I saw "300" yesterday, and it was one of the best movies I have ever seen, PERIOD!
All I could say is WOW! It is a pure visual, andrenaline, spectacle.
This movie, to me, is better than "Gladiator", and that's one of my all time favorites. I would happily pay $40 for this visual feast. :D

Who else has seen it?

I have and yes it is awesome(and it is doing amasingly well in the box office) but then again i am from Sparta so i can't be objective. :)

Definatly agree, this movie was an amazing showing of modern film making. I was able to go to the midnight showing and see it on Digital Projection and was very impressed with the quality of the presentation and the SQ. Even already knowing the backstory and what would happen, the movie was just as good for me, if not better then what I expected. Can't wait for this HD-DVD.

Definitely a visually stunning movie, but not the greatest film I've ever seen. Great popcorn flick. Will be picking it up as soon as it's out.

I plan to go next Saturday to see it in IMAX. It certainly looks spectacular ! :)

Art

It's a buy. Will look for pre-order.

Just saw this last night and this is the best looking movie PERIOD. The score kicked ass too. Does anyone know what kind of filter was used to give the colors a dulling affect.

A Visual feast to behold and a darn entertaining movie as well. Can't wait to add this one to my collection.

This will definitely be a blind buy for us...no doubt. :)

This will be a definite purchase for me. Just saw it last night...wow!! What a wild ride... :eek:

Saw this in an advance screening last monday, I really enjoyed the film, I could not help but wonder how this will be on HD-DVD. The fim seemed to have a lot of grain (on purpose) how do you guys think it will transfer over?I have no doubt the movie will be a huge hit for HD-DVD (& Blu-Ray).

Saw this last night in IMAX and I think I have to go again today. Can't wait until this one comes out.

watching a cult leader leading 300 of his members to commit mass suicides !! :lol: :D

Saw it at IMAX last night. It was glorious! :D
Definitely will get HD DVD version.

One of the best movies I've seen in a long, long time! To sum it up in one word, AWESOME!!!! I definitely will be buying this movie!!!!

Loved every minute of it! I didn't surpass my expectations, but it met it exactly what I thought about it!

The film was a bit grainy but was perfect for the movie! I ccan't wait to pick this up! You guys think this will be one of the first THD by Warner?

Definitely can't wait though for it...definitely one of those movies you can keep watching over and over and never get tired of it!

I thought the audio was absolutely amazing as well! Can't wait to watch this at home!

Just saw this last night and this is the best looking movie PERIOD. The score kicked ass too. Does anyone know what kind of filter was used to give the colors a dulling affect.

You can get some basic infgormation on how was filmed on this link:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0416449/trivia

Saw this in an advance screening last monday, I really enjoyed the film, I could not help but wonder how this will be on HD-DVD. The fim seemed to have a lot of grain (on purpose) how do you guys think it will transfer over?I have no doubt the movie will be a huge hit for HD-DVD (& Blu-Ray).

I'm not worried about the film grain after having seen the Miami Vice HD-DVD twice... I really think Miami Vice transferred very nicely and seeing it did put all my lower expectations on a "high grain" movie to rest.

This movie can't come out soon enough on HD.

A bombastic spectacle of honor and betrayal, “300” is about as violent as “Apocalypto” and twice as stupid. (?)

I also heard that the HD editions will have an In-Movie Experience that actually shows each the frames from the graphic novel as it happens in the film. That should be really cool to watch and see how close the film came.

I like how XBOX LIVE! Marketplace has HD Trailers for 300, they look great. Now the HD-DVD version should be even better. Can't wait to pick it up.

I wonder if this will be a TotalHD disc. That way, I don't have to decide whether to get the HD DVD version or get the Blu Ray version. I'm actually looking forward to these discs as long as the cost about the same or less than combo discs.

watching a cult leader leading 300 of his members to commit mass suicides !! :lol: :D

If you have actually read the history, you'll know that was not the case. :)

i plan on seeing at the IMAX theater next Friday.

Glad you guys took the time to comment about this one, was hoping somebody HERE would start a thread and fill us in...I say that because the reviews are kinda odd around the net...some saying just what you're saying "one of the best damn pictures they've seen" while other are saying "Heh, looks nice, but thats it." Even saw one site only give it 2 1/2 stars outta 5.

I, for one, think that most reviews are worthless. Unless the particular reviewer has the same likes and dislikes as my viewing habits, I go with what I think will be good or worth watching. If the subject interests me....I watch it.

If you have actually read the history, you'll know that was not the case. :)


The figure of 300 was only on the last day of battle, two allies of King Leonides stayed and fought alongside the Spartans, combined numbers were estimated to be into the thousands when they made their final stand against the Persians.

I am an hour away from seeing this on IMAX but if it is half as good as what is shown on the trailer it is a blind buy for me!!!

Jorge

This is an awesome movie. This flick keeps your attention from beginning to end. With all of the blood and gore it has a sense of humor as well. Will most definitely purchase on HD when available.

i just wanted to add my two cents

this movie was amazing. i've been drooling about it ever since january when i saw a deluxe collectors book detailing the movie at a bookstore. i had no idea about it beforehand. when i found out it was a frank miller comic, i was even more hungry for it having been a fan of many of his books and nicely surprised by how well Sin City translated to the screen.

i've gone over the trailers for many weeks (as much as i tried to stop myself). The look and visual appeal of the film was simply calling me. seeing it on opening nite, it did not disappoint me at all (which i was very afraid of). brutal and beautiful in the visual dept, a little bit soft in the story dept, but nothing to take away from it. the comic in fact is all battle, none of the political side story that is in the movie.

For the pq, i was wonderin what you all thought, I found the image to be a little too dark (underexposed in certain scenes: the messanger on his horse riding to sparta for instance. but i most likely put the blame on the theatre chain i went to (silver city).

Film grain was high to me and i'm wondering how you guys think the hd transfer will look? For those who saw it in imax (which i'm dying to do next), was there as much grain coming thru? were details that much more clearer? I have very little appreciation for the pq of my silver city theater, how much sharper do you think the HD tranfer will look? How much more detail will you be seeing as opposed to in the theater? One other thing, i found the movie to be a bit choppy in its pacing, it seemed like a lot of editing went on and a lot of things had to be cut out to speed the story along. hopefully for home release, they will include a lot more footage to flesht it out and hopefully more battle footage. The scene with King Leonidas taking it to the persian soldiers was simply awesome. the choreography was great. Generally i dont like a lot a fancy camera tricks during fight scenes but the panning and zooming really came thru nicely during this great sequence. it sure gets your blood going ;)

and talk about physically dominating the screen, i had no idea Gerard Butler could do this type of work. i've only seen him in Tomb Raider 2 and was quite shocked to find out he was able to carry the voice and stature of Leonidas so perfectly; aside from the letting his welsh(?) accent slip in now and then. ;)

well i wrote too much; sorry. great film

i just wanted to add my two cents

this movie was amazing. i've been drooling about it ever since january when i saw a deluxe collectors book detailing the movie at a bookstore. i had no idea about it beforehand. when i found out it was a frank miller comic, i was even more hungry for it having been a fan of many of his books and nicely surprised by how well Sin City translated to the screen.

i've gone over the trailers for many weeks (as much as i tried to stop myself). The look and visual appeal of the film was simply calling me. seeing it on opening nite, it did not disappoint me at all (which i was very afraid of). brutal and beautiful in the visual dept, a little bit soft in the story dept, but nothing to take away from it. the comic in fact is all battle, none of the political side story that is in the movie.

For the pq, i was wonderin what you all thought, I found the image to be a little too dark (underexposed in certain scenes: the messanger on his horse riding to sparta for instance. but i most likely put the blame on the theatre chain i went to (silver city).

