In year 1250 B.C. during the late Bronze age, two emerging nations begin to clash. Paris, the Trojan prince, convinces Helen, Queen of Sparta, to leave her husband Menelaus, and sail with him back to Troy. After Menelaus finds out that his wife was taken by the Trojans, he asks his brother Agamemnom to help him get her back. Agamemnon sees this as an opportunity for power. So they set off with 1,000 ships holding 50,000 Greeks to Troy. With the help of Achilles, the Greeks are able to fight the never before defeated Trojans.
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Credits: TheMovieDb.

Film Cast:

• Achilles: Brad Pitt
• Paris: Orlando Bloom
• Hector: Eric Bana
• King Agamemnon: Brian Cox
• Odysseus: Sean Bean
• Menelaos: Brendan Gleeson
• Helena: Diane Kruger
• Priam: Peter O’Toole
• Briseis: Rose Byrne
• Andromache: Saffron Burrows
• Patroclus: Garrett Hedlund
• Eudorus: Vincent Regan
• Thetis: Julie Christie
• Boagrius: Nathan Jones
• Tecton: Mark Lewis Jones
• Nestor: John Shrapnel
• Glaucus: James Cosmo
• Archeptolemus: Nigel Terry
• Triopas: Julian Glover
• Velior: Trevor Eve
• Aeneas: Frankie Fitzgerald
• Helen’s Handmaiden: Lucie Barat
• Polydora: Siri Svegler
• Hippasus: Ken Bones
• Old Spartan Fisherman: Manuel Cauchi
• Lysander: Owain Yeoman
• Ajax: Tyler Mane
• Aphareus: Louis Dempsey
• Haemon: Joshua Richards
• Echepolus: Tim Chipping
• Singing Woman: Desislava Stefanova
• Singing Woman: Tanja Tzarovska
• Scamandrius: Luke Tal
• Scamandrius: Matthew Tal
• Apollonian Guard: Alex King
• Agamemnon’s Officer: Adoni Maropis

Film Crew:

