User Reviews

It's all over now, the Greeks have taken Troy and have killed every male in the place. The wooden horse idea worked beautifully and now it's to divide up the spoils which in this case is the women of Troy, both high and low born.

Highest born of the lot is Hecuba, widow of the late King Priam and mother of Hector and Paris, both dead now. Imagine Eleanor of Aquitaine if her husband and all those loving sons had been slain in a cataclysm. Then you have some idea of what Katharine Hepburn's performance as Hecuba is all about.

Hepburn is aided and abetted in this film by three other international stars and each of their stories is told in relation to Hecuba. As Cassandra, Hepburn's daughter, Genevieve Bujold takes refuge in madness. The Gods gave her the gift of prophecy with the caveat that no one would believe her prophecies and it's all come too true. Vanessa Redgrave is Andromache, widow of Hector who has her little son killed by order of the Greeks to make the triumph complete before becoming part of the Spartan king's harem.

Then there's the one whose hormones started it all. Fair Helen, older and not terribly wiser, played by Irene Papas. Her scenes with Hepburn have some real bite to them, the best in the film. And Irene Papas is the only Greek in this Greek tragedy.

It's a powerful film, an anti-war film made at the time Vietnam was still a war zone. It only had limited release at the time it was out, it wasn't exactly box office material.

But it's a good film adaption of a classic and nice that one of Euripedes plays is preserved for us by four of the best players around of the female genders.

In the years labeled BC good woman's parts were actually being written.

Circa 1196 B.C. , in a decade in which a tribe of Achaeans from Greece commanded by Agamenon engagement war a prosperous and thriving city nearly the mouth of Hellespont , called Ilium of Troy . It was a big city with high walls and four gates , being destroyed by a violent war . The details on this war stayed in legend throughout Dark Ages of Micenic civilization . Four centuries later , they were immortalized by an illustrious Greek poet named Homer on his plays titled ¨Iliad¨ and ¨Odyssey¨. Later on , Euripides wrote powerful tragedies about these events , in which details appealing characters and dramatic happenings , focusing the women who remain after the fall of Troy and regarding the king Agamenon .

The motion picture revolves around the Trojan survivor women , one time army is vanquished and relies heavily on four declamatory monologues starred by four greatest and unquestionable actresses . Awesome Katharine Hepburn as Queen Hecuba , widow of Priamo , King of Troy ; their daughter the virginal-nutty Cassandra , a prophetess-princess , well played by Genevieve Bujold who arises emotion of the tale ; magnificent Vanessa Redgrave as Andromaca , Hector's wife , who carries the armor dressed by her deceased husband ; and extraordinary Irene Papas as Helen , continuously asking her pardon and innocence on the facts who caused the oldest story of love and war . Besides , minor performances by Brian Blessed as a Greek messenger and Patrick McGee as Menelaus . The sacked city was filmed in Spain on the Sierra of Atienza , Guadalajara with not many scenarios.

The film belongs to a trilogy faithfully based on playwright Euripides , a fine rendering directed by Michael Cacoyannis , including the musician Mikis Theodorakis and starred by Irene Papas , the grandest Greek actress . As ¨Ifginea¨ concerning the sacrifice by Agamenon of his daughter Ifginea because the winds to sail to Troy refuse to blow ; as ¨Elektra¨ in which Clymnestra and her lover Aesgisthes kill her husband Agamenon after his return from Troy and confrontation between mother Clymnestra , her daughter Elektra and brother Orestes . Rating : Notable, well worth watching for the acting of the four female actresses.

Euripides has always been regarded as the most 'modern' of Greek dramatists and although, for a man of his time, he took little part in either politics or war, it is surely no coincidence that his Trojan War trilogy was written during the protracted war between the Delian and Peloponnesian Leagues which would eventually subjugate Athens and bring its Golden Age to an inglorious end.

As a pacifist, director Michael Cacoyannis felt a deep affinity with 'The Trojan Women', the first play in the trilogy and had staged it in the 1960's. Having previously filmed a magnificent version of Euripides' 'Electra' in stark black and white with Greek actors, he has here a larger budget, glorious colour and a starry international cast but it is not nearly as effective.

