Helen of Troy

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Bring Greek mythology to life this May with the long-awaited release of Troy, starring Brad Pitt, Orlando Bloom, Eric Bana and Peter O'Toole. To reflect the wave of public interest in all things Homer that this movie will generate, Warner Home Video will release Helen Of Troy, a 1950s interpretation of the same story, on 17th May 2004.

Helen Of Troy was filmed in 1956 when "swords-and-sandals" epics set the standard for Hollywood blockbusters. Directed by double Oscar-winner Robert Wise (The Sound Of Music, West Side Story) filming was on a lavish scale - an extraordinary 30,000 people are captured on screen while the wooden horse created for the shoot was the largest single prop ever made at the time. The budget of six million dollars was immense by 1950s standards.

To cast the key role of Helen, the famed "face that launched a thousand ships" Wise considered all of the acclaimed leading ladies of the day - Lana Turner, Elizabeth Taylor, Ava Gardner and Yvonne DeCarlo. But having auditioned Rossana Podesta, a virtual unknown outside Italy, he cast her in the role despite her not being able to speak English. The young Brigitte Bardot also appears as Andraste.

The Face That Launched A Thousand Ships

Young Trojan Prince Paris (Jacques Sernas) journeys to Sparta hoping to negotiate a peace treaty to end the war between Troy and Greece. Washed ashore following a storm, Paris meets the beautiful Helen (Rossana Podesta) and unaware that she is the Queen of Sparta, falls in love with her. When the Spartan King Menelaus (Niall MacGinnis) recognises that the pair are lovers Paris flees to Troy, taking Helen with him.

Paris' actions make matters worse for the Trojans: the feuding Greeks unite and are determined to avenge the insult to Menelaus. Laying siege to Troy, the Greeks led by Achilles (Stanley Baker) devise a unique plan to gain access to the city and destroy their enemies.