Helen of Troy (2003)

Director:  John Kent Harrison. 

Starring:  Sienna Guillory (Helen), Matthew Marsden (Paris), Rufus Sewell

(Agamemnon), John Rhys-Davies (King Priam of Troy), Maryam d'Abo (Queen
Hecuba), Emilia Fox (Cassandra, Princess of Troy), James Callis (Menelaus), Daniel
Lapaine (Hector), Nigel Whitmey (Odysseus), Stellan SkarsgDrd (Theseus), Joe
Montana (Achilles), Katie Blake (Clytemnestra), Craig Kelly (Pollux), Manuel Cauchi
(Paris' Father), Kristina Paris (Iphigenia).

Spoiler Warning:  below is a summary of the entire film. 

Disc I.

Troy.  A young girl named Cassandra runs to her parents shouting:  "Kill him!  Kill
him!"   Her mother Queen Hecuba of Troy has just had a male child.  King Priam asks
Cassandra how did she know that it was a boy child before anyone else knew?  "Have
you had another of your visions?"  Yes.  The boy will be named Alexandros.  Dad
asks:  "What else did you see?"  Cassandra hesitates then says firmly:  "If he lives,
Troy will burn."  Priam believes in Cassandra's ability to see into the future so he
gives the order to take his son into the mountains and throw him off the highest peak. 
The queen strongly objects to this, but the boy is taken from her.  The servant takes
the boy, but just leaves the boy by the edge of the cliff.  Another man has been
watching what is going on and he goes up into the mountains and takes the baby.  He
says the baby will be named Paris. 
Paris as a young man is a goat herder.  A goat gets away from him and Paris has to go
into a cave after him.  He stops in the coolness to rest.  Three goddesses greet him: 
Aphrodite, the goddess of beauty;  Hera the goddess of wealth; and Athena the
goddess of power.  They ask him to choose between the three of them.  Paris selects
Aphrodite.  The goddess of beauty shows him an image of a young woman named
Helen, who lives in Sparta and is the daughter of the King of Sparta.  At the same time
she shows Helen the image of Paris.  The two people fall in love with each other 

Helen's brother, Pollux, comes to get Helen for she has to get prepared for the
wedding of her sister Clytemnestra to Agamemnon.  They watch as King Atreus of
Mycenae, the father of Agamemnon, leads the wedding party to Sparta.  Besides
Agamemnon rides his younger brother Menelaus.  

Also coming to the wedding is King Theseus of Athens, who believes Helen to be the
most beautiful girl in the world.  He is accompanied by one man. 

The King of Sparta Tyndareus greets the Mycenaean wedding party.  He introduces
his daughter Clytemnestra to the King of Mycenae.  Agamemnon steps up and says: 
"I hereby claim you as my wife."  Just then Pollux and Helen arrive.  Agamemnon is
bowled over by the beauty of Helen.  Tyndareus is upset with Helen and describes her
to everyone as "an untamed and disrespectful daughter".   Menelaus is equally as
shaken as Agamemnon by the beauty of Helen.  He volunteers to be Helen's escort. 

Pollux takes Helen to get cleaned up for the wedding.  She tells her brother that she
will marry a shepherd.  One day, her beloved will find her.  Pollux says yes, but for
now she can be meeting a lot of different men, all of whom will desire her. 

At the wedding both Agamemnon and Menelaus stare at Helen.  She is bothered by
this, so she walks out of the wedding.  She runs right into King Theseus of Athens,
who, with the help of his assistant, kidnaps Helen.  On a break from riding, Theseus
and the other man throw the dice to see who takes Helen.  Theseus wins. The other
fellow leaves.  Theseus tells Helen that he is going to marry her.  Perhaps to humble
Helen a little, Theseus tells her the truth that although she is Queen Leda's daughter,
Tyndareus is not her father.  This shocks Helen and she asks how does Theseus know
this?  He says that Queen Leda threw herself from the west wall of the palace after she
had given birth to Helen.  She had been raped when her husband was away and got
pregnant. 