Hecuba is one of those 'woe is me' characters. Granted, she has a great deal to be woeful about but the playing of her presents a daunting challenge to any actress brave enough to take it on. Katherine Hepburn varies the moans and groans well enough and her gritty professionalism sees her through. Her lament over the corpse of her grandson Astyanax is great film acting. The character of Andromache represents fidelity and virtue and this is captured very well by Vanessa Redgrave but she is played as a symbol rather than a flesh and blood character and this dimishes ones sympathy for her. Genevieve Bujold plays 'mad' Cassandra and has an excellent duologue with Hecuba before being carted off. Ironically if Cassandra's prophecies had been heeded and not dismissed as mere ravings the Greeks would not have been able to pull the Trojan Horse trick! The one who comes out best is the Helen of Irene Papas. This stunning artiste had already excelled as Electra for this director and as Antigone for Jorgos Tzavellas and her casting here is inspired as she is the complete antithesis of what we expect the character to be. She is strong, manipulative and sexually confident. If any face could 'launch a thousand ships' this is it! Her betrayed husband Menelaus, intends killing her but she knows and we know that of course he won't!

Cacoyannis has made a noble attempt to bring this powerful and poignant material to a wider audience but the film alas is weakened by poor editing, an intrusive score by Mikis Theodorakis and a female chorus that simply gets in the way. Ah, woe!

This film was shown at my art school in the early 90s to accompany reading the Greek play for class. It is beautifully produced -- the location and the lighting is exquisite, and makes the characters achingly beautiful in the midst of the tattered, gritty, treacherous war being waged around them. This film appears to be timeless...the cinematography is perfect; it does not appear to be an "old" or 'historical' film, and this luminescent quality helps younger viewers focus on the story (rather than struggle with history or epic readings or overlooking outdated film techniques). In fact, the movie is so well made, and the women appear so fresh and real, that as a college student I had no idea this movie was made in the early 70s, until I read a screen bio of Redgrave and was shocked that the movie is several decades "old." The viewer is pulled into the landscape by the profoundly beautiful Mediterranean surroundings, the intense acting, and raw emotionality the actors portray. This production successfully creates the ancient Greek ideal of tragedy, where the viewer experiences some personal transformation along with the characters. Quite memorable, even 15 years after seeing it -- and worth the time investment for a longer film.

This is a film of truly Great Actresses. Without a doubt, Hepburn, Boujold, and Redgrave make this film worth seeing. Hepburn, as always, carries the show with ease. Redgrave and Boujold both claim smaller roles, but with a lasting impact. Boujold in particular delivers a haunting interpretation of Cassandra. The script its self is a decent adaptation of a first-class play, and by its self would rank at around a C in my books, but the incredible performances of the actresses bring the movie to life and raise my opinion of the movie to a B. Their performances along with the moving story they tell makes it easy enough to look over the one or two poorly directed scenes or the occasional overly dramatic moment.

Some years back, I had watched and been reasonably impressed with the director's similar ELECTRA (1962), being likewise a Greek tragedy; after the debacle of THE DAY THE FISH CAME OUT (1967), he must have felt safe dealing with the classics (this one derives from Euripedes). The resulting film, however, is quite a chore to sit through – made palatable by Mikis Theodorakis' brooding score and the fact that it looks good – as we get 106 minutes of the women of fallen Trojan soldiers after the famous 10-year war with Greece bemoaning their fate (it is dedicated to people standing up to oppression everywhere), being herded off as slaves to the conquerors, and tearing each other apart (which rather belies its possible secondary intention as a feminist statement) while waiting to be shipped!; the film, then, ends with the burning of Troy.

Though featuring a stalwart cast, only Katharine Hepburn as Hecuba, wife of the late King Priam, appears all the way through; the rest – Genevieve Bujold as her mad daughter Cassandra, Vanessa Redgrave as her daughter-in-law Andromache (wife of the Trojan champion Hector, slain by the Greek demi-god Achilles) and Irene Papas as the famed Helen Of Troy (she left her Greek husband Menelaus for the Trojan prince Paris, also deceased, and over whom the whole battle was waged). Still, each lady is allowed one scene in which to shine: while Papas makes for probably the strongest Helen ever, the role allows the actress (a Cacoyannis regular) to display an atypical sensuousness; Redgrave, on the other hand, comes across as strident and altogether too stagey!

