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I've been seeing promo ads for the TV Mini series "Helen of Troy". I've always had an interest in the Trojan wars, the documentary series "In Search of the Trojan War" is tied at number one with "Cosmos" and Gwynne Dyer's "War" on my list of all time favourite documentary series.
So I was interested to see how they'd do the Iliad justice. I suspect that I'm going to be disappointed
Here's a link to the cast/characters profiles.
Helen of Troy
Anyone see any problems with the casting?
Some people are like slinkys, not really good for anything but you just can't help but smile when you see them tumble down the stairs.
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Who plays Achilles, slayer of Hector? Who plays Patroclus?
Who plays Odysseus, the fellow who comes up with the Trojan Horse plan. (Or was that Nestor)
Who plays Nestor
So long as the lady who plays Helen is completely gorgeous, the rest really don't matter. However, the number of women who possess unearthly or goddess like beauty is small.
Sophia Lauren and Jacquelyn Smith are too old, Michelle Pfeiffer was probably not interested, and Super Model actresses like Rebecca R-S are in short supply.
I may give it a look, depending on the time of the screening.
Cry 'Havoc' and let slip the Men 'O War!
In War, the outcome is never final. --Carl von Clausewitz--
Igitur qui desiderat pacem, praeparet bellum
John 11:35 - consider why.
In Memory of Pete
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09-04-2003, 08:49 PM
(This post was last modified: 09-04-2003, 08:57 PM by Chaerophon.)
Looks like crap to me. A large portion of the interesting characters are not included from the looks of it. Odysseus, Achilles, Nestor... they make up a great deal of the "flavour" of The Iliad.
I'm not sure that the story of Helen's capture etc. is going to be as compelling as is the story of the battle over her return.
To hear the story of the Trojans may be historically/mythologically interesting, but IMHO, it is the tragic nature of their fall that makes for such a good story. I doubt if the entertainment value of this here sucker is going to be very high. Doesn't mean that I wouldn't watch it if it was on... Nothing could be worse than Brad Pitt as Achilles. <_<
But whate'er I be,
Nor I, nor any man that is,
With nothing shall be pleased till he be eased
With being nothing.
William Shakespeare - Richard II
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I.e., "There ain't no justice."
Hi,
So I was interested to see how they'd do the Iliad justice.
If they make Helen a main point of it, they'll do it no justice at all. In the original, Helen could as easily have been a prized horse, dog, or cooking kettle. No more than an excuse for war. Indeed, the only reason to bring a woman into it at all was to tie to the "beauty contest" where Paris gave Aphrodite the apple and pissed off Pallas Athena. The Iliad is, first and foremost, "the story of the anger of Achilles". In one translation from Project Gutenberg, it reads:
"Sing, goddess, the wrath of Achilles Peleus' son, the ruinous wrath that brought on the Achaians woes innumerable, and hurled down into Hades many strong souls of heroes, and gave their bodies to be a prey to dogs and all winged fowls; and so the counsel of Zeus wrought out its accomplishment from the day when first strife parted Atreides king of men and noble Achilles."
The only thing Helen actually gives the world is the unit of pulchritude: a millihelen is the beauty needed to launch one ship.
--Pete
How big was the aquarium in Noah's ark?
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Well, the armour and weapons are about as period as a Leopard and a F-22 in a WW2-movie...
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In my experience, a lady shows up to launch a warship by smashing the bottle of champagne on the bow. I wonder it those fine ladies are aware that their beauty index is:
"One milihelen."
Thanks for that one, it's a keeper. :)
Cry 'Havoc' and let slip the Men 'O War!
In War, the outcome is never final. --Carl von Clausewitz--
Igitur qui desiderat pacem, praeparet bellum
John 11:35 - consider why.
In Memory of Pete
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Alas, I am not one to trust the milihelen as a measure of beauty anymore. After all, the Drug Enforcement Agency must have a number of boats and small craft to intercept smugglers. Same goes for the ATF. Working in conjuction with the Coast Guard (who definitely) have ships. Then the Port Authorities. All working under the auspices of the US Department of Justice.
Which meant that former Attorney General Janet Reno launched a fair number of ships in her day. :unsure:
Political Correctness is the idea that you can foster tolerance in a diverse world through the intolerance of anything that strays from a clinical standard.
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It is often someone else, a "society" or "Navy League" type who does these things.
On the other hand, you may have just defined the microHelen. (Bad, bad Occhi!) Spanking in order!
In the interest of fair and balanced *snort* coverage, I must say I supported her decisions on WACO and on Elian Gonzalez. Beauty was not a requirement for Attorney General before she arrived, and I'd suggest it remains absent from the job description.
Can't that be considered a small victory for substance over form in this image crazed society? :D
Cry 'Havoc' and let slip the Men 'O War!
In War, the outcome is never final. --Carl von Clausewitz--
Igitur qui desiderat pacem, praeparet bellum
John 11:35 - consider why.
In Memory of Pete
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