Troy

Troy (2004) Director: Wolfgang Petersen. Cast: Eric Bana, Orlando Bloom, Saffron Burrows, Peter O’Toole, Brad Pitt.

Description - This $150m dramatisation of the Trojan War is all set to be one of the biggest blockbusters of 2004 (it opens in America on May 21) and much of the action has been filmed on Malta.

The vast main sets for the city of Troy, including King Priam’s palace and the towering gates through which the famous wooden horse is drawn, were built with the aid of hundreds of Maltese craftsmen on the wide, flat space at Fort Ricasoli from April to June 2003. Hundreds of local extras were involved in the filming, which took place at Ricasoli from June to July (the outer walls of Troy were built and filmed in Mexico).

Another set was built on the cliffside at Mellieha and other locations that are set to feature in the film include Mellieha, Golden Sands, Riviera and Comino. 

About half an hour into the film, when Achilles (Brad Pitt) learns from his mother, Thetis (Julie Christie), that if he joins the war against Troy his deeds will be talked of for centuries but he is certain to die in battle, the actors were standing in the rock pools on the edge of The Blue Lagoon, Comino.

 

Just before this powerful scene, the longship used by Achilles and his warriors, the Myrmidons, is seen taking on supplies from smaller boats in the Blue Lagoon.

 

In an earlier scene, Achilles is training his cousin, Patroclus, in swordsmanship and they’re fighting energetically in and around a clifftop temple when they are interrupted by Odysseus (Sean Bean), who brings news of the imminent war against Troy. This temple set was built on the cliffs at Mellieha.

 

The beach at Golden Sands was the location for the thrilling close-ups of the Greek ships landing on the beach at Troy, including a helmeted and armoured Brad Pitt leaping over the side with shield and spear and dashing towards the enemy.

 

Malta Movie Trivia: This is the third time in just six years that Malta has welcomed an actor playing Odysseus. Before Sean Bean in Troy, Armand Assante was cast as the Greek hero in The Odyssey and Nigel Whitmey in Helen of Troy, two American productions featured in the Movie Map’s TV pages. 

 

See the trailer of Troy