Helen of Troy
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Movie Reviews of Helen of Troy
Movie Review: Quite Impressive
Summary: 4 Stars
Like most movies adapted from books or stories, film makers will take some liberties with the storyline and place their personal marks. As long as there is the attempt to stay true to the tone of the original work, you can still carry the story as it was intended to be told.
That being said, I think that this film was a very good depiction of the Trojan war. The director chose to center the theme around Helen and her effect on the men in this film. Her character is meant to be innocent and her spirit a free one. It is this quality that makes her unknowlingly so attractve. Helen slowly begins to realise she is the cause of many troubles including her own unhappiness and soon learns the difference betwen lust and love. This is why she runs away with Paris to Troy, contrary to the notion that she was stolen.
The Greeks have different ideas. Their prize possession was taken from them by their most hated enemy and what better catalyst to serve as Agamemnon's reason for war on Troy. Paris came to Sparta to talk peace, a result power hungry Amagemnon had no interest in. His desire for Troy is more than his desire for Helen. In this battle between lust and love, lust wins and brings havoc on all. The Gods and Goddesses are lauging again at their fateful mischief despite Cassandra's visions of warning.
The production sets were pretty good, but the armor and battle sequences are not quite as impressive as we've seen in other movies. This is supposed to be the greatest battle of all time, yet not much emphasis is placed on the battle at all.
The acting, on the other hand, was very well done. There are lots of characters and names thrown around, familial relations here and there. It can get confusing if you're not familiar with the Iliad. Each character's personal agenda tied nicely into the storyline leading to the war on Troy. Rufus Sewell made a marvellous Amagemnon.
I will admit Helen should have been played by someone with stunning beauty. Sienna Guillory is pretty but a bit on the thin side and doesn't have that face that would launch a thousand ships. She does, however, capture Helen's innocence and sensual spirit.
On the whole a good story telling movie and a must-see before watching the Brad Pitt version of Troy to get a clear background behind this great war.
Movie Review: HELEN OF TROY a solid enough version of classic myth
Summary: 4 Stars
Ever since the Greek poet Homer first recorded the story, "The Iliad" has stood as one of the great pieces of Romantic Adventure. While the USA TV mini-series, HELEN OF TROY, takes some unusual and interesting liberties with the classic story, it provides an entertaining version of the Greek myth. Mainly told from Helen's point of view (with husband Menelaus providing the introduction and epilogue), HELEN OF TROY grabs your attention with some unique twists. For starters, the relationship between brothers Menelaus (James Callis) and high-king Agammemnon (Rufus Sewell) is made into a very complex one, with the basically decent Menelaus being bullied and over-shadowed by his nasty and conniving brother. Both of the major warriors of "the Iliad," Achilles (the bald Joe Montana, who is NOT the the 49ers quarterback of the same name) and Hector (Daniel Lapaine) are given almost minor roles in the epic, with Achilles being no more than a burly brute and Hector as a less-than-superhuman warrior at best. Many other major characters of the story are dropped completely. For example, did anyone else wonder where Pollux's twin brother Castor disappeared to?. Also, events are compressed to fit a reduced time-frame. As for the acting, the range falls between very good to merely servicable. As the title role, Sienna Guillory is pretty enough, though not nearly ravishing enough to warrant launching "a thousand ships." Also, Guillory's Helen comes across as a bit of a pill with her character's tendency to whine. Matthew Marsden fares better as a likable and sympathetic Paris, Helen's lover. James Callis is solid in the somewhat thankless role of the cuckholded Menelaus. Emelia Fox is perfect as the prophetess, Cassandra, who is doomed to foretell the truth...but is never believed. John Rhys-Davies is powerful as King Priam of Troy, while Rufus Sewell turns in the top performance as the black-hearted Agamemmnon.
Overall, despite its weak points, HELEN OF TROY generates our interest over its 3 hour length and is definitely one of the better adaptations of Greek myth out there on film today. As a result, it's definitely one to recommend.
Movie Review: Entertaining Re-Telling
Summary: 4 Stars
Ronni Kern's 2003 re-write of Homer's epic "Iliad" is interesting and entertaining. Sienna Guilloy, in the title role, plays "Helen of Troy" very much like modern Americans want to see the ancient beauty queen... with compassion, concern, gallant heroism, and decorum. Helen's is an ancient love story retold here in a little over three hours. (The wretched length of this movie, with two DVDs!, keeps it from earning the fifth star.)
