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Sienna Guillory, Matthew Marsden, Rufus Sewell, Stellan Skarsgård, John Rhys-Davies ... see more see more... , Maryam d'Abo , Emilia Fox , James Callis , Nigel Whitmey , Katie Blake , Craig Kelly , Manuel Cauchi , Kristina Paris , Edward Mercieca , Daniel Lapaine , Emily Kosloski , Joe Monatana

"The face that launched a thousand ships" was the centerpiece of this two-part TV miniseries, which invoked affectionate memories of the overblown Cecil B. DeMille epics of years gone by. Set in the 1... read more read more...3th century B.C., the series starred Sienna Guillory as Helen, the Olympian-born, dazzlingly beautiful trophy wife of Sparta's King Menelaus (James Callis). Unhappy in her "marriage of state," Helen yearned for the companionship of the gorgeous young man whom she had seen only in a vision: Paris (Matthew Marsden), the Prince of Troy. As luck would have it, Paris managed to "abduct" Helen and spirit her off to his homeland, where she was welcomed by his father, King Priam (John Rhys-Davies), despite the portents of doom from Paris' foresighted sister, Cassandra (Emilia Fox). Meanwhile back in Sparta, King Menelaus, his honor besmirched, declared war on Troy, thus beginning a ten-year conflict that would culminate disastrously in the incident of the Trojan horse. All of which greatly pleased Menelaus' covetous brother, Agamemnon (Rufus Sewell), who cannily exploited the war in order to emerge as King of the Aegean. Far more elaborate than any of the previous cinematic treatments of the Helen legend, this one was also a bit more sensational, with a number of gratuitous but enjoyable nude scenes. Filmed on location in Malta and Greece, Helen of Troy was seen over the USA cable network on April 20 and 21, 2003. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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61% liked it

16,891 ratings

Unrated, 4 hr.

Directed by: John Kent Harrison

Release Date: April 20, 2003

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DVD Release Date: August 12, 2003

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Stats: 501 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (501)


  • November 16, 2006
    Better than Troy. Too much focus on Paris and Helen, but that is the path this film chose. Better representation of the characters from the epic, the best thing about this being that it follows the actual story.
  • March 4, 2010
    it was a good movie. i can not beleive what they would do to the women it that time. i would not be able to live in that time.
  • October 2, 2008
    Great cast. Costuming is pretty cheesy. It's just crazy boring and slow-moving. And the woman that plays Helen is girl-next-door pretty, but definitely not the hottest woman ever.
  • September 19, 2008
    This version is MUCH enjoyable than the Brad Pitt's version! Paris in this version is more handsome, too.
  • February 12, 2008
    A different take on Homer than TROY, but does a nice job of focusing on different aspects of the story / myth.
  • June 8, 2007
    I liked this better than I did that Hollywood mess Troy. Mainly because it was more in tune with The Iliad.
  • March 28, 2007
    great verison. it is not as super as Troy, but the story is told very well with the added mythology of the Iliad
  • March 17, 2007
    Once again , truer occurrances that are closer to actual responses to how things happen in that time frame of History.. excellent !
  • February 25, 2007
    Wonderful story Helen made a greaks launch a thousan ships to Troy. He love did if fact bring down a kingdom stone by stone the Greaks prove to be the alfa dogs by entering the gates of troy in a wooden horse thus destroying the little hope the troyans had of ending the war so m... read moreany dies for greed for power for dominace
  • June 7, 2006
    Loved this one, it was really believable and the guy playing Paris reminds me of a friend. His looks anyway.

Critic Reviews


MaryAnn Johanson
September 15, 2003
MaryAnn Johanson, Flick Filosopher

Without a jot of mystery or magic. Full Review

Michael Speier
February 23, 2012
Michael Speier, Variety

Click to read the article Full Review

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Helen of Troy Trivia


  • Who is the actor that is in The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, The Princess Diaries Two, and Helen of Troy?  Answer »
  • Which movie has the following tag-line: "Desire is war"?  Answer »
  • What do all the following movies have in common: -A Knight's Tale -Helen of Troy -The Legend of Zorro -Tristan + Isolde -The Illusionist   Answer »
  • In what movie did Diane Kruger play Helen of ___?  Answer »

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