The Trojan Women (Greek: Τρωάδες) is a 1971 American-British-Greek war drama film directed by Michael Cacoyannis and starring Katharine Hepburn, Vanessa Redgrave, Geneviève Bujold and Irene Papas.

Hecuba (Katharine Hepburn), Queen of the Trojans and mother of Hector, one of Troy's most fearsome warriors, looks upon the remains of her kingdom; Andromache (Vanessa Redgrave), widow of the slain Hector and mother of his son Astyanax, believes that she must raise her son in the war's aftermath; however, Talthybius (Brian Blessed), the messenger of the Greeks, comes to the ruined city, and tells them that King Agamemnon and his brother Menelaus have decreed that Hector's son Astyanax must die — the last of the male royalty of Troy must be executed to ensure the extinction of the line.

When filming began in the Spanish village of Atienza, 80 miles northeast of Madrid, sections of the press were speculating that there might be fireworks between the lead actresses.

[1] Cacoyannis first staged The Trojan Women in Italy in 1963, with Rod Steiger, Claire Bloom, and Mildred Dunnock in the leading roles.

Her acting voice dropped, after special training, by an octave, and was almost accentless; the familiar twanging pitch and East Coast rhythms almost vanished.