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Troy | 2004 | R | - 6.8.1

The Homeric epic "The Iliad" gets the star-studded treatment, with Brad Pitt playing the legendary warrior Greek Achilles: When the Trojan prince Paris (Orlando Bloom) seduces and steals Helen (Diane Kruger), the beautiful wife of king Menelaus of Sparta (Brendan Gleeson), the Greeks launch a thousand ships against Troy, under the leadership of Agamemnon (Brian Cox) the king of Mycenae and brother of Menelaus. Also starring are Eric Bana as Hector, Peter O'Toole as Priam, and Sean Bean as Odysseus. Directed by Wolfgang Petersen. [2:42]

SEX/NUDITY 6 - A man caresses a woman's face and neck (she is married to another man) she unfastens the straps of her dress and lets it fall to the floor (we see bare shoulders and cleavage), they kiss passionately, and she lies nude on a bed (we see her bare back and buttocks and he is nude to the hip). A man and a woman kiss while lying in bed, he is nude (we see his bare buttocks, hip and back), he pulls up her dress, climbs on top of her and they continue kissing (there is a bit of thrusting). A man and a woman kiss in a few scenes. A man and two women lie nude in bed together, sleeping (we see bare backs and buttocks, bare breasts and the man's bare chest). A man and a woman look at each other admiringly. People dance in celebration in a few scenes. A man takes off his armor (we see his bare chest and buttocks) while talking to a woman. Women wear low-cut dresses that reveal cleavage, and belly dancers wear short and low-cut tops that reveal cleavage and bare abdomens. A woman wears a low-cut dress that reveals cleavage and her bare back and shoulders. Men are seen bare-chested in many scenes and men are shown wearing the short kilts that expose bare legs -- and we see the undergarment under the kilts several times. There are several references to a woman being "a virgin of a god" -- she is a priestess to the god Apollo. A man making a toast says "may the gods keep women in our beds..." A man accuses another man of "bedding" many women.

VIOLENCE/GORE 8 - Huge armies charge toward each other, archers begin firing arrows into the enemy, men clash with swords and spears, and we see many men slashed, speared, and stabbed, with blood spurting and spraying. Many other men are hit by arrows, we see many bodies on the ground and horses and men trample over them. Two warriors fight each other: one has a huge heavy hammer-like club that he swings, nearly hitting the other, and one has a sword and a spear; they punch and kick and slash at each other, one is speared through the abdomen, he pulls the spear out and continues to fight (he spits out blood from his mouth), he is stabbed again (we hear a crunch and he spits more blood) and he falls dead. Two warriors fight slashing and lunging at each other, one is stabbed through the abdomen, one is slashed on the leg, one is stabbed in the shoulder, then through the chest (he spits blood), and he falls to the ground; he's then tied around the ankles to a chariot and is dragged for a great distance (we see the body bouncing along the ground and later with blood and sand on his torn face). Two warriors fight with swords slashing at each other, one is slashed across the throat and falls to the ground gasping and gurgling (we see the bloody wound and blood on his mouth), and the other stabs him in the chest to finish him (we hear crunch and a moan). Men climb off a ship onto a beach where they are hit with flaming arrows: we see several men hit and they fall to the ground, one man is hit in the eye (we see a bloody wound), one man is hit in the leg (blood spurts and runs) as the battle continues and one man is speared through the head, one has his throat slashed, and many men are slashed and speared (we hear squishing and crunching). One warrior has his throat slashed (blood spurts and sprays), one warrior is hit in the leg with an arrow and he breaks it off, another makes his way through a crowd while slashing and stabbing men as he goes, and another has a sword embedded in his face. Huge flaming balls roll across a beach, striking many men and setting some on fire (we see men rolled over and see some running in flames and hear them screaming). Then two armies charge together fighting with slashing and stabbing. A huge army marches toward another huge army, two men don their armor and face each other with swords, one hacks and slashes at the other hitting his shield many times, one is punched in the face knocking him to the ground (we see blood on his mouth), one is slashed on the thigh (blood spurts and runs), and one is stabbed through the abdomen and falls to the ground dead (we hear the squishing and crunching as the blade passes through him). A huge army marches toward another huge army, the two leaders walk toward each other, one warrior is called out of each group to fight, one charges the other, jumps into the air, stabs the man near the neck (we hear a squish and see a bloody gash), and the man collapses dead on the ground. A number of warriors fight in a very narrow passageway: we see slashing, blood spurting, we hear crunching and squishing. Warriors swarm through a walled citadel stabbing and slashing sleeping people, others run screaming, and many people are stabbed and killed, while buildings are set on fire. A man is thrown over a wall, two soldiers are slashed (we see blood on their faces), two men open large doors and flames burst out at them, and statues collapse. A man is shot with an arrow through the ankle, then four times in the chest (he pulls the arrows out of his chest one by one) and he falls to the ground dead. A man is stabbed through the back (we see blood in his mouth and hear squishing), and another man is stabbed in the back. A man throws a spear and it hits a man in the chest knocking him off his horse and killing him. A man on horseback is shot with several arrows in the chest, and he falls off his horse onto the ground. A man grabs a woman by the hair, then holds her by the throat threatening her and she stabs him in the neck (he falls dead and we see the bloody wound). A woman is shoved and tossed back and forth between drunken men, one man punches her in the face (we see her bloody nose), they hold a red hot brand near her arm, and another man grabs the brand and burns the first man on the neck. A man punches a man in the face (we see blood on his mouth) and stands with his foot on his throat, a woman tries to stop him and he grabs her by the throat. A woman holds a knife to a man's throat and contemplates killing him. Many bodies are strewn across a field in several scenes. Bodies are collected, placed on pyres and set on fire in many scenes. A woman stitches up a man's bloody leg wound. We see bodies lying on the ground with black patches on their skin and a man says that they had "the plague." A woman talks about hearing the screams of loved ones as the bodies of soldiers are set on fire on pyres. A horse is hit hard in the head with a huge hammer-like club. A man threatens a man with a sword. A man yells at and threatens a woman with a knife to her throat. A woman is tied to a pole and we see evidence of her having been beaten (she has a bloody lip). A man chops the head off a statue. A man talks about what happens after a military occupation: the babies are thrown off cliffs, the women are taken as slaves. A man talks about fighting another man and that the loser would be burned. Two men sword-play with wooden swords. There are discussions of conquering nations.

LANGUAGE 1 - 3 mild obscenities.

SUBSTANCE USE - People are shown drinking alcohol.

DISCUSSION TOPICS - Homer, Greek history and legends, war, greed, love, honor, hospitality, pride, betrayal, heroism, revenge, arranged marriages, treason, respect, cowardice, empires, The Greek gods, immortality.

MESSAGE - Glory walks hand in hand with a warrior's doom. History remembers kings not soldiers. Life can be beautiful because we are not immortal.

CAVEATS

Be aware that while we do our best to avoid spoilers it is impossible to disguise all details and some may reveal crucial plot elements.

We've gone through several editorial changes since we started covering films in 1992 and older reviews are not as complete & accurate as recent ones; we plan to revisit and correct older reviews as resources and time permits.

Our ratings and reviews are based on the theatrically-released versions of films; on video there are often Unrated, Special, Director's Cut or Extended versions, (usually accurately labelled but sometimes mislabeled) released that contain additional content, which we did not review.


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