• Casting: Lucinda Syson
• Supervising Art Director: Kevin Phipps
• Set Decoration: Anna Pinnock
• Director of Photography: Roger Pratt
• Producer: Colin Wilson
• Conductor: James Horner
• Costume Design: Bob Ringwood
• Casting Consultant: Janet Hirshenson
• Supervising Art Director: Leslie Tomkins
• Producer: Wolfgang Petersen
• Additional Music: Gabriel Yared
• Associate Producer: Barbara Huber
• Editor: Peter Honess
• Casting Associate: Michelle Lewitt
• Music Editor: Dick Bernstein
• Poem: Homer
• Screenplay: David Benioff
• Producer: Diana Rathbun
• Co-Producer: Winston Azzopardi
• Camera Operator: Paul Bond
• Production Design: Nigel Phelps
• Art Direction: Julian Ashby
• Art Direction: Jon Billington
• Art Direction: Andy Nicholson
• Art Direction: Marco Niro
• Art Direction: Adam O’Neill
• Set Decoration: Peter Young
• Supervising Sound Editor: Martin Cantwell
• Makeup Artist: Lynda Armstrong
• Sound Effects Designer: James Boyle
• Stunts: David Leitch
• Stunts: Stuart Clark
• Stunts: Eunice Huthart
• Stunts: James O’Donnell
• Stunts: Mark Southworth
• Additional Director of Photography: Harvey Harrison
• Foley Artist: Peter Burgis
• Sound Effects Editor: Christopher Assells
• Stunts: Wade Allen
• Special Effects Technician: Sam Conway
• Sound Editor: Matt Grimes
• Supervising Art Director: John King
• Stunts: Gerardo Albarrán
• Key Hair Stylist: Aldo Signoretti
• Music Editor: Ramiro Belgardt
• Visual Effects Producer: Alex Bicknell
• Stunts: Bill Weston
• Stunts: Cedric Proust
• Stunts: Gábor Piroch
• Stunts: Leo Stransky
• Orchestrator: Conrad Pope
• Stunts: Tyrell Kemlo
• Production Supervisor: Zakaria Alaoui
• Prosthetic Supervisor: Nik Dorning
• Stunts: Kaloian Vodenicharov
• Stunts: Derek Lea
• Stunts: Richard Ryan
• Second Unit Director: Simon Crane
• Stunts: Dan Hirst
• Assistant Property Master: Mike Fowlie
• Stunts: Velizar Peev
• Stunts: Omar Ayala
• Stunts: Nina Armstrong
• Stunts: Mark Henson
• Stunts: Martin Hub
• Stunts: Asen Asenov
• Stunts: Ivo Kehayov
• Creative Producer: Enfys Dickinson
• Stunt Driver: Paul Siebert
• Stunt Double: Nick McKinless
• Dolby Consultant: Mark Kenna
• Still Photographer: Alex Bailey
• Stunts: Menyhért René Balog-Dutombé
• Title Designer: Bruce Everett
• Stunts: Eduardo Gómez
• Stunts: Krasimir Simeonov
• Stunts: Tony Tomlinson
• Costume Supervisor: Graham Churchyard
• Wardrobe Supervisor: Ismael Jardon
• Draughtsman: Claudio Campana
• Property Master: Terry Wells
• Sculptor: Darren Fitzsimons
• Special Effects Assistant: Michael Dawson
• First Assistant Sound Editor: Alistair Hawkins
• Sound Re-Recording Mixer: David E. Campbell
• Security: David Lindsay
• Colorist: Adam Inglis
• Stunts: Dimiter Doichinov
• Concept Artist: Ravi Bansal
• Stunts: Andy Bennett
• Stunts: Jiří Kraus
• Stunts: Javier Lambert
• CG Supervisor: Gary Brozenich
• Gaffer: Chuck Finch
• Compositing Supervisor: Angela Barson
• Best Boy Electric: Michael Chambers
• Assistant Art Director: Anthony Caron-Delion
• Stunts: Rowley Irlam
• Script Supervisor: Anna Worley
• Steadicam Operator: Graham Hall
• Wardrobe Master: Gordon Harmer
• Stunts: Domonkos Pardanyi
• Production Sound Mixer: Tony Dawe
• Supervising Music Editor: Jim Henrikson
• Publicist: Ruben Malaret
• Second Assistant Sound: Nigel Bennett
• Set Costumer: Ali Lammari
• Unit Publicist: Rob Harris
• Steadicam Operator: Peter Wignall
• Greensman: Tim Lanning
• Production Coordinator: Khalid Banoujaafar
• Hairstylist: Orla Carrol
• Helicopter Camera: Ron Goodman
• Dialogue Editor: Howard Halsall
• Makeup Supervisor: Raúl Sarmiento
• Standby Painter: Charles Cottrell
• Stunts: Mark Mottram
• First Assistant Editor: Jane Winkles
• Foley: Harry Barnes
• Digital Intermediate Editor: Kathleen Largay
• Propmaker: Peter Hawkins
• Stunts: Buster Reeves
• VFX Editor: Christopher Learmonth
• Storyboard Artist: Martin Asbury
• Rigging Gaffer: Wick Finch
• Dialect Coach: Roisin Carty
• Orchestrator: Jon Kull
• Stunts: Jaroslav Pšenička
• Hairdresser: Isabel Amezcua
• Orchestrator: Randy Kerber
• Orchestrator: Edward Karam
• Visual Effects Coordinator: Laya Armian
• Stunts: Tom Struthers
• Projection: Tina Canny
• Visual Effects: Rohan Claassen
• Stunts: Wade Eastwood
• Art Department Coordinator: Kirstie Stephenson
• Supervising Armorer: Steve Cummings
• Motion Capture Artist: Gary Roberts
