Director says 'Troy' relevant today

NEW YORK, May 14 (UPI) -- Director Wolfgang Petersen says he thinks audiences may see parallels between the conflicts in his new epic "Troy" and the U.S. war in Iraq.

"I think every film that deals with war -- I said this when I did 'Das Boot' -- and tries to do it in a realistic way is, by the nature of the thing, an anti-war film because it's just horrible what happens. It is a tragedy," Petersen said.

Based on Homer's "Iliad," "Troy" chronicles the ancient Greeks' attack on Troy after a Trojan prince runs off with a Greek king's wife. The king's ambitious brother agrees to help get her back, but has his own agenda for waging war.

Noting war is often begun with good intentions, then twisted for political reasons, Petersen said, "Are there parallels to today?"

"I don't think it's very difficult to look around and see what happens these days and that the world has not changed that much at all," he said. "It ('The Iliad') still has an incredibly modern and contemporary feel to it because Homer, he knew about what makes people tick."