17 May 04
is it just me, or does this film look like it's just out to please the crowds? i'm taking all of this from the name, but c'mon people-if this was meant to challenge us, to make us think, they'de called it he Iliad
Troy!
The Iliad
Troy-a lengendary battle
The Iliad-a quest for love?
i'm sorry-but it's just such a crappy name! TROY! it's just so cheesy! 😛
so-yeah-is it on release in the states yet? anyone see it?...
17 May 04
Well, this film isn't exactly about the voyage of Odysseus, is it? It's just about the battle for Troy. (Or so I gather from the trailers). One thing isn't correct: in Holland they say: "3000 years ago, the love for one woman lead to the greatest battle in history", while it never happened. Or, at least, they never found Troy, so it isn't exactly believable that the battle happened.
17 May 04
Originally posted by pidermanhomer wrote 2 poems (was there 2? or just one split into 2?) the Iliad and the Odessey. the Iliad was the battle for troy, while the Odessey was the story of Odessiuss (sp?) travelling home...
Well, this film isn't exactly about the voyage of Odysseus, is it? It's just about the battle for Troy. (Or so I gather from the trailers). One thing isn't correct: in Holland they say: "3000 years ago, the love for one woman lead to the greatest battle in history", while it never happened. Or, at least, they never found Troy, so it isn't exactly believable that the battle happened.
17 May 04
Originally posted by pidermanYou are wrong about everything, piderman. The Odyssey deals with the voyages of Odysseus. The Iliad deals with the seige of Troy. Plus, Heinrich Schliemann found the ruins of Troy more than a hundred years ago. While it may not have happened exactly as described in the Iliad, it is certain that Troy was sacked and burned.
Well, this film isn't exactly about the voyage of Odysseus, is it? It's just about the battle for Troy. (Or so I gather from the trailers). One thing isn't correct: in Holland they say: "3000 years ago, the love for one woman lead to the greatest battle in history", while it never happened. Or, at least, they never found Troy, so it isn't exactly believable that the battle happened.
17 May 04
Originally posted by geniusI saw the movie. Of course it's a crowd pleaser. They take many liberties with the story. While most of them I was able to overlook, there is one particular one which practically ruined the movie for me.
is it just me, or does this film look like it's just out to please the crowds? i'm taking all of this from the name, but c'mon people-if this was meant to challenge us, to make us think, they'de called it he Iliad
Troy!
The Iliad
Troy-a lengendary battle
The Iliad-a quest for love?
i'm sorry-but it's just such a crappy name! TROY! it's just so cheesy! 😛
so-yeah-is it on release in the states yet? anyone see it?...
All in all, I didn't think it was a bad movie, but I didn't think it was a particularly good one either.
17 May 04
1 edit
Originally posted by rwingettI watched a documentary on Schliemann on The History Channel just last night. What Schliemann thought to be Troy is still under considerable debate because the ruins that he excavated are that of a middle-sized town, not a large, glorious city that the Greeks would have wanted to conquer. And the jewels that he uncovered are from a layer of the ruins (the II layer, if I recall correctly) that do not correspond to the time of the Trojan War, roughly 1250 BC. All of the scholars at the site were considerably skeptical about calling those ruins Troy.
Schliemann found the ruins of Troy more than a hundred years ago. While it may not have happened exactly as described in the Iliad, it is certain that Troy was sacked and burned.
**MOVIE SPOILERS** DO NOT READ IF YOU WISH TO SEE THE MOVIE
This was one the most disappointing movies I have ever seen. It has virtually nothing to do with the Iliad...if you think you're familiar with Homer's work based on this abortion of a film, you're sadly mistaken.
Sure, it looks great, but I simply cannot get over the writing and glaring mistakes. The dialogue was stultified and atrocious. Homer is weeping in the Land of the Dead. A potentially great performance from Eric Bana is ruined by the most platitude-ridden script I've heard in a long while.
Problems:
The Iliad does not have a Trojan horse sequence. I'm willing to forgive this one since everyone thinks the Trojan horse story is from the Iliad.
There was virtually nothing about Ajax (or many others, but I was looking forward to some ass kicking from Ajax).
Achilles is not the only central figure of the Iliad.
Achilles has a love interest in the movie. What the HELL?!
Odysseus is a key player, and Agamemnon's most brilliant general. This is glossed over, and his character is largely inconsequential.
The Gods are absent entirely.
Agamemnon does not die, and neither does Menelaus in the poem.
Menelaus' name is mispronounced.
Helen does not flee Troy with Andromache and Aeneas.
There's nothing that distinguishes the large battle scenes from one another. Just shots of thousands of men rushing at each other, then quick, cutaway shots of people stabbing each other. **YAWN**
I could go on, but you get the idea. I simply cannot believe Wolfgang Petersen is willing to even acknowledge this "film" as his own. If you like eye candy, then certainly watch Troy. But if you're tired of cliches, Hollywood romances, and inept adaptations of canonical literary works, STAY THE HELL AWAY.
EDIT: rwingett: What was the thing that ruined it for you?
18 May 04
Originally posted by Poison GodmachineAgamemnon's death. I realize that it's a Hollywood movie, and so to expect them to hold strictly to the Iliad is only setting yourself up for disappointment. I was largely able to just enjoy the movie for what it was, while overlooking most of the liberties they took with the story, but Agamemnon's death nearly did the whole thing in for me. Why they chose to exclude Clytemnestra is something I simply cannot fathom.
I watched a documentary on Schliemann on The History Channel just last night. What Schliemann thought to be Troy is still under considerable debate because the ruins that he excavated are that of a middle-sized town, not a large, glorious city that the Greeks would have wanted to conquer. And the jewels that he uncovered are from a layer of the rui ...[text shortened]... rary works, STAY THE HELL AWAY.
EDIT: rwingett: What was the thing that ruined it for you?
I really liked Eric Bana's portrayal of Hector. He was always my favorite character in the story.