Film grain was high to me and i'm wondering how you guys think the hd transfer will look? For those who saw it in imax (which i'm dying to do next), was there as much grain coming thru? were details that much more clearer? I have very little appreciation for the pq of my silver city theater, how much sharper do you think the HD tranfer will look? How much more detail will you be seeing as opposed to in the theater? One other thing, i found the movie to be a bit choppy in its pacing, it seemed like a lot of editing went on and a lot of things had to be cut out to speed the story along. hopefully for home release, they will include a lot more footage to flesht it out and hopefully more battle footage. The scene with King Leonidas taking it to the persian soldiers was simply awesome. the choreography was great. Generally i dont like a lot a fancy camera tricks during fight scenes but the panning and zooming really came thru nicely during this great sequence. it sure gets your blood going ;)

and talk about physically dominating the screen, i had no idea Gerard Butler could do this type of work. i've only seen him in Tomb Raider 2 and was quite shocked to find out he was able to carry the voice and stature of Leonidas so perfectly; aside from the letting his welsh(?) accent slip in now and then. ;)

well i wrote too much; sorry. great film


Which Silver City did you go to? It's so funny how you can tell where someone is from based on certain words lol..

ie. Theatre vs. Theater

Hell yea. The movie is one of the best I have ever seen.

If you have actually read the history, you'll know that was not the case. :)

Agreed, it was more like 300 men saving a nation.

Does anyone know what kind of filter was used to give the colors a dulling affect.I watched "The Making of 300" on HBO a few nights ago. They specifically mentioned using an intentional black crush filter to get the comic book silhouette effect.

So be prepared for some PQ complaints when the HDDVD is released... "the black levels on the transfer are all screwed up". :rolleyes: :p

300 is a man's movie, enough said.

It achieves what it tries to do, and I am completely confused by all these random critics and people that harp on it for various issues....

We came back this afternoon from watching it and my roommate started pointing out historical inaccuracies, I just ignored him. I mean come on, do people not realize what this movie is?

Agreed Sanborn. This is "based" on historical events but there's no doubt that it's highly fictional.

I mean come'on that had to be the hottest Oracle I've ever seen. Man I actually blushed during that scene. Man those guys' six packs give me a run for my money. They must have been in the gym for months.

I like the athleticism and physicality that this move brought. Who doesn't like a movie about Warriors? I was not disappointed..I'll be glad to own this Oracle...er movie.

I watched "The Making of 300" on HBO a few nights ago. They specifically mentioned using an intentional black crush filter to get the comic book silhouette effect.

So be prepared for some PQ complaints when the HDDVD is released... "the black levels on the transfer are all screwed up". :rolleyes: :p

from a comic standpoint, miller's visuals live in black or white. Black tells more a story than white in his illustrations, as such i aniticipated the dark levels so maybe its not the theater's fault (but i still blame my silver city cuz they're run it without a care in the world to quality).

Out of curiosity, sin city isnt out in Hd formats yet? how are the black levels on your hd setups coming thru with that film if not in HD then upconverted?

... and talk about physically dominating the screen, i had no idea Gerard Butler could do this type of work. i've only seen him in Tomb Raider 2 and was quite shocked to find out he was able to carry the voice and stature of Leonidas so perfectly; aside from the letting his welsh(?) accent slip in now and then. ;)

well i wrote too much; sorry. great film

Scottish ;)

Yeah, it was a little strong at times and a little weak @ others. Overall I think he projected the image and words of a King very well.

saw 300 2 days ago. i liked the style and cinematography of the film, but it was not all that good. no where even in the vicinity of gladiator goodness. gladitor was great on soo many levels that 300 doesn't even touch. 300 is more style than substance. i will pick it up on hd dvd when avaliable, but i can't say it's even in my top 10 films of the last couple years. please stop comparing this to gladiator...it's not even close.

Which Silver City did you go to? It's so funny how you can tell where someone is from based on certain words lol..

ie. Theatre vs. Theater

haha u guessed it, i'm in central canada, i always spell it one way or the other :p

originally when silver city was set up in our area years ago, they had a couple thx certified theaters in the multiplex and they were really nice, large screen, gut moving sound. maybe a year and a half later i began to notice diminshing pq (films that always seemed out of focus) and crappy sound (one of the subs had obviously been overdriven or something as any bass heavy passages produced a loud farting noise from said sub in the front array(thx certified farting :rolleyes: ) the next time i went to watch a movie in the same theater i noticed the thx logo's had been taken away and never returned. I had a real awful time watching king kong at one these when it first came out. 2/3 of the screen was out of focus for the duration of the movie. I complained twice during, i'm so surprised no one else in the packed house went to say something. as the end credits rolled i was out in the lobby and you could still see how bad it was! fortunately a manager walked by and i pointed out the obvious error. he apoligized right away and gave me 4 free passes to any other movie, but it really pissed me off. the movie industry is complaining about piracy but i pay good money to see something that looks like an internet download only 60ft wide? :mad:

sorry for the rant. I was really worried about seeing 300 and experiencing something like that but fortunately the pq was acceptable. but the continuing crappy quality that is shown at those theatres keeps me questioning how good an image am i looking at and how much better is it really supposed to be. its almost like luck of the draw for me to have a good viewing experience at the large chain theaters.

The reality of Sparta is even more over the top than is portrayed in the movie.

A few years ago I taught a class on extreme nationalistic movements. Sparta covered several lectures. Virtually no one raised in the 20th or 21st century could survive such a brutal, hardcore existance. No private dining rooms, exposure of infants, worthless currency, children raised in communal dorms with regular beatings from older boys...the list goes on and on.

Post production took almost a year. The film was edited on an Avid, with an HD cut also maintained in Final Cut Pro The 3D was made using Maya, XSI, and Lightwave The 2D composites were made with Shake, Inferno, Fusion, and Combustion. The filmmakers prefer Macintosh, but large portions of the movie were made under Linux. Asset management was handled by custom software written in the Panorama development environment, made by Provue. Color management was handled by Truelight software. The film was scanned on a northlight scanner and was recorded on the arrilaser. Most of the film was shot at high speed, between 50 and 150fps. Normal film is at 24fps. The film was transferred to HD SR tape and quicktime, and HD quicktimes were the basis for the HD preview cuts. The working resolution for the film was 2K, at a working aspect ratio of 2.11 and a projected aspect ratio of 2.35

above was taken from imdb.com (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0416449/trivia)

what affect does shooting at 50 - 150fps have on image? will it be that much more detailed or are they simply refering to the slowed down action sequences?

the last line about "HD SR tape", "Hd quicktime"... the movie was mastered in quicktime and quicktime will be the basis of HD home version?

"the working resolution of the film was 2k..." what does this mean? and what does this say about the future hd dvd version? also it was shot at 2.11 with a projected ar of 2.35? i'm confused, i thought the aspect ratio of a film is set from the time is it actually filmed :confused:

saw 300 2 days ago. i liked the style and cinematography of the film, but it was not all that good. no where even in the vicinity of gladiator goodness. gladitor was great on soo many levels that 300 doesn't even touch. 300 is more style than substance. i will pick it up on hd dvd when avaliable, but i can't say it's even in my top 10 films of the last couple years. please stop comparing this to gladiator...it's not even close.

i agree with you on some things but i really enjoyed 300 much more than gladiator. I heard so much about gladiator before i went to see it and after i finally saw it, i thought it was very cliched. there wasnt really anything in gladiator (storywise) that i hadn't seen before and i wondered what all the hype was about. I will say that gladiator has a deeper story than 300 with more drama but i found Joaquin Phoenix's character to be really boring as a 'villain' but i found his death to be really fullfilling. :p

in terms of action tho, i dont think gladiator holds a candle to 300 both in choreography and visual style. while i sat thru the fights in gladiator, i had adrenaline rushes during the fights in 300. 300 made me go home and do 300 situps... i wish ;) in terms of who would i put my money on in a fight: maximus or leonidas? well i'd feel really sorry for maximus after seeing 300.

