La chûte de Troie

Paride arrives at the court of Troy as an ambassador. With the help of Venus (superimposed), Parie kidnaps Elena, who is at first hesitant. To get revenge, the Greeks declare war on Troy. The Trojans fall into the trap of the Greeks of the wooden horse, which is introduced into the city by breaking down the gates. The Greeks hidden in the horse set fire to the city while the others burst through the knocked down door. Paris is killed while trying desperately to escape. The multiplicity of actors and dynamic scenes anticipate the kolossal "Cabiria" (1915) and become a feature of the Italian historical film that inspires directors like Griffith in movies like "Birth of nation" (1915) and "Intolerance" (1916). The musical accompaniment is by Antonio Coppola.

The Fall of Troy adapts the Iliad to the big screen format. I've had the opportunity to see a 25 minutes long print, but camera speed in the early days was so slow and rather jumpy at times, it's got to be readapted in current restorations so whether I've got to see the full version or some scenes are missing, I can't tell. The Iliad has always been both less epic and popular than her younger brother, the Oddyssey. Hence, Pastrone had hard work to accomplish upon making this one, yet he checked out just fine.

The story is a classic we're all familiar with, Paris kidnaps Menelaus' wife Helen, the Greeks take this as an offense declaring therefore war on Troy (homeland of Paris). After years of battling, the Greeks come up with the magnificent idea of building a wooden horse that will take them into Troy, setting the city on fire and winning the war like that. The movie misses some important parts as it fails to portray the allegorical Gods atmosphere, no trace of Achilles is shown either, and many other characters are missing as well: Hector, Cassandra, Ulysses or Zeus himself among many others.

Yet, the print was pretty well conserved and the great epic ending scene has pushed me into rating it 6 instead of 5 so that's one extra point thanks to the good taste it's left in my mouth. Other movies were better and more entertaining but Pastrone shows some of his talent and manages to make this work.

In 1911, three Italian films wowed the world with their technical quality, large sets and use of large casts: "L'inferno", "Gerusalemme liberata" and "La Caduta di Troia". Director Giovanni Pastrone goes beyond the usual technique of the time of portraying historical films in front of painted backdrops. He ordered parts of Troy used in the scenes to be reconstructed thus giving the film depth of scene rarely seen at the time. Audiences were amazed and the film was a huge commercial success.

But even more than just the huge sets, Pastrone shows his skill with utilizing the extra space effectively. Actors moved from the back to the front in leisurely fashion and the camera utilizes deep-focus photography so that every object or person is always in focus no matter whether located at the back or at the front. A technical masterpiece for it's time and a film that set new standards.

A 28 minute version can be found on the "Cineteca Milano" web-site which is close to the film's original length. Well-worth hunting down to get a true appreciation of this film.

The Fall Of Troy / La caduta di Troia (1911) : Brief Review -

The First Ever Grand Epic tale in World Cinema. Giovanni Pastrone's Spectacular Magnus Opus much before Griffith's 'The Birth Of A Nation' and 'Intolerance'. I was so happy when i learnt that Scorsese believed that it was Pastrone who invented Epic genre, not Griffith, rather it was Pastrone's work that influenced Griffith to make those grandeur. Even though there is no clarification from Griffith about this, one cannot take anything away from the legacy of Giovanni Pastrone. The Italian filmmaker was thinking way ahead of its time, it's just out of our and everybody's reach. Just look at the grand scale execution of The Fall Of Troy and try to convince yourself that this was made in 1911. Holy smoke! That just seems unbelievable. Whatever historical epics i have seen till date which includes all the major classics made in these 110 years, this has to be the granddaddy of all. A historical war film with huge sets, humongous battalion, spectacular visuals, unthinkable explosions (of its time i mean) and fulfilling storyline in 1911 couldn't have got better than this. The film tells a story of Menelaus, King of Sparta who temporarily departs from his residence, leaving his wife behind only to get kidnapped by Paris Of Troy and fall in love with him. When Menelaus learns about it he declares a war against Troy to seek revenge. The entire structure of the film is gargantuan and Giovanni Pastrone's visionary direction justifies its massive nature without any compromises in production value. The battle scenes, Huge crowd, Big sets everything will fascinate you like never before because such grandeur was never ever seen by anybody before its time. In short, a pioneer of Historical Epics.

RATING - 8/10*

By - #samthebestest.

Huge movie spectacles recreating historical events, especially during ancient times, were and still are largely popular in the past as well as today. The "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, even "Black Panther," can trace the roots of their lavish productions to March 1911's "The Fall of Troy." This Italian two-reeler introduced the public to the epic cinematic genre, where literally a cast of thousands (actually 800 extras) recreated the events described in Virgil's Aeneid.

Co-directed by Giovanni Pastrone, who reorganized the movie studio company Itala Film to begin thinking big, was able to pull off the big production, something no movie maker had done before. He even sent his film crew and actors to the grounds of Troy to replicate some scenes illustrating the typography of Virgil's story.

The battle sequences in "The Fall of Troy" mesmerized international audiences with their historical authenticity and excitement. The recreation of the giant horse housing Grecian soldiers was totally believable on the screen. The movie was wildly successful in Europe and in the United States. This success allowed Itala Film to open a small production studio in New York. Pastrone went on to produce a more lavish and more ambitious film a few years later in the highly influential "Cabiria."

Fans of D. W. Griffith's 1916 "Intolerance," acknowledged as one of the greatest silent movies ever made, will see similarities in the battle scenes of "The Fall of Troy" and the Babylonian sequences in "Intolerance." Griffith was a big fan of Italian epics.