Plot
An adaptation of Homer's great epic, the film follows the assault on Troy by the united Greek forces and chronicles the fates of the men involved.
Release Year: 2004
Rating: 7.0/10 (181,232 voted)
Critic's Score: 56/100
Director:
Wolfgang Petersen
Stars: Brad Pitt, Eric Bana, Orlando Bloom
Storyline It is the year 1250 B.C. during the late Bronze age. Two emerging nations begin to clash after Paris, the Trojan prince, convinces Helen, Queen of Sparta, to leave her husband Menelaus, and sail with him back to Troy. After Menelaus finds out that his wife was taken by the Trojans, he asks his brother Agamemnom to help him get her back. Agamemnon sees this as an opportunity for power. So they set off with 1,000 ships holding 50,000 Greeks to Troy. With the help of Achilles, the Greeks are able to fight the never before defeated Trojans. But they come to a stop by Hector, Prince of Troy. The whole movie shows their battle struggles, and the foreshadowing of fate in this remake by Wolfgang Petersen of Homer's "The Iliad."
Writers: Homer, David Benioff
Cast: Julian Glover
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Triopas
Brian Cox
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Agamemnon
Nathan Jones
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Boagrius
Adoni Maropis
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Agamemnon's Officer
Jacob Smith
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Messenger Boy
Brad Pitt
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Achilles
John Shrapnel
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Nestor
Brendan Gleeson
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Menelaus
Diane Kruger
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Helen
Eric Bana
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Hector
Orlando Bloom
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Paris
Siri Svegler
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Polydora
Lucie Barat
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Helen's Handmaiden
Ken Bones
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Hippasus
Manuel Cauchi
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Old Spartan Fisherman
Trivia: James Horner composed the score for the movie in less than a month and a half, whereas Gabriel Yared spent over a year on his version. In the 2007 Director's Cut Edition, Wolfgang Petersen used some parts of Yared's score and music from other films, especially from
Planet of the Apes,
The Count of Monte Cristo and
Starship Troopers in the fight scene between Achilles and Hector.
Goofs:
Continuity:
When Hector and Achilles have their final showdown, Hector is seen with some sort of string or hair strand extending from just below his helmet on his left. When the scene goes to show him removing his helmet, this item is gone.
Quotes:
[first lines]
Odysseus:
[voiceover]
Men are haunted by the vastness of eternity. And so we ask ourselves: will our actions echo across the centuries? Will strangers hear our names long after we are gone, and wonder who we were, how bravely we fought, how fiercely we loved?
User Review
Proof that critics should be ignored
Rating: 7/10
I finally got to see this movie in the bargain theaters here in El Paso
on Labor Day. I originally hadn't thought much about the movie, but as
time went on it had left the regular theaters here in town and I
realized that I'd wished I'd gone to see it. I remember hearing several
outside critics blasting the movie as horrible and wanted to judge for
myself. I'm very glad I finally saw this movie.
This movie is not the usual Clash of the Titans/Jason and the Argonauts
type of movie where the gods are constantly shown and portrayed as more
important and powerful than the lowly humans. In fact, this movie
completely ignores the so-called gods and instead places the focus
where it belongs -- on the warriors themselves. I have studied the
Iliad as well as other stories surrounding the mythical Trojan War
since my days as an elementary school geek obsessed with mythology and
Dungeons & Dragons. Instead of being targeted toward that audience this
film demystifies the Trojan War and treats it in a manner in which it
could have actually happened. We see that the elders who continually
refer to their so-called gods come across as fools. One of the most
telling lines is when Hector (Eric Bana) refers to the fact that Apollo
did not strike down Achilles (Brad Pitt) for desecrating the statue. It
is very telling that Hector seems to doubt the gods he has been taught
to worship.
I have been a longtime critic of Brad Pitt as a second-tier talent who
became famous only because of his looks, but in this film he surprised
me. He is the TRUE star of the film. Achilles is easily the most
interesting and entertaining character. I applaud Brad Pitt's effort in
making his character a tragic hero. Achilles acknowledges that he is
NOT the son of a goddess and is not immortal or invulnerable. The movie
basically shows us how a rumor can blossom into a legend unto itself.
Achilles' legend BECOMES immortal. He even refers to this in my
favorite scene when he is inspiring his men and starts the invasion
heavily outnumbered and still triumphs. Later in the same scene he
scoffs at the so-called gods the Greeks and Trojans worship by
decapitating the statue. I found this scene symbolic of the movie
itself. The gods are nothing to both the characters and audience.
Instead of supernatural powers and impossible feats we're treated to
realism. Even Achilles' death is more realistic than in the myth. In
the myth Paris does kill Achilles with an arrow, but because he has no
battle skills his hand is actually guided by Apollo.
If there was one thing I did not like in this film it was the
transformation of Paris into some kind of hero. Paris was a coward in
the original myth and I saw no reason to transform him into an
overnight hero in the movie. I guess Orlando Bloom fans wouldn't be
able to bear seeing him as the bad guy and were given the uninspired
transformation of Paris into a better archer than Robin Hood.
While this movie was nowhere near the epic masterpiece that the
producers had hoped or that it was advertised as, it did not deserve
the bad publicity it received from critics. I applaud the makers of
this film and look forward to buying it on DVD.
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