Agreed Sanborn. This is "based" on historical events but there's no doubt that it's highly fictional.

I mean come'on that had to be the hottest Oracle I've ever seen. Man I actually blushed during that scene. Man those guys' six packs give me a run for my money. They must have been in the gym for months.

I like the athleticism and physicality that this move brought. Who doesn't like a movie about Warriors? I was not disappointed..I'll be glad to own this Oracle...er movie.

They trained together for eight weeks.
There are historical accounts which detail the events at Thermopylae, but this film is clearly closer in spirit to oral mythological traditions.

It's also the barest stretch to draw historical parallels between hordes of deliberately anonymous, Eastern inhuman "immortals" enslaved by a dichotomic incongruity of mysticism, driven and rewarded by absolute physical corruption; juxtaposed against the sober, disciplined Western rationality of men who's Democratic ideals are worthy of self sacrifice.

Athens was burned, but the Greeks ultimately halted the Persian advance, preserving Western cultural traditions that many of us now enjoy, and so frequently take for granted. Our current materialistic distractions are belied by the fact that Western traditions include the same kind of steely, determined resolve, and eagerness for self-sacrifice we now describe as madness in our contemporary adversaries. This irony is certainly not lost on Frank Miller.

Excellent flick.

I have to say, I will either go with the cheapest or the one with PCM. Chances are, BR will be both if it comes out a combo.

It will probably be a Total HD disc, though. So either way I am all set. :)

aravs you're correct...filming some scenes at 50-150fps allow for higher quality slow motion effects. If they had filmed at the standard 24p they would have had to do more processing in post with something like Twixtor

http://www.revisionfx.com/products/twixtor/

300 is very, very entertaining. Will look stunning in HD.

300 is the offspring of Lord of the Rings and Gladiator, with a slight touch of Matrix as a distant cousin.

If you like any of those movies, you'll most likely enjoy 300. At least now people will know what Thermopylae is...

MEC2

They trained together for eight weeks.
There are historical accounts which detail the events at Thermopylae, but this film is clearly closer in spirit to oral mythological traditions.

It's also the barest stretch to draw historical parallels between hordes of deliberately anonymous, Eastern inhuman "immortals" enslaved by a dichotomic incongruity of mysticism, driven and rewarded by absolute physical corruption; juxtaposed against the sober, disciplined Western rationality of men who's Democratic ideals are worthy of self sacrifice.

Athens was burned, but the Greeks ultimately halted the Persian advance, preserving Western cultural traditions that many of us now enjoy, and so frequently take for granted. Our current materialistic distractions are belied by the fact that Western traditions include the same kind of steely, determined resolve, and eagerness for self-sacrifice we now describe as madness in our contemporary adversaries. This irony is certainly not lost on Frank Miller.

Very insightful commentary.

I give 300 an 8.5 out of 10, a very good movie. Visuals 10 of 10. For what appears to be the artistic goal and style they hit it spot on. Beautiful cinematography. Memorable visuals abound.

The story hits some important themes but is a bit predictable and doesn't quite resonate the way an all time classic should IMO. Still a great movie. Bring on the HD-DVD.

I watched this flick Sunday morning. I liked it very much. I will certainly be buying it on whatever HD format it comes out on.

300 is the offspring of Lord of the Rings and Gladiator, with a slight touch of Matrix as a distant cousin.


Pretty accurate description :)

I'm definitely picking this up in High def!

above was taken from imdb.com (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0416449/trivia)

what affect does shooting at 50 - 150fps have on image? will it be that much more detailed or are they simply refering to the slowed down action sequences?

the last line about "HD SR tape", "Hd quicktime"... the movie was mastered in quicktime and quicktime will be the basis of HD home version?

"the working resolution of the film was 2k..." what does this mean? and what does this say about the future hd dvd version? also it was shot at 2.11 with a projected ar of 2.35? i'm confused, i thought the aspect ratio of a film is set from the time is it actually filmed :confused:

As has already been stated the "overcranked" shot sequences allow for animated optical flow respeeds. it wouldn't be the entire film that was shot this way. Interested to know what they used..probably furnace rather than twixtor I suspect although they might have written their own respeed.

The HD references their preview rushes pipeline not the final mastering I suspect.

2k is the working resolution of the final conformed Negative ( probably DI in this case). its likely most of the film was scanned to this resolution ( 2048x1556 for fullap) and they probably worked safe to 1.66 or thereabouts on effects work. 2k pipeline is normal for most feauture films , it won't affect the HD-DVD particularly ( cue 4k zealots with no real experience of viewing either)

Likely they shot super35 composed for 2.35:1 .

Saw this last night. It was amazing, almost every scene was a work of art, visually this film is one of the best I've seen. I can't wait for it on HD DVD! Warner better include a TrueHD track.

I saw this Digitally last night, I looked awesome even with the heavy grain :)

I loved the flick and will buy the HD DVD version even though I was almost too distracted by all of the grain in the film. I am unsure on how good this will look in HD but sometimes it doesn't matter when a film is that good. True HD will rock though.

I thought this film was great and will have some really amazing demo material to show off your HD home theater to friends.

Great Film. I saw it last Friday. I'll be picking this one up whenever it gets released.

Wanted to see it this weekend but it was sold out at the local IMAX - saw Ghost Rider instead. Next weekend :D

Well, I guess I know where to direct the Army recruiters...

saw 300 2 days ago. i liked the style and cinematography of the film, but it was not all that good. no where even in the vicinity of gladiator goodness. gladitor was great on soo many levels that 300 doesn't even touch. 300 is more style than substance. i will pick it up on hd dvd when avaliable, but i can't say it's even in my top 10 films of the last couple years. please stop comparing this to gladiator...it's not even close.

so you want all of us to not compare it to Gladiator?

Hmmm, you said your opinion, which is fine, lets let others have theirs.:)

I thought this movie was damn good. It lived up to my expectations and I have been waiting forever since I first read/saw about this movie from awhile ago. I can't wait to see it again on the big screen. Hopefully it hits HD fairly fast. I kind of hope WB doesn't make it one of their TotalHD discs so it makes it out faster. A summer release would be very nice.

The Gates of Fire (http://www.historicalnovelsociety.org/solander%20files/spinterview.htm) I bet the other studios are pissed off about passing on the opporunity to do this story. George Clooney was supposed to make a movie about the Spartans at Thermopylae and then it was cancelled.

I saw this last night in a digital cinema. I really enjoyed it, but as others have mentioned before, it is very grainy. Some of us were talking afterwards about how it looked grainier than "Click" to us and that one ended up with a lot of complaints for that on Blu-ray. "Miami Vice" is one that got a lot of complaints here for being grainy, but I haven't watched all of that one.

--Darin

The grainy aspect of the film didn't bother me at all. For me it worked for it since it was more of a war movie. Click on the other hand is a comedy and I would think the grain in a comedy would be more of a nuisance.

I did notice that the Captain from the 300 was also in Troy. Luckily I remembered that right away otherwise it would have driven me crazy trying to figure what movie he was from.

i just wanted to add my two cents

this movie was amazing. i've been drooling about it ever since january when i saw a deluxe collectors book detailing the movie at a bookstore. i had no idea about it beforehand. when i found out it was a frank miller comic, i was even more hungry for it having been a fan of many of his books and nicely surprised by how well Sin City translated to the screen.

i've gone over the trailers for many weeks (as much as i tried to stop myself). The look and visual appeal of the film was simply calling me. seeing it on opening nite, it did not disappoint me at all (which i was very afraid of). brutal and beautiful in the visual dept, a little bit soft in the story dept, but nothing to take away from it. the comic in fact is all battle, none of the political side story that is in the movie.

