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The Troy: Last War of the Heroic Age
Si Sheppard, Jose Daniel Cabrera Pena and Rocio Espin Pinar
Book
When Paris, prince of Troy, ran off with Helen, wife of the king of Sparta, it launched the greatest...
David McK (3786 KP) rated Troy (2004) in Movies
Apr 28, 2020 (Updated Aug 25, 2024)
Following the success of "Gladiator" in 2000, I was expecting Hollywood to resurrect the old sword and sandals movies of yore, and for their to be a glut of the same.
At the time of writing this review (2020), there was actually surprisingly few such films: of the top of my head, I can only really think of "Robin Hood", "Kingdom of Heaven", and this.
With quite a few big names in its cast - Brad Pitt, Sean Bean, Orlando Bloom, Peter O'Toole and Eric Bana to name a few - this retells the story of the siege of Troy (although said siege doesn't seem to last as long as originally told), following Paris (Orlando Bloom) elopement with the wife of Menelaus of Troy (Brendan Gleeson) Helen (Diane Kruger), giving an excuse for Agememnon (a scenery chewing Brian Cox) to go to war against that city.
While this does have some bruising action scenes - the beach landing, and Achilles Vs Hector are my personal favourite - unfortunately large swathes of the film are bogged down by necessary exposition, and I have to say that the face of this version of Helen of Sparta (or Troy) may not be able to launch the fleet of a thousand ships that she is described as in the original texts (where she is said to be the most beautiful woman in the world).
At the time of writing this review (2020), there was actually surprisingly few such films: of the top of my head, I can only really think of "Robin Hood", "Kingdom of Heaven", and this.
With quite a few big names in its cast - Brad Pitt, Sean Bean, Orlando Bloom, Peter O'Toole and Eric Bana to name a few - this retells the story of the siege of Troy (although said siege doesn't seem to last as long as originally told), following Paris (Orlando Bloom) elopement with the wife of Menelaus of Troy (Brendan Gleeson) Helen (Diane Kruger), giving an excuse for Agememnon (a scenery chewing Brian Cox) to go to war against that city.
While this does have some bruising action scenes - the beach landing, and Achilles Vs Hector are my personal favourite - unfortunately large swathes of the film are bogged down by necessary exposition, and I have to say that the face of this version of Helen of Sparta (or Troy) may not be able to launch the fleet of a thousand ships that she is described as in the original texts (where she is said to be the most beautiful woman in the world).
David McK (3786 KP) rated The Iliad: A Graphic Novel in Books
Apr 4, 2026
I *think* I may have (voluntarily!) read The Iliad and The Odyssey whilst at school.
30 odd years ago.
If so, I'd forgotten how The Iliad actually ends, with the death of burial of Hector, Prince of Troy instead of the Wooden Horse and sacking of the city that many readers are probably more familiar with.
This is a graphic novel adaptation of the story, as told in The Iliad and thus ends at the same point - which, I had to say, actually took me by surprise somewhat! (Not Hector's death - I was expecting that! - but that the story ended there).
I can see this being a more attractive read that the original text to any who are not in the mood for, effectively, a 'heavy' meal.
30 odd years ago.
If so, I'd forgotten how The Iliad actually ends, with the death of burial of Hector, Prince of Troy instead of the Wooden Horse and sacking of the city that many readers are probably more familiar with.
This is a graphic novel adaptation of the story, as told in The Iliad and thus ends at the same point - which, I had to say, actually took me by surprise somewhat! (Not Hector's death - I was expecting that! - but that the story ended there).
I can see this being a more attractive read that the original text to any who are not in the mood for, effectively, a 'heavy' meal.