Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #10697 in DVD
• Released on: 2004-05-17
• Rating: Universal, suitable for all
• Aspect ratio: 2.55:1
• Formats: PAL, Widescreen
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 118 minutes

Special Features

• The Look Of Troy featurette
  
• Interviewing Helen featurette
  
• Sounds Of Homeric Troy featurette
  
• Theatrical trailer

DVD Technical Information:

• Soundtrack: Dolby Digital 5.1: English
  
• Running Time: 118 mins
  
• Region Code: 2
  
• Aspect Ratio: 2.55 Wide Screen

Synopsis
A lavishly filmed epic about the Trojan War based on Homer's ILIAD, Robert Wise's HELEN OF TROY depicts the tale of the famed Helen (Rossana Podesta), the woman responsible for the battle. Young Trojan prince Paris (Jacques Sernas) journeys to Sparta, hoping to bring home a peace treaty that will end the war between Greece and Troy. However, his ship is forced to return to Troy in a storm after he has been swept overboard. Washing up on Sparta's shore, he is found by the beautiful Helen, with whom he falls head-over-heels in love, completely unaware that she is the queen of Sparta. At the palace he finds Greek king and Helen's husband Menelaus (Niall MacGinnis), Agamemnon (Robert Douglas), Ulysses (Torin Thatcher), Achilles (Stanley Baker), and others debating whether to go to war with Troy. Menelaus sees that Helen and Paris are in love and, pretending friendship, plots Paris's death. Paris flees back to Troy, taking Helen with him. Paris's action, however, makes matters even worse. The Greeks, who have been feuding among themselves, now unite and set off to attack Troy, devising a unique plan to get inside (which includes what was, at the time the film was made, the largest movie prop ever made). This sweeping film is laden with romance and action and, along with BEN-HUR and THE TEN COMMANDMENTS, is one of the best of this genre.

Customer Reviews

Long before there was "Troy," there was "Helen of Troy"
After watching the current big budget film "Troy" and complaining bitterly about what the screenplay did to Homer, Euripides, and other ancient writers it seemed time to finally check out the 1956 Hollywood version of "Helen of Troy," which stared Rossana Podestà in the title role and Jack Sernas as Paris. Podestà was an Italian sex siren her had to learn her lines by rote in English and who was picked over established stars including Elizabeth Taylor, Lana Turner, Rhonda Fleming, Ava Gardner and Yvonne DeCarlo for the part of Helen. Of course, it is hard to say she is the most beautiful woman in the film let alone the world since Brigitte Bardot is playing Andraste.

The script by Hugh Gray, N. Richard Nash, and John Twist, does a good job of including the goddesses Aphrodite and Athena without having them literally appear. The idea of the pact among the princes of Greece to decide who would win Helen's hand and the promise to defend anyone who violated the pact is ignored. Helen's father, the king of Sparta, just married her off to Menelaus (Niall MacGinnis), who, along with his brother, Agamemnon (Robert Douglas), is interested in attacking Troy to take its riches. The kings of Greece have gathered in Sparta to plan the attack when Paris comes along, falls in love with Helen, and steals her away to Troy.

Once there, nobody is happy to see this development. King Praimus (Cedric Hardwicke) and Hector (Harry Andrews) are upset over the fact the Greeks are going to come to attack Troy and the priestess Kassandra (Janette Scott) is crying gloom and doom, but, of course, nobody is listening to her. The people even come to throw things at Paris and his woman but he sways them with a short speech. Of course, nothing is going to stop the Greeks, because Helen is just an excuse for conquering the rich city that controls the Dardanelles (the importance of which is explained in the prologue), and we are treated to the spectacle of 30,000 men fighting it out on the plains of Troy in glorious Warnercolor.

In terms of Homer's "Iliad," the wrath of Achilles (Stanley Baker) has to do with the fact that he flat out does not like Agamemnon, which is made clear the first time we see them together in Sparta. At some point he starts pouting in his tent. The death of Patroclus (Terence Longdon) still sets into motion the chain of deaths that defined the end of the Trojan War, but the context is different and reinforces the idea that the Trojans are the good guys. The extension of that is that our young lovers deserve to live happily ever after. But will the screenplay violate the classical story that far? Wily Odysseus (Torin Thatcher) comes up with the stratagem of a rather impressive looking Trojan Horse and the end game of the ten year war is played out.

