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May. 15th, 2004 11:03 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
demeter918
I've missed the last couple of days on ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
hp_survivor and in that, a couple of days means a LOT. Well, will attempt to catch up tomorrow if I can finish my paper right now.
In other news: I watched Troy yesterday.
Okay.
I liked the movie. On a purely lets-go-to-the-movies vein, I liked it. There was fighting, lots of blood, plenty of man-angst, plenty of Helen-angst, not enough of Hector-angst, an interesting take on the Briseis/Achilles/Agamemnon triangle, and a fresh look at Paris that was more disturbing than intriguing. So I liked it enough to want to eventually get the DVD.
However.
*beep*beep*beep*beep*
The inaccuracies really, really, really pissed me off. Knowing it's Hollywood fare, I really shouldn't be so full of hope, but really! Agagmemnon does not die at the hand of Briseis. He dies at the hand of Clytaemnestra and her lover Aegisthus. Menelaus does not die at the hand of Hector. He goes happily home with Helen and lives to who-knows-when. Those two alone nearly ruined the movie for me, since I'm very fond of the Cassandra/Agagmenon/Clytaemnestra arc where he returns home. The ensuing tragedy with Orestes and Electra is equally loved by me, so I was very, very disappointed. I'm also very fond of Cly, since part of her anger derives from his sacrifice of his daughter, Iphigenia, in order to win the Trojan War (long story there that I don't really want to get into).
I didn't particularly mind the way Helen was portrayed, since I always found it rather idiotic that so many blamed her for the Trojan War. Hello? Men who want war will go to war for the most paltry excuse. Helen was only a catalyst in a long-wanted war. And I felt a great deal of pity for her, though I couldn't help but think that she was an idiot. She was queen. And as queen, even if she's human, there are obligations she must uphold. As queen, she is different, and it was terribly, terrilby irresponsible of her to run off with Paris because of love. If you're queen (whether by force or by choice), you give up the right to do things like that. You have to think of everything you do. And as unfair as that is, it's reality.
I was terribly disappointed with Hecuba. Or rather, the lack of Hecuba. Where was Hecuba? Fuck, where was Cassandra? Where was all the amazing Trojan women? I felt that someone out there in charge of Troy completely ignored Euripide's beautiful play. And I was so disappointed. But alas, Troy was made for entertainment and entertainment it was.
I, however, was not disappointed by Hector. He was magnificent. There is no other word for it. Eric Bana executed such a perfect role that he virtually overshadowed Achilles. I actually found Achilles interesting, but ultimately in the scheme of things, Hector was the BOMB. Achilles fought... well, for things unknown. But Hector! Oh, beautiful, tragic, dead Hector!
Even in Homer's epic, The Iliad, Hector was someone to be admired, to be worshiped, to be loved. Achilles, compared to him, was a whining, selfish little brat who needed a spanking. Hector, who knew exactly why he fought, who he fought for, and when he should fight... oh. I cried when he died, even though I knew he would die from the beginning. Eric Bana really played him to perfection. The point where Paris runs back to him and clutches his leg and though it impinges on his own honor, he slays Menelaus to protect his brother and still cares for him without contempt. That, I felt, was a true mark of man. Achilles and his muscles? HAH! I'd rather worship Hector. It also says something that Hector and Andromache had the only relationship in the movie that really seemed like love and respect.
Alright. Achilles was... so-so. I think the hype around the movie was too focused on Achilles. I loved Hector far more than Achilles, and I think most of the movie-goers will to, even without the knowledge of the Iliad. Hopefully, anyways. Hector is the warrior to be respected and admired. Achilles was a great warrior, yes, but he lacked many of the balancing qualities that Hector had. And his relationship with Briseis was more distracting than hot. Though that he went looking for her during the Sack of Troy was another glaring inaccuracy. Sigh, oh sigh.
While I was a little surprised that they made Andromache escape in the end with Helen (which was so incorrect that I wanted to laugh) and Paris lived, I suppose it's only a movie. An inaccurate movie, but a movie.
