Here are some initial differences I've found so far between the two. Hope to finish later.
Introduction:Theatrical version starts with a sweeping shot of the battlefield with the armies on either side marching to battle while the Director’s cut shows a dog in search of his master in the battlefield with dead soldiers from a previous battle. I don’t really see the relevance of the dog to the unfolding epic story. I thought I was watching a new film with that intro. It seems to say that Troy has to gone to the dogs.
Peterson's explanation in the 2nd feature disc is totally hogwash.
And Horner’s background music has been revised almost in its entirety in that segment. The new music sheds off the female solo oriental chanting and drumbeats of the theatrical cut that echoed the music of Gladiator in favor of a tamer but pedestrian orchestral blend of horns and strings. The drama of the opening scenes look diluted to me, losing the barbaric urgency of the theatrical version and giving way to one with a mere narrative tone typical of a BBC or CNN documentary.. And what was that dog doing again? Is that supposed to make it more artistic? Are we to empathize with the dog finding its dead master?
Truce Celebration between Troy and SpartaTheatrical version segues directly from King Menaleus embracing Hector and toasting to Paris following Helen to her chambers upstairs. Director’s Cut shows King Menaleus, after embracing Hector, talks about how great a warrior Hector is but only exceeded by Achiles to which Hector agrees, overshadowing Hector’s fear of Achiles and a hint on who will eventually win so there won’t be any surprises even for those who never read the Iliad or stories of who killed who in that poem. Menaleus is shown cavorting with the belly dancers after telling Hector that wives are for breeding and to enjoy the women just before it seques to Paris following Helen to her room. This couple of dialogue lines totally diminishes Helen’s importance to Menalaus who is supposed to launch a thousand ships to retrieve Helen. Apparently it just foreshadows the argument later on that Menalaus motive is to regain his lost face and to kill Helen once retrieved.
Paris and Helen in her roomThe director’s cut shows Helen’s left nipple which is not shown in the theatrical version. This is due to the newer shots on the scenes in Helen’s chamber that has more details in the bottom screen. (The Director’s cut does have a more vibrant color pallete.) Consequently, the shot of Helen’s reclined nude behind gets more screen presence and exposure. Still no full frontal nudity though..
After that Hector confronts Paris descending from the stairs telling him he won’t allow the peace with Menaleus to be compromised or he will tear Paris’” pretty face from your pretty skull.” Nothing of that in the theatrical cut. I don’t think this scene reinforces Hector’s dilemna over his brother’s naivity to smuggle Helen out of Troy against preserving the peace their father has worked for, and it adds nothing to the anguish of Hector over the betrayal of the peace deal and even contradicts his subsequent decision to accede to Paris’ amourous but politically incorrect misadventure. It only shows he can eat his own threats and that blood is still thicker than water.
Discovery of Helen in the ship’s hold.The long panoramic of the sea leading to the deck seques to Hector carving a wooden toy in the theatrical cut. In the director’s cut, it seques to a close-up of the ship mast. Again, I find this a diminution of cinematic relevance. How more important is the ship mast to a close-up of Hector carving a toy to reveal more of his character flies in the face of Peterson’s aim to show more character to his cast.
After going down the hold and seeing Helen unhood herself, the Diector’s cut shows a shocked and angry and speechless Hector looking at Paris. This is not shown in the theatrical version and immediately segues to King Menaleus confronting Helen’s chambermaid in her room.
In the director’s cut, when King Menaleus confronts the chambermaid, she answers back “my king” which is not uttered in the theatrical version.
Odysseus IntroducedIn the theatrical cut, Odysseus is introduced as he arrived to talk to Achilles in the temple where he was training cousin Patrolcus. In the Director’s Cut, Odysseus is introduced garbed as a shepherd playing with his dog on a hillside when two emissaries of King Menaleus arrive looking for King Odysseus they didn’t recognize. Odysseus toys with their ignorance. Now this is perhaps an attempt at character exposition but other than showing Odysseus' playful sense of humor, it adds nothing to the already intense though short characterization of Odysseus that is relevant to the plot.
Peterson must love dogs a lot. A scene and a character have each been introduced with a dog that was never there in the theatrical version.
The launching of 1000 shipsIn the Director’s cut, after his mother tells him about his glorious fate in Troy but would never see him again, Achilles asks his mother if her vision of his demise is confirmed – a question not asked in the theatrical version.
In the theatrical version, Achilles stares in thought at a distance and the beating drums seques to a close-up of Achilles on board one of the ships before a gradual sweeping aerial shot of the 1000 ships occupying the entire screen. In the director’s cut, the shots are reversed with the panoramic aerial shots of the 1000 ships getting ahead of Achiles’ close up on board after. I don’t see any artistic or logical merit to the reversal of shots.
OK, so far with less than an hour into the movie, I'm starting to be glad it only cost 499 with a rather neat packaging typical of Warner 2-disc releases. I hope my impressions change seeing the rest and comparing it to the original. There's supposed to be more blood and gore and a more expansive characterization. Will see.