For the pq, i was wonderin what you all thought, I found the image to be a little too dark (underexposed in certain scenes: the messanger on his horse riding to sparta for instance. but i most likely put the blame on the theatre chain i went to (silver city).

Film grain was high to me and i'm wondering how you guys think the hd transfer will look? For those who saw it in imax (which i'm dying to do next), was there as much grain coming thru? were details that much more clearer? I have very little appreciation for the pq of my silver city theater, how much sharper do you think the HD tranfer will look? How much more detail will you be seeing as opposed to in the theater? One other thing, i found the movie to be a bit choppy in its pacing, it seemed like a lot of editing went on and a lot of things had to be cut out to speed the story along. hopefully for home release, they will include a lot more footage to flesht it out and hopefully more battle footage. The scene with King Leonidas taking it to the persian soldiers was simply awesome. the choreography was great. Generally i dont like a lot a fancy camera tricks during fight scenes but the panning and zooming really came thru nicely during this great sequence. it sure gets your blood going ;)

and talk about physically dominating the screen, i had no idea Gerard Butler could do this type of work. i've only seen him in Tomb Raider 2 and was quite shocked to find out he was able to carry the voice and stature of Leonidas so perfectly; aside from the letting his welsh(?) accent slip in now and then. ;)

well i wrote too much; sorry. great film


Butler is Scottish... I have a copy of The Phantom of the Opera (HD-DVD) and he can't sing.... LOL otherwise TPOTO is fantastic eye candy.

Thanks for the replies to my comment earlier. As for the grain its obvious it was artificially put in since about 90 percent of the background is cgi so heres the question clean it up or leave it out? As for fps this is weird I dont know the techs of HD DVD but why not speed this up 60fps? On one last note this needs TrueHD anything less would be a disservice.

saw 300 2 days ago. i liked the style and cinematography of the film, but it was not all that good. no where even in the vicinity of gladiator goodness. gladitor was great on soo many levels that 300 doesn't even touch. 300 is more style than substance. i will pick it up on hd dvd when avaliable, but i can't say it's even in my top 10 films of the last couple years. please stop comparing this to gladiator...it's not even close.

Definitely agree with you here! I watched 300 on opening night on IMAX and it looks as clear as the Xbox 360 HD trailers. This is a very entertaining movie with great visuals, but that's as far as it will get. Don't expect any Oscars for the acting. If anything, it may win for visual effects. I will rank this movie below Gladiator and slightly above Troy. Also, for those that haven't seen the movie, please keep an open mind that this is based off Frank Miller's graphic novels and not historically.
If based historically, this would be the next Alexander movie. :D

It'd be funny if Warner ran the BD release through the noise reduction process of Rambo and Casino Royale just to reduce artificially added grain.

As for fps this is weird I dont know the techs of HD DVD but why not speed this up 60fps?

The finished film will be running at 24fps. They shot different speeds to allow for animated respeeds (vari speeds , slow mo to real time and vice versa). It will all be running at 24fps though when you watch it.

It'd be funny if Warner ran the BD release through the noise reduction process of Rambo and Casino Royale just to reduce artificially added grain.


Indeed. I was thinking the same thing! They wiped Rambo and Casino Royale clean!

The fim seemed to have a lot of grain (on purpose) how do you guys think it will transfer over?
It's the next "Miami Vice"! :eek:

This film is not based on history.
This film is not based on stories.
This film is not based on myth.
This film is based on the comic book (graphic novel).

Anyone attempting to compare this story, 300, to anything other than Frank Miller's story is just wasting space.

And just my nonsense (two cents, ;-) ); I'll take "The Rise & Fall of the Roman Empire" over "Gladiator" any day!

EDit:
My two ^^^ posts where made from page two.
I now see on page three posters have made simular comments.
Obviously...
I agree!!!

I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed this film! Zack Snyder did an excellent job transferring the aesthetic of the comic to the big screen. I thought it looked superb, grain and all. I am definitely looking forward to the HD DVD.

And I have to agree with rto:
There are historical accounts which detail the events at Thermopylae, but this film is clearly closer in spirit to oral mythological traditions.
Of course Frank Miller used some artisic license to make the story appropriate for a comic book. But he didn't just make everything up. All the factual "bullet points" are are still there. He even took one of the best lines of dialog directly from Herodotus (http://www.shsu.edu/~his_ncp/Herother.html):
One of the Trachinians told him, "Such was the number of the barbarians, that when they shot forth their arrows the sun would be darkened by their multitude." Dieneces, not at all frightened at these words, but making light of the Median numbers, answered, "Our Trachinian friend brings us excellent tidings. If the Medes darken the sun, we shall have our fight in the shade."

300 is going to let alot of people know how calibrated their display is. The gray scale and saturation is beyond understanding. I think highend digitals and 9" crt's will be the only displays that does this movie justice in the HTR. YIKES....will work for a highend display.

Waiting for this movie to come out on disc, so I could see it for the first time on my 159" HP... This thread just makes my time waiting harder. Thanks ;)

So what's a typical disc release date for something like this...I know it just came out, but what are we looking at here, summer, late summer? Holidays?

I saw this last night in a digital cinema. I really enjoyed it, but as others have mentioned before, it is very grainy. Some of us were talking afterwards about how it looked grainier than "Click" to us and that one ended up with a lot of complaints for that on Blu-ray. "Miami Vice" is one that got a lot of complaints here for being grainy, but I haven't watched all of that one.

--Darin

"Miami Vice" is equally grainy on SD, but it still has an excellent picture. That's purely a stylistic issue, nothing to do with the transfer.

300 is going to let alot of people know how calibrated their display is. The gray scale and saturation is beyond understanding. I think highend digitals and 9" crt's will be the only displays that does this movie justice in the HTR. YIKES....will work for a highend display.
If you can watch the HD trailer on your display that should give you a pretty good idea what to expect. I watched it from Xbox Marketplace and it looked pretty good. I'd say this movie is just as dark and maybe a tad darker then Batman Begins and that movie looked great.

http://www.davisdvd.com/news/rumor.html

300



Current box office behemoth 300 will be coming to DVD and hi-def with some cool extras, that according to director Zack Snyder. Among the bonus materials planned are deleted scenes, including one sequence that proved too extreme for the final cut.



"It's these giants with these midget archers on their backs," Snyder said. "The [giants] have no arms. Their arms have been hacked off. They have these little elf-looking guys in these kind of wicker baskets on their backs. They're firing arrows and then the Spartan comes and hacks the leg off it. It falls and they leap off and stab the little elf. [It] just got so outrageous that when I looked at it I thought, 'This is from another movie.' It was crazy." The footage may be slightly incomplete, but fans will get the idea of how far Snyder would have gone had he put the scene in the film. "It's like 90% [complete], but it's pretty cool."

There are few other deleted scenes because Snyder included almost everything from Miller's graphic novel. "There are a few Ephialtes scenes we took out when we first see him, and he's looking down on the Persians," Snyder said. "It's just straight out of the graphic novel. You can look at the graphic novel and those are the two scenes that aren't in it. But we shot them."

To emphasize the influence of Frank Miller, Snyder hopes to include an interactive feature that includes art from the graphic novel as the movie plays. "You would actually see the Frank frame [within the movie screen]," he said. "Whenever it's the same as the movie, you would see that frame in the corner, and you could click on that.." (Thanks to Home Media Magazine)

Here is a " PG" rated 300:) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNqiSkd1M6k

300 is a man's movie, enough said.

It achieves what it tries to do, and I am completely confused by all these random critics and people that harp on it for various issues....

We came back this afternoon from watching it and my roommate started pointing out historical inaccuracies, I just ignored him. I mean come on, do people not realize what this movie is?


