Simply A Masterpiece

There is definitely an excellent idea hidden in the background of the film. Unfortunately, it's difficult to find it.

Blistering performances.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Now first of i am not a fan of Greek stories the only ones that i like is this one , Walt Disney's Hercules; and Pompeii.Beginning with this movie i was going into it with the intention of hating it.But boy did this one surprise me.I didn't even catch on that this is the story of the Trojan horse i realized it first when the wooden horse showed up on the screen.That aside the love story that's inter wined is perfect Rosanna podesta and Jack sernas was a perfect cast even though their voices were dubbed seeing that both of them are french.That aside this is remarkable movie.Give it a try and you will fall in love.

You'd think that by now the story of the Trojan War, based on Homer's "The Iliad", would have become part of our shared data base. Allusions have entered our list of catch phrases. "The face that launched a thousand ships"? "Beware of Greeks bearing gifts"? Computer viruses referred to as "Trojans" or "Trojan horses"? "Achilles heel"? The Stanford football team? Condoms? But I don't know. A poll in 2010 before Independence Day found that one in five Americans didn't know which country we had achieved independence FROM. I'd always thought that was part of our shared vernacular culture too.Anyway, the handsome young Paris from Troy goes on a peace mission to Greece, where he foolishly falls in love with Helen -- it was her face that launched all those ships -- and he steals her from her husband, King Menelaus, and runs off with her to Troy. This irritates Menelaus. He organizes an expedition and besieges the city of Troy, in what is now Turkey. Lots of bloodshed follows. The war lasts something like ten years. Finally, the Greeks pretend to retreat and leave a giant wooden horse outside the gates of Troy. The Trojans think it's a parting gift and drag it inside the walls. But it's hollow. The sneaky Greeks come out after the Trojans have gotten drunk and gone to bed, and the gates are opened. Good-bye Trojans.This is a godless movie. References are made to Athena (ugly and pugnacious) and to Aphrodite (pretty goddess of love, fawned over by Paris). But we don't see the influence of the gods directly. You don't find out how Achilles got to be so nearly invulnerable. It comes close to being one of those cheap sword and sandal epics that were so popular in the 1950s but it rises above them because of its budget and the willingness of the writers to stick a LITTLE more closely to Homer's original. The hundreds of extras are real people -- real actors rather than pixels acting as actors. And the international cast must have cost a lot.I guess Paris is made too much of a hero, at least in my opinion. Even in "The Iliad" he struck me as a moron for running off with a power rival's wife, even if she was as good looking as Rosanna Podesta. Menelaus was even more of a moron for starting a bloody war over the affair. And the other Greek leaders were even more dumb for following him. And it's not as if the Greeks solved all their domestic problems immediately after the victory either.The movie paints the Trojans as honorable and peace loving -- except for that one minor episode of kidnapping and adultery. The Greeks are angry, disputatious, and warmongering. The armor the Greeks wear is uglier than that of the Trojans. Achilles, the greatest of the Greek warriors, is sulky and dresses in drag to avoid being drafted into the war. This was 1956, the middle of the Cold War, and I wonder if all those binary oppositions -- The Free World versus The Iron Curtain -- influenced the writers' construction of the combatants.At any rate, I always liked the Trojans better anyway. The only Greek I admired was Ulysses. When the ships set sail from Greece after the kidnapping, the director, Robert Wise, gives us shots in quick sequence of three of the major plays and their expressions tell us all we need to know about their character and motives. Menelaus scowls grimly, determined to get his wife back. Achilles wears a smirk, anticipating lots of slaughter crowned with victory. And Ulysses wears a self-contained smile, dreaming of plunder.It ought to be added that the musical score is by Max Steiner. As far as I know it's his only attempt at a fully blown orchestral epic score and he handles it pretty well. There's the triumph theme that is required for all historical epics. There's the martial theme when we see those hundreds of armored extras marching towards the forbidding walls of Troy. And there's a love them that dominates them all, as I think the story of Paris and Helen dominate the movie.

The story of the Trojan war that puts the Trojans in a rather good light. Hmmmmmmm .... a very tricky film to review , it has a share of good points and then more than it's fair share of problems. To start with the good points it looks amazing , a very beautiful film with stunning sets , costumes. The music is very credible bu Max Stiener and anyone who is a fan of classic film music should listen to it. The story has promising points since it offers a different view point and the cast ( mostly British ) have enormous potential. Saying this however the fight scenes are very very poorly choreographed and not convincing in any way. The acting is really dull and uncharismatic even by screen greats like Cedric Hardwick and Stanley Baker who deliver performances that seem to be just read from a script rather plainly. The story ultimately comes across as rather boring and events simply skip on and on without containing any excitement or adventure that stimulate the audience. Ultimately the film is worth watching but is a rather dull and slumbering ( expensive ) epic that is fun to watch but really painful as far as acting is concerned. It is worth a look but don't expect too much.

