Revisiting TROY in 4K

TROY Limited Edition (4K UHD)

Also available on Blu-ray

2004 / 196 & 162 min (2 cuts)

Arrow Video

Review by Mr. Bonnie, the Buffed Blond Butcher😸

With Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey cleaning up at the box office, and bringing literarily-impaired trolls out from under their rocks, the timing of 2004’s Troy on 4K couldn’t be more perfect. Some comparisons are inevitable, of course, so as a heads-up to the mouth-breathers out there…Troy is the not-woke one.

This is Brad Pitt’s compulsory historical epic. As far back as the silent era, every Hollywood dreamboat has one or two on their resume. Mel Gibson had Braveheart, of course, and I only mention his because the two films share some similarities, and not just in the action and bloodletting department. Both protagonists are savage but intelligent and impossibly gorgeous (even in battle), with the camera almost voyeuristically fawning over their flowing locks and statuesque frames at every opportunity (which was probably written into the contracts). 

But rather than bastardizing history, Troy bastardizes Homer’s The Illiad, which is fine because it’s doubtful most people who continue to love this film have ever actually read it. By and large, director Wolfgang Petersen does a good job distilling and embellishing events for cinematic oomph. The battles are big & bloody, the production design is excellent and the performances befit the material. 

"Not to alarm you, sir, but we've depleted our reserves of mousse."

This new 4K set from Arrow features both the theatrical version and the director’s cut, which runs well over three hours. Though the latter is lauded in some circles, I personally don’t consider it an improvement over the original. The thirty minutes of additional footage feature more gore and sex, but storywise, they tend to drag the pace down a little. Still, it’s got a great ensemble cast, with Pitt in full movie star mode (which is something of a rarity these days). 

It also looks and sounds terrific, a significant improvement on the previously released Blu-ray. The film’s been beautifully remastered and boasts two audio options (DTS-HD MA 5.1 and 2.0 stereo, the former being especially impressive). While the technical specs alone will be worth the upgrade for some, there’s a third Blu-ray disc packed with bonus features. Though none were created specifically for this release, most of them are pretty interesting. 

EXTRA KIBBLES

NOTE: Free Kittens Movie Guide was provided with a promo disc for review purposes. Physical supplemental material included with the final product (booklets, artwork, inserts, etc) were not available for review.  

THEATRICAL AND DIRECTOR’S CUT 

FEATURETTES - Troy in Focus; In the Thick of Battle; From Ruins to Reality; Troy: An Effects Odyssey; Attacking Troy (most of these featurettes consist of director Wolfgang Peterson discussing particular aspects of the film); Gallery of the Gods is exactly what it sounds like.

TROY REVISITED - An introduction to the Director’s Cut by director Wolfgang Petersen.

IN MOVIE EXPERIENCE - This is a picture-in-picture commentary. 

TRAILER

IMAGE GALLERIES

EASTER EGG