Yup! Very stupid, and that's giving it way more credit than it deserves.

Cheers,

Grant

This film is not based on history.
This film is not based on stories.
This film is not based on myth.
This film is based on the comic book (graphic novel).

Anyone attempting to compare this story, 300, to anything other than Frank Miller's story is just wasting space.

And just my nonsense (two cents, ;-) ); I'll take "The Rise & Fall of the Roman Empire" over "Gladiator" any day!


Good points. And, as an English teacher, I answer critics of the overbearing macho politics of the film to note that the narrator of the entire movie is a SPARTAN!! So, of course he glorifies the Spartans, barely mentions the Athenians and other Greek contingents (inc. the Athenian fleet which historically took care of the Persian fleet).

The movie is from the point of view of a Spartan warrior. Thus, the glorification of war, battle, death, and their culture, etc.

Well when I go to movies I keep history out of it! For one I don't know or care enough while watching the movie to pick out all the details they missed. I watch a movie for what it is! A movie is a form of entertainment and thats why I love movies so much because they can express a story and make your time worth while! I just try to enjoy every movie I watch and relax and not care about the facts lol! :) :) :)

If a movie is good then it's good who cares about what really happened!

Here is a " PG" rated 300:) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNqiSkd1M6k


Dude this sent me into spasms of laughter.

It'd be funny if Warner ran the BD release through the noise reduction process of Rambo and Casino Royale just to reduce artificially added grain.It willl also be funny if Warner releases 300 with a schedule similar to that of The Matrix... ;)...the French list has remained accurate in that regard so far.

This one is a no-brainer on HD DVD... :D

This SOB has made five times it's filming budget theatrically as of yesterday !

Art

I won't see it until I can see it in my theater in HD! ;)

I dunno...Rotten Tomatoes doesn't think much of it as a movie period, historicly, popcorn fun or other. I'm pretty sure it will be bought by most here because of the HD reference potential (I know I am :)), but still: Heh (http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/300/)

Well I guess I'm the odd man out here.
I saw this in a digital theater and it was no help.
To me 300 was boring, boring, boring.
A ton of monologuing and the "battle scenes" lacked any real excitement or anything resembling real or even stylized fighting.
But that's just me.

I guess I never realized Xerxes was 7 foot 6 either.
Or that he showed up at the battle.
But he did have a flair for jewelry and piercings :)

A real movie concerning thermopylae would be rather boring. Thankfully this was based on Frank Miller's novel and contains weird creatures and hot chics writhing on the floor. I'm more interested in this verision than the Herodotus one.

It's not a fantastic story like LotR but man it's fun to watch. So what if Xerxes looks like he's from West Hollywood LOL.

If I'm Zack Snyder right now I'm sitting back basking in the glory.

Fantastic movie! I cannot wait for it on HD. Already seen it twice including the IMAX.

For those who have seen this on IMAX (Art, Big Worms,) did you also see it at a regular theater, and if so which did you prefer? I saw it at the regular theater, and was wondering how the IMAX version compared? I'm thinking about seeing it at the IMAX here in So.Cal. Impressions please! It will be big news here when they announce the release date for 300 on HD disc.......

I think its a bit overrated. It was ok. Visually pretty cool, but I got bored towards the middle. One of the critics said it was kinda like porn. I agree with that.

Ill get it due to the awesome visuals. It should be a good reference disc, but I dont see my self watching the whole thing numerous times.

For those who have seen this on IMAX (Art, Big Worms,) did you also see it at a regular theater, and if so which did you prefer? I saw it at the regular theater, and was wondering how the IMAX version compared? I'm thinking about seeing it at the IMAX here in So.Cal. Impressions please! It will be big news here when they announce the release date for 300 on HD disc.......
Saw it at a regular theater first. Knew I had to check this out at the IMAX. IMAX was way bigger for one. The picture looked better and the sound was just so much better than the regular theater. The only thing I did not like about the IMAX was the croud. I went this past Sunday at 7:30pm and it not an empty seat to be found. I am not a big fan of pack theaters. In fact I hate it. But if you have a chance and really enjoyed this movie, see it at the IMAX.

They trained together for eight weeks.
There are historical accounts which detail the events at Thermopylae, but this film is clearly closer in spirit to oral mythological traditions.

It's also the barest stretch to draw historical parallels between hordes of deliberately anonymous, Eastern inhuman "immortals" enslaved by a dichotomic incongruity of mysticism, driven and rewarded by absolute physical corruption; juxtaposed against the sober, disciplined Western rationality of men who's Democratic ideals are worthy of self sacrifice.

Athens was burned, but the Greeks ultimately halted the Persian advance, preserving Western cultural traditions that many of us now enjoy, and so frequently take for granted. Our current materialistic distractions are belied by the fact that Western traditions include the same kind of steely, determined resolve, and eagerness for self-sacrifice we now describe as madness in our contemporary adversaries. This irony is certainly not lost on Frank Miller.

Well some of us here in the West are still willing to sacrifice ourselves for a cause, but there are only a few (300 perhaps lol) of us left. Still I like 300 solely because it pisses of the Iranians. I guess if my nation had not made a real contribution to the world since the Bronze Age I would be jealous of art from modern culturally significant societies too.

Xerxes looks like he's from West Hollywood LOL. I was thinking more like Capitol Hill ;)
Don't get me wrong, I'm not knocking the movie on the basis of historical accuracy.
1: I don't know the real story and don't think it relevant
2: Historical accuracy and great filmmaking can be mutually exclusive, i.e., Gladiator and a zillion other epics.

so 300 will be on hd-dvd and blu-ray?what movie studio is behind 300,sorry i forgot and o yeah i seen it two times already..great flick

so 300 will be on hd-dvd and blu-ray?what movie studio is behind 300,sorry i forgot and o yeah i seen it two times already..great flick

Warner. It will be on both. But it could be on HD DVD first, since rumor has it that it has a lot of IME stuff and we now know Warner is sick of waiting for it to happen for BD.

Warner should just cut support for Blu-Ray. Blu-Ray doesn't have Batman Begins, The Matrix Trilogy is coming 'later' to Blu-Ray. Warner should ask themselves "Why are we supporting a format which is incapable of giving us the features we want to include in out movie releases?"

I saw 300 twice, once in a regular theater, once in one of those DLP theaters :eek:

300 will be a treat in HD. Not just the visuals, but there is potential for an earth shattering TrueHD soundtrack there.

However due to its success I would not count on it being HD DVD exclusive temporarily....then again, I would have thought the exact same thing with The Matrix.

Man those guys' six packs give me a run for my money. They must have been in the gym for months.


More like the CGI guys were working on those abs in front of the monitor for months. In the old days they used to paint the abs on with makeup.

More like the CGI guys were working on those abs in front of the monitor for months. In the old days they used to paint the abs on with makeup.

Like the Ab Abber 2000?

I read online somewhere that their look was not as far fetched as some might think...haven't seen the movie yet, but supposedly in reality, many of those guys were taken at the ages of 8 thru 12 and placed in trainging/soldiering...too bad, if they only had steroids, could've saved them a lot of trouble (as long as they were not tested before battles :p).

More like the CGI guys were working on those abs in front of the monitor for months. In the old days they used to paint the abs on with makeup.

Have a look at the website. http://300themovie.warnerbros.com/
Click on Making of 300,
Click on video journals,
Spartan training gives some good info

They really worked these guys out. I'd be surprised if they added anything CGI.

Blaast,
I only saw it in IMAX. It was very stylized,lots of grain but very very cool looking. I enjoyed it very much since I did not know much about it or the history. I loved the full IMAX but I got there early and had the best seats in the place.

I will be looking foward to seeing this in HD.

