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Helen of TroyRating:
Release Date: 12 August, 2003 Retail Price: $14.98 OUR Price: $12.99 You SAVE: $1.99! Cast: Complete Cast (11 total) |
Helen of Troy Reviews
Helen of Troy
Personally, I found the movie entertaining and did get more than a few chuckles out of the present handling nad mischaracterization of the Greek story. It has little or nothing to do with the epic Helen or the Illiad, and Oddessey which could cause the movie to fall flat on its face for lack of any real connection to the actual story. The very worst part to me is the mishandling and misrepresentaion of Achilles and the way he lived, fought, and died. The portrayed rape of Helen by Agamemnon was a serious deviation from the epic poetry and other than groos and unnecessary sensationalizing of a terrible event which is entirely missing from the literature. Helen did accompany Menelaus back to Sparta and they seem to have lived out their lives there. I would recommend this movie for entertainment purposes only with the hope that it might stimulate others into reading Homer, about Crete, About Mycenae, and about Greek in particular. I will not criticize tha actors in this drama although I think they were underprepared for the role but did the best they could with what they had been given. If it stimulates the viewer's interest into exploring the other fine books and DVD's that are currently coming out, the movie will have far exceeded its potential. I would strongly recommend Homer's Illiad/Oddessey, Paul Cartledge's The Spartans, Anything by Bettand Hughes, a historian extrordinaire and a story teller of the very highest quality. Her books and DVD's will touch you heart and soul. In addition, Tom Holland's Persion Fire is an exceptional read which literally makes history come alive as does Steven Pressfield's Gates of Fire which is a historical narrative of the Battle for the Gates of Thermoplyae. Having experienced the blood, sweat, tears, fear, and terror of hand to hand combat, I can attest the his book will make you feel like you were there and you understood, and will understand, why men can dedicate themselves to a country and a cause much bigger than themselves. All soldiers fear being hurt or killed on a humbug (events bordering on incompentence) but are prepared to die honorably if the cause is just. His book is the closest you will ever come to sharing the frontline without actually getting out there and doing it. Kudos to him. I love the book.
"Helen" not so bad
I actually enjoyed this TV version of the fated story...it was not the epic that "Troy" is, with the multi-million dollar scenery and costumes--not to mention Brad Pitt--but the storyline was much more Homer...plus I feel that the actors were more into their characters and not so "Hollywood." (It's kind of hard to see Brad Pitt as Achilles, b/c he's Brad Pitt, even if he is a great actor)...I saw this on TV and fell in love with it...I really liked the way Agamemnon and Helen's relationship was portrayed, even if it isn't accurate...Helen is portrayed as much more childlike and naive, but she was only a child, a beautiful, pawned child...Agamemnon is seen as teetering on the brink of madness throughout the entire movie, as he probably was...the fight scenes were nothing to write home about and neither were several of the performances, but they had Cassandra and her foretellings, Agamemnon sacrificing his daughter in order to sail for Troy, Agamemnon being killed by Clytemnestra (even if it was in Troy), the pre-story of Paris and the fate of Troy, Pollux (but no Castor), and the fact that Helen was a Spartan (not through marriage to Menalaus but by birth--Menelaus inherited Sparta by marrying Helen)...in all, this movie is worth watching, if only for another take on the classic story.
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