By force the Trojans take a bull from Paris.  He had raised that bull from it's infancy. 
The bull is to be the grand prize for the winner in a series of combats between two
men.  Paris is very upset about the loss of his bull. 
Helen asks to be told more about her mother.  Theseus tells her Tyndareus was away
in Egypt.  Her mother had been disgraced as everyone saw her pregnant, while her
husband was away.  This is why she killed herself shortly after the birth of Helen. 
Helen gets upset and runs away.  Theseus follows her.  She flops down on the
ground.  Theseus comes up to her and she asks him who is her father?  Theseus tells
her that Zeus is her father and that's why Helen is so beautiful.  The King of Athens
now asks her to let him be her friend.  Helen says yes, as long as Theseus accepts that
she must always know the truth.  Theseus agrees, saying:  "Always." 

Paris asks his father why do the Trojans treat them so badly?  He is determined to win
the bull back.  Troy then was the richest city in the world.  People and products from
all over the area came to Troy.  The city controlled all the trade north and south of the
Aegean.  And it would be Paris who would control the fate of Troy. 

Paris comes to Troy.  He sees his bull. but he is pushed away by a guard.  He goes and
signs up for the competition.  He tells the registrar that he is from Mount Ida and, no,
he doesn't have any armor or helmet.  The registrar tells someone to get this man some
used armor.  Not that Paris is going to win, says the registrar, but the armor and
helmet will help somewhat.  Paris asks:  "Why can't I win?"  The registrar answers: 
"No one ever beats Prince Hector."   Paris doesn't realize it, but Hector is his
biological brother. 

The first fight for Paris is against a man known as Pres Byterian.  In the fight,
Cassandra senses that the young man is her brother Alexandros.  She is very alarmed
at this.  She gets out of her seat to get a better look at this man called Paris.  In the
fight Paris gets knocked down.  They have to revert to fighting each other with their
bare fists.  Paris knocks out his opponent.  Paris of Mt. Ida is declared the winner by
King Priam. 

Prince Hector comes over to the stranger and tells him that he needs better armor.  In
fact, he says Paris shouldn't even be fighting because he has been wounded.  Paris
says he has to fight because he wants to get back the bull the Trojans stole from him. 
Hector tells others that he can't fight a wounded man, referring to Paris. 

Paris now fights Damien of Argus.  He wins again.  While waiting for his next fight,
his adoptive father comes over to tell him to please come home for Paris is his only
child.  Paris will fight again.

The third fight is with Hideus of Seronea.  Paris wins again.  While waiting for the
match with Hector, Cassandra tells the adoptive father that he is not the father of
Paris.  Paris is Alexandros.  She adds that Paris should be dead.  Paris doesn't know
what this crazy woman is telling him. 
Now it's brother against brother.  Cassandra whispers to Hector:  "You must kill him. 
He is baby Alexandros."  Hector chooses to fight Paris with daggers.  Priam is
shocked by his move.  He hears Cassandra hissing: "Kill him!  Kill him!"  He has
heard these words before and senses that Alexandros must be Paris.  The two men
fight and again Paris is the winner.  Now Cassandra comes forward to say this Paris is
Alexandros.  Paris turns to his father for help, but his adoptive father has to tell him: 
"You are home."  He explains to the king that he found Alexandros on the mountain
and took him home with him.  The queen sobs and then hugs Alexandros.  She says: 
"You have brought home our son."

Prince Hector now announces "Prince Paris of Troy" to the audience.  He then says
quietly to Paris:  "Because you live, we all must die!" 

Helen tells the king of Athens that she is now ready to make love.  Theseus tells her
that some day she will find a better man to be her husband.  This really upsets Helen
and she reminds Theseus that he had told her that they would be wed.  She becomes
angry and runs away.  In doing so, she runs right into her brother Pollux.  With him
are some soldiers and they now go after the king of Athens.  The king does well for
awhile, but one of the soldiers gets the end of a whip around the king's neck and he
pulls him up against a pole.  Pollux then stabs the king of Athens who goes down.  As
Pollux relaxes, the king has just enough energy to stab Pollux in the gut.  Both men
die. 