Art

High def will be stunning. Xbox live marketplace has 2 "300" trailers in 720p for download for free. They very well could be reference for low light scenes. I read from somebody else that in Sept. of this year it comes out on DVD, god I hope it is a combo or HD dvd simultaneous release. I have a copy of the dvd but the visuals just scream for HD. Lot's of eye candy for everyone (guys, gals, rome total war geeks, political nuts of all persuasions).

The story, it is very exagerrated kind like "Pirates" but it IS a different film.
To the guy actually from Sparta, you must be very proud.

Thanks for the info Art, and BigWorms. I'll go to the IMAX this weekend and check it out on the REALLY big screen.:)
Javdog, I haven't been able to find anything that has the official dvd (HD)release date. The average has been just under 4 months from the theatrical release, http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-dvd12mar12,0,3837708.story?track=ntothtmlso that would put us around the middle to end of July possibly, then again we'll just have to sit tight and see. ;)

I guess I am the only one (besides the Bland) who couldn't stand this movie. There's a scene where a woman is about to be raped and the rapist says, "This will not be over quickly and you will not enjoy it." Pretty much sums this movie up for me - it wasn't over quickly enough and I didn't enjoy it!

Cheers,

Grant

Deja, lol, no your not the only one. Lots of critics didn't like it either. Funny, when I read the critic reviews they actually talked me into thinking It would suck, so I went in thinking that, and was totally turned around. :D

Remember it is rated R. So it ain't for the easily offended or squeamish. But the beauty of when it gets to Disc is that you can just skip over the boring or offensive parts, cake. Judging from the box office take so far, it will be a HUGE seller on HD dvd and DVD.

After a drought of crap movies the last couple years, its finally good to have a reason to go to the Movies again (IMHO).


p.s. I think someone said it was like Porn, Not even. 4 shots of nipples does not a porno make. It's rated R, about average for an "R" flick. The "rape" (which wasn't because she offered herself for a favor) was 10x worse in clockwork orange.

The grain was ridiculous. One close-up of the king had him in a swarm of bees. :eek:
Is the graphic novel grainy?
I've never seen "grain" in Greek art! :confused:

Hope this is released ala "Grindhouse";
one messed-up version & one cleaned-up version.

Ed, not arguing, but in the HD trailer on Live, there is no grain in any of the scenes.

This movie was shot with 35mm 500 asa film. That means grain. They needed it for the high 120 FPS slow motion. They thought about HD but film was better for the ultra slow motion. If the grain is removed then the picture has been softened. I'll take the grain.

^
Ok, makes sense. I'll get my eyes checked. I too would prefer the gain, I personally don't mind it at all.

The film makers actually liked the grainy look.

High def will be stunning. Xbox live marketplace has 2 "300" trailers in 720p for download for free. They very well could be reference for low light scenes. I read from somebody else that in Sept. of this year it comes out on DVD, god I hope it is a combo or HD dvd simultaneous release. I have a copy of the dvd but the visuals just scream for HD. Lot's of eye candy for everyone (guys, gals, rome total war geeks, political nuts of all persuasions).

The story, it is very exagerrated kind like "Pirates" but it IS a different film.
To the guy actually from Sparta, you must be very proud.

Yeah I downloaded both trailers and I also noticed that the low light scenes looked very very good, I hope this one hits HD DVD as soon as it is out of the theatres.

The grain was ridiculous. One close-up of the king had him in a swarm of bees.

Funny, that's what I thought. But I had an impression that the theater print exaggerated the effect, so hopefully the disk will have at most an 'acceptable' amount of it.

Deja, lol, no your not the only one. Lots of critics didn't like it either. Funny, when I read the critic reviews they actually talked me into thinking It would suck, so I went in thinking that, and was totally turned around. :D

Remember it is rated R. So it ain't for the easily offended or squeamish. But the beauty of when it gets to Disc is that you can just skip over the boring or offensive parts, cake. Judging from the box office take so far, it will be a HUGE seller on HD dvd and DVD.

After a drought of crap movies the last couple years, its finally good to have a reason to go to the Movies again (IMHO).


p.s. I think someone said it was like Porn, Not even. 4 shots of nipples does not a porno make. It's rated R, about average for an "R" flick. The "rape" (which wasn't because she offered herself for a favor) was 10x worse in clockwork orange.
I don't even think I would consider that a rape scene in the 300. She did go willingly to get support for her husband.. Now The Hills have Eyes II, now that is a different story altogether... :eek:

Well some of us here in the West are still willing to sacrifice ourselves for a cause, but there are only a few (300 perhaps lol) of us left. Still I like 300 solely because it pisses of the Iranians. I guess if my nation had not made a real contribution to the world since the Bronze Age I would be jealous of art from modern culturally significant societies too.

Ironically, the Greeks haven't done much either since ancient times.

I saw this movie in the theater and can't wait for it to come out on HD! It's sure to be among the best looking HD-DVD releases, grain and all. BTW, I also downloaded the HD trailer on my PS3 (encoded in AVC) and it's looked spectacular on my PJ. Can't wait for the actual release.

Ironically, the Greeks haven't done much either since ancient times.

What else did you want "little" Greece to do with so much WAR?

Athens has been re-built many times and in constant WAR with Persians and Turks and always out numbered. In 1453 Greece was occupied by the Ottoman Empire for nearly 400 years. I would like to know what other nation after 400 years of rule kept their language, culture and religion in secret and then strike back 400 years later to regain their lands from 1821 to 1948.

The 300 was part of History in 480BC, Battle of Thermopylae (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Thermopylae), the 1st of 3 battles. The 2nd battle was Battle of Salamis (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Salamis) which the Persians took the heaviest loses in a sea battle plus Greece only had 380 ships compared to the Persians 1200 ships; I'd love to see this in a Hollywood Movie. The finale Battle of Plataea (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Plataea) with 10,000 Spartans shown at the end of the 300 Movie.

...Angelo

Edited the incorrect years. ;)

Well some of us here in the West are still willing to sacrifice ourselves for a cause, but there are only a few (300 perhaps lol) of us left. Still I like 300 solely because it pisses of the Iranians. I guess if my nation had not made a real contribution to the world since the Bronze Age I would be jealous of art from modern culturally significant societies too.

:D :D :D

Awesome movie, I have seen it in IMAX and it blew me away. I cannot wait to get this movie on HD-DVD. This format is meant to movies like 300.

*Please, keep your warped racist attitudes off this AV board. You have peeps from all over the world that come here, and it's BS that your hillbilly line still lingers in this new century. Yeah it's the 21st century, not the 1800's.*

About the film-

I rewatched the 720p trailers and holy crap, there WAS grain! But nowhere near enough to ruin my experience. What I did notice though is that I had to look for it. By that I mean, instead of looking at Leonidas face, i had to look at the blank area of background to see the "bee's".

As long as I'm taking in the performance, I didn't see it, at least not enough to bug (no pun intended). I can see how an IMAX version would be a little intrusive considering the "bees" are now the size of quarters. I guess even though they could've had a pristine version when it was filmed, the director deliberately wanted it to have a film look considering all the CG, and the slow motion that was already brought up. Works for me.

What else did you want "little" Greece to do with so much WAR?

Athens has been re-built many times and in constant WAR with Persians and Turks and always out numbered. In 1456 Greece was occupied by the Ottoman Empire for nearly 400 years. I would like to know what other nation after 400 years of rule kept their language, culture and religion in secret and then strike back 400 years later to regain their lands from 1829 to 1947.

The 300 was part of History in 480BC, Battle of Thermopylae (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Thermopylae), the 1st of 3 battles. The 2nd battle was Battle of Salamis (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Salamis) which the Persians took the heaviest loses in a sea battle plus Greece only had 380 ships compared to the Persians 1200 ships; I'd love to see this in a Hollywood Movie. The finale Battle of Plataea (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Plataea) with 10,000 Spartans shown at the end of the 300 Movie.

