Based on Homer’s Odyssey, The Return (2024) reimagines the legend of Odysseus’ journey through a modern, gritty lens. Directed by Uberto Pasolini and starring Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche, the film explores loyalty, trauma, and the toll of long wars.

We discuss the mythological and historical roots behind The Return, Homer’s Odyssey, why this is such a refreshing retelling of a classic tale and how it might provide the antidote to Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey (2026).

Plus: Ralph Fiennes’ Liverpool theatre experience, revenge done right and loincloths!

📩 Share your favourite ancient epic or modern retelling at historicalmoviespodcast@gmail.com or @hmpodcast.bsky.social.

The Last Samurai (2003), directed by Edward Zwick, dramatises Japan’s Meiji Restoration and the end of the samurai era.

We break down the historical accuracy of The Last Samurai, the real-life inspiration behind Katsumoto and the Satsuma Rebellion, and how this movie gets the history of both sides of the conflict completely wrong.

Plus: Tom Cruise’s widow-maker leg-over technique, samurai vs. Gatling guns, and whether this movie is Legends of the Fall in dressing gowns.

🎌 Also perplexed at why Tom Cruise didn’t die at the end of this film? Write to historicalmoviespodcast@gmail.com or find us on @hmpodcast.bsky.social.

Charlie Hunnam and Rami Malek star in the 2017 remake of Papillon, based on Henri Charrière’s memoir of imprisonment and escape from Devil’s Island.

We explore the real history behind the real Papillon, from the notorious French penal colonies in Guiana, why they existed, to how much of Charrière’s incredible story is actually true.

Plus: gym bros in prison, why this movie is like a cheap perfume ad, comparing it to the 1973 Steve McQueen original, and how this gritty film actually sanitised the original book!

📩 Got a bee in your bonnet or a ‘charger’ up your bum about this movie? Email us at historicalmoviespodcast@gmail.com or message @hmpodcast.bsky.social.