Tyndareus now has no male heir.  So he seeks someone to replace Pollux.  Odysseus,
King of Ithaca, is the first to come forward, but he is followed by many others,
including the strong man Achilles of the Myrmidons.  Menelaus also makes himself a
candidate.  Tyndareus is furious with Helen because she shows no grief over the loss
of her dead brother.  Dad drags Helen over to the competing rivals for her brother's
place.  (Brief nudity through translucent blouse.)  Tyndareus says that he will leave
Helen to the man who will be king of Sparta. 

Menelaus makes it evident that he wants Helen very much.  The other men say that
Helen would be a curse on any husband of hers.  Agamemnon wants Helen but he is
married to her sister.  What he is concerned about is the unification of the Grecian city
states.  He says Greece should be united.  Achilles objects that Agamemnon does not
command an army at all.  Agamemnon replies that their father King Atreus will die in
a matter of days and Agamemnon will become the new king.  Achilles toasts to
Agamemnon saying in that case "we greet you as our new high king".  They all toast
to the mighty Agamemnon of Mycenae. 

With that settled the men swear an oath that whoever marries Helen, if something
happens to her, they will all come to the aid of the husband.  Agamemnon makes sure
that all the men present swear to the oath.  But who will get Helen?  They all put their
seals (their rings) into a large cup.  The seals will be thrown up into the air over an
open container.  The seal that falls closet to the jar will claim the bride.  One seal falls
right into the container.  Menelaus wins!  Menelaus can hardly believe his ears.  Helen
is his.  (His brother Agamemnon does not look happy about it.)

Helen is sad, but her sister tries to cheer her up.  She says that now they will not only
be sisters, but also sisters-in-law. 

Hector comes to Paris to tell him that their father is sending him to Sparta.  Paris is to
be on a peace mission, but by this action he will also find out if the Greeks are
thinking about waging war against Troy. 

Paris arrives in Sparta.  Meanwhile, Menelaus has a naked Helen come into the room
of influential men with him to show her off.  She walks in like a model and then goes
to stand on top of a large pedestal.  Paris comes into the big room and sees Helen on
the pedestal.  Helen sees him too.  Bingo!  The two recognize each other.  (Very brief
nudity.)  Paris and Helen look at each other once more. 

Meanwhile, Menelaus and Agamemnon argue about how they should respond to the
Trojan envoy.  Agamemnon is very agitated.  Menelaus has a cooler head and tells his
brother that it is obvious that the Trojans have sent the envoy to divide the two
brothers.  Agamemnon is very rude to Paris. 

Helen leaves the room.  She gets dressed and walks up onto the parapet of the Spartan
fortress.  She is about to jump off the parapet, when Paris grabs her and pulls her
back.  He tells her:  "I have come for you."  She responds:  "It's too late." 
Nevertheless they embrace.  She says something about his loving her, kills her.  Paris
promises:  "I will never leave you."   Clytemnestra followed Helen and now she
overhears the talk between Helen and Paris.  She hears Helen tell Paris that he must
leave her and never see her again. 

When Helen is alone Clytemnestra comes up to her and slaps her across the face "for
consorting with an enemy, a Trojan".  She then tells Helen that Agamemnon and
Menelaus will question the Trojan envoy and get all the information they can from
him.  Then Menelaus will kill him. 

Agamemnon plays with his young daughter.  Menelaus talks with Paris.  He asks Paris
if the walls of Troy are made with gold?  No.  Agamemnon goes over to see Helen. 
Her sister sees Agamemnon touch Helen's hair wistfully.  Later Clytemnestra tells
Agamemnon:  "No man can possess all he desires."  Agamemnon doesn't like this
remark so he grabs his seer.  The seer tells him that Agamemnon will rule the
Aegean.  He points this out to Clytemnestra and then strongly tells her to never again
interfere in his affairs. 

