Wide Screen Movies Magazine
edited by John Hayes

A Few Words About TROY (from Issue 6)

I’ve been to see Troy.

Since the success of Ridley Scott’s Gladiator, it was inevitable that a plethora of ‘Ancient’ films would get the green light; and sure enough we find two AlexanderThe Great movies in the pipeline along with a film adaptation of Steven (The Horse Whisperer) Pressfield’s novel, Gates Of Fire (like The 300 Spartans only with lots more money spent on it). Maybe there are others; I wouldn’t be surprised.

I had been looking forward to seeing Troy since I first heard of it going into production. Teaser trailers had whetted my appetite even further – couldn’t wait for this one!

Except that ten minutes into the film, the first signs of disappointment began to creep in. From that point in it more or less went down hill. The curse of the Hollywood scriptwriter strikes again. Hollywood has become so enthusiastic about re-writing history; it’s embarrassing. We’ve had the British Navy airbrushed out of the capturing of the Enigma machine in U–571; We’ve had to endure Mel Gibson re-arranging our history in Braveheart – then adding insult to injury by portraying British redcoats as Nazis in The Patriot. Did any other armed forces, apart from Americans, take part in the D-Day landings? You wouldn’t think so if you saw Saving Private Ryan. The annoying thing is that the MTV generation who are going to see these films will think that all this crap is true. Now they’ve started on Greek mythology.

By removing certain characters, and changing the roles of others – and especially by moving Achilles to center stage and having the whole story revolve around him, this de-mythologized version of the Trojan War sometimes lacks logic. I guess that having spent a huge wedge of cash to secure the services of Brad Pitt, the producers probably wanted to get their money’s worth. But with this Achilles – a sort of human WMD – on the case, the ten-year siege of Troy seems to be over in fortnight. The great love affair between Paris and Helen only gets one scene, and is portrayed as “Prince of Troy gets lucky on his trip to Sparta”. Thus, it’s not only Hector who is amazed to find her on the boat back to Troy, so is the audience. According to legend, Paris fell in love with Helen because the goddess Aphrodite has promised him the most beautiful woman in the world as a reward for his devotion to her. Paris believes Helen to be the Aphrodite in human form. Fanciful, yes, but still a more logical reason for starting the greatest war in history than simply wanting to take his latest conquest home to meet his mum. (or dad, in this case, as Hecuba, Paris’s mother, is one of the missing characters) And speaking of Paris and Helen, where do they disappear to at the end of the film? Maybe they’ll turn up in Troy II in a couple of years. Jerry Bruckheimer’s ‘true’ version King Arthur will be with us shortly. Can’t wait for that one.

And another thing: I know Troy is set in the Bronze Age, but why does everything have to be coloured bronze? Millions of dollars spent on recreating thousands of soldiers who battle for Troy – and they all look the same! What’s happening with the colour in movies today? Why does everything look so drab? Why do interior scenes look so dark? It’s almost as if there is some new cinematic law that says a film’s colour palette must only contain dull shades of brown, green and grey, or combinations thereof. Has anyone else noticed this, or is it only apparent to anyone over the age of 50?

After I watched Troy, I went home and put on my new DVD of Helen Of Troy (1956) – yes it’s out on DVD at last, see the next issue of WSMM – to compare the two. The main thing you notice is the gorgeous colour in the sets and costumes (check out the scene where the Greeks first advance on Troy – truly impressive.). Look at any of the Fifties and Sixties epic or costume pictures, and you’ll find the same - vibrant colour! Look at the new DVD of Fox’s Prince Valiant (1954), or MGM’s Knights Of The Round Table (1953) – look at Cleopatra (1963). See what I mean?

Take the Lord Of The Rings series for instance. Undeniably amazing effects, great story and script – but dull colour. Most of it might as well have been shot in monochrome.

I can’t understand this current obsession of costume and set designers – and some directors and/or cinematographers to avoid the use of bright colours. Is this about ‘realism’, I wonder?

And just don’t get me started on the amber filters that seem to be have been in vogue for the last few years. Seeing interior shots that look positively yellow (the locker room and train scenes in Pearl Harbor) makes me want to pull out my hair – or what remains of it.

Come on, you film makers, give us a break! If it’s going to be a colour film, then get some real colour into it – or shoot the damn thing in black-and-white!