Review: Troy 4K UHD
Troy is based, sometimes rather loosely, on Homer’s The Iliad. The trouble begins when Trojan prince Paris (Orlando Bloom) runs away with Helen (Diane Kruger), the wife of Spartan king Menelaus (Brendan Gleeson). This gives Menelaus’s brother Agamemnon (Brian Cox) the excuse he has been waiting for to invade Troy, expand his empire and generally make life miserable for everyone within sailing distance.Joining the Greek army is Achilles (Brad Pitt), a warrior who knows that he is the best and has absolutely no intention of pretending otherwise. Standing against him is Hector (Eric Bana), Paris’s older brother and seemingly the only man in the entire film capable of making a sensible decision.
Director Wolfgang Petersen delivers exactly what you want from a huge historical epic: enormous armies, clashing swords, burning cities, sweeping camera shots and Brian Cox chewing through the scenery like only he can do.
Arrow’s three-disc Limited Edition includes both the 163-minute Theatrical Cut and the 196-minute Director’s Cut, each on its own 4K UHD disc. The longer version gives the characters more room to breathe, adds further brutality to the battles and makes the fall of Troy feel more tragic than triumphant. It also alters sections of James Horner’s music, including the Achilles and Hector duel.
Fine film grain remains intact and gives the image a pleasingly natural appearance, while the increased detail does occasionally make some of the CGI armies and ships show their age, but the huge practical sets, costumes, weapons and thousands of real extras benefit enormously.
Both cuts include lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and stereo options.
Disc 3 collects the previously released behind-the-scenes material, including the reconstructed picture-in-picture In Movie Experience.
This is the best Troy has ever looked and a highly recommended upgrade. Just make sure you put aside either two-and-three-quarter hours or well over three hours, depending on which cut you choose.
4K ULTRA HD LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS
- Brand new 4K remasters of both the Director’s Cut and Theatrical Cut of the film from the original 35mm camera negative by Arrow Films
- Collectors’ booklet featuring new writing on the film by Priscilla Page and Laurie Maguire and an excerpt from the original production notes
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Peter Strain
- DISC 1: THEATRICAL CUT (4K ULTRA HD)
- 4K (2160p) Ultra HD Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible) of the Theatrical Cut
- Original lossless DTS-HD MA 5.1 surround audio plus stereo audio
- Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- DISC 2: DIRECTOR’S CUT (4K ULTRA HD)
- 4K (2160p) Ultra HD Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible) of the Director’s Cut
- Original lossless DTS-HD MA 5.1 surround audio plus stereo audio
- Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- Troy Revisited, an archival introduction by director Wolfgang Petersen
- DISC 3: EXTRAS (BLU-RAY)
- In Movie Experience, an archive picture-in-picture commentary of the film
- Troy in Focus, a series of archival behind-the scenes featurettes
- In the Thick of Battle, an archival behind-the-scenes featurette
- From Ruins to Reality, an archival behind-the-scenes featurette
- Troy: An Effects Odyssey, an archival behind-the-scenes featurette
- Attacking Troy, an archival behind-the-scenes featurette
- Gallery of the Gods, an archival introduction to the Greek Gods
- Easter egg
- Trailer
- Image galleries
Review by Tina from discs kindly supplied by Arrow Films via Fetch Publicity.
