Wolfgang Petersen Troy grand, star-studded and visually impressive, but it never lives up to the epic that inspired it.
IMAGE: Brad Pitt Troy.
Key Points
- “This is not how Achilles died!” Hey, why is Paris still alive after causing all this mess and being the coward that he is? And why is he treated as some kind of romantic hero in the film?”
- “And Diane Kruger looks great as Helen, but why turn her husband Menelaus into such a brute that you instinctively root against him?”
- “Which of you knows that the original Iliad actually ends with Hector’s death and doesn’t show the fall of Achilles, the sack of Troy, including the famous Trojan Horse, or Helen’s reunion with Menelaus?’
Fun fact: Christopher Nolan was once in the running to direct. Troyand although this did not happen, the loss gave us Dark Knight trilogy. So there are no complaints.
Either way, we had to wait 22 years to get any idea of what Nolan was up to. Troy might look like he’s now releasing a sequel of sorts, Odyssey. The point is that if Troy angered purists upon its release, and then Odyssey does the same thing to the incels who suddenly love “history” even before its release.
Some have issues with the casting of Lupita Nyong’o and Elliot Page as Helen and Achilles, respectively, while others are upset that Robert Pattinson’s Antinous used the word “dad” to taunt Tom Holland’s Telemachus over his father’s absence.
While it’s funny to see how many suddenly become experts on “history” when analyzing these films, first of all, mythology is not history. And how many complainers actually bothered to read Homer? Iliad And Odyssey?
Look, I haven’t read them in their respective publications, although I remember reading the stories in a collection back in college. Like the Mahabharata, I was very fascinated by this Greek story of gods and warriors, a decades-long war over a woman, and a journey across the seas that spanned danger and decades, only to return home.
But, like many others, I was then in a huge misconception. I’ll come back to this in a minute.
Returning to Wolfgang Petersen Troy
In the photo: Eric Bana, Orlando Bloom and Diane Kruger. Troy.
This was in 2004 when Wolfgang Petersen Troy came to the theaters. Then the film caused a real stir.
Firstly, because it starred Brad Pitt, who was extremely popular among the then young audience.
Secondly, it was reported that Aishwarya Rai, who was then trying her luck in Hollywood, was offered the role, but she refused because she did not like the love scenes with Brad Pitt. The character was Briseis, a role eventually played by Rose Byrne.
Unfortunately I couldn’t watch Troy on the big screen at the time. When I finally caught TroyI think on TV my first thought after finishing it was: “This is not what I read!” This is what most reviews of the film said.
The film took great liberties with the story that people were familiar with, including the characters and their fates.
And I thought, “That’s not how Achilles died!” Hey, why is Paris still alive after causing all this mess and being the coward that he is? And why is he treated as some kind of romantic hero in the film? And oh my god, Diane Kruger looks great as Helen, but why make her husband Menelaus such a brute that you instinctively turn against him?
I think the only characters who came close to their literary counterparts were Agamemnon and Hector. The rest were serious deviations.
Then, 20 years later, I wasn’t surprised when I realized who wrote the script: David Benioff. Benioff is best known as one of the showrunners Game of Thronesand it is also known for deviating from its source material and has earned criticism for it. Just watch the latest season of the show.
At least Benioff had a reason. George R.R. Martin did not complete his Song of Ice and Fire saga, and still not. But that’s no excuse for Troy.
Evidence-based treatment
IMAGE: Brian Cox and Rose Byrne Troy.
Here I wanted to talk about one mistake that perhaps few people know about. How many of you know what the original is? Iliad actually ends with Hector’s death and doesn’t show the fall of Achilles, the sack of Troy including the famous Trojan Horse, or Helen’s reunion with Menelaus?
In fact, what we know about the end of the Trojan War comes from another source – the book of Quintus Smyrnaeus. Post-Homericawhich fills the gap between Hector’s funeral and Odysseus’ long journey back to Ithaca.
Today there is even a widely discussed theory that, as in the case of Chanakya, the identity of Homer cannot belong to one person. Well, now you can’t blame Petersen and Benioff for straying from Homer, can you?
Armed with this new perspective, I turned again to Troy waiting Odysseyand my feelings haven’t changed much. Look, I didn’t mind reasonable treatment Troystripping the gods and goddesses and eliminating their involvement in influencing the saga. Troy thus becoming simply a story of men waging war on their prickly egos and, of course, blaming the woman. Not a bad idea.
But in doing so, the film also strips many of these characters of what made them interesting in the first place, even reducing their importance to the plot.
