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Troy (film)
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Troy is an epic film released on May 14, 2004, concerning the Trojan War. It is loosely based on Homer's Iliad, but includes material from Virgil's Aeneid and other sources, and frequently diverges from myth. The film has the following cast of actors prominent at the time of its release: Brad Pitt as Achilles, Eric Bana as Hector, Orlando Bloom as Paris, Diane Kruger as Helen, Brian Cox as Agamemnon, Sean Bean as Odysseus, Rose Byrne as Briseis, Garrett Hedlund as Patroclus, Peter O'Toole as Priam, Brendan Gleeson as Menelaus, and Tyler Mane as Ajax.
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Encyclopedia
Troy is an epic film released on May 14, 2004, concerning the Trojan War. It is loosely based on Homer's Iliad, but includes material from Virgil's Aeneid and other sources, and frequently diverges from myth. The film has the following cast of actors prominent at the time of its release: Brad Pitt as Achilles, Eric Bana as Hector, Orlando Bloom as Paris, Diane Kruger as Helen, Brian Cox as Agamemnon, Sean Bean as Odysseus, Rose Byrne as Briseis, Garrett Hedlund as Patroclus, Peter O'Toole as Priam, Brendan Gleeson as Menelaus, and Tyler Mane as Ajax. Troy was directed by Wolfgang Petersen and written by David Benioff. It received an Oscar nomination for its costume design.
Plot
King Agamemnon (Brian Cox) of Mycenae is in Thessaly, Greece, with his army looking to expand territory and influence. On the battlefield, Agamemnon's soldiers prepare to engage in combat against the army under the Thessalonian king, Triopas (Julian Glover). Rather than suffer great losses, Triopas agrees to Agamemnon's proposal to settle the matter in the traditional way - through a decisive match between the best fighters of the opposing armies. Achilles (Brad Pitt) is summoned by Agamemnon, and after arriving, easily kills the Thessalonian champion Boagrius (Nathan Jones). Accepting defeat, Triopas presents Achilles with a scepter as a token for his king. But Achilles refuses, saying Agamemnon is not his king.
In Sparta, Prince Hector (Eric Bana) and his young brother Paris (Orlando Bloom) negotiate an end to the war between the outlying kingdom of Troy and Sparta. On the last day of a week-long peace festival, Paris manages to smuggle Helen (Diane Kruger), Menelaus' (Brendan Gleeson) wife, back to Troy with him. Infuriated by Helen's disappearance, Menelaus vows revenge. Meanwhile, Agamemnon (Menelaus' brother), who had for years harbored plans for conquering Troy, decides to use his brother's situation as a justification to invade Troy. He is advised by his general, Nestor (John Shrapnel), to call upon Achilles to fight for the Greeks, insuring they can rally enough troops to the cause. Agamemnon relishes the prospect of gaining complete control over the Aegean Sea by conquering Troy.
Odysseus (Sean Bean) is then sent to Phtia to convince Achilles and his Myrmidons to fight, and finds him training with Patroclus (Garrett Hedlund), his cousin and student. Odysseus says they'll be sailing to Troy in three days, and that this war will never be forgotten. Achilles consults his mother, Thetis (Julie Christie), and she tells him that should he stay, he will find peace, and should he go, he will find glory, but he'll never return. Achilles decides to go to war.
The Greeks land at Troy and take control of the beach on the first day of the war. Achilles and the Myrmidons kill many Trojans and also desecrate the seaside temple of Apollo, slaying the unarmed priests that reside there. Within the temple, Achilles and Hector meet but do not fight, with Hector outnumbered but allowed to leave. Briseis (Rose Byrne), a member of the Trojan royal family who has chosen to dedicate her life to service to the gods, is captured and taken as a prize to Achilles. However, he treats her with kindness, which makes her initially cautious. They soon become lovers.
