Helen of Troy

Rating:
Summary: What....!!!!????
Review: uugghhhh!!! This movie pissed me off so badly. Accurate my a--!!!! How are you telling the story of Helen of Troy or Troy for that matter and leavig out the Gods. What the hell was with that poisned arrow seen, perfect time for male bonding. That's completely changing Homer's work. This was a dissappointment.

A couple years ago they made "The Odyssey" into a made-for-TV-movie, and they were on point. So, this movie could have done the same.

I spent a month reading "The Iliad" in it's original form, then I turn on the TV and see this crap. They totally butchered Homer's work.


I have to disagree with most people here, Troy was a lot more accurate than this movie. This movie was a disgrace.

Rating:
Summary: Much Better Than TROY!
Review: After seeing the movie TROY - which disappointed my highly - I rented this DVD from my neighbourhood video store not expecting much. I was in for a surprise! I spent the next three hours glued to my TV screen and enjoyed it so much I ended up buying the film to add to my growing DVD collection.
As far as TV movies go, this one is above average. One must remember this film was made for TV. If they don't think the special effects were much, than the money that went in to the costumes, sets and props tells you how original the producers and the director wanted them to be. The documentary on the making of the production tells you that much.
Those who are familiar with Homer's classic poem will have their own idea of how the Iliad should be told. We are informed at the beginning of the film, by Menelaus himself, that this is the real story. What he himself saw, not Homer. You then know that you are in for a fresh version. What I found was most of the important parts of the original story with minor additions or changes that had no negative effect.
Sienna Guillory was given a challenge in playing the part of Helen. It is no easy task as everyone has their own idea of what Helen should look like or behave. Here she played an adolescent Helen as well as a older, wiser one. For a 25 year old woman to try to come across convincingly as a 15 year old still innocent to the world is no easy task. She also convinced me by playing a Helen who felt she was the responsiblity for the death and destruction around her when it was actually Agamemnon's greed, Priam's poor judgement and Paris' selfishness.
The film also took Homer's two of Homer's romantic heroes and exposed them for the people their probably really would have been. Rufus Sewell (an actor who I've been keeping an eye on) was excellent in portraying Agamemnon as a cruel, arrogant king who coveted the wealth of Troy and Menelaus' wife. Joe Montana surprised me in his performance as Achilles. What lines he had he delivered well, and his intensity convinced me that Achilles wasn't a good guy. Instead he was vainglorious and lusted for the violence of battle. Those who complained about him being bald should try to imagine Montana in a blonde wig like the one Brad Pitt wore. Just doesn't fit, does it.
As for the true heroes, Matthew Marsden, though a pretty boy, held up his role as Paris very well. I've always seen Paris as a flawed hero, his love for Helen meaning more to him than the safety of the city and people of Troy. He truly dies a heroes death at the hands of Agamemnon. Menelaus is another flawed hero. A man who, at the willing of the gods, falls in love with Helen and wins her as his trophy wife, only to lose her. James Callis made me sympathise with Menelaus, his strong but sensitive portrayal of the Spartan king convincing me that in the end Helen was returned to a husband who would no longer take her for granted. By the way, Menelaus and Helen went on to have their own adventures in Egypt while on their return to Sparta, and had three sons and a daughter named Hermione.
As for the true hero, Daniel Lapaine is truly a courageous Hector. John Rhys-Davies easily fills the shoes of the wise but flawed King Priam, Katie Blake impressed me with her sympathetic portrayal of the vengeful Queen Clytemnestra, and Emilia Fox as Cassandra, cursed by Apollo to always tell the truth but never be believed, was very believable. A talent she inherieted from her father Edward Fox, no doubt. The rest of the cast was suberb.
This is a good film to watch on a rainy weekend afternoon with a bowl of popcorn. I highly recommend it!