• Catering: Jose Manuel Ballesteros
• Post Production Supervisor: Marianne Jenkins
• Set Production Assistant: Mariana Acuña Acosta
• Accountant: Myriam Loukili
• Aerial Coordinator: Marc Wolff
• Stunts: David Lištván
• Sound Mixer: Ed Colyer
• Sequence Supervisor: Steve Moncur
• Visual Effects Supervisor: Huseyin Caner
• Color Timer: John Ensby
• I/O Supervisor: Oliver Faldo
• Grip: David Appleby
• Stunts: John Atkins
• Camera Loader: Ryan Taggart
• Special Effects Supervisor: Alexander Gunn
• Second Assistant Camera: Rosalyn Ellis
• Stunts: Zuzana Drdacka
• Stunts: Trayan Milenov-Troy
• Stunts: Jindřich Klaus
• Art Department Assistant: Eva Kuntz
• Location Scout: Peter Martorano
• Painter: Jamie Shelley
• First Assistant Camera: John M. Barbour
• Assistant Costume Designer: Frank Gardiner
• Seamstress: Gina Bonello
• Set Dressing Artist: Claire Levinson
• Armorer: Luca Giampaoli
• Supervising Carpenter: Darryl Carter
• Chef: Massimo Zei
• Driver: Ernest Gauci
• Production Controller: Andy Birmingham
• Production Intern: Ulrich Schwarz
• Set Medic: Antonio Islas
• Software Engineer: Piotr Stanczyk
• Special Effects Coordinator: Andrea Williams
• Stunts: Steve Abela
• Unit Production Manager: Steve Harding
• Utility Stunts: Vesselin Todorov-Vinnie
• Assistant Director: Javier Clave
• Electrician: Dave Brennan
• Lighting Artist: Will Broadbent
• Lighting Supervisor: Alec Knox
• Location Manager: Driss Benchiba
• Production Accountant: Helen Medrano
• Production Manager: Ian Hickinbotham
• Boom Operator: Jaya Bishop
• 3D Supervisor: Chas Cash
• Digital Compositors: Lyse Beck
• Unit Manager: Aneta Cebula-Hickinbotham
• Production Consultant: Rick Senat
• Stunts: Vencislav Stojanov
• Stunts: Todor Lazarov
• Head of Research: Julian Mann
• Stunts: Mauricio Martínez
• Costume Coordinator: Martin Mandeville
• Stunts: Daniel Naprous
• Negative Cutter: Steve Farman
• Stunts: Bronco McLoughlin
• ADR Voice Casting: Louis Elman
• Stunts: Niko Nedyalkov
• Stunts: Wolfgang Raach
• Stunts: Neville Strydom
• Rotoscoping Artist: Judy Barr
• Casting Assistant: Berenice Percival
• Stunts: Arthur Berezin
• Stunts: Gáspár Szabó
• Stunts: Juan Manuel Vilchis
• Stunts: Dimitar Ilkov
• Digital Effects Producer: Katie Tucker-Fico
• Assistant Editor: Simon Harris
• Assistant Production Coordinator: Lebo “Boo” Motjuoadi
• ADR Mixer: Mark Lafbery
• Stunts: Joel Navarro
• Costumer: Emma Carroll
• Matte Painter: Lizzie Bentley
• Stunts: Daryl Andrews
• Location Assistant: Linda Bowen
• Compositor: John Slattery
• Camera Trainee: David Churchyard
• Props: Les Benson
• Stunts: George Barbara
• Stunts: Vincent Bellina
• Stunts: Alejandro Avendano
• Head of Production: Michael Elson
• Visual Effects Camera: Michael Talarico
• Data Wrangler: Andrew Baggarley
• Additional Second Assistant Camera: Jason Coop
• Costume Assistant: Laura Johnson
• First Assistant Accountant: Lucy Amador
• Third Assistant Director: Ben Burt
• Production Executive: Mark Sonoda
• Additional Third Assistant Director: Tara McNamee
• Dressing Prop: Mark Kimber
• Sound Assistant: Rebecca Anastasi
• Special Effects Technician: Edward Barton
• Additional Visual Effects: Steven Forrester
• Visual Effects Editor: Marcus Alexander
• Assistant Camera: Raphael Francis Farrugia
• Dolly Grip: Florentino Aguilar
• Libra Head Technician: Robin Gautier
• Wardrobe Assistant: William Hawa
• Senior Digital Intermediate Colorist: Jan Yarbrough
• Assistant Location Manager: James Bevilacqua
• Assistant Accountant: James Broom
• Choreographer: Jaime Abregana Jr.
• Extras Casting: Bonello Gordon
• Extras Casting Assistant: Alejandro Ayala
• Payroll Accountant: Elaine Harrison
• Production Assistant: Pierre Agius
• Stunts: Jonathan Cohen
• Stunts: Miguel Angel Gómez Fernandez
• Stunts: Amie Stephenson
• Stunts: Guy List
• Stunts: Klara Slavikova
• Stunts: Steve Caswell
• Stunts: Bret Yount
• Stunts: Jan Holíček
• Stunts: Attila Mora
• Stunts: Kamila Zenkerová
• Stunts: Hana Dvorská
• Stunts: Aris Comninos
• Stunts: Danielle da Costa
• Stunts: Camilo Vila Novoa
• Stunts: John Pickup
• Stunts: Rumen Petrov
• Stunts: Marc Mailley
• Stunts: Raul Lopez
• Stunts: Siso Kamburov
• Stunts: Jitka Holickova
• Stunts: Leonardo Godinez
• Stunts: Marketa Franek
• Stunts: Andre Degabriele
• Stunts: Kenneth Camilleri
• Stunts: Marius Camilieri

