Troy (Blu-ray Disc, 2007, Director's Cut Unrated)

Ever since the release of Gladiator, a few sword and sandal epics have been given the greenlight by various studios, all hoping to recapture the money and awards that Ridley Scott's 2000 film garnered. The sporadic projects have had varied critical and commercial success, and often no one film was able to get both at the same time. Wolfgang Petersen's Troy made plenty of money worldwide, but left many critics cold. Petersen himself was unhappy with the version released to theaters, and convinced Warner Bros. to let him go back and recut the film in a director's cut version. This cut is now seeing the light of day on DVD, HD DVD, and Blu-ray.

The story remains very much the same. Greek Warlord Agamemnon (Brian Cox) has succeeded in uniting all of the disparate Greek kingdoms under his standard. He did so using the brains and brawn of the world's most reknowned warrior, Achilles (Brad Pitt), despite an intense dislike between the two men. Agamemnon lusts after the city of Troy, and gets his chance to go after it when his brother, Menelaus (Brendan Gleeson) finds that his wife Helen (Diane Kruger) has run off with Paris (Orlando Bloom), a prince of Troy. He calls together all of the Greek kings, including Achilles' friend Odysseus (Sean Bean), to fight with him. And so the conglomeration of Greeks sail to Troy. Achilles goes with them not for Agamemnon or even Odysseus, but for the chance to achieve everlasting glory. They quickly find that Troy's walls are not easily overcome, and that their army, led by Prince Hector (Eric Bana) is a powerful fighting force, even though their numbers aren't as great as the Greeks. Faced with a potentially endless siege, the dominating personalities of many of the men start to clash and threaten to destroy the entire endeavor.

Troy is, of course, based on Homer's The Iliad, as well as The Aeneid, myths, legends, and other tales surrounding the event. Petersen made a choice early on to exclude gods and other mythological creatures as actual characters in the picture. And while this certainly makes it easier to digest, it also strips the story of the grandeur it has had for thousands of years. While the Greek gods were petty and cruel (in the classic tale, the entire mess starts when Paris judges a beauty contest amongst three goddesses), they at least gave a larger than life scope to the piece. Without them, it just seems like a bunch of vain assholes fighting over nothing and less than nothing. There's also dialogue, such as when Achilles' mother tells him that if he goes to Troy, his name will be remembered for thousands of years, that make no sense unless you realize that the Greeks believed heavily in obtuse prophecies from oracles. With this knowledge, the words have much more weight. Without them, they just make Achille's mom seem kind of kooky.

Speaking of lacking scope, the entire picture feels too small. Yes, there are shots of an uncountable fleet of ships coming to invade Troy, and many of the battle sequences are appropriately massive, but the entire story feels like it takes place over the course of three weeks. For comparison, The Iliad details the events of the tenth year of the siege of Troy. The whole film suffers from many such compressions. This also serves to stunt the growth of many of the characters. Achilles goes from bloodthirsty in one scene to love stricken in the next to vengeful after two more scenes and then regretful.

Wolfgang Petersen has created a massive, intelligent historical epic. Great performances from an all-star cast; Brad Pitt, Eric Bana, Orlando Bloom, Peter O'toole, and others. The Blu-ray transfer is excellent, both in picture and sound. Worth having to showcase a home theater system. The Blu ray version is the director's cut, now slightly over three hours, but the pacing is such that you are continually entertained. Should be on your short list!

Historically, the story is timeless: In 2500 BC, the legendary Greek king, Agamemnon, waged war against Troy (across the Aegean sea on the Turkish coast, yes there was a Troy) when Helen, the wife of his brother Menelaus, King of Sparta, fell in love with Paris, a prince of Troy, and returned to Troy with Paris.

Great location shooting and costume and set design. Well written story that flows effortlessly to its conclusion of the destruction of Troy caused by a wooden horse. Great actors who live their parts, and finally, true-to-life battle scenes that churn your insides.

A definite keeper for viewing again and again.

I thoroughly enjoyed watching Troy. Brad Pitt did a great job of portraying Achielles as Eric Bana did Hector; to be honest, the casting agent picked his/her people well.

The scenery is stunning (who wouldn't be taken away by the 1000 ships headed to Troy)? The fight scenes were epic.... all in all, if you're looking for a good action movie with a bit of romance/drama, this is the one to get.

P.S.: I bought this movie for the detail only seen in Blu-Ray.

I rated this movie Below Average relative to the original Troy, which was excellent. Troy, in my opinion, has been somewhat destroyed with this version. There are plenty of new scenes in the movie, which are a plus, and there if i'm not mistaken it looks to be a little more gory, however the music. . . the music score that the director placed through this movie in his cut has ruined it. The original Troy, during the fight scenes you only hear the clanking of shields, the swinging of swords, the beating of feet against the ground. The way a brilliant fight scene should be. Music of war. However, in this version there is music, and not just faint music either, there is a loud orchestral score clouding the movie, diminishing the realism of the fight scenes, and exiting you from the movie. It reminds you that you are not IN the movie, you are in the audience, watching a piece of "art."

If you are a guy, and you like watching movies like this and 300 and Gladiator to get pumped up -- stick with the original Troy. At least rent the directors cut before spending money on it, because i feel you'll be let down and out of money.