Achilles and his Myrmidons do not take part in the next day's fighting because Agamemnon had taken away Briseis, but they watch the events from a distance. With the Trojan army beneath the walls of Troy and the Greek army surrounding it, Paris challenges Menelaus to a duel to settle things. Menelaus agrees, knowing he is the better warrior. Agamemnon then decides he will attack afterward anyway, regardless of the outcome. Paris, severely outmatched, is easily defeated. Terrified of dying, he crawls back to his brother's feet. Menelaus approaches and moves to finish Paris, but Hector intervenes and kills Menelaus. A shocked and distraught Agamemnon orders his army to charge the Trojans. The Greeks are easily repelled, mainly because their attack brought them within range of the Trojan archers. At the pleas of Odysseus, who fears seeing the Greeks annihilated, Agamemnon withdraws the troops.
The Trojans launch a surprise attack on the Greek camp at dawn. As the Greeks seem to be on the verge of defeat, Achilles appears with the Myrmidons, and joins the battle. He brings courage to the Greeks, and eventually fights man-to-man against Hector. The Myrmidons are initially surprised by Achilles apparently being outmatched by Hector, and in a quick fight, having his throat cut by the Prince Hector. This energizes the Trojans and dismays the Greeks. Hector kneels and pulls Achilles' helmet off, and finds it is actually Patroclus (Garrett Hedlund) who he has killed, not Achilles. Grieved at having slain someone so young, Hector gives him a killing blow out of mercy. Both armies agree to end fighting for the day, and Odysseus informs Hector of the boy's identity. Achilles, who had slept through the battle, is told by the Myrmidons of his cousin's death. They had also mistaken Patroclus for Achilles, since he had put on the same armour, and moved in the same way. Later that night, Achilles leads the funeral ceremony, complete with a funeral pyre.
The next day, an enraged Achilles approaches the gates of Troy alone and demands Hector come out and face him. Hector requests a pact that the loser be given proper funeral rites by the winner, which is angrily refused by Achilles. Hector, though a great warrior in his own right, is outclassed by Achilles, who duly kills him. Tying Hector's body to the back of his chariot, Achilles callously drags it back to the Greek camp. That night, King Priam visits the Greek army's camp to retrieve Hector's body. After an emotional talk given to him by Priam (Peter O'Toole), Achilles breaks down into tears near Hector's body. He lets Priam take Hector's body back, promising him that no Greek will attack Troy for twelve days in order to give time for the proper funeral rites to be performed on the prince, also saying that Hector was the best he'd fought. Achilles lets Priam take Briseis back as well, and gives her the shell necklace Thetis made for him. He later makes amends with Eudorus, and gives him one last order: to take the Myrmidons home.
During the 12 days that Troy mourns Hector's death, the Greeks plan to enter the city using a hollowed-out wooden horse, devised by Odysseus. The Greeks leave the horse at the location of their camp, then withdraw to the beach hiding in their ships behind a nearby island. Paris warns Priam about the dangers of the horse, and says they should burn it. However, Priam neglects his warning and is blinded by the priests' talk of the horse being a "peace offering from the Greeks", in order to appease the god Poseidon for a safe passage home during their retreat. Assuming victory, the Trojans take the horse into the city and celebrate. A band of Greeks come out of the horse at night, killing the guards and opening the gates to the city, allowing the main army outside the city to enter. Troy is sacked, and King Priam is killed by Agamemnon.
Achilles frantically searches for Briseis, who is at the shrine of Apollo being threatened by Agamemnon. She kills him with a concealed knife, and is saved from Agamemnon's guards by Achilles. Paris finds Achilles, and shoots an arrow that goes straight through Achilles' ankle. Crippled, he turns to face him but is hit in the chest by several more arrows, despite fervent pleas from Briseis. The wounds are fatal, and Achilles urges Briseis to join Paris as he flees the city through a secret passage.
