I saw Troy twice now and thought it was marvelous. I realized those are the childhood stories of our European/American culture. These are the bedtime stories we told ourselves when we were very, very young. I was so amazed at how the characters had remained in my imagination all these years ... from four years of Latin in highschool. So here are my comments.
First of all, this is the face that launched a thousand ships, Diane Kruger.
The movie was directed by Wolfgang Peterson and reflects more European tastes. Notice the look of extreme vulnerability in Kruger's eyes, a constant feature in the movie. She was born July 15, 1976. You can certainly see the Cancer. What do you think her Rising Sign is? Scorpio?
Again, perhaps because a German made the movie, the pronunciation of some of the names is a little different than my daughter, a classics major, and I were used to. For example for Menelaus, instead of Men-a-lay-us it's Men-allow-us. And for Briseis instead of Briss-ee-us, it's Bri-say-us.
Achilles, played by Brad Pitt, was a fabulous Aries/Mars character. Absolutely unreflecting, vivdly alive and fiery. Pitt is natally a Sagittarian, the "other" fire sign. The scene where Achilles stands before the walls of Troy and summons Hector is unforgettable for its Arien nature. Some people say the fight that ensues is worth the price of the movie. Achilles' lines in the movie are leaden and one dimensional but I felt this fit his character. Aries never did foreplay. For example, when Briseis asks him in an impassioned way, "Someone killed your cousin, now you have killled mine. When does it end?" Achilles replies, "It never ends."
Peter O'Toole's eyes are incredible. He shows emotion so well.
Hector was terrific and carried the "Capricorn" tone throughout the movie. He berates his little brother Paris, who stole Helen from Menelaus, "What do you know about love? What about the love of your father and your country?" In this movie, there could be no better son than Hector. Paris is a weak character but the love of their father, Priam, redeems him in some way. Helen is just insipid aside from her great beauty, as if that didn't more than compensate.
Briseis was amazingly good. She has a way of looking out at everyone that combines intelligence, sensitivity and absolute toughness that makes her more than a good match for Achilles.
I also enjoyed the cameo appearance of Ajax, who was killed early in the movie (for those who remember Ajax in The Iliad).
My true favorite in many ways was Ulysses. He was marvelously portrayed by Sean Bean (Scottish accent and all) and we are secretly hoping Peterson is plannng a sequel called The Odyssey. A really wonderful thing in the movie is the Trojan horse, which Ulysses contribed. This horse in the movie is absolutely magical. It is alive with mana. The Trojan horse has been a symbol in the collective for two thousand years! It is beyond legendary and Peterson made an outstanding "horse". It was absolutely numinous. Sean Bean has certainly had some great roles and his role as Ulyssesis one of them. I think one's appreciation for the part he played relies partly on one's understanding of his place in the The Iliad and The Odyssey that followed. It is difficult to anticipate how this movie would be viewed by someone who was first introduced to the story in the movie theater as an "action film". All of the characters are given a broad brush stroke as well they should be since they are giants in the unconscious collective and in many ways need no introduction at all while on the other hand, are so huge in the collective that they are impossible to portray as real people. Most of this would be lost on someone who had not read these books in highschool and the characters might appear cartoonish or one dimensional. Those of us who were initiated at a young age will breathe life into them and must be given "room" to do so..
About the costumes, my daugher didn't like them but I thought they were quite wonderful. For example, when not in war gear, Princes Hector and Paris strode about in Aegean blue Mediterranean wear with artistic looking jewelry.
Achilles' armor was amazing.
THE STAR OF THE SHOW
The images on this page were taken from fan sites.
First of all, this is the face that launched a thousand ships, Diane Kruger.
The movie was directed by Wolfgang Peterson and reflects more European tastes. Notice the look of extreme vulnerability in Kruger's eyes, a constant feature in the movie. She was born July 15, 1976. You can certainly see the Cancer. What do you think her Rising Sign is? Scorpio?
Again, perhaps because a German made the movie, the pronunciation of some of the names is a little different than my daughter, a classics major, and I were used to. For example for Menelaus, instead of Men-a-lay-us it's Men-allow-us. And for Briseis instead of Briss-ee-us, it's Bri-say-us.
Achilles, played by Brad Pitt, was a fabulous Aries/Mars character. Absolutely unreflecting, vivdly alive and fiery. Pitt is natally a Sagittarian, the "other" fire sign. The scene where Achilles stands before the walls of Troy and summons Hector is unforgettable for its Arien nature. Some people say the fight that ensues is worth the price of the movie. Achilles' lines in the movie are leaden and one dimensional but I felt this fit his character. Aries never did foreplay. For example, when Briseis asks him in an impassioned way, "Someone killed your cousin, now you have killled mine. When does it end?" Achilles replies, "It never ends."
Peter O'Toole's eyes are incredible. He shows emotion so well.
Hector was terrific and carried the "Capricorn" tone throughout the movie. He berates his little brother Paris, who stole Helen from Menelaus, "What do you know about love? What about the love of your father and your country?" In this movie, there could be no better son than Hector. Paris is a weak character but the love of their father, Priam, redeems him in some way. Helen is just insipid aside from her great beauty, as if that didn't more than compensate.
Briseis was amazingly good. She has a way of looking out at everyone that combines intelligence, sensitivity and absolute toughness that makes her more than a good match for Achilles.
I also enjoyed the cameo appearance of Ajax, who was killed early in the movie (for those who remember Ajax in The Iliad).
My true favorite in many ways was Ulysses. He was marvelously portrayed by Sean Bean (Scottish accent and all) and we are secretly hoping Peterson is plannng a sequel called The Odyssey. A really wonderful thing in the movie is the Trojan horse, which Ulysses contribed. This horse in the movie is absolutely magical. It is alive with mana. The Trojan horse has been a symbol in the collective for two thousand years! It is beyond legendary and Peterson made an outstanding "horse". It was absolutely numinous. Sean Bean has certainly had some great roles and his role as Ulyssesis one of them. I think one's appreciation for the part he played relies partly on one's understanding of his place in the The Iliad and The Odyssey that followed. It is difficult to anticipate how this movie would be viewed by someone who was first introduced to the story in the movie theater as an "action film". All of the characters are given a broad brush stroke as well they should be since they are giants in the unconscious collective and in many ways need no introduction at all while on the other hand, are so huge in the collective that they are impossible to portray as real people. Most of this would be lost on someone who had not read these books in highschool and the characters might appear cartoonish or one dimensional. Those of us who were initiated at a young age will breathe life into them and must be given "room" to do so..
About the costumes, my daugher didn't like them but I thought they were quite wonderful. For example, when not in war gear, Princes Hector and Paris strode about in Aegean blue Mediterranean wear with artistic looking jewelry.
Achilles' armor was amazing.
THE STAR OF THE SHOW
The images on this page were taken from fan sites.
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