Top Ten Tuesday: The Best Sword-and-Sandals Epics

Happy Tuesday, dear readers! Each week, we’ll rank the top 10 films in a specific category. While we aim to tie these lists to big releases, that won’t always be the case. Our goal? For you to enjoy, share your own lists, and join in on a lively, friendly debate. This is an interactive space to build community here at The Contending.

No fancy intros, no long essays – just a category and a list. Sound good?

This week, Christopher Nolan brings Homer’s The Odyssey to the big screen, the latest adaptation of one of the most influential stories ever told (and my personal favorite). Early reactions suggested Nolan has delivered the same kind of ambitious, large-scale spectacle that once defined one of Hollywood’s, and my father’s, most beloved genres: the sword-and-sandals epic.

For decades, these films transported audiences to the ancient world, telling stories of legendary warriors, powerful rulers, mythological gods, and civilizations that helped shape history. Featuring massive battle sequences, grand practical sets, thousands of extras, larger-than-life performances, lavish costumes, and unforgettable musical scores, the best of them remain among the most awe-inspiring spectacles ever put on film. The genre reached its golden age during the 1950s and early 1960s, when sword-and-sandal epics were among Hollywood’s most popular and prestigious productions.

I was fortunate enough to see Nolan’s 8th Wonder of the Modern World yesterday, and it is every bit as grand and ambitious in scale and execution as the marketing promised. As a young Greek boy, The Odyssey was my favorite story ever told and a film adaptation I had spent a lifetime hoping to see. I never quite understood what took so long, especially after audiences embraced epic fantasy on the scale of The Lord of the Rings. But here we are, finally, and in the hands of the greatest working director today, Homer’s timeless journey receives the cinematic treatment it deserves.

Matt Damon is tremendous as Odysseus, and the craftsmanship throughout is extraordinary, as Nolan films often are. He runs a tight ship, and the sheer scope of what has been accomplished here is remarkable. The film is not without its flaws, however. While the lack of a predominantly Greek cast is disappointing, some casting choices work better than others. For me, Tom Holland as Telemachus was the most distracting element of the film. His performance often felt stiff, and he struggled to match the level of work being done by actors like Anne Hathaway, Matt Damon, and Jon Bernthal in the scenes surrounding him. While the role is an important one, Holland never fully settled into the world Nolan was creating, and his presence occasionally pulled me out of the film.

I will certainly revisit The Odyssey before deciding exactly where it ranks within Nolan’s filmography, but I am not yet ready to place it alongside what I consider his very best work, such as Oppenheimer, Inception, or Interstellar. Then again, Nolan has set an extraordinarily high bar for himself. Even a film that falls short of those heights remains a major cinematic achievement.

With The Odyssey arriving in theaters this weekend, let’s rank the best of my father’s favorite genre.

Here are my ten favorite sword-and-sandal epics.