Historical Movie Review: Troy

Although the movie focuses more on the war and not so much on the Greek gods we still know why the war is started. The movie takes place in 1250 B. C. E. During the Bronze Age. After Paris, a Trojan prince, convinces Helen, the Queen of Sparta, to leave her husband Menelaus and come back with him to Troy a war is started. When Menelaus finds out his wife has been taken by Trojan he asks his brother Agamemnon to help him get his wife back. Agamemnon wants power so he decides to help his brother. They take 1,000 ships and 50,000 Greeks to Troy to complete their task.
With Achilles” help the Greeks are able to fight the Trojan that have not once been conquered. But they are stopped by Hector who is the Prince of Troy and the conflicts begin. One of the overall errors the movie had was the costumes. The equipments the Greeks are shown having such as the large round shields and Achilles’ helmet are from the Classical period. They used costumes from the 5-4th centuries BC. The time period when the epic poem was set is earlier and in that time period the Greeks used small bowl-shaped helmets and light leather shields in the shape of the number eight.
Also the umbrella used to shelter Paris and Helen during the parade in troy is modern, and we know this because of the metal spokes that were probably not invented yet. The necklaces worn by the actors have modern clasps and the women’s airings have French hooks that most Bronze Age Jewelry didn’t have. Later on when King Prima is showing Paris the sword of Troy we see a close-up view of the blade and it looks like steel or polished iron like a lot of the weapons in the movie. But in the Trojan War we are still in the Bronze Age and iron weapons wouldn’t have been available yet.

There were other mistakes the directors made such as the change of hair style for Helen when she is going back to the ships. Then when Patrols fights Hector in Achilles’ armor, Hector stabs him in the chest which would leave a wound UT when Achilles goes to fight Hector in the same armor no marks are see. Along with the errors of costumes there are errors in geography and the setting of the movie. In the scene where the Achaean fleet is seen villagers from the countryside begin to come into the city. Among the animals being lead there are llamas.
It is geographically incorrect because llamas are from South America and they did not exist in Troy. More than once the sun is seen rising over the sea but that is not accurate because the sun rises in the east and the sea around Troy is in the north and west. Then the boy who is sent to find Achilles refers to Vagarious as the Thessalonians because he is from Thessaly but Thessalonians are people from the Greek city of Thessalonians which was settled 1000 years after the battle of Troy. Therefore the boy shouldn’t have known or used the term Thessalonians.
There are many historical events that the film Troy captures. It is amazing how many scenes the director got right but there are also many historical inaccuracies in the movie. When the Greek leaders are lining up to offer gifts to Agamemnon, one of them is carrying a red-figured vase. Red-figure pottery which was made of red clay with a black glaze was not made until the 5th century which was later. Then iron weapons were first used by the Philistines around 11000 BC which was a couple of years after the Trojan War making it impossible for the Trojan to have used this type of “new technology’ in the war.
Overall I thought Troy was a very exciting and engaging movie. I usually don’t watch action or thriller movies but this one actually seemed interesting. I like learning about Greek gods and Greek mythology and this movie incorporated some of it. I got to see a different side of it. I liked the way each warrior was represented and the different attitudes each were given. I didn’t like the fact that they didn’t add a title bit more of the Greek gods themselves and the story behind it.
Each actor played their role to the fullest in my opinion. I could connect with each one and they allowed for an moving emotional experience. I was sad at times and happy at others. When Achilles goes to fight the movie got a little slow with all their talking beforehand. Et movie flowed together well and I understood the plot. The scenes leading up to the climax and after the climax were both good quality not like other movies where the falling action becomes vague and uninteresting. I would recommend this movie to a lot of people.