John Rhys-Davies and Maryam D'abo give great, if too brief, performances as Troy's King and Queen. Rufus Sewell is brilliant, and frightening, as the murderous Agamemnon. And one wants to stand and cheer with the demise of Joe Montana's Achilles at the hands of Matthew Marsden's Paris (both exceptional portrayals!).
The best parts of this flick are the beautiful out door settings and battle scenes. Dramatic rocky cliffs over blue oceans present the impressions of the ancient Aegean. One feels apart of the Grecian landscape with this movie.
In battle, the Greeks would have certainly jumped from their ships into the surf to charge ashore. The Trojans would have definitely rained down clouds of arrows upon their attackers. The fighting choreographies here are brilliant and instructive. The clash of these titans and the melee that follows reflect, from a distance of 4000 year ago, what probably happened. The Trojan Horse is also very imaginative and convincing (the Greeks would have built it from available materials, as this horse depicts).
Purists will correctly say that this screenplay does not present Homer accurately. But this film never makes that claim- its basic idea is not attributed to the Greek poet. This film is, rather, for 21st century amusement with an ancient novelistic flavor. It's worth the viewing.
Movie Review: More accurate than Petersen's TROY
Summary: 4 Stars
I'm always on the lookout for DVDs that I could use for my comparative literature classes. HELEN of TROY and TROY both have their high points and low points. A good point of HELEN is that it shows Hera, Athena and Aphrodite making Paris judge who among them is the fairest goddess; a bad point is that Achilles' weak heel is never given a deeper discussion ("Why is that his kryptonite?" non-mythophiles would wonder). A good point of TROY is that Achilles' mother Thetis is given a spotlight (albeit briefly), thus shedding a light that alludes to his weak heel; a bad point is that he, not the wily Oddyseus, was given credit for the building of the Trojan Horse. And wasn't he already dead when the Horse was dragged into Troy? And the war took more than a few weeks; it was ten years. The movie is just as destructive as Disney's HERCULES. Sure, no one has the copyright to these myths, but young viewers would get misled and, being of the movie generation, they have the tendency to prefer Hollywood to, say, Edith Hamilton. CLASH OF THE TITANS is, to my opinion, the best rendering of a Greek mythological hero, because the story is not alienated of the gods and no filmmaker has offered to surpass its success. HERCULES starring Lou Ferrigno has got to be the worst; it should never even have been put on betamax.
I would still like to see a film about the Trojan War that focuses on the gods themselves -- from the beauty contest on Mount Olympus to the Olympians disguising themselves as Greek and Trojan warriors to Athena's inspiring Oddyseus to come up with the Trojan Horse. Perhaps Xena's producers are reading this review.
Movie Review: High art compared to "Troy"
Summary: 4 Stars
It was interesting to read all the scathing reviews that criticised this movie because it was not entirely faithful to the Iliad. Well, having seen Troy (which many were eagerly awaiting as a "better" version), I have to say Helen Of Troy is much closer to Homer's classic than "Troy". Despite the big budget and special effects, Troy is a travesty! At least the mythological background is included in this movie (Helen of Troy), as is the correct ending showing Helen returning to her husband (in Troy, Menelaus is old and ugly, and killed off early in the movie, leaving Paris and Helen to elope at the end of the movie!!). In the Iliad, Helen returns willingly to her husband and lives happily ever after - but this movie has a creative take on this, showing Helen returning to him, but telling him she can never love him. Rufus Sewell was superb as Agammemnon - much better than the portrayal of the same in "Troy", and all in all there was a lot more depth and exploration of the characters in this movie than in "Troy". I thought the casting was quite good (as opposed to Troy....Brad Pitt was so badly mis-cast as Achilles). I thought the portrayal of the love-struck Menelaus, who is willing to take Helen back despite everything, was good. Achilles was well cast, and truer to the Iliad than the shocking casting of Brad Pitt in the role. Overall a very enjoyable interpretation of the Iliad, and a thousand times better than "Troy".