Troy Page #9

46 EXT. GATES OF TROY - DAY 46

Hector and Tecton gallop through the gate. They rein in

their horses and look over the elite Apollonian Guard,

eighty of Troy's finest soldiers, riding well-groomed,

snorting mounts.

When Hector speaks his voice is clear and steady.

HECTOR:

All my life I've lived by a code,

and the code is simple.

(beat)

Honor the gods.

(beat)

Love your woman.

(beat)

And defend your country.

The men roar.

HECTOR:

Troy is mother to us all. Fight

for her!

The men roar and thrust their spears into the air. Hector

leads the charge to the beach.

47 EXT. ACHILLES' WARSHIP - DAY 47

Achilles stands in his ship's bow, scanning the Trojan

dunes. He turns to face his men. He smiles.

ACHILLES:

Myrmidons, we are brothers of the

sword. I'd rather fight alongside

you than any army of thousands.

(CONTINUED)

48.

47 CONTINUED:
47

The Myrmidons cheer. Achilles points his sword toward

Troy.

ACHILLES:

Do you know what's waiting beyond

that beach?

(beat)

Immortality.

The Myrmidons raise their swords and cry out with one

voice.

The oarsmen give one last mighty pull on their oars and

beach the tar-caulked keel of the warship on Trojan sand.

Achilles puts on his helmet, grabs a coiled rope anchored

to a bronze cleat, and rappels down to the beach. The

Myrmidons follow him, tossing the ropes off the deck and

shimmying down to the beach.

48 EXT. TROJAN BEACH FORTIFICATIONS - CONTINUOUS 48

The archers behind the fortifications watch the Myrmidons

climb down from their ship.

Their CAPTAIN raises his hand: wait... wait...

CAPTAIN of archers

Now!

The archers rise and release their arrows.

49 EXT. TROJAN BEACH - CONTINUOUS 49

Hundreds of arrows whistle through the air. Four of the

Myrmidons climbing down cry out as arrows hit them; they

tumble into the sea. Other arrows rip into the packed

sand or zip harmlessly into the water.

The Myrmidons, clustered together and holding their

shields above their heads, look to Achilles. Achilles

makes a hand signal. Half his men split off and run to

the fortifications on their left, howling like wolves as

arrows rain down.

50 EXT. ACHILLES' WARSHIP - CONTINUOUS 50

Patroclus huddles under the railing beside the cook as

arrow after arrow screams by. A flaming arrow hits one of

the sails, and then another. The sails begin to burn.

(CONTINUED)

49.

50 CONTINUED:
50

ONE-LEGGED COOK

Help me get the sails down!

The cook limps over to the sails, ignoring the arrows that

rain around him. Patroclus takes a deep breath and runs

in a crouch to the cook. Together they lower the burning

sails.

51 EXT. TROJAN BEACH - DAY 51

Achilles sprints toward the archers, half his men behind

him. The archers let off another volley. More Myrmidons

fall.

52 EXT. AGAMEMNON'S SHIP - DAY 52

Agamemnon, Menelaus, and Nestor watch the battle from the

prow of their ship. They're still half a mile away.

AGAMEMNON:

(in awe despite himself)

The man wants to die.

We hear SHOUTS of "Achilles!" from the other ships, a

great clamor as men bash the flats of their swords against

their shields and cheer their hero on.

Agamemnon hears the cheering. He grits his teeth and

glares at the distant Achilles. Nestor notices

Agamemnon's barely concealed fury. He speaks quietly, so

no one else can hear.

NESTOR:

Give him his battle. You'll take

the war.

AGAMEMNON:

Give him too many battles and the

men will forget who's king.

53 EXT. TROJAN PLAIN - DAY 53

Hector and his men near the high dunes, galloping at

breakneck speed.

54 EXT. TROJAN BEACH - CONTINUOUS 54

Achilles, three arrows in his shield, sprints across the

sands. Arrows tear through the air about him. No man

alive can run with Achilles.

(CONTINUED)

50.

54 CONTINUED:
54

He leaps over the fortification, sword flashing before his

feet ever touch the ground. The archers crumple to the

ground as Achilles' sword cuts through them.

In a moment the Myrmidons catch up to Achilles and lay

into the archers. Within seconds they massacre them.

Achilles turns and nods to the temple: the next target.

Eudorus gasps for air. Achilles regards him with

amusement.

ACHILLES:

Breathe, my friend.

Eudorus takes two deep breaths. Achilles dashes for the

temple. His Myrmidons follow behind.

54A EXT. TEMPLE OF GOLD 54A

The archers at the temple unleash a fusillade of arrows.

Every few yards another Myrmidon falls. Several of them

are wounded, but if they're not dead they keep moving

forward.

55 EXT. AJAX'S SHIP - CONTINUOUS 55

Ajax's ship is one hundred yards from shore. Legendary

AJAX (30) -- a huge man, brutally muscled, head shaved,

face and body scarred -- stands in the prow, watching

Achilles.

AJAX:

Look at him, hogging all the glory.

He walks over to his rowers, grabs an oarsmen on the front

bench under the armpits and tosses him away. Ajax sits,

grabs the oar handle, and begins rowing maniacally, the

veins in his massive arms bulging through the skin.

AJAX:

Row, you lazy whores, row! Greeks

are dying!

The oarsmen redouble their efforts and the ship leaps over

the waves toward the shore.

56 EXT. TROJAN BEACH DUNES - DAY 56

Hector and the Apollonian Guards rein in their horses atop

the dunes. Hector sees Ajax's ship plowing into the

beach. Hundreds of other ships are close behind.

51.

56A EXT. BEACH DEFENCES 56A

The Trojan archers rain arrows down on Ajax's ship.

Several flaming arrows catch in the hull and begin to

burn.

56B EXT. TROJAN BEACH DUNES - DAY 56B

TECTON:

We can't hold the beach, my prince.

Hector sees where Achilles and the Myrmidons are heading.

HECTOR:

They're trying to take the temple.

TECTON:

No believer would spill blood in

Apollo's temple.

Hector, increasingly uneasy, watches Achilles dodge

arrows. He turns and points to the spot where Ajax's ship

has landed.

HECTOR:

(to an Apollonian officer)

The archers need help. Burn as

many ships as you can, but don't

sacrifice yourself. Bring the men

back to the city.

The OFFICER bows and leads 60 Guards to the

fortifications.

HECTOR:

(to Tecton)

Follow me.

He gallops toward the temple, Tecton and his men behind

him.

57 EXT. TEMPLE OF APOLLO - DAY 57

Achilles, his shield now quilled with arrows, hurls his

spear. It catches the closest archer just above the

breastplate, tearing through the man's throat.

The archers near by throw down their bows and take up the

spears racked behind them.

(CONTINUED)

52.

57 CONTINUED:
57

But Achilles is already upon them, cutting them down with

ruthless precision. Every time his bronze sword flashes

through the air another Trojan falls, and Achilles keeps

sweeping through them, his face painted with Trojan blood.

The other Myrmidons are fighting beside their leader now,

and the Trojan archers are no match for the Myrmidons in

hand to hand combat. Soon the temple area belongs to the

Greeks.

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