...Angelo

Thanks very nice ! Are we expecting a sequal to be one of these battles ?

Art

This movie worked for me because I liked the way it was narrated throughout as if a story was being read to me. Kind of like the way the beginning of Lord of the Rings was. It's no LOTR, but cuts right to the chase and presents itself in storybook fashion. I liked it. The golden tones/ blown out whites complimented the story as well. Not one for gratuitus violence, the violence it portrayed did not offend me or make me recoil for some reason. Overall, well done. A definite HD buy.

The film makers actually liked the grainy look.
I think your right, in fact I know your right!!! :D
Excessive grain while shot in control conditions. :rolleyes:
I guess they wanted it to look like "Saving Pvt. Ryan"! :p

I saw it a week ago in an Imax DMX theater. Very cool. Very good sound too. They claim to have these theaters tuned by acousticians. I remember one sound effect coming from hard rear left, crossed diagonally to front right and sounded like it was directly over our heads for a moment as it crossed over. :cool:
Maybe not a good a movie as Gladiator or LOTR, but still enjoyable.
Nothing like a 7 story tall screen ! For those who haven't seen it on an Imax, and have one nearby, please, by all means, GO. If you can't make it, plan to attend Spiderman III.
That too will be at the Imax, and it will be good. The trailer they show for it at the Imax is almost 3D at times.
Bill

What else did you want "little" Greece to do with so much WAR?

Athens has been re-built many times and in constant WAR with Persians and Turks and always out numbered. In 1456 Greece was occupied by the Ottoman Empire for nearly 400 years. I would like to know what other nation after 400 years of rule kept their language, culture and religion in secret and then strike back 400 years later to regain their lands from 1829 to 1947.

The 300 was part of History in 480BC, Battle of Thermopylae (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Thermopylae), the 1st of 3 battles. The 2nd battle was Battle of Salamis (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Salamis) which the Persians took the heaviest loses in a sea battle plus Greece only had 380 ships compared to the Persians 1200 ships; I'd love to see this in a Hollywood Movie. The finale Battle of Plataea (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Plataea) with 10,000 Spartans shown at the end of the 300 Movie.

...Angelo
Sorry Angelo I wasn't trying to demean Greece its just that someone made what I thought was an ignorant comment and I was simply trying to point out the hypocrisy. Your argument about constant war is valid and applies to the middle eastern nations as well. Spain was ruled by the Arabs for 800yrs IIRC and they like the Greeks kept their culture.

I have extreme respect for Greece on all levels as they created the foundation of western civilization.

Back to the topic, I thought the movie was entertaining but whenever I watch something based on history even if loosely based I have a hard time getting over some of the inaccuracies. That being said I certainly didn't enjoy it the way I did Braveheart or Gladiator. Plus I would have liked to see the Persians being defeated at Salamis but I know that was a separate battle.

I like how XBOX LIVE! Marketplace has HD Trailers for 300, they look great. Now the HD-DVD version should be even better. Can't wait to pick it up.
the PS3 has it in 1080p as well.

Good points. And, as an English teacher, I answer critics of the overbearing macho politics of the film to note that the narrator of the entire movie is a SPARTAN!! So, of course he glorifies the Spartans, barely mentions the Athenians and other Greek contingents (inc. the Athenian fleet which historically took care of the Persian fleet).

The movie is from the point of view of a Spartan warrior. Thus, the glorification of war, battle, death, and their culture, etc.

It's been stated that the narrated basis for the film allowed for more artistic license such as the sub-story of Queen Gorgo and her polictical problems.
Also the way it was writting Dillios is a character who knows how to not ruin a good story with the truth ;)

For those who have seen this on IMAX (Art, Big Worms,) did you also see it at a regular theater, and if so which did you prefer? I saw it at the regular theater, and was wondering how the IMAX version compared? I'm thinking about seeing it at the IMAX here in So.Cal. Impressions please! It will be big news here when they announce the release date for 300 on HD disc.......
I didn't get to see it on Imax but I did get to see it on a christie 2k projector on a stadium sized screen then a few days later saw it on a film projector. The film version seemed a bit washed out and darker with some detail missing. The DLP version was glorious and the visual style definetly reflects the novel it's based on.

some more 300 stuff I found entertaining while we wait ;)

http://www.varmintpress.com/300.htm

Yes, "300" is the most homoerotic action movie ever made (not that there's anything wrong with that), and that is some kind of landmark,

The movie "300" is rated R for "RAAAAAR!" and is about as inspirational as "Field of Dreams" multiplied by "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington," plus infinity.
High school football coaches who show this to their players before games are guaranteed to win 55-0. Should opposing coaches show the DVD to each of their teams before the matchup, a rupture in the space-time continuum will occur and the game will be declared a tie.

The Spartans are a super-human elite squad of lumberjack pirates who were trained by the the great-great-grandpa of Chuck Norris' paternal ancestor. A prologue explains that from the age of 7, Spartans are forged into die-hard dynamos of fury who can kill with their bare hands. It was either their forced sojourn into wilderness that makes them that way or that they played violent video games

Athens has been re-built many times and in constant WAR with Persians and Turks and always out numbered. In 1456 Greece was occupied by the Ottoman Empire for nearly 400 years. I would like to know what other nation after 400 years of rule kept their language, culture and religion in secret and then strike back 400 years later to regain their lands from 1829 to 1947.

Hungary. The Ottoman occupied our lands from 1541-1686, then the Habsburgs took over till 1918. All of our cultural heritage is kept in tact thank you very much! ;)

I would like to know what other nation after 400 years of rule kept their language, culture and religion in secret and then strike back 400 years later to regain their lands from 1829 to 1947.



Ireland. Occupied for 800 years by the British until it became a Republic in 1948.
We have certaintly kept our language, culture and religion.

Nick

Hungary. The Ottoman occupied our lands from 1541-1686, then the Habsburgs took over till 1918. All of our cultural heritage is kept in tact thank you very much! ;)

Yes the Ottoman Empire occupied many of Europe's Eastern Lands and which are etched in to many people's memories even today.

It was Russians and other Western European Countries like England that helped to fight off Ottoman Empire in the 1800s.

Sorry for getting off topic. :o

As for Art's question about a sequel, it is possible since Zack Snyder was the Director and Writer for the 300.

...Angelo

As for Art's question about a sequel, it is possible since Zack Snyder was the Director and Writer for the 300.

...Angelo

I'm pretty sure Frank Miller had a little something to do with writing this.. 300 was adapted from his graphic novel series of the same name. I suspect that he considers the story complete, but he has been known to dip into the vault and revisit some of his stories, such as The Dark Knight Strikes Again.

It was hinted in Entertainment Weekly that Miller indeed in talks with Warner about a sequel.

Oh, I missed that, thehun. It would be interesting, but if he doesn't, I would be happy with the story as it is.

Almost totally unrelated, I can't wait to see Zack Snyder's next couple of films.. He is slated to do "The Watchmen", and an original zombie flick called "Army of the Dead". Of course, I'm guessing that Alan Moore won't be involved with the production of The Watchmen so I guess it's wait and see. I trust Zack Snyder's ability, especially after seeing 300. Come to think of it, it certainly wouldn't hurt my feelings if Universal released the 2004 Dawn of the Dead HD DVD as Warner is releasing 300 :)

$$$ = Sequel

WoW
I wonder how much grain he'll use in a Zombie flick???
They'll be maggots in the sky!!! ;-)

It was hinted in Entertainment Weekly that Miller indeed in talks with Warner about a sequel.
I hope they're talking about the 2nd battle, Battle of Salamis (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Salamis), that would an awesome Sea Battle to on the BIG Screen. :D

...Angelo

I hope they're talking about the 2nd battle, Battle of Salamis (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Salamis), that would an awesome Sea Battle to on the BIG Screen. :D

...Angelo

I'd rather see the Battle of Turkey Hams (http://www.recipetips.com/glossary-term/t--34849/turkey-ham.asp) .. Oh, and considering we never found evidence that Saddam was manufacturing BLTs, do you really think it's right to go to war over sandwiches?! ;)

I'd rather see the Battle of Turkey Hams (http://www.recipetips.com/glossary-term/t--34849/turkey-ham.asp) .. Oh, and considering we never found evidence that Saddam was manufacturing BLTs, do you really think it's right to go to war over sandwiches?! ;)

Time to change your screen name to devilish or was that already taken? :D

I hope they're talking about the 2nd battle, Battle of Salamis (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Salamis), that would an awesome Sea Battle to on the BIG Screen. :D

...Angelo


I hope they make a sequel about the modern 300. Something that lot of people don't know about.

