The famous epic, the Iliad by Homer, featured the mighty Achilles and his adventures while at war with Troy. The tale started with the Judgment of Paris and. The movie version of the Iliad Helen of Troy was directed by John Kent Harrison. The film was released in 2003. This 2 hour and 55 minute romance, action and adventure flick featured the love story of Paris of Troy and Helen of Sparta (who soon became Helen of Troy). There were some key differences in the movie compared to the text. The Iliad is focused on Achilles and his heroic adventures. The main characters of the film were Paris and Helen, while Achilles was just a warrior who helped the Greeks defeat Troy. Helen of Troy began with the birth of Paris and Cassandra's premonition. The Iliad however began with the goddess Eris causing dispute between the three goddess, who then made Paris chose among them. The film portrayed Agamemnon's character better than the text's portrayal of him. Different sides of him were shown, such as the very brutal side of Agamemnon. The scene where Helen came to him and "surrendered" showed his love for Iphigenia and his guilt for killing her. The scene where he raped Helen showed how brutal and merciless he was. Also, according to the movie, Sparta took part in the war against Troy for riches and for them to get to Byzantium. The text however stated that their main reason was to retrieve Helen who was rightfully theirs. The movie failed to show the death of Patrolocus which urged Achilles to fight thus leading to the death of Hector. In the movie, Achilles was killed almost right after Hector's death. According to the text however, he died after his battle with Memnon. In the movie, the gods weren't shown visibly though we know that they actively took part in the war of Sparta and Troy, especially during the battles of Hector and Achilles' and Paris and Menelaus. At the beginning of the story, Pollux told Helen, "what madness lies in men." These wise words of Helen's brother were portrayed in the story through the pride of men and the consequences this brings. The "kidnap" of Helen caused the war. Sparta and Menelaus were deeply insulted by this, thus letting their pride get the better of them. The war that Sparta waged is a perfect example of the "madness" Pollux warned Helen about. Another simple example of the saying was when Menelaus made Helen walk into the feast and display herself, naked, to everyone. The saying could possibly be a premonition of everything that would happen in the story. The rape of Helen was the effect of the pride, guilt and anger of Agamemnon. He did not act rationally, which led to Helen's demise.
In a more technical aspect, the effects used in the film were excellent. The sound effects did a great job of putting "feeling" into each scene. Each scene where Helen and Paris were together was accompanied by music that brought feelings of love and romance to the viewers. I especially liked Rufus Sewell's portrayal of Agamemnon. His acting was perfect for the character because he showed that Agamemnon was a tough, "war-loving" person. He was very expressive. The scene where he poured out his guilt and sadness and love for his daughter to Helen proved this most. The actor I least liked is James Callis, who played Menelaus. I imagined Menelaus (based on what I've read) to be more assertive. The actor portrayed him as a passive man, inferior to his brother. I particularly like the costume used in the movie. Everything, even the props were realistic and Greek-like. The Trojan horse was also very realistic. I looked exactly like I pictured it to be something hand made by the Greeks and wasn't perfectly done. In general I really appreciated the movie and would rate it as a 3.5 on a 1 5 scale, 5 being the highest.
In a more technical aspect, the effects used in the film were excellent. The sound effects did a great job of putting "feeling" into each scene. Each scene where Helen and Paris were together was accompanied by music that brought feelings of love and romance to the viewers. I especially liked Rufus Sewell's portrayal of Agamemnon. His acting was perfect for the character because he showed that Agamemnon was a tough, "war-loving" person. He was very expressive. The scene where he poured out his guilt and sadness and love for his daughter to Helen proved this most. The actor I least liked is James Callis, who played Menelaus. I imagined Menelaus (based on what I've read) to be more assertive. The actor portrayed him as a passive man, inferior to his brother. I particularly like the costume used in the movie. Everything, even the props were realistic and Greek-like. The Trojan horse was also very realistic. I looked exactly like I pictured it to be something hand made by the Greeks and wasn't perfectly done. In general I really appreciated the movie and would rate it as a 3.5 on a 1 5 scale, 5 being the highest.