Helen of Troy 

The abduction of beautiful Helen, wife of Spartan King Menelaus, by Paris of Troy triggers a long war.

Stars:

Emilia Fox, James Callis, Daniel Lapaine

Nominated for 1 Primetime Emmy. Another 1 win & 6 nominations.

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
Emilia Fox	...	Cassandra, Princess of Troy 2 episodes, 2003
James Callis	...	Menelaus / ... 2 episodes, 2003
Daniel Lapaine	...	Hector 2 episodes, 2003
Nigel Whitmey	...	Odysseus 2 episodes, 2003
Stellan Skarsgård	...	Theseus 2 episodes, 2003
Joe Montana	...	Achilles 2 episodes, 2003
Katie Blake	...	Clytemnestra 2 episodes, 2003
Craig Kelly	...	Pollux 2 episodes, 2003
Manuel Cauchi	...	Paris' Father 2 episodes, 2003
Kristina Paris	...	Iphigenia 2 episodes, 2003
Mat Fraser	...	Calchas 2 episodes, 2003
Maryam d'Abo	...	Queen Hecuba 2 episodes, 2003
Sienna Guillory	...	Helen 2 episodes, 2003
Matthew Marsden	...	Paris 2 episodes, 2003
John Rhys-Davies	...	King Priam of Troy 2 episodes, 2003
Rufus Sewell	...	Agamemnon 2 episodes, 2003

Storyline

The abduction of beautiful Helen, wife of Spartan King Menelaus, by Paris of Troy triggers a long war.

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Plot Keywords:

trojan war | siege | character name as series title | helen of troy character | paris character | 

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Taglines:

Two empires at the edge of war. One woman at the center of it all.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Drama | Romance | War

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Did You Know?

Trivia

This adaptation changes several aspects of the original legend of Helen. The gods play almost no role in the characters' lives, Helen is not shown to have any children and it's not explained how Cassandra supposedly got her powers. Instead, the series plays the story like a brutal historical event with little supernatural elements.

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Goofs

Early in the movie, there are Chinese traders wearing Manchu clothing in Troy's marketplace. No Chinese reached the Mediterranean before the Roman Empire and Manchu clothing wasn't used in China before the Manchu conquest in the 17th century AD.

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Quotes

Helen: Loving me kills people, destroys families, causes such grief you cannot imagine!

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Connections

Version of The Time Tunnel: Revenge of the Gods (1966)

User Reviews

There's a difference between myth and literature

As a big fan of mythology and the Iliad, I'm pretty surprised by how nitpicky people are being on the details. Having taken a "Mythology in Film" course, I can safely state the following:

1) It's not supposed to be "The Iliad," it's "Helen of Troy." 2) It's a film. Made 3,000 years later. Targeted at an entirely different audience. 3) Greek mythology tends to be greatly inconsistent anyway, depending on your source. 4) Patroklus is never mentioned to justify Achilles's rage against Hector. So what? If Achilles hadn't withdrawn from war, he would've killed Hector anyways. And having him withdrawing and re-entering into the war would only have distracted from the main story (Helen) without really adding anything.

There's a difference between myths and literature. One can stray from the literature of a story while staying true to the mythology of it. The Iliad itself was constantly being reinvented by generations of oral poets who changed the story every time they performed it. Back in ancient times, a person who merely recited the story verbatim would be considered an inferior, because he'd merely be a copycat rather than a storyteller.

When it comes to the spirit and tradition, "Helen" shines. For instance, in the Iliad, Achilles compares Agamemnon taking Brisius to Paris taking Helen. In the film, the comparison is made literal. Brilliant. Then you have themes and scenes taken from the Orestia. Three or four different ideas are brought together in the span of one.

"Helen" may be a bit loose with the details, but it shows a good understanding why those details took place, and stays true to capturing their motivations. Just because they don't follow the material exactly doesn't mean they don't know it really, really well. The same is true for a lot of other film productions, from "Desire Under the Elms" to "O Brother Where Art Thou" to "Medea" and even "Clash of the Titans."

All and all, a good flick, I was pleasantly surprised. My only real complaints was the casting of Achilles (I assume they were combining his character with Ajax/Diomedes) and the fact that Hector never gets to actually beat anyone in combat (That was disappointing, to say the least).

Details

Official Sites:

USA Networks

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 April 2003 (USA)

Also Known As:

Helen of Troy

Filming Locations:

Greece

Company Credits

Production Co:

Fuel Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

175 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1