Movie Reviews:

• Wuchak: ***”Where does it end?” — “It never ends.”***

  If Homer’s mythical epic “The Iliad” is based on a factual story, that story is magnificently depicted in Wolfgang Petersen’s 2004 epic “Troy.” In other words, don’t expect any goofy ‘gods’ or ‘goddesses’ like Athena popping out of thin air because “Troy” is a realistic portrayal of the Trojan war.

  More than that, “Troy” is arguably the best sword & sandal epic ever put to film. You name the picture — “Samson and Delilah,” “Spartacus,” “Ben-Hur,” “Ulysses,” “The Viking Queen,” “Conan the Barbarian,” “Braveheart,” “Attila,” “The Odyssey,” “Gladiator,” etc. — “Troy” is superior. At the very least it’s as good as some of the better flicks just noted, like “Ben-Hur,” and far edges out “Spartacus” and “Samson and Delilah.” As for more recent sword & sandal epics, like the overrated “Braveheart” or “Gladiator,” “Troy” blows ’em out of the water.

  Roger Ebert is a great writer and critic, but his mediocre review of “Troy” is all wrong. Ebert’s major criticisms, believe it or not, are the main reasons I have such high respect for this film: He complains that Petersen omitted the many Greek ‘gods’ & ‘goddesses’ and gripes that the actors perform their roles as believable people and not larger-than-life caricatures. This can, of course, be respectably done, as in the 1955 film “Ulysses,” but this is not what Petersen was shooting for in “Troy.” His goal, as already noted, was to depict the actual Trojan War on which Homer’s myth is based. (Even if it never really took place, wars LIKE IT did).

  Regarding Brad Pitt’s heavily criticized performance as Achilles, I couldn’t care less about Pitt until seeing this movie as he does an outstanding job portraying Greece’s greatest warrior. No, he’s not the bulkiest warrior to ever grace the earth, but he’s fast as lightning, confident, expertly skilled and deadly accurate. Even his voice completely fits the role. Eric Bana (from “Hulk”) is also great as Hector, Achilles’ Trojan counterpart, who’s sick of war and just wants to live a life of peace with his family. These two have a showdown in the film and it is without a doubt the greatest mano-a-mano sword & sandal duel ever filmed.

  What’s interesting about the picture is that you never really end up rooting for one side or the other. When Achilles and Hector have their powerful face-off, my wife and I couldn’t decide for whom to root. Maybe that’s the point. Don’t get me wrong, Agamemnon could be viewed as the villain in this picture, and I wasn’t rooting for Menelaus when he fights Paris (Orlando Bloom, who seduces Helen, Menelaus’ wife), but neither the Greeks nor the Trojans are painted as the ‘good guys’ or ‘bad guys.’ They’re just people at war, and in war there’s no real glory, as Hector points out… and it never ends, as Achilles states. An additional point is that living in a state of war is a JOYLESS existence. And both Bana and Pitt get this across well.

  As for beautiful women, there are only a couple mentionable: Diane Kruger plays Helen, “the face that launched a thousand ships.” Some have complained that she’s too plain for the role, but I disagree. I’m not a fan of hers or anything, but she looks pretty dang sharp to me (not to mention has an impressive behind shot). Besides, beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. If Paris deems her worthy of starting a war, who are we to disagree? Also on hand is cutie Rose Byrne who plays Briseis, the virgin priestess whom Achilles converts to the pleasures of the flesh.

  I should point out that “Troy” was one of the most expensive pictures ever made at the time and it definitely SHOWS on the screen. Make no mistake, “Troy” is breath-taking just to WATCH — the colossal armies, ships and battles are awe-inspiring to behold, not to mention the Maltan and Mexican locations. And the CGI effects are outstanding for the time, not fake-looking like the Rome & Coliseum scenes in “Gladiator.”

  Another complaint by Ebert is that the dialogue is lousy; nothing could be further from the truth. There are great pieces of dialogue interspersed throughout, including Achilles’ comment that the ‘gods’ envy people because we’re mortal and “Everything’s beautiful because we’re doomed.” Thankfully, there’s not one goofy one-liner anywhere to be found.