Paris and his two companions are made prisoners.  Helen finds out and she gets into
the room where the captives are being held and gives Paris a dagger.  He frees himself
and his companions by killing the guards.  Helen tells him:  "Go now.  You are free." 
Paris tells her that he is nothing without her.  Helen replies that she begs him to please
go.  So Paris and his companions get on the ship heading to Troy.   Helen watches
from the dock.  As the ship pulls out, Helen dives into the water and swims to the
ship.  Paris fishes her out of the water.  Helen asks him:  "What have we done?" 

Menelaus goes to his brother telling him that he will have the head of the Trojan on
the end of a spike.  Agamemnon says that he will lead the coalition to fight Troy, but
Menelaus must agree that he will get no spoils other than Paris and Helen.  Menelaus
doesn't like it, but he has no choice but to agree. 

The ship which carries Paris and Helen runs into a bad storm.

It's now been two months and the wind is still against the sailing of the Greek ships
for Troy.   Agamemnon asks his seer what it will take to make the winds favorable for
him?  The seer says that the gods will give him fair winds, but he will have to
sacrifice his daughter to them.  And Agamemnon must hold the killing knife himself. 
The gods demand it.  Agamemnon tells his gathered men that they soon will have the
winds with them.  The king now sends soldiers to grab his little girl.  Agamemnon
kills his daughter (no bloody scene shown).  Immediately fair winds arise and the
soldiers and sailors roar in approval. 

Disc II.

The ship carrying Paris and Helen ran aground on an island.  They have been stranded
there until the ship gets repaired.  In the meantime they enjoy taking long walks along
the beach.  When the ship is repaired the group prepares to continue their journey. 
Just then someone announces that many ships are headed passed them.  Paris and
Helen take a look and see a massive Greek fleet (carrying 10,000 men) headed to
Troy.  Paris and Helen know they must immediately sail for Troy to warn them of the
oncoming Greeks. 

Paris and Helen arrive in Troy ahead of the Greeks.   Hector is furious with his
brother, saying:  "It is you who bring harm to Troy."  When they come in front of
King Priam, he yells at Paris:  "You steal the King of Sparta's wife?"   In his defense,
Paris explains:  "I did not take her."  Helen is brought in wearing a fresh outfit. 
Cassandra goes a bit crazy shouting that Helen must go.  "She will kill us all!"  When
Helen speaks she says:  "I wish to return to my husband."

Menelaus and Odysseus come to talk with King Priam.  Menelaus demands that the
king return Helen.  King Priam asks:  "For what purpose?"  Menelaus is flabbergasted
and in a threatening tone demands Helen's return.  Odysseus interferes saying that
Menelaus is blinded by love and cannot state his case clearly.  He basically answers
Priam's question by saying:  for the purpose of love.  Priam says that this was a good
answer, but it will be tomorrow morning before the Greeks will get their answer to the
request of Menelaus.

The king speaks with Helen in private.  He asks her:  "Do you love my son?"  She
answer "With all my heart."  He then asks if he gives Helen back to the Greeks, will
this stop the oncoming war?  Helen answers no, because she knows Agamemnon and
what he wants is to dominate all the Aegean.  He is a man so determined for fame and
power that he even killed his own daughter just to get some fair winds from the gods. 
King Priam then says that she will become a part of Troy and she will be known as
Helen of Troy.  Helen accepts the offer.  Cassandra is mad, furious with her father and
disillusioned.  She senses death all around her. 

In the morning the Trojans do not come and Menelaus says:  "It appears they will
keep her."  Then he raises his sword and shouts to his men:  "To Troy!"  The men roar
in approval. 

The Greek troops start landing.  They are met with a heavy rain of arrows falling upon
them.  Quite a few men are killed, but there are too many Greeks to kill.  They push
the archers back and back.  Then Trojan regular troops try to stop the flow.  They too
are pushed back.  Meanwhile, Agamemnon and Achilles with a group of Greeks climb
up on top of the cliffs of Troy.  With cloaks hiding their uniforms and faces, they head
for the center of the town of Troy. 

As news spreads of the onslaught of the Greeks, people in the town start to panic and
start running.  They rush into the Trojan fortress.  Reaching the market area,
Agamemnon and the others push their way through the market.  Soon after this the
regular group of Greek soldiers nears the fortress of Troy.  Agamemnon has his men
take off their cloaks.  A big fight begins between Agamemnon's men and Trojan
soldiers. 