After a last disorganized and futile attempt by surviving Trojan soldiers to repel the invaders, the battle ends and the Greeks storm the inner palace only to find that Achilles has died just a few moments earlier. Funeral rituals are performed for him the next morning. The movie ends with Odysseus delivering the final words: If they ever tell my story, let them tell I walked with giants. Men rise and fall like the winter wheat, but these names will never die. Let them tell I lived in the time of Hector, tamer of horses. Let them say I lived in the time of Achilles.
Reaction
When the film was completed, total production costs were approximately $180,000,000. This makes Troy one of the most expensive films made in modern cinema. Not adjusted for inflation, it is number 13 on the all time list of most expensive films and number 16 when adjusted for inflation.
Troy screenings have earned $133 million (US$133,378,256) in the United States. Having cost $180 million to make, the film was a disappointment in the US. Many critics anticipated that it would flop as Troy barely missed the $50 million mark on its opening US weekend and wrote off the film. Troy was among the several historical epics released in 2004 that disappointed, such as Alexander, The Alamo and King Arthur, although it fared better than those films.
However, Troy was a financial success at the international box office and did extremely well, making more than 73% of its revenues outside of the U.S. Eventually Troy made over US$497 million dollars worldwide, placing it in the #60 spot of top box office hits of all time. This places the film 17 spots above Gladiator (#77) and approximately 20 spots above 300 (#80) in the all-time worldwide box office.
Troy met mixed reactions by reviewers. Rotten Tomatoes gave it an average approval rating of 55% from a base of 215 reviews, while Yahoo! Movies gave it a critic rating of "B-" (although that was based on 15 Critical Reviews). Roger Ebert, who disliked what he saw as an unfaithful adaptation of the Iliad, gave it two stars out of four Ebert claimed that Troy "sidesteps the existence of the Greek gods, turns its heroes into action movie clichés and demonstrates that we're getting tired of computer-generated armies."
Box office totals
- Budget - $180,000,000
- Marketing cost - $50,000,000
- Opening Weekend Gross (Domestic) - $46,865,412
- Total Domestic Grosses - $133,378,256
- Total Overseas Grosses - $364,031,596
- Total Worldwide Grosses - $497,409,852
Cast
Main differences between the original Greek myth and the film
- Almost all references to the gods as active participants in the story are removed. Zeus, Athena, Apollo, Hera, Aphrodite and Poseidon all played major parts in the Trojan War. The only divine being appearing in the film is Thetis, the mother of Achilles.
- The Judgement of Paris is not mentioned. This was the impetus for the relationship between Paris and Helen, making it the catalyst for the entire war.
- The opening scene in Thessaly is not mentioned in the Iliad, nor are the king Triopas or the hero Boagrius.
- The Oath of Tyndareos is not referred to. This oath, an idea by Odysseus, was sworn by all the suitors of Helen prior to her marriage to Menelaus. The oath demanded that all rejected suitors would unite for revenge if Helen was ever taken by another. The omission of this helps portrays the invasion of Ilios as nothing more than a grab for power by Agamemnon.
- Sparta has no harbour; it is situated well inland, although on the Eurotas River.
- Odysseus finds Achilles sparring with Patroclus, though some versions of the myth state that Achilles was hiding (disguised as a woman) at Scyros on the orders of his mother.
- The Trojan War takes about 10 years, instead of the few weeks as in the movie.
- The movie character Briseis is a composite of Iliad characters Briseis, Chryseis, and Cassandra.
- Menelaus is not killed by Hector in the Iliad. He is one of the few leaders survives the return from war and returns to live with his retrieved wife Helen "happily ever after".
- Although Menelaus and Paris did engage in single combat, it was at the behest of Menelaus. As Menelaus was about to win the fight, Aphrodite snatched Paris from combat "under a cloud of darkness" and placed him safely inside Troy.
- Agamemnon does not die at Troy. He survives and returns to Mycenae where he is murdered by his wife Clytemnestra, as referred to in Homer's Odyssey, Aeschylus' Oresteia trilogy, and in Sophocles' Electra. However the manner in which he dies in the movie is reminiscent of the manner described in the aforementioned plays.