Though I suppose this completely negates the possiblity of The Odyssey. Sean Bean made Odysseus crafty, smart, compassionate, and ultimately, a fine balance between good!Odysseus and evil!Odysseus. There are many ways of looking at him, but it generally falls into those two camps. But here, he's neither good or evil; he simply plans and chooses what he does with his Ithaca in mind. He was the perfect Slytherin. XD So I rather liked this Odysseus. I always hated the idea of people making him a faultless hero since of his long, arduous journey, but also disliked the portrayal of him as the one who plotted and was evil enough to convince the Greeks to sacrifice Iphigenia was the best way to make the winds move again.
Orlando Bloom as Paris wasn't bad, but he wasn't good either. Paris, though cowardly and an idiot, definitely had his points. I actually respected Bloom a little more with his role as a coward. A coward, in a movie, is always harder to play than the hero. ^_^ So I thought that was rather interesting.
So. Troy. Good? Bad? I liked it, but that's because I can forget the inaccuracies. I know some people will find this practically heresy of a sort, so I'm keeping that in mind. Another thing is that the Trojan War was an example of the God's finicky and human tempers. They used the Trojan War as their own little playfield where they bickered and fought and wanted pride to win. -_- The Greek Gods and Goddesses were pretty cruel. And the only exceptions to the rule might have been Hades and Hestia.
There was a lot about the Trojan War not mentioned. Achilles became the sole focus - and Hector was the secondary focus - and that is pretty much a boring way to portray it. They focused on all the grand, sweeping things like the thousand ships and the many soldiers, but they were so preoccupied with the Grand Picture that they forgot the details. Greatness is great, but it's the common soldiers dying. *sigh*
But hey. It's a movie.
hp_survivor and in that, a couple of days means a LOT. Well, will attempt to catch up tomorrow if I can finish my paper right now. In other news: I watched Troy yesterday.
Okay.
I liked the movie. On a purely lets-go-to-the-movies vein, I liked it. There was fighting, lots of blood, plenty of man-angst, plenty of Helen-angst, not enough of Hector-angst, an interesting take on the Briseis/Achilles/Agamemnon triangle, and a fresh look at Paris that was more disturbing than intriguing. So I liked it enough to want to eventually get the DVD.
However.
*beep*beep*beep*beep*
The inaccuracies really, really, really pissed me off. Knowing it's Hollywood fare, I really shouldn't be so full of hope, but really! Agagmemnon does not die at the hand of Briseis. He dies at the hand of Clytaemnestra and her lover Aegisthus. Menelaus does not die at the hand of Hector. He goes happily home with Helen and lives to who-knows-when. Those two alone nearly ruined the movie for me, since I'm very fond of the Cassandra/Agagmenon/Clytaemnestra arc where he returns home. The ensuing tragedy with Orestes and Electra is equally loved by me, so I was very, very disappointed. I'm also very fond of Cly, since part of her anger derives from his sacrifice of his daughter, Iphigenia, in order to win the Trojan War (long story there that I don't really want to get into).
I didn't particularly mind the way Helen was portrayed, since I always found it rather idiotic that so many blamed her for the Trojan War. Hello? Men who want war will go to war for the most paltry excuse. Helen was only a catalyst in a long-wanted war. And I felt a great deal of pity for her, though I couldn't help but think that she was an idiot. She was queen. And as queen, even if she's human, there are obligations she must uphold. As queen, she is different, and it was terribly, terrilby irresponsible of her to run off with Paris because of love. If you're queen (whether by force or by choice), you give up the right to do things like that. You have to think of everything you do. And as unfair as that is, it's reality.
I was terribly disappointed with Hecuba. Or rather, the lack of Hecuba. Where was Hecuba? Fuck, where was Cassandra? Where was all the amazing Trojan women? I felt that someone out there in charge of Troy completely ignored Euripide's beautiful play. And I was so disappointed. But alas, Troy was made for entertainment and entertainment it was.
