm. The 7th Voyage is the high point, especially if you like your monsters grumpy and your skeletons sword-wielding.
3. Clash of the Titans (1981) — Harryhausen's last hurrah, and a full-on Greek spectacle. Perseus (Harry Hamlin) faces Medusa, the Kraken, and the Olympian gods (Laurence Olivier, Maggie Smith, Ursula Andress, and co. hamming it up gloriously). Ignore the dire 2010 remake and stick with this. Harryhausen's Medusa — all wriggling snakes and sinister eyes — is enough to keep you up nights. The effects are old-school but haven't lost their edge.
4. Troy (2004) — Directed by Wolfgang Petersen and loosely (emphasis here) based on Homer's Iliad. Brad Pitt flexes abs and ego as Achilles, Sean Bean turns up as Odysseus, and the film strips nearly all the divine intervention out in favour of sweaty, self-important humans. The Iliad purists get twitchy when this movie comes up (“Where are the gods?”), but it gives you the massive battles and the fall of Troy that sets up Odysseus' own journey.
5. The Odyssey (1997) — Two-part US/Italian miniseries with Armand Assante as Odysseus. If Nolan's version whetted your appetite, this one fills in all the bits: Trojan Horse, Polyphemus, Circe, the Sirens, Scylla and Charybdis, Calypso, and the suitors waiting back in Ithaca. Budget special effects, but it tries to cover the entire epic properly — a rarity.
6. O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000) — Not your standard myth film, but the spirit is pure Homer. The Coen brothers transport The Odyssey to 1930s Mississippi. George Clooney, all pomade and big talk, stands in for Odysseus, and the film is packed with sly references — the Sirens, a one-eyed salesman, a homecoming, and a wife who won't have him. Genuinely fun, and the best bluegrass soundtrack you'll ever hear in a mythic quest. This is, and always will be, my most-watched version of The Odyssey.
7. Hercules / Hercules Unchained (1958–59) — The Steve Reeves Italian double bill that sparked the whole sword-and-sandal craze. Not especially big on accuracy (it throws in half the Greek heroic roster for good measure), but you get Hercules fighting lions, bulls, and psychodramatic queens, plus a trip with Jason looking for golden sheepskin. There's plenty of spectacle, not much pondering. Hercules Unchained dials up the fever dream element, but Reeves is a legend in the role.
8. Excalibur (1981) — Not Greek, strictly Arthurian, but if you fancy more doomed heroes fated for greatness, you won't do better. John Boorman tells the entire Arthur legend with all the magic, betrayal, and mad Merlin action intact. Nigel Terry's Arthur grows from clueless kid to tragic king. The film's visuals — shining armour, swampy forests, rain-soaked misery — are pure myth. Patrick Stewart, Helen Mirren, and Liam Neeson crop up, mostly young and unrecognisable. Still the definitive take.
9. The Thief of Bagdad (1940) — If Arabian Nights-style adventure suits you, this is the one to watch. Not really Homeric, but it nails the tone: flying carpets, genies, impossible magic, and kingdoms to reclaim. Sabu is pitch-perfect as the thief Abu. Bagged three Oscars for art direction, effects, and cinematography. Even now, some of the sequences look dazzling. More magical than most modern CGI epics.
10. Ulysses (1954) — Early sword-and-sandal epic with Kirk Douglas playing Odysseus (or “Ulysses” if we're going Latin). Shot in Italy, very much of its era, but it covers all the major stops: Cyclops, Circe, Sirens, and finally the bloody homecoming. Not the flashiest effects — this came well before Harryhausen fever — but its place in cinematic history is secure. It inspired a whole raft of Italian myth movies that followed.

Jason and the Argonauts premiered in 1963 and has gone from cult favourite to one of the most acclaimed mythological adventure films ever made.

For Nerds, Completists, and Curiosity Seekers

Everyone argues about which of these is the 'most faithful' or 'the best fun,' but if you're here for the monsters, voyages, and grand-scale disasters, they all pull their weight. The old stop-motion beasts still look weirdly alive, and many later fantasy blockbusters owe more than a little to these pioneering efforts. Worth a look next time you fancy a break from superheroes — or if you just need to watch Achilles do anything except moan about his heel.