Troy (film)

Troy is a movie released on May 14, 2004 about the Trojan War, which is described in Homer's Iliad and other Greek myths as having taken place in Anatolia (modern Turkey) around the 13th or 12th century BC. It stars, among others: Brad Pitt as Achilles, Eric Bana as Hector, Orlando Bloom as Paris, Brian Cox as Agamemnon, Sean Bean as Odysseus, Diane Kruger as Helen, and Peter O'Toole as Priam. It is directed by Wolfgang Petersen, and written by David Benioff. It received an Oscar nomination for its costume design.

Finance and Reaction

Troy screening's have earned its makers $133 million in America, overall. Having cost more than $180 million to make, it might appear that it was a flop - a complete financial failure. Many critics anticipated the failure when Troy barely missed the $50 million mark on its opening US weekend and wrote off the film. Other surefire summer blockbusters such as Shrek 2 (2004) and Spider-Man 2 (2004) were just around the corner, leaving it seemingly without hope for recovery. Perhaps as a result of this, many critics have a tendency to lump Troy into the category of recent failed historical epics, which have also included Alexander (2004), and The Alamo (2004). Troy had been compared to Gladiator, not just because of gory ancient battles, but also due to director Wolfgang Petersen's regrets over turning down the chance to work on that film.

Related Topics:
America - Flop - Shrek 2 - 2004 - Spider-Man 2 - Alexander - The Alamo - Gladiator

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Troy was a success because more than 70% of its revenues were made outside of the U.S. Thus, the actual sum made by this film is much higher that it would first appear. Troy made half a billion dollars worldwide, placing it in the #35 spot of top box office hits of all time. This is 12 places above Gladiator and 5 places above Saving Private Ryan (1998), which are both considered successful. (Gladiator and Saving Private Ryan did more than recoup their production/marketing costs at US box office, and the US market is often overemphasized as judge of movie success.)

Related Topics:
Saving Private Ryan - 1998

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Despite its financial success, Troy met mixed reactions by reviewers and movie lovers. According to Rotten Tomatoes, only 55% of the reviews are positive. Roger Ebert, who seemed to dislike what he saw as an unfaithful adaptation of the Iliad, gave it two stars out of four http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040514/REVIEWS/405140304/1023. Ebert claimed that Troy "sidesteps the existence of the Greek gods, turns its heroes into action movie cliches and demonstrates that we're getting tired of computer-generated armies." David Denby of The New Yorker, however, seemed to like ithttp://www.newyorker.com/critics/cinema/?040517crci_cinema: " harsh, serious, and both exhilarating and tragic, the right tonal combination for Homer."

Related Topics:
Rotten Tomatoes - Roger Ebert - David Denby - The New Yorker

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