In the original tale, Menelaus was a wronged king. The betrayal he felt from both his wife and the man he considered an ally was understandable. In the film, Menelaus (Brendan Gleeson) is rude and downright unpleasant, making it easy for him to root for Helen (Diane Kruger) to run off with chocolate boy Paris (Orlando Bloom, fresh off his breakthrough film success). Lord of the Rings movies).
What’s more, Menelaus is written out of the film quite early on, as is Ajax (Tyler Mane), one of the most formidable Greek warriors, just so Hector (Eric Bana) can build his reputation.
Briseis is no longer just a priest’s daughter. She was made the cousin of Paris and Hector so that her role would give more emotional weight to Achilles’ arc.
With the exception of Achilles and, to some extent, Odysseus (Sean Bean), the Greek army is difficult to support, which makes the Trojan side feel much more sympathetic. The original text never contained such clearly defined aspects. It showed that there were good and bad eggs on both sides.
TroyIt’s more about Achilles, however, and is more interested in serving Brad Pitt’s star power than the broader story. Not to mention the fact that Pitt himself was categorically unhappy with the making of the film.
Character portrayals and deviations
IMAGE: Brad Pitt Troy.
But does the film do Achilles justice? Not really.
In mythology, Achilles is a warrior whose entire life is determined by the prophecy of his early death, a strange irony for a man destined to become the greatest warrior of his time. In the movie, this prophecy doesn’t have much significance. There are vague hints that he is the son of a goddess, but he rejects them and instead his character is more closely tied to his romance with Briseis.
He becomes an ordinary hero who becomes the face of the war, rather than just one of its greatest warriors.
Brad Pitt is great in the role and brings enough star aura to carry the film, but the richer storyline belongs to Hector. He is immediately likable, devoted to his wife Andromache (Safran Burrows), unhappy about his brother’s elopement with his ally’s wife, and yet reluctantly supports him while remaining a great warrior to the very end.
One decisive change in his character occurs when he saves Paris from certain death during a duel with Menelaus. In the original story, the goddess Aphrodite intervenes. Although this goes against Hector’s warrior code, his decision to save his brother seems completely in sync with the man the film has created, making him more human, even if it ultimately leads to the destruction of his city. Bana is excellent in this role and the best moments of the film are his.
Actually, Troy works best when it stays close to the original knowledge. The duel between Hector and Patroclus (Garrett Hedlund), whom Hector mistakes for Achilles, is a stunning sequence.
Even better is what is the centerpiece of the film. grueling duel between Hector and AchillesMoreover, Pitt and Bana perform almost the entire scene themselves, without stunt doubles.
The scene where Hector’s father Priam (the late Peter O’Toole, who reportedly didn’t like the film either) visits Achilles’ camp afterwards is another beautifully acted moment.
The ending, however, is disappointing: it deviates too much from the usual story while remaining firmly Achilles-centric. This is certainly in line with what the film was trying to achieve, but since this approach didn’t fully work in the first place, TroyThe climax also suffers, ending on a rather melodramatic note.
Why Troy it’s still an entertaining movie
IMAGE: Peter O’Toole and Eric Bana in Troy.
I’m not saying I hated Troy. Its visual ambition remains truly impressive, especially during the battle scenes. With more and more films being shot in studios with green screens, there’s no denying the scale and authenticity that comes from staging battle scenes in real locations with real extras. Of course, production problems Troy And that’s why studios are now opting for the safer route.
The film even opens with a quiet anti-war statement, featuring a dog wandering through a blood-soaked battlefield littered with the bodies of humans and animals.
I watched the director’s cut, which clocks in at over three hours, and while there are pacing issues here and there, it never felt overly drawn out. The longer version also improves on certain aspects, such as Odysseus’s introduction, and yes, there is more blood, violence, and significantly more skin (no gender restrictions) than the theatrical version.
If you’re not familiar with the original stories, I think there’s enough here to keep you entertained even in this stripped-down swords-and-sandals version.
It’s just that, given the talent involved and the epicness he tried to bring to the screen, Troy you never feel good enough, especially when you realize it arrived sandwiched between Ridley Scott Gladiator and Peter Jackson Lord of the Rings trilogy, films that set a much higher standard for historical and mythological spectacle.
And of course, I also understand why some people now prefer Troy over Odysseybecause it presents an entirely heterosexual version (Patroclus becomes Achilles’ cousin rather than his misguided “closest companion”) of the lore, without a single prominent actor of color. Indeed, a victory in the “humble” presentation!
Photos curated by Manisha Kotian/Rediff.