Up on the parapet, King Priam calls for his archers.  They start firing their arrows at
the oncoming Greeks.  For Menelaus, it seems that time stops.  He sees Helen up on
the parapet with the King and Queen of Troy.  He looks around at the time-frozen
men fighting for their lives.  The action begins again. 

Paris fights against Agamemnon and his men, but things seem to be going the way of
the Greeks.  Hector saves his brother by grabbing his hand and pulling him up and
onto the frame beams of the merchant selling booths.  This removes Paris from the
fighting.  The Greeks try to kill Paris, but Agamemnon is forced to fall back because
Trojan archers arrive.  Paris and Hector get back into the fortress and yell:  "Close the
gates!"  Paris tells Hector that he owes his brother his life.  Hector merely says:  "We
are blood." 

Cassandra now tells her family that the Greeks will be held back for ten years.  In this
time they will grow rich and powerful from the spoils of war on the nearby villages
and the town of Troy.  She also says that she sees the image of the city of Troy
flooded with tears.  She cries out that they must listen to her.  Hector says that
Cassandra is simply mad (in the head).  She adds that a creature will come that eats
men and they will eat the people of Troy.  "You all will die!"

10 years pass.  The Greeks are growing very exhausted from ten years of waiting for
victory over Troy.  Most of the men want to go home.  Everyone agrees that ten years
is just too long a time.  Agamemnon then says that they must finish this war or go
home.  Agamemnon says he has an idea on how to win.

Back at home in Sparta, Clytemnestra tells her servant that when the outcome of Troy
is known, she wants to know immediately. 

Paris receives a message.  Agamemnon proposes peace.  Hector asks:  "At what
price?" 

Paris and Hector go to talk with Agamemnon, Menelaus and Odysseus.  It is decided
that Paris will fight a match with Menelaus in single combat.  Whoever wins will
claim Helen.  Agamemnon says that no matter who wins, the Greeks will leave. 
Menelaus chooses to fight with javelins.  Agamemnon gives Menelaus four javelins
owned by their father. Paris throws his javelin at Menelaus but misses.  Menelaus
throws his javelin partway through the shield of Paris.  As Paris pulls the javelin out
of his shield, he cuts his left forearm on the tip of the javelin.  Another exchange of
javelin throws hurts no one.  So the two men use their swords.  In the fight Paris gets
spun around and suddenly starts getting very dizzy.  He tries to shake it off, but he
can't.  Menelaus knows that Paris has been weakened.  He watches as Paris falls to the
ground. 
Agamemnon urges his brother to finish off Paris and revenge the House of Atreus. 
Menelaus grabs Paris by his helmet and pulls him along the ground until the helmet
gets ripped off of the head of Paris.  Menelaus sits on the ground.  He says some
substance was used to weaken Paris.  (Most likely it was smeared on the heads of the
javelins Agamemnon handed to Menelaus.)  Menelaus swears to Paris that he did not
know about  the substance on the javelins.  He then asks Paris:  "Do you honestly
believe that you deserve her more than I do?"  Yes, says Paris.  Menelaus then asks if
Helen has spoken of him?  Paris thinks no, but stays silent.  The topic switches to
Agamemnon.  Menelaus says that his brother wants Troy, not Helen.  Paris says: 
"Then why are we trying to kill each other?"  He says that maybe Menelaus should
defy his brother some day.  (The javelin was rubbed with a substance the Thracians
use to kill monkeys.)

Menelaus comes out of the alleyway first to the great hurrahs of the Greeks.  Then
Paris comes out and the shout goes up:  "Paris lives!"  Agamemnon says that the two
will fight again tomorrow.  Hector doesn't like the idea so he challenges Agamemnon
to fight in single combat, but this time without the poison.  Achilles steps up to fight
Hector on behalf of Agamemnon.  King Priam from the parapet pleads to Hector not
to hand over his life to that brutal, war-loving dog Achilles.  But Hector insists on
fighting Achilles.  Achilles makes it easy on Hector by turning his back to him, but
Hector says he doesn't fight that way.  Achilles says that Hector should have taken the
opportunity, because he, Achilles, does fight dirty.  He swings around and throws his
javelin into Hector's body.  Achilles then grabs Hector and ties his feet feet to his
chariot.  He drives away with Hector being dragged behind him.  He shouts:  "Today I
feed your son to my dogs."  The Queen and Helen both cry. 

