Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Oh dear, what were they thinking! , 25 May 2008
I cannot speak for the accuracy of the history, for that see the previous reviews, but what is clearly evident that they don't say is that this film presents some of the cheapest TV production values of recent years you are likely to see.
There are badly fitting costumes, poorly choreographed fight scenes (e.g. Paris fighting Menelaus with swords, they miss their cue, hesitate, fumble and look lost for improvisation until they resume the choreography again - it would have been better to re-shoot the scene). I had to rewind this part a couple of times as I couldn't believe they'd allowed it to get past the cutting room floor. Sadly, there are several very noticeable 'fumbles' in this very cheap looking movie.
Hollywood's Bible Epics of the 50's were infinitely more sophisticated by comparison, even the Sinbad movies were more life-like! There are painted backdrops here that may have been done by the audience of Blue Peter, even the original Japanese 'Godzilla' had more realism than the CGI ships and battles in this film.
I know the above sounds harsh, but based on the reviews I'd read I had been looking forward to a sophisticated movie, so my expectations were set higher than this film could deliver.
But concentrating its many faults loses the point of this movie, which at its most basic is to simply tell a tale and whether true or false, who cares? Obviously purists do - but then purists would be unlikely to watch this collection of this thigh-slapping, wooden acting and (at times, very naff) script writing. The beginning of the movie, especially, has the amateurish hallmarks of a primary school production; Helen (Sienna Guillory) as an actress in her late 20s dances and prances and skips about in the hope of conveying the youth of the teenage (19 years old?) Helen. It's just embarrassing.
Whether this movie genuinely does improve or the viewer simply becomes accustomed to its style is hard to say for sure, but the film does improve. This is thanks only to the original story, which engages the viewer and pulls the whole piece together despite the cheap production.
Agamemnon (Rufus Sewell) is the only truly solid character, he breathes believability into the role and the success of the unfolding storyline owes a great deal to him, most others in the film seem like 'extras' by comparison. Helen is often little more than a semi-clad female, though by the film's end she does act with a more maturity (acting maturity as opposed to age). And King Priam (John Rhys-Davies) is the last of the main characters with credibility.
There are some neat moments in this movie (clever camera trickery) but otherwise, it seldom rises above the excitement levels of Coronation Street (which also happens to have more convincing special effects). Then again, I only found afterwards that this was originally a US TV mini-series, which explains a lot.
I would say this is a decent story, worth being told, though not in the way it's done here (it's a very different rendition of the story from the film 'TROY' with Brad Pitt, and this, in itself is quite exciting as you won't know the outcome).
Apart from Rufus Sewell, the best I can say about this movie is, "it's a mediocre way of spending the best part of three hours".
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18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Face That Launched 1,000 ships, 31 Jul 2006
I've studied Classics for the past 3 years and am a real fan of the epics, and this version of the Trojan War explores much more of the story than the blockbuster Troy. For instance we see more of the relationship between Paris and Helen and her life before her fateful decision to leave Sparta. In Troy the action begins with Helen and Paris already together. The epic places the blame for the war on Helen's decsion so it was an odd choice for Troy to totally steam past all of this. I love this version, Helen and Agamemnon are marvelously cast, along with Clytemnestra and Cassandra. Achillies and Menelaus however are appalling, with Paris not far behind them. But if your after a good story that covers more than just the battle scenes then go for this one. It covers the legend of Helen's divine birth, her childhood, her family, her supposed curse, her engagement to Menelaus and the attraction Agamemnon feels for her, her meeting with Paris, her decision to leave Sparta, and the war that results. It also ends correctly with Paris defeated and Helen returning home with her true husband. This is the better version, unchanged by Hollywood. Watch it for a better insight.
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12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The true story of Troy, 15 April 2007
As an avid lover of all things classical and mythical, I was hoping that the film Helen of Troy would stick to the real story of Troy and Helen's family history. In this respect I was not disappointed. The film included the goddesses giving Paris the apple for chosing the fairest, which was excluded from the Brad Pitt film (Troy).
However, apart from excellent storylines and mythical aspects, there were odd casting choices. ie Paris, himself was quite weak. Also Achilles was appauling. Brad Pitt in Troy succeeded in his role completely. But Helen herself was excellent and the story behind her life was brilliant. As was the faithful rendition of the demise of Agamemnon. I hated the Hollywood retelling of the Iliad in Troy, especially as Paris and Helen were allowed to disappear off into the sunset happily ever after. This film allowed the Gods to be part of the story which was true to the book. I was also delighted to see that the sacrifice of Iphigenia was kept in the film too. Albeit very sad and well acted, it was an important part of the plot. This was crucial to the way in which Clytemnestra began her plotting to kill her husband on his return from Troy (again omitted from Troy).
I would recommend this film to anyone who enjoys the classics and want to see a well made film. The special effects were on a par with the Troy film. So no expense spared here.
Now we need to see a faithful story of the Odyssey as that is a far superior story to the Iliad!
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