FILMSTARTS author Oliver Kube loved to sit in front of the TV as a child for monumental movie spectacles like “Ben Hur” or “Lawrence of Arabia”. With “Troy” on Netflix, he has fond memories of those days. Our streaming tip!
“Troy” is loosely based on the heroic epic “Iliad,” written by the Greek poet Homer in the 8th or 7th century B.C. and is one of the oldest written fictional works in Europe. The Hollywood adaptation by German “Das Boot” director Wolfgang Petersen and his screenwriter David Benioff, responsible for the hit series “Game Of Thrones,” omits the mythological world of the gods and instead makes references to current world politics. In the process, grandiose battle scenes, great emotions and plenty of stars fill the screen.
“Troy” is available to stream at any time as part of your Netflix subscription. If you don’t have one, you can alternatively watch the film on other providers such as Prime Video as a paid video-on-demand* or purchase it on Blu-ray/DVD:
Unfortunately not included in any subscription is the Director’s Cut, which is about half an hour longer and has a total running time of 195 minutes including credits. This adds even more action to the theatrical version in the form of even more opulent fight scenes, but also additional nude skin (primarily by Diana Kruger and Brad Pitt) as well as political intrigue. Some characters – such as Brisels, played by “Insidious” star Rose Byrne, Sean Bean’s Odysseus, and the King of Troy, portrayed by the legendary Peter O’Toole – are given much more depth by the additional screentime.
THIS IS THE STORY OF “TROJA” ON NETFLIX
The 12th century B.C.: King Agamemnon (Brian Cox) of Mycenae conquers much of Greece with the help of his best warrior, Achilles (Brad Pitt). The warrior despises his master, but lives for the battles, the fame and the honor that this brings him.
The king himself is also concerned with honor when he sends Achilles with a gigantic army and a fleet of 1000 ships to free the kidnapped wife of his brother Menelaus of Sparta (Brendan Gleeson). The fact that Helen (Diane Kruger) put up little resistance when the Trojan prince Paris (Orlando Bloom) stole her does not bother Agamemnon. After all, he knows that defeating the Trojans would give him complete control of the Aegean Sea.
