O Brother, Where Art Thou? [img]smile.gif[/img]

Now running on the SciFi channel, starring Armand Assante as Odysseus. For some reviews go here: http://www.netflix.com/MovieDisplay?...mqso=60177681. I loved it. Of course it does not have the full story but that is a bit difficult to navigate. The plot runs nice and the actors are great.

Also stars:
Greta Scacchi as Penelope
Isabella Rosselinie as Athena
Vanessa William as Calypso

Definitey great.

I also saw Helen of Troy and it was watchable but a bit flat imo.

[ 04-13-2004, 11:04 AM: Message edited by: Smoothie ]

O Brother, Where Art Thou? [img]smile.gif[/img] </font>[/QUOTE]Completely off topic piece of trivia about O Brother Where Art Thou - John Turtorro was cast as Pete because the Coens hadn't read the Odyssey and heard a rumour that he had. Well, he was also cast because he's damned good of course, but you get the picture.

Troy looks like it could be cool. Having seen the trailer Eric Bana looks pretty menacing as Hector, but I'm in agreement with the majority about Brad Pitt as Achilles. Not sure if that will work. I don't have a problem with making the film about only that one aspect of the Iliad though. Its a hell of a long story altogether and I think if they tried to do everything then it might end up only done in a half-hearted fashion. Its better to follow one story through from beggining to end than to try and cram 6 hours of film into 2 and a half hours. In other words I'd rather see a decent film about Achilles than a crap one about Achilles, Odyseus, Diomedes, Aias, Nestor, etc...

Its probably also worth remembering that the Iliad is itself about only one aspect of the myth of Troy - the last 50 or so days. Maybe only covering a single event (Achilles falling out with Agammemnon and then killing Hector) and the back story to that, is in itself a bit of a tribute to the great Greek poet himself? Or maybe I'm just talking nonsense here.

Is the movie just based on the Iliad or is it based on the whole war? As Barry said the Iliad only covers some of the last 50 days - the wooden horse and Achilles's death aren't even in it. I saw a trailer that had the Greek fleet travelling, so I'm guessing it has some beginning stuff. If it is just based on the Iliad, then I have no problem with it being an 'Achilles is the star' movie - Achilles IS the star in the Iliad. The whole story hangs on him and his pride - his actions cause everything that happens. He doesn't necessarily have the majority of the airtime, but it's all him. You could have an Iliad without Odysseus, or Ajax, or Nestor, but no Iliad without Achilles.

While Achilles is A main star in the story, and whether or not he'll fight is crucial to who'll win the Troyan War, I don't believe the Iliad is ALL about him. The Iliad is rather an epic poem about the courage of one man, the cunning of the other, the might of the third. It resembles the better values of humans, at least back in the days of Ancient Greece.
Odysseus, with his cunning mind and marvellous ideas is equally important. Without Odysseus, Troy wouldn't have fallen. The Wooden Horse was his idea, and his idea only.
Ajax (or Aias, whatever you prefer) may not be as important as Odysseus, he WAS an actual hero on the battlefield. It is a shame he killed himself over Achilles' armor.

All in all, I would rather debate the imporance of Helena in the Iliad. Without Helena, there would be no attack on Troy. Same goes for Paris, or, if you would want to take it back even further, for the envy of the three female goddesses and the whole deal with the Golden Apple.

Yes but Troy didn't fall in the Iliad. It ended with Hector's death. So in the Iliad, though not the Trojan War, Odysseus need not have been there. Same with Helen and Paris - not that important in the Iliad, only in the backstroy. Really only Agamemnon is the only other absolutely crucial character in the Iliad since it was he who was the catalyst for Achilles' actions (or non-actions).