Helen of Troy: Amazon.ca: DVD: DVD

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Description

Homer's Iliad surges to the screen in Helen of Troy, from the '50s heyday of big-screen spectaculars. Robert Wise (West Side Story, The Sound of Music) directs this lavish epic capturing some 30,000 people on screen at a then huge cost of $6 million.

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Customer Reviews

24 Reviews

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

Average Customer Review

3.9 out of 5 stars (24 customer reviews)

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4.0 out of 5 stars Helen of Hollywood's Troy, Aug 26 2003

By

Micheal E. Corbin (Chicago, IL United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Helen of Troy (VHS Tape)

This is my favorite movie version of the story of Helen of Troy. It's more melodramatic and theatrical than the recent cable TV miniseries, but it is faster paced and has a grandeur and fascination with Greek mythology lacking in that version. At least Cassandra is Kassandra in this film - she's endowed with the gift of prophecy, yet no one believes her until it's too late. Then again, many other mythological details are sacrificed for simplicity's sake.

In the role of Helen, Rossana Podesta is radiantly beautiful. She indeed has the face that could launch a thousand ships. And the Paris of Jacques Sernas is nearly as beautiful as his beloved. Their passion is believable, if a tad overblown. The rest of cast is good too, especially the Priam of Sir Cedric Hardwick, Achilles of Stanley Baker and Odysseus of Torin Thatcher. Although the Trojan War occured during Mycenaean times, most of the set designs and costumes appear to use Classical Greece as the model, and to very good effect, for it gives the movie a nobility lacking in the more recent version. It's all pure Hollywood and many liberties have been taken. The spectacular scenery, great matte work and action sequences nevertheless make for a very entertaining movie. So where's the DVD?

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1.0 out of 5 stars One of the few Robert Wise Films I don't like., Nov 11 2001

By

Joe Mac Guy "NA" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Helen of Troy (VHS Tape)

Robert Wise, a film maker who had more hits then misses when it comes to making good movies, really did not do the Trojan War justice in this 1956 film, as he basically turns the story into a B-movie type romance between Paris and Helen. In the movie, they love each other, but in Homer's poems, Helen was forcebily kidnapped by Paris and taken to Troy. In the movie, Menelaus is presented as a cruel and greedy man, but in the poems, he was a man of honor who only wanted his wife back. In fact, by the time we see them again in Homer's Odyssey, Helen and Menelaus are actually quite happy living together as husband and wife. Maybe one day, some film maker will give The Iliad and The Odyssey the big screen justice treatment in needs on film. So far, none of the earlier films have done that.

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2.0 out of 5 stars script full of silliness, Mar 20 2005

By

James Field "jamesfield10" (New Westminster, British Columbia Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: Helen of Troy (DVD)

The script of "Helen of Troy" is so full of improbable silliness and stilted dialogue it is matched only by the wooden acting that in the 50s seemed a requirement of Hollywood epics. In the end it spoils the spectacular sets and occasionally effective cinematography. The sack of Troy sequence at the end of the movie almost redeems it, and I am almost tempted to raise my rating for that alone. But then I remember the hash they made of the actual seige, with medieval seige engines and uninspired choreography. Paris is played as a 50's hunk who completely upstages Hector. There's no hint of the spoiled, self-indulgent womanizer. Worse, the romance between him and Helen fell a little flat. It's worth having a look at if you are a fan of this genre, as I am, but otherwise it disappoints.

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Most recent customer reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars 50's style splashy, superficial treatment of the Iliad
Having seen Troy, the blockbuster from the Hollywood "Pitt of horror," I also aver that other efforts to tell the story of the Iliad have met with limited success. Read more

Published on July 1 2004 by Daniel J. Hamlow

4.0 out of 5 stars Better Than OK
First of all, anyone who depends upon films to understand history (especially ancient history) is on a fool's errand. Read more

Published on Jun 23 2004 by Robert Morris