- Patroclus does not lead the Myrmidons on foot; instead, he rode a chariot drawn by Balius and Xanthus, Achilles' godly horses (after Patroclus was killed, the horses were reprimanded by Achilles for letting Patroclus be killed).
- Achilles knew of Patroculus' intentions to fight beforehand, and allows him to lead the Myrmidons in his place, lending him his armor and telling him to return after the Trojans are pushed back from Greek ships instead of pursuing them further.
- The body of Patroclus is not given over to the Greeks by the Trojans – the fight over the body takes up an entire book in The Iliad (Book XVII).
- Patroclus' funeral pyre is not burnt until after Hector has been killed; after killing Hector, Achilles drags the dead body back to the body of Patroclus as a sign of vengeance.
- Hector does not readily engage in combat with Achilles. As the Trojans are retreating into the wall, Hector stays outside to engage Achilles, but as Achilles runs towards him, he panics and flees. As the city's gates have already been closed, Hector runs around the city three times before Athena tricks him into stopping and fighting Achilles. There is no protracted sword fight, as Achilles kills Hector with a spear while Hector is running towards him. Hector is also wearing Achilles armor, which had been taken from the body of Patroclus, and Achilles is wearing new armor – forged by Hephaestus at the request of Thetis – after his old armor is taken.
- The Trojan Horse is claimed to be left as an offering to Posiden while according to Vergil its was dedicated to Minerva.
- Ajax is not killed by Hector; he falls on his own sword in shame. He disgraced himself by a moment of madness: After the death of Achilles, Ajax slaughtered a herd of sheep thinking them to be the Greek leaders. This act arose from Ajax' rage because the Greek leaders did not hand him Achilles armour, after having a quarrel with Odysseus (after the quarrel, Odysseus got the armour).
- Achilles dies before Ajax. Ajax is often shown carrying the dead body of Achilles.
- Sinon, the agent sent by the Greeks to convince the Trojans that they have left for home and that the wooden horse is harmless does not appear in the movie; also missing is the Trojan priest Laocoön who warned not to trust Greeks bearing gifts.
- In Book 2 of Virgil's Aeneid Priam is killed, not by Agamemnon, but by Neoptolemus, Achilles' son. This is supported by numerous vase paintings showing that it was established in popular Greek culture.
- Andromache does not escape, but is captured. Her son Astyanax is killed.
- In the secret tunnel Paris asks Aeneas's name, though they were brothers-in-law and well known to each other.
- Aeneas is depicted here as a teenager whereas in the Iliad he was older (about the same age as Hector) and was second best warrior after Hector according to the story.
- No such object as the "Sword of Troy" is ever referred to in any myth, including the much later Roman story of Aeneas, who bears the sword away at the end of the film.
- The movie's closing titles state that the film was inspired by the Iliad of Homer, the end of the film is based (loosely) on Book 2 of The Aeneid of Virgil. The Wooden Horse and the Sack of Troy do not appear in Iliad which ends shortly after the funeral of Hector.
- Patroclus is portrayed as a youth with little combat experience in the film. He is Achilles's senior and is also a superb warrior and general in Greek mythology .
Music
Composer Gabriel Yared originally worked on the score for Troy for over a year, having been hired by the director, Wolfgang Petersen.
Yared wrote and recorded his score and Tanja Tzarovska provided vocals on various portions of the music, as she later would on composer James Horner's version of the soundtrack. However, after having screened the movie with an early incomplete version of the score, the reactions at test screenings were against it and in less than a day Yared was off the project without being given a chance to fix or change his music, while Warner Bros was already looking for a replacement. According to Yared, his score was removed due to a complaint by the screening audience that the score was too "old-fashioned".