I, however, was not disappointed by Hector. He was magnificent. There is no other word for it. Eric Bana executed such a perfect role that he virtually overshadowed Achilles. I actually found Achilles interesting, but ultimately in the scheme of things, Hector was the BOMB. Achilles fought... well, for things unknown. But Hector! Oh, beautiful, tragic, dead Hector!
Even in Homer's epic, The Iliad, Hector was someone to be admired, to be worshiped, to be loved. Achilles, compared to him, was a whining, selfish little brat who needed a spanking. Hector, who knew exactly why he fought, who he fought for, and when he should fight... oh. I cried when he died, even though I knew he would die from the beginning. Eric Bana really played him to perfection. The point where Paris runs back to him and clutches his leg and though it impinges on his own honor, he slays Menelaus to protect his brother and still cares for him without contempt. That, I felt, was a true mark of man. Achilles and his muscles? HAH! I'd rather worship Hector. It also says something that Hector and Andromache had the only relationship in the movie that really seemed like love and respect.
Alright. Achilles was... so-so. I think the hype around the movie was too focused on Achilles. I loved Hector far more than Achilles, and I think most of the movie-goers will to, even without the knowledge of the Iliad. Hopefully, anyways. Hector is the warrior to be respected and admired. Achilles was a great warrior, yes, but he lacked many of the balancing qualities that Hector had. And his relationship with Briseis was more distracting than hot. Though that he went looking for her during the Sack of Troy was another glaring inaccuracy. Sigh, oh sigh.
While I was a little surprised that they made Andromache escape in the end with Helen (which was so incorrect that I wanted to laugh) and Paris lived, I suppose it's only a movie. An inaccurate movie, but a movie.
Though I suppose this completely negates the possiblity of The Odyssey. Sean Bean made Odysseus crafty, smart, compassionate, and ultimately, a fine balance between good!Odysseus and evil!Odysseus. There are many ways of looking at him, but it generally falls into those two camps. But here, he's neither good or evil; he simply plans and chooses what he does with his Ithaca in mind. He was the perfect Slytherin. XD So I rather liked this Odysseus. I always hated the idea of people making him a faultless hero since of his long, arduous journey, but also disliked the portrayal of him as the one who plotted and was evil enough to convince the Greeks to sacrifice Iphigenia was the best way to make the winds move again.
Orlando Bloom as Paris wasn't bad, but he wasn't good either. Paris, though cowardly and an idiot, definitely had his points. I actually respected Bloom a little more with his role as a coward. A coward, in a movie, is always harder to play than the hero. ^_^ So I thought that was rather interesting.
So. Troy. Good? Bad? I liked it, but that's because I can forget the inaccuracies. I know some people will find this practically heresy of a sort, so I'm keeping that in mind. Another thing is that the Trojan War was an example of the God's finicky and human tempers. They used the Trojan War as their own little playfield where they bickered and fought and wanted pride to win. -_- The Greek Gods and Goddesses were pretty cruel. And the only exceptions to the rule might have been Hades and Hestia.
There was a lot about the Trojan War not mentioned. Achilles became the sole focus - and Hector was the secondary focus - and that is pretty much a boring way to portray it. They focused on all the grand, sweeping things like the thousand ships and the many soldiers, but they were so preoccupied with the Grand Picture that they forgot the details. Greatness is great, but it's the common soldiers dying. *sigh*
But hey. It's a movie.
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A tiny correction from classics student
Date: 2004-05-16 11:04 am (UTC)Aphrodite promised Paris love of the most beautiful mortal woman in the world: she cast a LOVE SPELL over Helen. When Helen comes to in Paris' lair, realizing she's been victimized, she curses Aphrodite...
I took a Greek/Roman classics course in Autumn 2003, with an incredible TA who will actually finish teaching this summer. Anyhoo, I will dig up the post I wrote about her teaching methods - naughty as all hell - and will notify you later today (?)
Ta ta for now.
Nagel
Re: A tiny correction from classics student
Date: 2004-05-16 01:45 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-05-16 11:20 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-05-16 01:43 pm (UTC)