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Troy - Director's Cut (Ultimate Collector's Edition)
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DVD detailsActor: Brad Pitt, Eric Bana, Orlando Bloom Brand: WARNER HOME VIDEO DVD: Region Code 1 Audio: English (Original Language); English (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Dubbed); Spanish (Dubbed) Format: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Collector's Edition, Color, Director's Cut, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen Picture Format: 2.40:1 Running Time: 201 minutes DVD Release Date: 2007-09-18 Audience Rating: R (Restricted) Studio: Warner Home Video
DVD Reviews of Troy - Director's Cut (Ultimate Collector's Edition)DVD Review: Brad's Achilles heel. Summary: 4 StarsLike "Alexander", "Troy" benefits greatly from a director's cut. This reworked version is more complex and rewarding, although it still feels a bit shallow, unlike "Alexander", which is a much more honest film.
The straightened-up relationship between Achilles and Patroclus (they were lovers, not cousins, in Homer's original), rings false and robs the film of a true emotional center. Brad Pitt certainly looks the part of the hero, and we see pretty much all of him in this version of the film. Yet by not staying true to the source material, Achilles' feelings toward Patroclus can't be truly expressed, so in other ways we really don't see Achilles at all.
Eric Bana nearly steals the show out from under Pitt, while Orlando Bloom is relegated to a sort of pretty boy support player. Peter O'Toole is grand and solemn as the Trojan king, adding weight and gravitas to an otherwise messy and sullen story.
Yes, is is better than the theatrical version, and is another reference-quality Blu-Ray transfer, but overall "Troy" feels like a missed opportunity to really dazzle modern audiences with what is, after all, the original epic story.
DVD Review: I LOVED THIS VERSION, BUT HATED THE THEATRICAL RELEASE!! Summary: 5 StarsWith restored footage (over 30 minutes worth) that I don't know
why they didn't keep in the original theatrical release in the
first place, this movie flows so much better and makes much more
sense than that crap that came out in the theatres and disappointed
alot of people! Alot of people (linear thinking people!)
can't divorce themselves from the facts of history and of
Homer's immortal tale...this is an adaptation people!!
It's HOLLYWOOD!!--ENTERTAINMENT!!
If you want facts and historical accuracy, you should watch
HISTORY INTERNATIONAL on cable for this!
Both this movie and 300 got a bad rap for not being historically accurate, but I say "Blow it out your chariot!!"
Brad Pitt was very believable as Achilles and Eric Bana
made for a great Hector!--Both played their roles brilliantly
and were in top shape for them..I wish there had been more nudity! (-:
(Yeah, I said it!) Orlando Bloom played his role well as Paris,
the innocent, wide-eyed, idealistic pretty young fool in love
who inadvertently brings his family and country into ruin for
the love of a beautiful woman. Surprisingly, none of the female
roles really left a lasting impression on me in this movie!
They just kind of did what they did and fit where they fit.
But Brad Pitt, Eric Bana, Orlando Bloom and veteran Peter O'Toole
really owned this movie! I'm so glad I purchased this 2-disc
version, because the original one left a bad taste in my mouth
and this shows the original vision that the director had in
mind when this film was created.
DVD Review: The Best but has Big Mistake Summary: 4 StarsTroy is a EXCELLENT Movie. However, it has a big mistake. In the history, Troy was besieged for 10 years but in the movie, Troy was only besiege for nearly a month. THAT IS A BIG MISTAKE. But anyway, it's still a GEART MOVIE.
DVD Review: Director's Cut Better Than Theatrical Summary: 4 StarsLawrance Bernabo's review of Troy mirrors many of my own views and disappointments in this cinematic adaptation of the classic story between the nation states of Greece and Troy. And though it's not unusual for aspects of the story to change to accommodate another medium, why do it if it's not necessary? That was one of my main objections to the film.
Another is when characters depart from an otherwise reasonable course of behavior. Priam, sending his two sons to Sparta to negotiate a long-sought peace treaty, shows absolutely no anger or even annoyance when his sons return with the wife of the Spartan king! Wouldn't one expect Priam to lose his temper at the gross irresponsibility of Paris in wrecking the said alliance and bringing a potentially ruinous war and siege of the city? Instead, he immediately greets Helen with all the warmth of a future in-law without being in the least perturbed. This goes beyond mere license and puts the viewer in a completely unnecessary situation of suspending disbelief. So why did it happen? I understand the script writer needing to transition to acceptance, but the transition was too quick, too unbelievable and too contrived.
There also is no way to justify the treachery of Paris' action. As Priam was too quick to accept it, so, too was Hector. Both situation demand indignation. This isn't the first time Paris had behaved in this manner, and this time it meant war and the loss of Troy's fair sons. Yet it's handled in much the same manner as if the purloined object was a water bottle, not a man's wife. Whatever nobility Priam and Hector may of had was lost by their reckless disregard of the situation. Hector's spontaneous slaying of Menelaus also was a blight upon his nobility. By the time Achilles comes to seek vengeance, one has had enough of both Hector and Paris. I only regret that Achilles didn't slay Paris at the same time.