Helen goes to see Cassandra, who has been locked up.  Cassandra doesn't want to see
Helen and shouts at her:  "Leave me!"  She says that Helen brings ruin to her house. 
Helen takes it and asks Cassandra to tell her what she can do to save Paris?  Cassandra
tells Helen to come up really close to her.  She then tells Helen that Achilles dies,
Ajax dies, Odysseus is wounded, Agamemnon is wounded so that only Menelaus is
left to lead the Greeks.  She then says if Helen surrenders to Agamemnon, the
Aegeans will leave.  Helen asks what about Paris?  Cassandra says he will not die
today. 

At night, Helen starts out to see Agamemnon.  The guards see her and tell Paris that
Helen has left the palace.  The Greeks are still celebrating the death of Hector. 
Achilles still drags the body, but he drive sthe chariot around and around in a small
circle.  Paris goes alone to get Helen.  Helen comes to Agamemnon and says:  "I come
to end this war."  Agamemnon asks:  "Just like that?"  She says she wants a trade.  She
will give him the daughter of Zeus for the body of Hector.  Agamemnon asks Helen: 
"Did my daughter die in vain?  Can you imagine?"  He talks about how trusting his
daughter was and then he stabbed her.  She had a terribly confused and hurt
expression on her face.  He shouts:  "There is no trade.  Not you, not Troy, not even
my own life."  Helen criticizes Agamemnon and he becomes furious.  She grabs a
spear to keep him away from her and she then runs out of the tent.  Agamemnon grabs
a cloak to hide his face and goes after her. 

Paris is there and he wants to fight Agamemnon now.  But Achilles is also there and
he says he stands for Agamemnon.  He tries to run over Paris with his chariot, but
Paris dives out of the way, grabs a bow and arrow and shoots the arrow into the heel
of Achilles.  The huge man screams out in pain and dies.  Now Paris grabs Helen and
makes a run for it.  When they stop, however, Agamemnon comes out of nowhere to
stab Paris.  Helen asks Paris to please stay with her, but he dies. 

The funeral pyre burns the body of Paris.  The queen tells the king that he wouldn't
believe Cassandra's prophecy and now look at what's happened.  A messenger comes
to King Priam and says: "My king, the Greeks have sailed."  A boy walking towards
the coastline runs into an absolutely humongous wooden horse.  He shouts for his
mother.  A big crowd gathers around the huge horse.  Helen tells the king don't trust
the Aegeans or their gifts.  The king has his archers shoot their arrow into the
underbelly of the wooden horse, but nothing happens.  The king orders that the
wooden horse be burned, but a man steps forward to say that the horse may be some
type of offering to the gods.  He then takes the king over to see a foreign man buried
up to his neck in sand, left there by the Greeks.  They start asking the man what
happened?  He confirms the idea of the horse being an offering  --  in this case to the
goddess Athena.  The foreigner also says that the Greeks said that the Trojans would
never be able to get the horse into Troy.  This challenges the pride of the Trojans and
it is decided that the wooden horse will be dragged into the fortress.

Men set to work knocking down the top part of the wall enclosing the gates.  They
don't have to cut too much because the horse's head is thin and doesn't take up a lot of
room.  They can squeeze it through a small opening in the wall. 

In her jail cell, Cassandra sees the horse suddenly come to life.  Helen comes in to see
Cassandra again.  She wants to know if Cassandra can see what happens.  Cassandra
says she sees Helen where she belongs (back in Greece).  Helen tells her that she gave
herself up to the Greeks, but it didn't save Paris.  Cassandra asks:  "But you didn't
surrender, did you?" 

