Troy (2004)
Country: US/GB/MAL
Technical: Technicolor/2.35:1 163m
Director: Wolfgang Petersen
Cast: Brad Pitt, Eric Bana, Orlando Bloom, Diane Krüger, Brian Cox, Sean Bean, Brendan Gleeson, Peter O'Toole, Julian Glover, Julie Christie, James Cosmo, Nigel Terry, Trevor Eve, Saffron Burrows
Synopsis:
Paris abuses a peace mission to Sparta by absconding with Menelaus's only too willing wife, Helen. Brother-in-law Agamemnon uses the slight as an excuse to make war on Troy, calling upon the other Greek subject kingdoms to rally to his support.
Review:
A mixed business, this revisionary version of Homer's story claims inspiration from the Iliad, and indeed provides one or two scenes of mortal combat worthy of the poet, but eschews any reference to divine intervention in favour of a modern, agnostic approach embodied in the individualist - and therefore very American - Achilles. It also engineers the early deaths of both Menelaus and Agamemnon, who are played by British actors and thus nasty pieces of work, and the escape of Helen, Paris and Andromache along with Aeneas and co. The biggest surprise, though, must be the characterization of Achilles, who has no sooner dragged Hector through the dust than he is performing magnanimous gestures and fallen in love with Briseis! Interesting that, unlike the historical and unambiguously spiritual Gladiator, this legendary tale should be served devoid of any religious dimension outside the protestations of Priam and Briseis. However, modern effects afford a realization of the scale of the war - in space if not in time - hitherto impracticable and the vision of Troy itself takes account of recent breakthroughs in archaeology. Even the wooden horse is a DIY affair, all ropes and rough edges, more a conjuror's set piece than a craftsman's offering to a deity.
Country: US/GB/MAL
Technical: Technicolor/2.35:1 163m
Director: Wolfgang Petersen
Cast: Brad Pitt, Eric Bana, Orlando Bloom, Diane Krüger, Brian Cox, Sean Bean, Brendan Gleeson, Peter O'Toole, Julian Glover, Julie Christie, James Cosmo, Nigel Terry, Trevor Eve, Saffron Burrows
Synopsis:
Paris abuses a peace mission to Sparta by absconding with Menelaus's only too willing wife, Helen. Brother-in-law Agamemnon uses the slight as an excuse to make war on Troy, calling upon the other Greek subject kingdoms to rally to his support.
Review:
A mixed business, this revisionary version of Homer's story claims inspiration from the Iliad, and indeed provides one or two scenes of mortal combat worthy of the poet, but eschews any reference to divine intervention in favour of a modern, agnostic approach embodied in the individualist - and therefore very American - Achilles. It also engineers the early deaths of both Menelaus and Agamemnon, who are played by British actors and thus nasty pieces of work, and the escape of Helen, Paris and Andromache along with Aeneas and co. The biggest surprise, though, must be the characterization of Achilles, who has no sooner dragged Hector through the dust than he is performing magnanimous gestures and fallen in love with Briseis! Interesting that, unlike the historical and unambiguously spiritual Gladiator, this legendary tale should be served devoid of any religious dimension outside the protestations of Priam and Briseis. However, modern effects afford a realization of the scale of the war - in space if not in time - hitherto impracticable and the vision of Troy itself takes account of recent breakthroughs in archaeology. Even the wooden horse is a DIY affair, all ropes and rough edges, more a conjuror's set piece than a craftsman's offering to a deity.
Country: US/GB/MAL
Technical: Technicolor/2.35:1 163m
Director: Wolfgang Petersen
Cast: Brad Pitt, Eric Bana, Orlando Bloom, Diane Krüger, Brian Cox, Sean Bean, Brendan Gleeson, Peter O'Toole, Julian Glover, Julie Christie, James Cosmo, Nigel Terry, Trevor Eve, Saffron Burrows
Synopsis:
Paris abuses a peace mission to Sparta by absconding with Menelaus's only too willing wife, Helen. Brother-in-law Agamemnon uses the slight as an excuse to make war on Troy, calling upon the other Greek subject kingdoms to rally to his support.
Review:
A mixed business, this revisionary version of Homer's story claims inspiration from the Iliad, and indeed provides one or two scenes of mortal combat worthy of the poet, but eschews any reference to divine intervention in favour of a modern, agnostic approach embodied in the individualist - and therefore very American - Achilles. It also engineers the early deaths of both Menelaus and Agamemnon, who are played by British actors and thus nasty pieces of work, and the escape of Helen, Paris and Andromache along with Aeneas and co. The biggest surprise, though, must be the characterization of Achilles, who has no sooner dragged Hector through the dust than he is performing magnanimous gestures and fallen in love with Briseis! Interesting that, unlike the historical and unambiguously spiritual Gladiator, this legendary tale should be served devoid of any religious dimension outside the protestations of Priam and Briseis. However, modern effects afford a realization of the scale of the war - in space if not in time - hitherto impracticable and the vision of Troy itself takes account of recent breakthroughs in archaeology. Even the wooden horse is a DIY affair, all ropes and rough edges, more a conjuror's set piece than a craftsman's offering to a deity.