Helen of Troy (1956)

User Rating:

6.1/10   

Director:

Robert Wise

Writers:

Hugh Gray (screenplay) &
John Twist (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

26 January 1956 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Action | Drama | Romance | War

Tagline:

Its towering wonders span the age of titans!

Plot:

The Iliad's story of the Trojan war, told from the Trojan viewpoint.

Plot Keywords:

Trojan War | Queen | King | Warrior | Battle

Cast

Rossana Podestà	...	Helen of Troy
Jacques Sernas	...	Paris (as Jack Sernas)
Cedric Hardwicke	...	Priam (as Sir Cedric Hardwicke)
Stanley Baker	...	Achilles
Niall MacGinnis	...	Menelaus
Nora Swinburne	...	Hecuba
Robert Douglas	...	Agamemnon
Torin Thatcher	...	Ulysses
Harry Andrews	...	Hector
Janette Scott	...	Cassandra
Ronald Lewis	...	Aeneas
Brigitte Bardot	...	Andraste
Eduardo Ciannelli	...	Andros
Marc Lawrence	...	Diomedes
Maxwell Reed	...	Ajax

Also Known As:

Elena di Troia (Italy)

Runtime:

Germany:111 min (theatrical version) | Germany:116 min (with overture and exit music) | USA:118 min | UK:116 min (uncut) | UK:114 min (cut)

Country:

USA | Italy

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Warnercolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (RCA Sound Recording) (magnetic prints) | Mono (RCA Sound Recording) (optical prints)

Certification:

West Germany:12 (nf) | South Korea:15 | Australia:G | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:U

Filming Locations:

Cinecittà Studios, Cinecittà, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

When Niall MacGinnis was first cast he and the production team had no idea what part he would end up playing.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Ken Adam: Designing Bond (2000) (V)

As good as I remember

I loved "Helen of Troy" when I was a young girl in the 50's. Paris, played by Jacques Sernas, was the most gorgeous man I had ever seen and to me, made his character come alive. I wondered how I would feel about Jacques' performance after seeing Orlando Bloom play a rather wimpy Paris in "Troy". Sadly, there didn't seem to be any chemistry between Paris and Helen in the new version. When comparing the original, classic version, I was pleased to find that it still remains an exciting and dynamic story and could not be improved with extravagant special effects. "Helen of Troy" has a romantic, poignant warmth and the audience is compelled to hope that Helen and Paris can have a happy life together. In the new version, it didn't seem to matter if they stayed together or not, their story almost felt secondary to the glorious story of Brad Pitts' Achilles. Needless to say, I highly recommend the remastered DVD of "Helen of Troy, 1956" for the discerning movie viewer.