What's the diffrence between both movies on the new releases ultimate edition vs. the 2 disc edition. The 2 disc edition has a running time of 196 minutes and the ultimate edition doesn't specify how long the movie is. Is there a diffrence in movie times between the two?

The only thing the UE gives you is this:

Other wise the movie and the extras are the same.

Here's the difference, as noted above:

Thank you. I'll just get the 2 disc version then. I don't need to pay $10 or so more for extras that i'll never watch anyawy. I still haven't watched all of those extras on the Kingdom of Heaven 4 disc set that was released years ago. Although a excellent movie.

I now what you mean on Kingdom of Heaven I to have not watch all of the extra features for that.
And the Alien Quad I'm half way thru that one as of now.

I don't know what you mean by that, because the Ultimate Edition in the photo I posted contains that same 2 disc version. The difference is that it's in a bigger more elaborate package with booklets, photos and other collectible stuff. No additional DVDs or anything like that.

This is quite interesting. I pre ordered a copy of UCE at amazon.

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I've never seen this movie and purchased it after reading the glowing review here on DVD Talk. Am I going to regret the blind buy? I heard the orginial verson was just o.k.

^ It was decent if you like epic historical battle flicks. Definitely worth at least a rental. Reviews are calling this extended cut much better and I will be picking this one up, not having purchased the original 2-disc version.

How come no one's talking about Troy?! It came out Tuesday right? No one got it?

It can't ALL be about Death Proof right? :P


I think i'm gonna double dip this weekend. I love sweet collector's edition and i thought the movie was good.

I've watched the first hour of this new cut so far. A few differences:

Violence is more graphic. More blunt-force impact hits, limbs sliced away, and the levels of blood are much higher.

Occasional flashes of mild nudity, achieved simply by re-framing certain scenes that originally kept that nudity below the frame.

Better character development. Motivations are clearer, people seem to give more thought to their decisions.

So far, It's a better film. Some things seem a little awkward (an inserted scene or two such as one where Achilles seems to mock the gods after beheading the statue of Apollo) and some scenes feature dialogue spoken a little differently, meaning the words are the same, but emphasis and tone of voice are different.

The entire film has been recolored to appear more vibrant and is a vast improvement over the theatrical version visually.

The music....what have they done?

Almost none of the music in the original film is where it should be. It comes across as extremely sloppy with no sense of continuity, and therefore no narrative structure. It just randomly plays from one scene to the next.

Now obviously there was no way to make the music fit extended scenes when the music was so rigidly written (meaning written to fit the theatrical version exactly with no room for changes) but the edits were so poor it called attention to itself too often. The ethnic vocals are gone, (a good thing) but parts of Danny Elfman's "Planet Of The Apes", Basil Poledouris' "Starship Troopers", and Edward Shearmur's "The Count Of Monte Cristo" have been mixed around (again almost randomly) with James Horner's original score, and even Gabriel Yared's rejected music makes an appearance.

Finally, perhaps in response to the endless criticism about the music in the theatrical version being too overpowering, the music plays at a much quieter volume throughout. I'd say at half the volume.

thankz for the review..
but does the extra stuff make it worth buying?? No one rents the new SE
the Kingdom of Heaven SE was a major change & lifted it to worthy status for me.
but with movies like 300 out now will I watch Troy SE more than once??

also are the disc the same in the 2disc dir cut & the ultimate edt??

Everyone is waiting on stupid Warner store to ship their copy.

I did get the Troy 2 disc that was just released. I'm in the process of watching it now. I have noticed extra scenes already, like the previous person has said, the battle scenes are more graphic, heads exploding with arrows and swords is one example. It's a very long movie, over 3 hours, and I just haven't had time to sit down and watch the whole movie yet. I'm about halfway through it but I just haven't had the time yet to sit through it.

I ordered mine through Columbia House (using B1G1 free) but it won't ship until tomorrow. So I won't get it until late next week (if not later).

I picked up the UE (if I buy something, it always has to be the most elaborate edition) and, even tohugh I haven't watched it yet, I'm very pleased with the overall package. For $27.99 it's a great deal for this set. I'll probably watch it this weekend once I get some free time.

is this/will this be available on netflix? I seem to remember adding it to my queue when this was announced, but it seems to have disappeared from my queue and netflix altogether. anyone know what is going on?

I can't find it for rent anywhere.
4 online & all my local B&M's don't have it.
I was surprised that Blockbuster Online didn't have it. They usually get all the big SE double dips. I use them to see if they are worth buying.
When I used Netflix they never got the double dips.

I decided to pick up the 2-disc $14.99 version at Best Buy. I really couldn't justify spending the extra 13 bucks for the book, cards and bigger case....Yeah it was nice and all, but I would have preferred a 3rd disc instead.

Thought it was a much better film. The first time I was bored and annoyed by the end. This wasn't a completely different film by any means but I actually enjoyed it which surprised me since the first time was such a let down.

Still has the biggest problems which really can't be overcome - the awful casting of Brad Pitt and Orlando Bloom and whoever that chick was for Helen.

Brad was just wrong. He did a good job but you just yearn for someone great. "The Cousin" relationship was even less vague which actually helped. No half-assed allusions to being "more than". If they couldn't commit to the sexual nature of the relationship, it was better they didn't even try to hint at it. It was just two dudes. It makes his reaction to his death even less credible but somehow worked overall for me.

Helen and Paris WTF?! Who could even begin to care for these two or buy their forbidden love? Poorly written in almost every aspect and horribly acted. They had the chemistry of coma patients sharing an IV. Thankfully their stuff was either trimmed or better edited. I was hating them less this time.

I'd recommend watching it.

Well, I bought it. Started watching it last night and so far think it's pretty bad. The acting is way over the top. And the dialogue is ridiculous and laughable in parts. Such as, when Archilles is asked why he let Hector go when they first invaded. Archilles said "It's too early in the day to kill a prince". Huh!? The cinematography is great. So are the sets. I'm going to finish watching it today, but so far, thumbs down overall. I really wanted to like it. I loved "Gladiator" and "300".

I guess you haven't read The Iliad then. Troy is a pretty damn good adaptation of it, IMHO.

(Add me to the list of those very impressed by the director's cut.)

me too...

my pre-order from amazon showed up friday... even with the free super-saver shipping...

i really liked it... a substantially improved film...

Got me the Ultimate edition last night and boy is the packaging sweet! I love stuff like that. You can see they really put some thought in this edition, great job!

Cool collector packaging is one of the best things for me, and i really don't see this happening with either Blu-Ray or HD-DVD. It will always be those really ugly red and blue thin cases with the exact same artwork as the other releases.

This Troy Ultimate edition is EXACTLY why i collect DVDs, sure it has to be a movie i like but to me packaging and as important as the movie itself!

I think i'd kill myself before having shelves full of thin little red or blue boxes.