As for Hepburn herself, ever since 1956's THE RAINMAKER, she had been mostly participating in highbrow stuff (notably adaptations of Tennessee Williams' SUDDENLY, LAST SUMMER {1959} and Eugene O'Neill's LONG DAY'S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT {1962} and the probe into medieval British royalty that was THE LION IN WINTER {1968}): though such films undeniably added to her prestigious label of Grand Dame of the acting profession, her idiosyncrasies – which were irritating in her more standard vehicles – tended to become all the more evident within this heightened environment! Incidentally, having mentioned British royalty, it is worth pointing out that both Hepburn and Redgrave had portrayed Mary Stuart while both Redgrave and Bujold had played Anne Boleyn (with Papas being Catherine of Aragon to the latter's younger replacement)! The only two men to get significant parts here are a necessarily restrained Patrick Magee as Menelaus (goaded by Hecuba to punish Helen's infidelity and, by extension, the sorrow she caused to all concerned by putting her to death) and Brian Blessed as his gruff but conscientious herald (he is sickened, for instance, by the fact that he has been ordered to eliminate Redgrave's young son in expiation but which he cannot bring himself to refuse from carrying out).

A greek tragedy is very hard to be made into a movie. In my opinion it is really almost impossible as there are often long monologues that can't be cut or improved in any way. Nevertheless Michael Cacoyannis tried, and succeded in filming the best anti-war work ever written. The film is a bit stagy but that is how it should be. Being the editor of his film too, he manages to create a unique atmosphere that in the beginning seems a bit akward but as the plot develops you understand that it is the ideal. The scenery is excellent. We see only the total destruction of the city and that's all we need to see as the narrations must "draw" the total picture of the inner part of the city in our minds. All the performances are first-rate. Katharine Hepburn is heart-breaking as Hecuba. She cries for her lost sons, husband and city. She loves the city and hates the Greeks who give her, the queen of Troy, as slave.

G.Bujold is also excellent as Cassandra. She seems crazy, but she is fully aware of the fate. She delivers a balanced performance avoiding exagerations. Irene Pappas is stunning. Looking more beautiful than ever, she manages to stand opposite Katharine Hepburn's Hecuba and deliver an excellent and utterly convincing performance. But the great performance of the picture is surely Vanessa Redgrave's. Her Adromache seems strange at the beginning but when her character is fully developed, you understand the genius of her performance. This picture is a must-see not only for the excellent performances delivered but four of the greatest actresses of their generation but also for the importance of Euripides play.

You must understand the form of classical tragedy to appreciate truly this film. Then you will see that Cacoyannis does, his four major actresses do, and the rest of his cast do, right down to the boy who plays Redgrave's son.

The four actresses have tragic arias -- there is no better word for it -- that they play magnificently. One always knows what is going on in this film because the text is translated so perfectly; the direction is so clear; and the actors play directly to that text. All are brilliant.

Don't look for special effects; there are none. Greek tragedy needed none. There are no chariot chases, no blowing up of the Parthenon as two smart-assed "detectives" grin and compliment each other, no two heroines outwitting all the police in the district and end up driving their chariot into a handy canyon. Sorry, gang, the play's the thing here -- and what a play and how well it is produced and performed.

If you love classics -- text, acting, and production, don't miss this one for any reason!

Whether you enjoy "The Trojan Women" or even watch it in the first place will depend a LOT on the viewer. After all, it's based on the ancient Greek play by Euripides...and how many folks WANT to see this sort of thing in 2023?! In other words, the audience for this movie is very self-selecting...and those who like classical plays will no doubt enjoy it, though the average person would be bored and depressed by the plot...a plot that was MEANT to depress audiences because it is about the aftermath and horrors of war.

When the story begins, the Greek army has just conquered Troy. Now the surviving Trojan women wait to discover their fates...with their leader, Hecuba (Katharine Hepburn) trying to keep the women from going mad, like her daughter has done. Soon you learn that the women are going to be forced into marriages and moved away from their beloved Troy.

The film is very stagy and talky...which is what you'd expect from an ancient Greek tragedy. And, if you don't mind this, it is well acted and perhaps worth your time. As for me, I am NOT a fan of ancient Greek plays and think the same sort of plot is MUCH more watchable with films such as "Two Women" with Sophia Loren. In other words, if you love or hate the film, it's entirely dependent on you...and not really the film itself.

I was is movie when I was a Junior in College. It was 1971.

This was, without a doubt, the worst movie I ever sat through. The advertising for it was the only thing that was good.

I thought that with a wonderful cast you can only get a wonderful movie but I was really wrong and very disappointed. The acting was horrific and there was little or no direction.

In one very long speech over the body of her dead grandson, Hepburn tried but all we could look at was the dead body breathing all through the speech. Hepburn was trying to make us cry and the audience was laughing.