Like "Troy," this version also avoids the worst part of "The Trojan Women" by Euripides, allowing Andromache (Patricia Marmont) to flee with Aeneas (Ronald Lewis) instead of having her endure her baby boy being tossed off the walls of Troy (which reminds me: for future reference, finish looting a city before you start burning it). But once again Hollywood proves that when it comes to adapting Homer and the rest of the story of the Trojan War they always think they can improve on the original. Yet despite the spectacle there are no transcendent moments in this film, let along the dramatic highpoints of the epic poem by Homer.

The battle sequences are certainly spectacular and much better than the individual combat sequences, so it is hard not to favor the marching formations of the thousands of extras with their spears and shields over the CGI tens of thousands we saw in "Troy." Director Robert Wise gives the action a sense of classical splendor while Max Steiner's rousing score standing out a lot more than the dialogue. There is an interesting feel to that dialogue and the performance of actors, most of whom are British and classically trained. They are not doing Shakespeare, but they give the drama a certain weight. There is no real passion between Helen and Paris, but at least he has the virtue this time around of being a real prince of Troy, capable of going toe to toe with Ajax (Maxwell Reed).

The DVD contains the original trailer, with its hyperbolic titles, and a trio of black & white featurettes by Gig Young for some sort of 1950s television movie show in which he promotes "Helen of Troy." Ultimately this is a respectable version of the classical story and if it is not great at least it does not have any of those transcendantly bad moments found in so many of the European sandal-and-spear spectacles.

"Helen & her T(r)oy Boy"
Shakespeare has a defeated Richard the Third declare he would give his kingdom for a horse. Here is the story of how the Greeks gave a horse, albeit a wooden one, & conquered a kingdom! "Helen of Troy" was made by Warner Bros. in the 1950s heyday of the epic movie & it shows in the production values. Prince Paris of Troy is on a peace mission to warlike Sparta whose King, Menelaus husband to Helen, whilst feigning friendship is actually plotting an attack on prosperous Troy. Paris is forced to flee for his life by the duplicitous King. His escape is aided by Helen, the two having experienced instant mutual attraction on first meeting. As Paris is bidding farewell to Helen they are discovered by Spartan soldiers hunting him. Helen is clearly implicated so Paris leaps to freedom via a waiting boat with Helen in his arms & takes her to Troy. This triggers the Trojan War as Menelaus now has the perfect excuse. Jacques Sernas plays the part of Prince Paris & Rossana Podesta is Helen & both look fine in their respective roles. Neither were native English speakers & although they both spoke their parts in English (Rossana Podesta by rote) their voices were later dubbed to better match them with the strong classical English accents of the British supporting players. This has the slight effect of making Jacques Sernas sound rather wooden & unemotional but does not detract from the overall movie which is visually both grand & exciting, as befits the genre. Like all such movies it loses something when viewed away from the large cinema screen but, for all that, it is an exciting story well told & visually impressive - especially the battle scenes. Classical Greek scholars will quickly spot the liberties Hollywood took with the original tale by the blind Greek poet Homer. Here Paris is portrayed as a strong, resolute & heroic figure & Helen as the unhappy wife of the brutish King Menelaus.The movie commences with the original musical overture & the s/track has been remastered in Dolby Digital 5.1. Bonus material consists of three interesting "the making of" documentaries plus the theatrical trailer. I first saw this movie in the cinema in 1956. I loved it then & I still do.

Magnificently entertainíng
Robert Wise, at 90, is one of the grand old Hollywood directors who earned his right to produce highly personal films by turning out commercial blockbusters like this version of the story of the Greek Helen of Troy who elopes with young Trojan Prince Paris and pursued by her husband the king and his armada of thousands.

Clearly not aimed at High Art, 'Helen of Troy' is a magnificently entertaining, beautifully mounted epic, in almost every sense superior to Wolfgang Petersen's CGI obsessed and arficial-looking 'Troy', especially in the climactic battle scenes of the last half, eminently edited and colourful.
Brunette Brigitte Bardot is pouty in an important bit part, Rosanna Podestà admittedly not the most lively of heroines, and Lithuanian hunk Jacques Sernas is gorgeous to look at and more masculine by far than Orlando Bloom was allowed to be in the Petersen movie.

A wonderful movie.