Troy (2004) - 15 questions

Question: Wasn't there some sort of mistake where a plane flew over in one of the shot with Achilles? Or is this just one of those movie pranks with photo shop? One such photo here http://www.dumb.com/m_pictures/badde884d7eb4fdc65386709f6c3a15e.jpg

Question: What's the use of those sharp poles the Trojans put on the beach before the Greeks land? They're too large to be of use against infantry, and the Greeks don't use cavalry, and wouldn't be likely to use cavalry to storm the beach even if they did.

Answer: They didn't know the Greeks weren't bringing cavalry. The Greeks did use them and sometimes brought them by sea. It was there to stop a cavalry charge and to break up fighting formations.

Question: Why is it that when the Trojans invade the shores at daybreak to initiate the second battle, it is quite obvious that Brad Pitt was playing the role of Patroclus only until his throat was cut? First, you can see Pitt's face in Achilles' helmet in the close-up shots when he is about to start fighting with Hector. Second, you can see the significant change in Patroclus' physique before and after Hector cut his throat.

Answer: Watching the scene carefully, I would say that Garrett Hedlund plays the character throughout. Hedlund does bear a notable resemblence to Pitt - he was undoubtedly cast as Patroclus for that reason, both because their characters are cousins and because of the requirement to successfully pull off the masquerade as Achilles during the scene - and thus could readily be mistaken for him, given that his face is rarely seen clearly throughout the scene. However, it's not unreasonable that they might have used Pitt in a couple of key shots, in order to preserve the illusion that this really is Achilles fighting, to bring the audience along in making the same mistake that the Greek army have. As for the physique, it can be seen in their introductory sword-fighting scene that Hedlund and Pitt have roughly similar builds - any perceived change in physique is most likely an illusion caused by the shift between standing in a fighting stance and lying limply on the ground.

Question: Where did Agamemnon get the horses for his chariot? Did he bring them with the ship? Because I can't imagine having a horse on a ship.

Answer: Difficult as it might be to imagine, they did indeed transport the horses by ship. Historical evidence indicates that ships of the period could have specific modifications made to their decks in order to carry horses safely. As such, while Agamemnon would not have had them on board his personal ship that we see in the film, it's reasonable to assume that he had a modified "horse carrier" among his fleet.

Question: When the Greeks are trying to burn a mark on Briseis, one of them says "Better to be a Spartan slave than a Trojan." and then someone else yells "Achilles." as Achilles arrives. What did he say? Or what was he going to say?

Answer: He was warning the other soldiers that Achilles was coming.

Question: What does Agamemnon yell right before the Greeks charge in the first battle?

Answer: He doesn't yell any words, just an expression of anguish over his brothers death.

Question: When Paris is with Helen at Sparta, there are no tattoos on his body. However, in real life, Orlando Bloom has several tattoos on his body, including one on his left elbow. How is this trick of deleting tattoos performed?

Answer: CGI or makeup.

Question: When Brad Pitt lays nude with two women, was Brad Pitt and the two women really nude?

Answer: I can't answer for certain, but I know that usually actors wear 'modesty clothes' in scenes like this: very small, flesh-coloured underwear. This is most likely in this case, as Brad Pitt's 'nakedness' was not actually seen on the camera.

Question: When Brad Pitt and the Prince fight outside Troy and Pitt is the victor, is there any reason why they began with spears and then when they went, they used their swords? How come they didn't just use their swords to begin with as you see in many movies of the same genre?

Answer: Homer describes the fight as having taken place in The Iliad using spears, not swords - they threw spears at each other in turn, and with Athena's help Achilles (Pitt) struck Hector (Bana), killing him. The movie uses swords to make the fight visually more exciting, but features spears as a nod to the original.

Question: How come there were suddenly dead Greeks lying on the beach, apparently killed by plague? Was there really a plague or what happened?

Answer: In The Iliad, there was a plague sent by Apollo about 9 years into the war in revenge for Agamemnon keeping Chryses as a slave - her father was a priest and prayed to Apollo for vengeance. There's no real explanation given in the movie (since they've essentially written the gods out of it). They could well have faked up some bodies to look like that as an explanation for their sudden departure to the Trojans.

Question: Is Briseis in the movie supposed to be a 'combination character' of Cryseis (a priestess), Cassandra (a princess) and Briseis (a slave girl) in the Iliad?

Answer: Briseis is better understood as a replacement motivation for Achilles. Since the war takes place over 12 days instead of 9 years, Achilles needed a pressing reasong to decide to leave the war (and thus allow Patroclus to be slain by accident) as in the Iliad it comes from his growing discontent over nearly a decade.

Question: I thought the war was suppose to rage for a decade. But this movie shows as if the war only happen for a month. Can anyone tell me what the movie left out from the original story?

Answer: It left out and changed A LOT. Really more than can be written here. I would suggest doing a Google search on "The Iliad" There are several good sites that break down each book of the story.

Question: What is the fast-paced music towards the end of the (final) trailer?

Answer: Gabriel Yared was originally doing the score for Troy, however Wolfgang Peterson believed that Yared's score was too "old fashioned" and therefore employed James Horner to redo the score. It's possible the music from the trailer was that written by Yared.

Question: Can anyone tell me what other things did Odysseus contribute during his time besides the Trojan Horse and ultimately the fall of Troy.

Answer: Odysseus was, in a way, responsible for the whole thing. He originally courted Helen, then, when Menelaus won her hand, Odysseus advised him to persuade all the other suitors to swear an oath to defend him against any slight to his marriage. It was this oath that gathered together the alliance that struck at Troy. According to the Iliad, Odysseus was one of the ambassadors sent into Troy to negotiate Helen's peaceful return. It was also he who persuaded Achilles to join the fight. He served in the war as one of the finest military commanders, known for his cunning strategies. Check http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odysseus.

Question: The whole story of Achilles being dipped in the River Styx, could it not be a part of the story? Achilles knows he's invincible so why would he wear armor?

Answer: Achilles himself made that comment. I think, for the purposes of this movie, the script was written supposing that all of the characters were merely human, and it was about how fame can create superhuman images of our 'heroes' that people will believe.