Rent this one - if you can find it - and if you have nothing better to do with two hours of your life.

People booed the screen. People walked out and many of us warned those in line for the next showing not to go in.

It was a complete waste of time and a $1.50

This is a great version of Euripides' Trojan women. They got an all-star cast that truly does justice to the original play. The movie is done very much like the play, but this is quite a positive thing, it doesn't end up being some idiotic Keanu Reaves "Much Ado About Nothing".

Katharine Hepburn gives her all as Hecuba, the Queen of the now destroyed Troy, and all of the other actresses give great renditions. Irene Pappas, the national actress of Greece, did a magnificent job as Helen, the woman who started it all. Brian Blessed played the messenger as only he could, and Vanessa Redgrave and Genevieve Bujold truly capture the pain and anguish of these women as they face their inevitable fate.

The music, too, really did set the atmosphere, I could feel a chill up my spine when they played that otherwise simple melody. The costumes are suitably appropriate, and I'd love to know where they found that ancient-looking wall that is meant to represent Troy, it adds a nice touch.

All in all, this is a movie that you have to see at least once in your life, your outlook on the horrors of war will never be the same.

If you have any interest whatsoever in Greek tragedy, this is a film not to miss. It's done in English (an Edith Hamilton translation), beautifully filmed and it has four major actresses in the principal roles: Katherine Hepburn as Hecuba, the widow of Priam, Troy's king, Vanessa Redgrave as Andromache, Hector's widow, Genevieve Bujold as Cassandra and Irene Papas as Helen, whose decision to leave King Menelaus for the visiting Paris precipitates the war. Hepburn has the dominant role and is always in the foreground or the background, but each of the other stars has a moment when she is at the center, and each of them acquits herself in great style. There's also a Greek chorus of women, each striking in appearance. Given the color of their eyes and the differences in their complexions, the members of the chorus are by no means all Greek unless pale skin and blue, green or hazel eyes has become an ethnic characteristic of Greeks when I wasn't looking. Papas, of course, is a classic Greek beauty, and she isn't pale skinned or blue eyed. Hepburn, Redgrave and Bujold don't look very Greek either. But when it comes to the classics, who cares? The dialog is mainly declamatory, as is the case with most Greek tragedies that I've seen, and the action is sparse. But Euripides was a great dramatist and the emotions run both high and deep. Hecuba has lost her husband and all her children except Cassandra who is mad and about to be taken as a slave. Andromache has lost her husband and is about to have her son taken from her and killed before she is forced into slavery. And, the beautiful, seductive Helen, hated by all the Trojan women, is trying to persuade Menelaus that "Aphrodite made me do it"while Hecuba urges him to kill her. Michael Cacoyannis (the way it's spelled on the DVD, though not on IMDb) directs the movie efficiently. Greek drama isn't very fashionable these days but The Trojan Women is a good introduction to a great body of work.

Mr. Rodriquez comment "your outlook on the horrors of war will never be the same" is so true. The only movie that explains it best is Trojan Women. As a victim of WWII the movie is the only thing that truly explains the horrible experience. Once you are a victim of War and no one helps, you continue to be a victim. One is left alone without the familiar support system like family, language and ethnic group. Under all the humiliation and tragedies, you keep saying to yourself "this is so unfair cause I did nothing to deserve this, I merely was born. Whoever came up with the idea: All is fair in love and WAR, must have been a sadistic and selfish human being. Please watch Trojan Women because it is a must for ending wars.

