 Director's Cut - Special Edition Unseen in theatres. Unrivaled in spectacle. Bigger. Braver. Bolder. Director Wolfgang Petersen enlarges his exciting epic with over 30 minutes of previously unseen footage drawing you deeper into the heat of battle and the heated lives of his complex characters. With a stellar cast (Brad Pitt [Achilles], Eric Bana [Hector], Orlando Bloom [Paris], Diane Kruger [Helen] and Peter O'Toole [Priam], Troy: Director's Cut completes the intense saga of one of history's greatest confrontations, recreated through the passion of one of today's best filmmakers. Storyline: It is the year 1250 B.C. during the late Bronze age. Two emerging nations begin to clash after 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 Agamemnon 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. But they come to a stop by Hector, Prince of Troy. The whole movie shows their battle struggles and the foreshadowing of fate in this remake by Wolfgang Petersen of Homer's "The Iliad." Written by Mensur Gjonbalaj Reviewer's Note: Reviewed by Martin Liebman on January 11, 2008 -- Do you know what's there, waiting beyond that beach? Immortality. Take it. It's yours! Wolfgang Peterson has long been one of my favorite directors. He's made plenty of fine films such as Das Boot, Enemy Mine, and In the Line of Fire. I consider Das Boot to be his greatest achievement. It's a portrayal of life aboard a German submarine during World War II. It's cramped and dirty, the men are filthy, the actors mostly anonymous, and they fight an enemy they can only hear. Troy is also a war film but in a different setting, and it's almost the complete opposite of Das Boot. The battlefield is wide open, literally a field between the beach and city walls. The men who fight are mostly well groomed and portrayed by several of Hollywood's leading men who frequently appear on the front pages of the supermarket tabloids with legions of screaming and adoring fans. The fighting here, unlike in Das Boot, is up close and personal and often becomes a one-on-one combat scenario amongst heroes. Comparing both films, we see not only the difference in war from one era to another but also the difference in the way movies are made, notably the star-studded cast versus the cast of mostly unknowns and a style that depends on strength of story over pretty faces to sell tickets. Obviously Troy has been, by far, the more successful film financially with the likes of Brad Pitt, Orlando Bloom, and Eric Bana headlining the marquee, but Das Boot is far and away the better film. Make no mistake, Troy is a fine film. It's beautifully crafted and exciting, but it owes much of its success to its stars rather than to Peterson's immense talents. The story of Troy should be familiar to anyone with even a passing interest in Greek mythology and ancient history. It is a love story at its core and a tale of the great lengths the powerful will go to in the name of pride and honor. The film is based on the story contained in Homer's The Iliad. For a film that is over three hours in length, the plot is surprisingly simple. When the young Trojan prince Paris (Orlando Bloom, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End) falls in love with Helen of Sparta (Diane Kruger, National Treasure: Book of Secrets), he smuggles her home, taking her away from her husband Menelaus (Brendan Gleeson, 28 Days Later), brother of Agamemnon (Brian Cox, The Rookie), King of Sparta. The Spartans decide to besiege the city of Troy in revenge, employing the help of legendary hero Achilles (Brad Pitt, Mr. & Mrs. Smith). Eventually, Achilles and Hector (Eric Bana, Black Hawk Down) will fight to the death after Hector kills Achilles cousin in battle, ultimately leading to the famous "trojan horse" surprise attack on the city. Troy is one of the more polished films I've seen. The film was nominated for an Academy Award for its costume design. It's slick, clean, and well-crafted. Peterson has created an epic film that is never dull despite its protracted runtime. The film contains highly energetic and engrossing battle scenes that contain a copious amount of bloodshed and demonstrate the brutality of combat in this time period. There are heroes and cowards on both sides; some fight courageously while others cower. For a movie that is bountiful in Hollywood A-list names, each actor is mostly convincing in their roles. Eric Bana is especially good as the stalwart Hector, and Orlando Bloom too is fine in his portrayal of the love struck yet cowardly Paris. Perhaps the weakest link is Pitt. He certainly looks the part of a hero, but I found his performance somewhat bland on the whole. His delivery is mostly deadpan and it's hard to forget he's Brad Pitt. Other actors like Sean Bean (Flightplan), who plays king Odysseus, and the aforementioned Brendan Gleeson are wholly believable and blend in with the film. Perhaps the best thing about watching Troy is, well, watching it. Not so much the movie, but admiring the scale and beauty of Peterson's vision. This is a truly epic film in scope. While not a terrifically well acted or scripted movie, Peterson's direction, the cinematography, the costuming, and the effects are all top notch. Troy is a pretty good movie that is mostly impressive for it's look and style rather than its take on the tale. The film succeeds as an exciting, action packed epic with excellent direction, choreography, cinematography, costuming, and special effects. It features mixed acting performances, but for the most part they range from "decent" to "good." The film is worth watching for the above mentioned reasons, but it will likely never be shown to serious students of history or literature as it is not completely true to either the book or what we know of the ancient history behind the situation depicted in the film. This Blu-ray disc looks excellent. It's a demo-worthy disc that sports a crystal clear image that ranks among the very best I have ever seen. The PCM audio track is very, very good as well. The supplements are deceptively short and lacking in the depth I was hoping for. On the whole, this is a good movie and a good disc that is worth adding to your Blu-ray collection. Recommended. Cast Notes: Julian Glover (Triopas), Brian Cox (Agamemnon), Nathan Jones (Boagrius), Adoni Maropis (Agamemnon's Officer), Jacob Smith (Messenger Boy), Brad Pitt (Achilles), John Shrapnel (Nestor), Brendan Gleeson (Menelaus), Diane Kruger (Helen), Eric Bana (Hector), Orlando Bloom (Paris), Siri Svegler (Polydora), Lucie Barat (Helen's Handmaiden), Ken Bones (Hippasus), Manuel Cauchi (Old Spartan Fisherman), Mark Lewis Jones (Tecton), Garrett Hedlund (Patroclus), Sean Bean (Odysseus), Julie Christie (Thetis), Peter O'Toole (Priam), James Cosmo (Glaucus), Nigel Terry (Archeptolemus), Trevor Eve (Velior), Owain Yeoman (Lysander), Saffron Burrows (Andromache), Luke Tal (Scamandrius), Matthew Tal (Scamandrius), Rose Byrne (Briseis), Vincent Regan (Eudorus), Tyler Mane (Ajax), Louis Dempsey (Aphareus), Joshua Richards (Haemon), Tim Chipping (Echepolus), Desislava Stefanova (Singing Woman), Tanja Tzarovska (Singing Woman), Alex King (Apollonian Guard), Frankie Fitzgerald (Aeneas). IMDb Rating (07/31/14): 7.2/10 from 284,334 users IMDb Rating (08/07/09): 7.0/10 from 112,112 users
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