The foreigner goes under the horse and stands there for awhile.  This is the signal that
it's time for the Greeks inside the belly of the horse to come out soon and fight.  The
men inside start putting on their armor. The foreigner kills a Trojan guard and throws
a lit torch over the parapet.  This is the sign to the Greeks hiding in the dark outside
the fortress to start their attack.  The foreigner now goes back to the horse and taps on
one of its leg. The Greeks let themselves down by ropes from the belly of the horse. 
They immediately start killing Trojan guards.  They also start setting fires and let the
other Greeks into the fortress.  A group of them go to the chambers of the king and
queen.  Agamemnon stabs King Priam and the soldiers start hacking away at him with
their swords.

Agamemnon orders that Helen be brought to him.  Menelaus watches as Helen is

brought over to his brother.  Agamemnon grabs Helen by her hair and throws her up
on a table.  He starts raping her.  Menelaus tries to stop him from raping Helen but
two soldiers hold Menelaus back.   

All of a sudden Clytemnestra makes an appearance in the palace.  She makes her way
to the indoor pool.  There she sees Helen naked and all beaten up and her husband
together with a nude woman.  The other woman leaves quickly.  Now Clytemnestra
tells Helen to go.  In the water Agamemnon does not like this and he says that he told
Clytemnestra before that she in never to interfere in his business.  Clytemnestra tells
Agamemnon that she went to the place where he killed their daughter.  She then
quickly grabs a net and a sword, rushes over to Agamemnon and throws the netting
over her husband.  She then starts stabbing Agamemnon over and over again.  The
water starts turning red from Agamemnon's blood. 

As narrator Menelaus says:  "War is waged by nations, but it is human beings that pay
the price."  Helen walks over to the place where Paris was killed by Agamemnon. 
Menelaus walks over to her.  She moves her head away from her neck ready to have it
lopped off by Menelaus.  He says that surely she doesn't think that he would kill her? 
Helen replies:  "I do not thank you for my life."  She adds:  "I cannot love you." 
Menelaus asks her:  "What will you do?"  She answers:  "I will follow."   He
responds:  "I accept."  He starts walking away and Helen follows him. 

 
 

Menelaus as the narrator says the traditional story of Helen of Troy didn't happen the
way it has been told.  He says he knows this since he was there.  Now he will tell
everyone the real story of Helen.  So I was expecting a twist on the old story, but
found that though some of the details might be a bit different, the story was still
largely and basically the same.  The film is on two discs so more time is spent on the
story itself, but the story was still familiar.  Although I know the story well, I still
enjoyed watching this version.  Sienna Guillory was good as Helen and she is
definitely pretty, but the most beautiful woman in the world?  I think titles like this are
meaningless, because the tastes of men and women vary so much as to what they
consider beautiful. And this makes deciding who is the most beautiful woman
exceedingly difficult.  So whey even use the title?  Sienna looks like a model and is
very pretty.  It's best to leave it at that. 

The film makes it clear that a war was not really started because of a beautiful
woman.  King Agamemnon wanted to attack Troy even before he knew Helen.  Troy
was the richest city in the Aegean and Agamemnon wanted it conquered.  Helen just
provided a nice cover for the start of the war.  He could use Helen as a way of getting
the Greeks to unite around a common cause.  King Priam realized this and considered
giving up Helen.  Giving her up would have changed nothing, except for its effect on
Paris.  So he had Helen stay with them. 

What a difference between this Helen and the Helen of the Euripides play The Trojan
Women.  In this film she is reasonably compassionate, but in the latter film, Helen is
regarded as a terrible monster with no feelings at all for the fate of others.  So to this
extent, the film was different a bit. 

Patrick Louis Cooney, Ph. D.

Historical Background:

Athens  --  dominates the Attica periphery northwest of Sparta. 

Mycenae --  90 km south-west of Athens; 11 miles north of Argos; and 48 km south
of Corinth, in the north-eastern Peloponnese of today's Greece.   In its heyday it
dominated most of southern Greece. 

Sparta  --  located the banks of the River Eurotas, Laconia, south-eastern Peloponnese,
southwest of Argos.

 
 

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