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

It is mentioned three times that Troy is the gateway to the riches of Byzantium. The city of Byzantium was founded in 667BC five centuries after the Trojan War.

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Quotes

Hector: The prophecy has been fulfilled.
Paris: What prophecy?
Hector: Because you live, we all must die.

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Connections

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

User Reviews

Not a bad job

I disagree with the reviewer who thinks Paris is prettier than Helen. Sienna Guillory is gorgeous! As in the Iliad Paris & Helen are a matched pair. I also disagree with the reviewer who panned the movie because it was not faithful to the Iliad. No movie, not even a TV miniseries, can be expected to be totally faithful to any book. A movie is always a selection. The question should not be what was omitted, or whether it compressed or altered the text for cinematic purposes. Of course it did! The question is whether or not it captured the spirit of the original, or whether it did violence to that spirit, as too many movies do. In my view this movie captured the spirit of the Iliad surprisingly well. Perhaps the Greek heroes, especially Agamemnon, do not come off as heroically as the modern viewer has come to expect. But then our idea of heroism, (confused as it too often is with idealism), is not Homer's; and, then again, this movies portrayal of the Greeks as devious aggressors plotting the conquest of Troy is both historically accurate and does nothing to distort Homer's portrait of them. He certainly would have agreed. I did feel that the movie became somewhat rushed at the end. Unfortunately, this seems to be a common problem with many movies based on classic works of literature. The director seems to lavish most of his energy and resources on the beginning and middle of the story. Then, as time and money begin to run out, the ending becomes hurried, episodes are combined, the story becomes perilously compressed. But even here, the movie does not really leave the viewer disappointed. The scene in which the Trojan Horse suddenly appears without explanation outside the walls of Troy is particularly effective, because it appears to the viewer just as it must have appeared to the Trojans. Even though one may wish for more, nothing in the movie's ending distorts Homer's tale of the fall of Ilium.

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