I have no problems with the computerized battles, but people never respond as they should. Before Hector is slain, Priam could have ordered the archers to unleash their volley on Achilles, but Hector stopped him with no explanation. Was he being noble? Ha! Any nobility was long gone by his previous behavior. And after Hector's death, he could have ordered the archers to keep him from dragging Hector's body away, but again, the writers hope you won't notice. Wouldn't it have been better to have them unleash their arrows and have them fail to hit the Greek hero, volley after volley? That would have appealed to me far more, plus it would have hinted divine intervention, which was too much lacking in this production.
Still, even with its lamentable faults, the movie is still well worth owning and watching. It's just a shame that the opportunities were missed. Hollywood should know better, but its contempt for reality is too often obvious in its productions.
Director's Cut: The added scenes really round out the Director's Cut. Achilles battle on the beach, the small but well rounded character insights--they all are improvements. In the Theatrical Cut, Achilles makes a brief impression, but almost immediately leaves the fight. The extended scenes give us a better glimpse of why he was the greatest of the Greeks and why Agamemnon was the most arrogant.
Of particular merit was Sean Bean's outstanding portrayal of Odysseus. He is worthy of a sequel as the Ithacan king who stayed away too long from his wife and kingdom.
Some don't approve of the deeschatologizing of the story, but I've never much cared for the way the gods stole glory from the heroes. And there's the line by Achilles to Briseis that he knew more than the priests about the gods, because he had seen them. That's all the mention they deserved.
DVD Review: Better On Blu-ray Summary: 4 StarsIn the very capable hands of director Wolfgang Petersen, TROY is a full-blooded realization of a tale once consigned to the realms of myth. The battle scenes--generally the hardest thing to stage---are some of the best in recent memory. The sequences that feature champions of each army in one-on-one confrontations are vivid and real. I also enjoyed the way that screenwriter David Benioff cleverly mined the source material for plausible ways to explain many of the story's legendary elements--for instance, Achilles'heel.
Eric Bana, Brian Cox, Peter O'Toole, Sean Bean, Brendon Gleeson, Saffron Burrows and Rose Byrne all give each of their respective characters a vibrant on-screen presence. Brad Pitt works well as the preening, self-centered Achilles but a couple of his scenes would have served the film by being left in the editor's bin, especially when his acting calls attention to itself, reminding us we're watching a Movie Star and not an historical character.
Most importantly for Blu-ray fans, this version of the disc is well worth the price. Director Petersen's cut is arguably better than the theatrical version and some of the film's sequences appear to have been framed more effectively. To underscore how well the added footage works, the film does not feel any longer.
Description of Troy - Director's Cut (Ultimate Collector's Edition)Homer's epic tragedy 'The Iliad' provides the backdrop for the story of the ancient Greek city of Troy. When Paris, the son of the king of Troy, falls in love with Helen, the wife of the king of Sparta, the result is an epic war that will be remembered throughout history. The king of Sparta, asks his brother, Agamemnon, to unite the kings of Greece to do battle with Troy for the honor of Helen. Odysseus is dispatched to recruit Achilles, the greatest warrior in all the world, to fight for Greece. Unable to breach the walls of Troy, Odysseus conjures up a plan that will give the upper hand in the war to Greece. No doubt about it, the 196-minute unrated director's cut of Troy represents a significant improvement over the film's original 162-minute theatrical release--and not just because it has more sex and violence. As director Wolfgang Petersen notes in his new "Troy Revisited" video introduction to this 2-disc special edition, he didn't have the time or directorial discretion (prior to Troy's release in 2004) to present a cut that more closely matched his vision for the film. Three years later, Petersen approached the film with a more relaxed perspective, and the result is a well-crafted expansion on a film that was previously underrated, with 30 minutes of previously unseen material. Character dynamics have been improved and intensified; the epic-scale narrative is now easier to follow, with greater emphasis on the inner turmoil of Achilles (well played by Brad Pitt) and his rivalry with Hector (Eric Bana); and viewers will feel a more satisfying escalation of tension and suspense from battle to battle. The film's enormous battle scenes (impressively enhanced with CGI) are bloodier and gorier, but they're also more effectively integrated into the political story, which goes beyond Homer's The Iliad and the death of Hector to incorporate elements of Virgil and a more revealing study of the differences between Trojan king Priam (Peter O'Toole) and his megalomanical Greek rival, king Agamemnon (Brian Cox), whose lust for revenge is now one of the film's most powerful ingredients. Some of Troy's original weaknesses remain (such as Orlando Bloom's wimpy performance as Paris), but overall, this director's cut easily justifies its existence, regardless of the film's overblown and historically inaccurate depiction of Troy as a gigantic city of massive columns and statuary. The good parts are better, and the not-so-good parts are more easily forgiven. And no matter how you cut it, Troy is a lavish feast for the eyes. --Jeff Shannon
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