Article: 'I thought my Troy would never be made'; As his epic film opens, director Wolfgang Petersen reveals the Homeric effort that went into its making.

Byline: FIONA MADDOCKS

ALL directors hope their filmography will read like Homer's epic list of mighty ships. Wolfgang Petersen has a special ambition for his latest, Troy, which reworks The Iliad and turns the Trojan War into a $175 million blockbuster starring Helen, Paris, 1,000 ships, a clutch of heroes, 20,000 arrows, 4,000 shields, 3,000 swords, 1,250 extras, 1,000 men o' war, a few dozen stuntmen, a 38-feet-high wooden horse, and Brad Pitt.

"No one will have seen battles like this before," Petersen says, with infectious, beady excitement. "These are the most realistic on film. This is not Lord of the Rings; there is no fantasy. It's serious human ...

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