  James Horner’s score should also be mentioned. If you enjoyed the soundtrack of “The Passion of the Christ” you’ll love this one because it’s just as good/serious/reverent/powerful. For instance, the intense percussion during Achilles and Hector’s showdown is magnificent.

  Interestingly, Brad Pitt, who plays Achilles, injured his Achilles tendon during shooting. Fitting, no?

  FINAL WORD: If you’re in the mood for a sword & sandal epic, “Troy” more than fills the bill. The story captivates from the get-to and never lets up the entire 2.5 hour runtime (technically 2 hours, 42 minutes, with credits). It extravagantly visualizes the Trojan War for you, something I never did until seeing this mind-blowing, outstanding piece of cinema.

  GRADE: A+

• John Chard: It’s yours, take it.

  Trojan prince Paris is not only having an affair with Spartan Menelaus’ woman, Helen. He also lures her away to live with him in Troy. Thus giving the global domination obsessed King Agamenon the launch pad to war with Troy. Which in turn brings into conflict Spartan hero Achilles and Hector of Troy, two of the greatest warriors that ever lived.

  Troy, budgeted at $175 million, and given to director Wolfgang Petersen with orders to craft a swordplay epic based on Homer’s Illiad, is not the truly great picture it really should have been. It is, however, a spectacle of sorts, that by way of the extended directors cut, becomes a fine enough addition to the genre it so clearly wanted to crown.

  The problems are evident from the off. The casting of Brad Pitt as Achilles always looked to have been based purely on looks. Nicely toned body and brooding close ups do not a warrior make, and thus, as good an actor as Pitt definitely is, this is a role (and genre) too far. Diane Kruger as Helen is under written, which since at the time was a poor actress yet to bloom turns out to be a bonus here, and Orlando Bloom playing the wimp like Lothario Paris the way he should do – still gets out acted and swamped by all around him. The other main problem is how uneven the story telling is. Petersen looks confused as how to condense the Trojan war in the running time, whilst also juggling the emphasis of the two great warriors at its core. That Eric Bana’s excellent portrayal of Hector comes through the jumble is a testament to Bana’s ability and nothing else.

  The good is, well, rather good though. Agamemnon, courtesy of a nasty turn from Brian Cox, is well formed. It gives the picture a reason for being outside of it being a war about some bloke stealing a woman from another bloke. Imperial cravings and a genuine thirst for blood helps lift Troy out of the rocky waters it had found itself in. Peter O’Toole, Brendan Gleeson and Sean Bean do fine work with what little they have got, and the production values on offer are hugely impressive. The fight sequences impact and are full of gusto. The fight off between Hector and Achilles is superbly choreographed (fought out to a score that James Horner has lifted from the one Danny Elfman used for Planet Of The Apes three years earlier) and the battle between the armies outside the walls of troy sits with the best in the genre. CGI is often called the bane of cinema, but when used so well as it is here (see the ships approaching Troy for instance) it proves to be an effective and entertaining tool.

  Troy has problems, of that there is no doubt. But come the end one knows that it has been entertained, one knows that this was a time of heroes. So with that, and the knowledge that the film made a profit of just over £320 million worldwide, Petersen can smugly sit in his chair musing it was job done. 7/10

• r96sk: A long watch, but just about a worthwhile one.

  I enjoyed ‘Troy’, in short. A film, interestingly given his recent exploits, written by a certain David Benioff. It definitely has more than a few pacing issues, but they only affect the enjoyment factor minorly – at least to me. The score is a little lacklustre, mind.

  The casting is outstanding, even if I don’t think all the performances are anything to truly shout about. I found Brad Pitt and Eric Bana, although entertaining, a bit wooden in parts.

  Elsewhere, Orlando Bloom and Sean Bean are arguably underused from an acting viewpoint – though their characters play huge parts, of course. You also have a load of other familiar faces, from Peter O’Toole to Brendan Gleeson to Rose Byrne to Diane Kruger. The definition of an ensemble.

  The action helps keep things moving, the battle sequences are very nicely done. The film takes an age to reach the event that everyone knows about, but when it finally does it’s excellent.

  The cast and the action are my big takeaways from this. I couldn’t comment on its accuracy on the original work. As a film, for me, it’s very good.