The Trojan Horse (1961) La guerra di Troia (original title)

Director:

Giorgio Ferroni

Writers:

Giorgio Ferroni
Ugo Liberatore
(more)

Release Date:

July 1962 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Drama | History | War

Tagline:

The World's Mightiest Man In The Mightiest Spectacle Ever Filmed.

Plot Keywords:

Warrior | Trojan | Armor | Villain | Mythology

Cast

Steve Reeves	...	Aeneas
Juliette Mayniel	...	Creusa
John Drew Barrymore	...	Ulysses
Edy Vessel	...	Helen (as Hedy Vessel)
Lidia Alfonsi	...	Cassandra
Warner Bentivegna	...	Paris
Luciana Angiolillo	...	Andromache
Arturo Dominici	...	Achilles
Mimmo Palmara	...	Ajax
Nerio Bernardi	...	Agamemnon
Nando Tamberlani	...	Menelaus
Carlo Tamberlani	...	Priam
Giancarlo Bastianoni
Giovanni Cianfriglia		(as Giovanni Cianfrilla)
Luigi Ciavarro
Giulio Maculani
Nello Pazzafini		(as Giovanni Pazzofin)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Andrej Gardenin	...	Fencer (uncredited)

Directed by
Giorgio Ferroni

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Giorgio Ferroni
Ugo Liberatore
Giorgio Stegani
Federico Zardi

Produced by
Giampaolo Bigazzi	....	producer

Original Music by
Mario Ammonini
Giovanni Fusco

Cinematography by
Rino Filippini

Film Editing by
Antonietta Zita

Production Design by
Pier Vittorio Marchi
Zoran Zorcic

Art Direction by
Dragoljub Ivkov
Jovan Radic
Milan Todorovic

Special Effects by
Enrico Catalucci	....	opticals

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Milanka Sultanovic	....	wardrobe

Music Department
Luca di Silverio	....	soundtrack album producer

Other crew
Benito Stefanelli	....	weapon consultant

Production Companies

• Compagnie Industrielle et Commerciale Cinématographique (CICC)
• Europa Cinematografica
• Les Films Modernes (I)
• Lovcen Film

Distributors

• Grand National Pictures (1962) (UK) (theatrical)
• Colorama Features (1962) (USA) (theatrical) (dubbed)
• Alemannia-Filmverleih (1962) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Aquarius TV (2002) (Greece) (TV)
• Century Vídeo (19??) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Trimark Home Video (1998) (USA) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Digitmovies Alternative Entertainment  soundtrack

Also Known As:

"La guerra di Troia" - Italy (original title)

Runtime:

105 min | Italy:115 min

Country:

Italy | France | Yugoslavia

Language:

Italian

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

West Germany:12 (f) | Finland:K-16 | Portugal:M/12

Filming Locations:

Centralni Filmski Studio Kosutnjak, Belgrade, Serbia

Company:

Compagnie Industrielle et Commerciale Cinématographique (CICC)

Movie Connections:

Edited into The Lion of Thebes (1964)

Great Peplum: solid direction and Steve Reeves has never been better

"The Trojan Horse" is one of the best Sword & Sandal films ever made. The story of Troy and Helen has been made several times and up to now, none of them have surpassed it, including the bloated Brad Pitt version. The Robert Wise version, HELEN OF TROY, is in many aspects, superior to this one but the actors weren't that impressive, the script was bad with making a love story out of Paris and Helen but the worst aspect of the Wise version was the ending. There was no ending! After the Trojan horse attack, the film ended then and there. Had the Robert Wise film had a better script and a better ending with more appealing actors, it would have surpassed this one but it doesn't because the script in "The Trojan Horse" is excellent: surprisingly smart, detailed and with some sharp dialogue. The score is excellent. The cast is strong. But best of all, this version has a great climax. It ties up the characters' fates, including Paris who's portrayed here as a villain (which is the complete opposite of Wise's HELEN OF TROY). Helen is also shown to being basically a vain woman who doesn't care much about anyone but herself.

Steve Reeves gives his finest performance as Aeneas and it's one of the best portrayals of a heroic figure ever captured on screen. It reminds you why these stories of mythical heroes still resonate up to this day. Reeves is also in top shape. The man was physical perfection.

My only complaints about "The Trojan Horse": first, the battles. There are a lot of battles, more than were needed. They seem to go on forever. A little editing here and there would have helped a bit. And the production values were good but nothing compared to Wise's HELEN OF TROY. The City of Troy looks good from the outside but within the walls, those houses look like sets. In fact, the castle in the sequel, "War of the Trojans", was more realistic and visually appealing than anything in this film. The Trojan horse itself was good though. Better than the ugly one in TROY. But those are minor complaints. Everything else is top notch.

If you like Sword & Sandal films, make sure to watch this one and it excellent sequel. They make a great double bill.