Claim: Brad Pitt starred in a movie.

Troy is a 2004 American epic period war film written by David Benioff and directed by Wolfgang Petersen . The film features an ensemble cast led by Brad Pitt , Eric Bana , and Orlando Bloom . It is loosely based on Homer 's Iliad , though the film narrates the entire story of the decade-long Trojan War - condensed into little more than a couple of weeks - rather than just the quarrel between Achilles and Agamemnon in the ninth year . Achilles leads his Myrmidons along with the rest of the Greek army invading the historical city of Troy , defended by Hector 's Trojan army . The end of the film -LRB- the sack of Troy -RRB- is not taken from the Iliad , but rather from Virgil 's Aeneid as the Iliad concludes with Hector 's death and funeral .   Troy made more than 73 % of its revenues outside the U.S. Eventually , Troy made over $ 497 million worldwide , temporarily placing it in the # 60 spot of top box office hits of all time . It was the 8th highest-grossing film of 2004 .