"The Trojan Women" is not so much an anti-war movie as it is a movie (play) on the effects of war on the women of Troy and by extension the effects of war on society in general. War is hell; the effects of war are hell. We need only wait for the next atrocity to realize how the atrocity affects the people who survive or who even hear news reports the debacle, of the tragedy; whether that tragedy is Auschwitz or Newtown--the affects to the victims are lifelong, the affects to society are long lasting. (The Newtown tragedy will see a far right swing in American politics in the guise of fewer gun restrictions, the 2nd Amendment viewed as an absolute--"...shall not be infringed..."--from right wing politicos who need only flash their Glock to assert their support of the 2nd Amendment; inevitably they will be a right wing element of the political party that will see that less government is better.) So the movie speaks to the effects of war on society. The stark blacks and browns of the robes matched with a stark grey scenery conveys the emotional overtone of the movie. It is a harsh movie to watch, and yet it is still resonates as modern as the Newtown tragedy-this despite being written by Euripides in 416 BC. Michael Cacoyannis based his screenplay on Edith Hamilton's 1937 translation. I saw the film via YouTube with Greek subtitles; I had just purchased Bantam Book 1971 edition of the play and the screenplay so I could follow the screenplay as it unfolded on the screen. The acting was superb in every way--what could have been toneless and tedious, ended up being a moving evocation of the profundity of the pain and anguish of war captured in the rhythm and idiom of modern English. Captured by actors regarded as giants in the profession: Katherine Hepburn as Hecuba, Vanessa Redgrave as Andromache, Genevieve Bujold as Cassandra, and Irene Papas as Helen. Miss Papas as Helen attempted a stirring defense of her role in the debacle as one ordained by the God Aphrodite--Helen sees herself as a victim; the chorus of women--the townspeople--will have none of it. And how Helen's defense struck the modern ear; as though the modern sociopath can find recourse in pathology from the 2nd Amendment or medication or mental illness. (And by association, how the supporters of the 2nd Amendment insist that the problem is the individual and the gun is only an inert object picked up and used demoniacally by a sociopath. Society sees the lunacy of that conclusion and will have none of it. The gun becomes both instrument and means for the demonic.) Like I say, the play speaks to the modern ear despite its antiquity.

Michael Cacoyannis's adaptation of Euripides's play looks at a group of women seeing their city devastated. "The Trojan Women" isn't what would usually get considered a sword-and-sandal movie. Far from her often hammy performances, Katharine Hepburn plays the distraught Hecuba with profound intensity; as Hepburn admitted in a Photoplay interview: "My acting has always been a little flamboyant and rococo. But for this part, I've had to pare right down to the bare essentials." Also starring are Vanessa Redgrave as Andromache, Geneviève Bujold as Cassandra, Irene Papas as Helen, Patrick Magee (Mr. Alexander in "A Clockwork Orange") as Menelaus, and Brian Blessed (Boss Nass in "The Phantom Menace") as Talthybius.

The landscape is as much a character as any of the people. The dry setting evokes the feeling of loss among the characters. I would eventually like to see a stage production of Euripides's play, just to see what the different interpretations are. In the meantime, definitely see the movie.

I found this online having read about it a few years ago- a remarkable piece of cinema with some terrific performances, especially from KAtherine Hepburn and Brian Blessed. Well worth seeking out.

The consequences of the fall of Troy. Intense.

Real Review Posting Scoring Criteria: Acting - 1/1 Casting - 1/1 Directing - 1/1 Story - 1/1 Writing/Screenplay - 1/1

Total Base Score = 5

Modifiers: Cinematography:1 Standout Performances: 2 (Vanessa Redgrave, Katharine Hepburn)

Total Real Review Rating: 8

A great cast and production which has adapted this classical Greek play for the cinema. The story is written squarely from the female perspective as suggested by the title, following three key women the day after Troy has been seized and all the men killed. What remains of the women now lament their loss and question what will become of them now. There's no question of any kind of rescue or escape, they have only really to learn their fate from their victors. The former queen bitterly reflects on her former role and kingdom and the fact all her sons are now dead. Her daughter as well has gone mad, a superb performance. The film does feel quite theatrical and staged but I think that's the point. The dusty location though, looking so hot and dry is pretty well done and I was very impressed with the fire destroying the city. There's very little music it instead lets the performances shine. One death in particular comes to highlight the suffering of the trojans. All the cast are superb in this. My favourite part was Helen passionate and defiant being taken to task by the former Queen and mother in law I suppose.

This is a remarkably ineffectual filming of Euripides' magnificent examination of the effects of war on women. Euripides embarrassed Athens with his realism and blatant theatricality, neither of which is on view here. The four-star cast intone their limes reverently, as if reading holy scripture, never becoming real women watching their city burn and awaiting slavery and rape. The staging is stiff and posey,farther distancing a viewer from emotional involvement. The translation is stiff and respectful. One might say that this great play is here respected to death. In short, the film shows astonishingly little invention or imagination. And how is it that all the women of Troy managed to dress in identical matching rags? This is the only film of this immortal play. Someone with feeling and passion, film it again, please.

Just a note to echo another's comments about the fine performance of that excellent, if underrated, character actor Brian Blessed. His performance of the messenger Tathybius is sensitive and powerful. From significant featured roles, such as the emperor Augustus in the TV series, "I, Claudius," to minor but essential roles such as Kenneth Branagh's invaluable sidekick in "Henry V," Blessed has been a tower of strength in setting after setting.