The replacement score was written by composer James Horner in about four weeks. He utilized Tanja Tzarovska's vocals, traditional Eastern Mediterranean music and brass instruments. Drums are conspicuous in the most dramatic scenes; most notably, in the duel between Achilles and Hector. His instrumental scenes have themes very reminiscent of Rachmaninoff's Symphony No. 1 and Benjamin Britten's War Requiem. A suspenseful note progression introduced in Willow was played numerous times in the score, particularly in battle scenes.
Horner also collaborated with Grammy-nominated American singer/songwriter Josh Groban and lyricist Cynthia Weil to write an original song for the film's end credits. The product of this collaboration, "Remember" was performed by Groban with additional vocals by Tzarovska. The song is available from the movie's original soundtrack.
Around the time of the film's release in theaters, Gabriel Yared briefly made portions of his rejected score available on his personal website, which was later removed at the request of Warner Brothers. Bootleg versions exist on the Internet. Yared's score has since gained much attention from the fans of movie music. Several petitions were made requesting the release of Yared's score either on a limited edition CD or as a bonus feature or secondary audio track on the film's DVD. Those requests however, have been denied by Warner Bros.
Filming
Major sets for the city of Troy were built in the Mediterranean island of Malta at Fort Ricasoli from April to June 2003. Other important scenes were shot in Mellieha, a small town in the north of Malta, and on the small island of Comino. The outer walls of Troy were built and filmed in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.
Director's cut
Troy: Director's Cut was screened at the 57th Berlin International Film Festival on February 17, 2007, and received a limited theatrical release in Germany in April 2007. Warner Home Video reportedly spent more than $1 million for the Director's Cut, which includes "at least 1,000 new cuts" or almost 30-minute extra footage (Running Time: 196 minutes). The DVD was released on September 18, 2007 in the USA. The score of the film was changed dramatically, with many of the female vocals being cut. Various shots were recut and extended. For instance, the love scene between Helen and Paris was reframed to include more nudity of Diane Kruger. The sex scene between Achilles and Briseis is also extended. Only one scene was removed: the scene where Helen tends to the wound of Paris is taken out. The battle scenes were also extended, showing much more of Ajax's bloody rampage on the Trojans during the initial attack by the Greek Army. Perhaps most significantly was the sacking of Troy, barely present in the theatrical cut, but shown fully here. Characters were given more time to develop, specifically Priam and Odysseus, the latter being given a humorous introduction scene. Lastly, bookend scenes were added: the beginning being a soldier's dog finding its dead master, and the end including a sequence where the few surviving Trojans escape to Mount Ida. In one of the commentary sequences one of the film editors said that when it came to deciding whether to follow Iliad, or do what was best for the movie they always decided with what was best for the movie.
Awards (wins and nominations)
2005 ASCAP Film and Television Music Awards
2005 Academy Awards (Oscars)
2005 Japanese Academy Prize
- Nominated - Best Foreign Film
2005 MTV Movie Awards
2005 Motion Picture Sound Editors (Golden Reel Award)
- Nominated - Best Sound Editing in Foreign Features — Wylie Statesman, Martin Cantwell, James Boyle, Harry Barnes, Paul Conway, Alex Joseph, Matthew Grime, Steve Schwalbe, Howard Halsall, Sue Lenny, Simon Price, Nigel Stone
2005 Teen Choice Awards
- Won - Choice Movie Actor - Drama/Action Adventure — Brad Pitt
- Nominated - Choice Breakout Movie Star - Male — Garrett Hedlund
- Nominated - Choice Movie - Drama/Action Adventure
- Nominated - Choice Movie Fight/Action Sequence
See also
Further reading
- Petersen, Daniel (2006). Troja: Embedded im Troianischen Krieg (Troy: Embedded in the Trojan War). HörGut! Verlag. ISBN 3-93823-099-1.
- Winkler, Martin M. (2006). . Blackwell Publishing. ISBN 1-40513-183-7.
External links
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