Although the most glamorous and the most exquisite ancient epics have mostly been associated with Cecil B DeMille who, after D.W. Griffith, reigned in the Hollywood showmanship throughout the years, here comes the name of Robert Wise, a renowned director; yet, inexperienced in this very genre. After the innovative style of his EXECUTIVE SUITE in the mid 1950s, he takes time and effort to film 'all the storied wonders of Homer's immortal 'Iliad' and all the gloried moments of its inspired romance,' as HELEN OF TROY trailer announced... Mr Wise's effort aimed at creating a genuine production and resulted in one of Homer's best screen adaptations ever made. For me, personally, it was an additional pleasure to watch this film because of a certain sentiment. I have heard about Wise's HELEN OF TROY since my childhood from my father who had seen it on the big screen as a young boy. Therefore, it is one of the films that has a place in our family tradition. But let me leave my own sentimental targets and get to the objective analysis of this greatly significant production.In the mid 1950s, it was not difficult to predict that filming the story of a woman whose 'face launched a thousand ships' and whose 'temptations plunged the world into the conflict' would occur a smashing success. After the triumphant return of epics with LeRoy's QUO VADIS? and Koster's THE ROBE, the motion picture was in need for new thrilling stories of antiquity, the immortal stories filmed in Technicolor, the 'towering wonders' that could span the period. Therefore, the first and the most significant 'wounder' of this film is the love story of Prince Paris (Jacques Sernas) and Helen (Rossana Podesta). It occurs to be at the core of viewers' attention and rightly so. Their scenes shine with memorable chemistry and appear to be truly convincing. The handsome Sernas and the beautiful Podesta are still an underrated cinema pair. Not much has been said about them in film articles and we should regret that. Not a top notch couple in fame but a top notch couple in love!Another 'towering wonder' of the film are some clear references to universal cinema merits. Mr Wise nicely combines the ancient plot with the modern depiction of the events perfectly adjusted to the needs of the audience. The couple occurs to be very modern, we empathize with them and follow their thoughts as if the story took place in our times. That subtle and up-to-date handling of the topic together with the desirable respect towards Homer and historical material is a great merit of the film. Although it has often been seen by some critics as 'Hollywood ignorance towards history,' I think that this combination with the right balance makes this film valuable. There are certain limits in the liberties taken and HELEN OF TROY clearly respects them.The supporting cast offer us very clear appearances so that the characters can remain vividly in our memories. That is a feature not every epic film can boast of. In many films, certain characters are being confused because of some shortage in the uniqueness of concrete portrayals. HELEN OF TROY does not commit that 'sin.' Starting with Sir Cedric Hardwicke who beautifully portrays the good hearted and kind ruling Priam, through yet to come sex symbol Brigitte Bardot as Andraste, Stanley Baker as the brave warrior Achilles, Nora Swinburne as subtle and delicate Hecuba, Harry Andrews as good hearted Hector to Niall MacGinnis as cruel and wretched Menelaus. Except for the aforementioned cast, the real revelation appears to be Janette Scott in the role of Cassandra, a key figure in the mystery of Troy's downfall. Ms Scott is excellent as the priestess of Athena and a prophetess who foresaw the events, the one whose heart was with Troy and whose thoughts dwelt in the inevitable tragedy. Cassandra, though not given much time on the screen, remains forever in the memory of a viewer after seeing this film. Her face is DESTINY and this face is youthful Janette Scott's.Finally, the most significant wonder of HELEN OF TROY is undoubtedly its colossal nature. Thanks to some scenes that still occur impressive especially when being viewed on the big screen, it is certainly one of the grand spectacles. Thanks to the cinematography by Harry Stradling and music by Max Steiner, the moments provide the epic with glamor and majesty. I hereby refer to the monumental depiction of the siege of Troy with crowds of extras (more than 30,000), the lavish sets built in the Cinecitta Studios near Rome, the sea storm that brings Paris to the shore of Aphrodite, the lustful bacchanalia scene when the Trojan horse has just been brought within the city walls...The bacchanalia moment requires special attention as a very daring yet a tasteful depiction... 'Beware of Greeks bearing gifts...' yet, 'the night smiles at us...' The entire drama and illusion of this moment is so awesome: dancing girls, orgasm-like tunes, ancient melodies, laughing god of vineyards... do they make us dwell in the final hour of Troy? Is it all real or just an illusion? Can we recapture the spirit of the 'almost' victorious citizens? Can we look forward to the dawn that will never come?A very nice epic film, a must see for all film freaks and buffs of old motion pictures; indeed another production of those golden years when the commercial gave way to the artistic, the heyday of might and majesty that you will never forget.