Brad Pitt picks up a sword and brings a muscular, brooding presence to the role of Greek warrior Achilles in this spectacular retelling of The Iliad. Orlando Bloom and Diane Kruger play the legendary lovers who plunge the world into war, Eric Bana portrays the prince who dares to confront Achilles, and Peter O'Toole rules Troy as King Priam. Director Wolfgang Petersen recreates a long-ago world of bireme warships, clashing armies, the massive fortress city and the towering Trojan Horse.
DVD Features: Featurette Photo gallery Theatrical Trailer
No doubt about it, the 196-minute unrated director's cut of Troy represents a significant improvement over the film's original 162-minute theatrical release--and not just because it has more sex and violence. As director Wolfgang Petersen notes in his new "Troy Revisited" video introduction to this 2-disc special edition, he didn't have the time or directorial discretion (prior to Troy's release in 2004) to present a cut that more closely matched his vision for the film. Three years later, Petersen approached the film with a more relaxed perspective, and the result is a well-crafted expansion on a film that was previously underrated, with 30 minutes of previously unseen material. Character dynamics have been improved and intensified; the epic-scale narrative is now easier to follow, with greater emphasis on the inner turmoil of Achilles (well played by Brad Pitt) and his rivalry with Hector (Eric Bana); and viewers will feel a more satisfying escalation of tension and suspense from battle to battle. The film's enormous battle scenes (impressively enhanced with CGI) are bloodier and gorier, but they're also more effectively integrated into the political story, which goes beyond Homer's The Iliad and the death of Hector to incorporate elements of Virgil and a more revealing study of the differences between Trojan king Priam (Peter O'Toole) and his megalomanical Greek rival, king Agamemnon (Brian Cox), whose lust for revenge is now one of the film's most powerful ingredients. Some of Troy's original weaknesses remain (such as Orlando Bloom's wimpy performance as Paris), but overall, this director's cut easily justifies its existence, regardless of the film's overblown and historically inaccurate depiction of Troy as a gigantic city of massive columns and statuary. The good parts are better, and the not-so-good parts are more easily forgiven. And no matter how you cut it, Troy is a lavish feast for the eyes. --Jeff Shannon
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 3.5 / 5.0
Great Acting - Great Scenes - Great Dialogue:
I can't think of anything they could have done to improve this
movie. Troy is not one of my favorite stories, so this movie
will never be on my top 10 list, but I can't think of another
"swords and sandals" movie that comes close.
directors cut RUINED the troy experience for me!!!:
My wife had never seen this movie before so i was excited to show it to her for the first time on blue ray. I bought the directors cut version thinking it would be even better then the original. I couldnt be more wrong!!! The scenes that were cut should have stayed cut!! I was actually getting angry everytime there was a B.S. scene added. I have seen this movie in original form multiple times so i knew which scenes were added and every single one of them were pointless. people say that it gives it more... more info
No real Achilles' Heel:
Based on Homer's Illiad, there is an ironic connection to how this movie was received. Some may have been wary of another big-budget Hollywood production, and thought of the classic proverb, "beware those who would bring false gifts." The concern was unwarranted, as this movie is stunning in every way from beginning to end, and PACKED with major players from the ultimate battle movies. Warriors from 300, The Lord of the Rings, and Braveheart all do battle in one movie! Agamemnon (Brian Cox - who was... more info
Should have theatrical Version!:
Blu-ray discs can fit so much, yet this only has the director's cut, there is a reason why a group of people told the director that these scenes were going to be taken out and these were going to stay. The directors cut just about ruins the whole movie. Even the fight scenes, he shows them from different angle's and there is no more poetry to them. I would give this a 1 star but the original versions is one of my favorite movies, so i have to give troy 3 stars. if i were you, i'd wait until a blu-ray with... more info
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