Helen of Troy on USA.

[fba827]

Helen of Troy. Miniseries event on the USA network.

Anyone watch it?

I'm watching it in chunks and pieces.

Have mixed thoughts about it but am withholding final opinion until I've finished seeing it (almost done with it though; last 30 minutes left to watch sometime later tomorrow or something)...

Just thought i'd see if anyone else was watching it...

 

[Silver Moon]

I saw quite a bit of it (and we all saw quite a bit of Helen).

Personally, I thought the book was better. It was written a while back, by a guy named Homer. You might be able to find a copy.

 

[jdavis]

It's been a while since I read it but I think they took some artistic license with the story for the mini series. It was about what you would expect from USA, lots of butt shots and poor computer effects mixed with some crappy acting and some liberties taken with the story. It wasn't bad but it wasn't anything special. The Trojan Horse looked good and the costumes were ok and that was about it.

 

[fba827]

I saw quite a bit of it (and we all saw quite a bit of Helen).

Personally, I thought the book was better. It was written a while back, by a guy named Homer. You might be able to find a copy.

Hey now. Play nice!
I read Homer's epics many years ago. I enjoyed the stories greatly which is why I wanted to see how this rendition played out.

Anyway , as said, waiting to finish it before I make a final opinion of it... but, yes, the shots of Helen have become more than just a little excessive....

 

[Chauzu]

Seen it, and liked it.

 

[Mort]

Some of the dialogue was pretty cheesy, but overall I liked it.

I particularly liked the treatment of Cassandra - how it wasn’t that no one believed her it was that no one wanted to – which made it all the more tragic.

I also liked the portrayal of Achilles – that guy must have had fun with the role.

 

[Storm Raven]

I also liked the portrayal of Achilles – that guy must have had fun with the role.

I was annoyed that they left out the Patrocles plot concerning Achilles, and made Hector less than he should have been. Hector was a hero for whom the only equal was Achilles, and it was only Patrocles' death that spurred Achilles to confront him after his tiff with Agamemnon.

I was also quite amused to find out that the "political" reason for tension between the Greeks and the Trojans was Troy's contol of access to Byzantium.

Byzantium? A city that won't be founded for something like 1,500 years after Troy is destroyed? Umm, okay.

Another oddity was that Cassandra at one point was predicting the future course of the war for Helen. In her prediction she made several pronouncements about the fates of various heroes, Hector, Paris, Agamemnon, and so on. She specifically mentioned Ajax. Now, Ajax was an important hero, but he didn't seem to show up in this version anywhere else. I found it odd to include a specific reference to Ajax, more or less the 'sir-not-appearing-in-this-film" of the miniseries alongside Ulysses, Menelaus, and Hector.

Agamemnon being described as the "High King" of Greece was kind of silly too.

 

[Orius]

I was also quite amused to find out that the "political" reason for tension between the Greeks and the Trojans was Troy's contol of access to Byzantium.

Byzantium? A city that won't be founded for something like 1,500 years after Troy is destroyed? Umm, okay.

I think they're confusing myth and history here.

The mythological war is the one that appears in Homer. There was a Trojan War, but the prevailing historical view is that was fought over control of the Black Sea and trade or something like that.

 

[Storm Raven]

The mythological war is the one that appears in Homer. There was a Trojan War, but the prevailing historical view is that was fought over control of the Black Sea and trade or something like that.

I think it much more likely that the Greeks just wanted to sack Troy because it was rich. "Controlling" open sea trading routes was just not really a viable option circa 1,200 BC.

 

[The Serge]

A nice attempt, but found wanting.

One, the gods. Uhhhh... The gods were integral to the entirety of the conflict. Many of them took a direct and personal interest in the events. We don't even see Zeus once!

Two, Paris. The whole thing with Paris was poorly done. Do we ever see him actually select Aphrodite as the most beautiful goddess?

Third, Achilles. Isn't he a demigod? We know they didn't avoid demigods in this story; it's made clear early on that Helen's a demigod. I don't recall hearing any mention of Achilles status in this, nor do we witness his amazing strength or invulnerability. I did like the effect from the "Achilles Heel," but it loses its impact because of the poor manner in which Achilles' stature is addressed.

It's been years since I read The Illiad, but was Theseus in the book? I honestly don't remember... Was the guy that kidnapped Helen the first time Theseus?

I think another major problem with this was the poor acting all the way around. The only character I really felt was real was Agamemnon. I thought Rufus Sewell's portrayal was pretty intense. Thought the rape scene was a little much, but I liked Sewell's portrayal of the High King of the Greeks.