Not sure if this has been answered. So what led to the decline of the Spartans? I remember reading that their entire society was architected around building and maintaining an 'elite' fighting unit. I guess at some point they became like Saddams elite Republican guards or something...when did that happen? Why? Unfortunately, history isn't my forte :)

This was a most enjoyable movie though.....

Year :1974
Place: Cyprus

Turkey invaded Cyprus and captured 40% of the island, Cypriot forces where mostly guard units with a 1/2 dosen T34 tanks.
The critical point was the Leukosia International airport.
Greece was transitioning from Dictatorship to Democracy and was totally unprepared.
Greece sent at night 12 NorAtlas planes with about 330 special forces and their equipment to defend the airport(turkish forces where right at the gates).
Needles to say the Greek special forces held their ground. Their badge of honor is the quote from the Spartan days, when the wifes where sending their men to war.

Not sure if this has been answered. So what led to the decline of the Spartans? I remember reading that their entire society was architected around building and maintaining an 'elite' fighting unit. I guess at some point they became like Saddams elite Republican guards or something...when did that happen? Why? Unfortunately, history isn't my forte :)

This was a most enjoyable movie though.....

Here's some history on Sparta (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sparta) which will give you the answer to the decline.

It quotes:
"Sparta entered its long-term decline after a severe military defeat to Epaminondas of Thebes at the Battle of Leuctra. This was the first attested time that a Spartan army would lose a land battle at full strength. As Spartan citizenship was inherited by blood, Sparta started facing the problem of having a helot population vastly outnumbering its citizens. The alarming decline of Spartan citizens was commented on by Aristotle. Yet even during her decline, Sparta never forgot its claims on being the "defender of Hellenism" and its Laconic wit. An anecdote has it that when Philip II sent a message to Sparta saying "If I enter Laconia I will level Sparta to the ground", the Spartans responded with the single, terse reply: "If".[7]

Even when Philip of Macedon created the league of the Greeks on the pretext of unifying Greece against Persia, Spartans were excluded on their own will. Philip, who was well aware of Spartan stubbornness, chose not to put his hegemony at risk by attempting to take Laconia by force. The Spartans on their part had no interest in joining a pan-Greek expedition if it didn't mean Spartan leadership. According to Herodotus the Macedonians were a people of Dorian stock, akin to the Spartans, but that didn't make any difference. Thus, upon the conquest of Persia, Alexander the Great sent to Athens 300 suits of Persian armour with the following inscription "Alexander son of Philip, and the Greeks - except the Spartans - from the barbarians living in Asia".[8]"

...Angelo

Here's some history on Sparta (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sparta) which will give you the answer to the decline.

It quotes:
"Sparta entered its long-term decline after a severe military defeat to Epaminondas of Thebes at the Battle of Leuctra. This was the first attested time that a Spartan army would lose a land battle at full strength. As Spartan citizenship was inherited by blood, Sparta started facing the problem of having a helot population vastly outnumbering its citizens. The alarming decline of Spartan citizens was commented on by Aristotle. Yet even during her decline, Sparta never forgot its claims on being the "defender of Hellenism" and its Laconic wit. An anecdote has it that when Philip II sent a message to Sparta saying "If I enter Laconia I will level Sparta to the ground", the Spartans responded with the single, terse reply: "If".[7]

Even when Philip of Macedon created the league of the Greeks on the pretext of unifying Greece against Persia, Spartans were excluded on their own will. Philip, who was well aware of Spartan stubbornness, chose not to put his hegemony at risk by attempting to take Laconia by force. The Spartans on their part had no interest in joining a pan-Greek expedition if it didn't mean Spartan leadership. According to Herodotus the Macedonians were a people of Dorian stock, akin to the Spartans, but that didn't make any difference. Thus, upon the conquest of Persia, Alexander the Great sent to Athens 300 suits of Persian armour with the following inscription "Alexander son of Philip, and the Greeks - except the Spartans - from the barbarians living in Asia".[8]"

...Angelo
Wow I never knew about that inscription. I wonder what the Spartans thought of Alexander if you know please tell. Not to go off topic but what did you think of Oliver Stone's Alexander?

Wow I never knew about that inscription. I wonder what the Spartans thought of Alexander if you know please tell. Not to go off topic but what did you think of Oliver Stone's Alexander?

Alexander the Great was and still is the GREATEST Commander/General to ever live in this world. The movie made him look like a mad-man which is incorrect, let's just say I'll never buy the movie and leave it at that.

...Angelo

I found this link zonadvd.com about the dvd/HD release of 300. July would be great! Used babelfish to translate. They say official but no source to confirm the info. http://babelfish.altavista.com/babelfish/trurl_pagecontent?lp=es_en&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.zonadvd.com%2Fmodules.php%3Fname%3DNews %26file%3Darticle%26sid%3D9509

In the latest edition of Home Media Magazine, they have '300' listed as an August release.

300 will be in July... I got it straight from the source last night... although I'm not really suppose to say that I know. It'll most likely be late July from the way my inside source was speaking.

http://www.eyecravedvd.com/article.php?story=20070411113148934

Late July would be great! Haven't seen it yet, suppose I'm one of the few knuckleheads that think movies are even more enjoyable these days on decent home setups vs the stiff theater chairs - just might have to do with stretching out on a couch I suppose. ;)

In the link Blasst threw up, it says it will "possibly include additional content, diverse eliminated scenes, etc"...can't wait for more details now. :D

This disc release is gonna CLEAN HOUSE on all formats. =)

300 will be in July... I got it straight from the source last night... although I'm not really suppose to say that I know. It'll most likely be late July from the way my inside source was speaking.



What about the HD-DVD version :) ??

300 will be in July... I got it straight from the source last night... although I'm not really suppose to say that I know. It'll most likely be late July from the way my inside source was speaking.

http://www.eyecravedvd.com/article.php?story=20070411113148934



:D :D i will buy both!!

What about the HD-DVD version :) ??

The source couldn't say, but I suspect from his body language that it'll be out that same time. I will attempt to find out more... Also, I read in an interview with Zach that there are a few additional scenes that will be added back into the film.

The source couldn't say, but I suspect from his body language that it'll be out that same time. I will attempt to find out more... Also, I read in an interview with Zach that there are a few additional scenes that will be added back into the film.

Great news, thanx :)

Thanks very nice ! Are we expecting a sequal to be one of these battles ?

Art
I just can't picture "the battle of platea" being much in terms of a successful sequel.

Late July would be great! Haven't seen it yet, suppose I'm one of the few knuckleheads that think movies are even more enjoyable these days on decent home setups vs the stiff theater chairs - just might have to do with stretching out on a couch I suppose. ;)

In the link Blasst threw up, it says it will "possibly include additional content, diverse eliminated scenes, etc"...can't wait for more details now. :D

This disc release is gonna CLEAN HOUSE on all formats. =)

I think if you don't treat yourself to the IMAX presentation, if you have one close by, then really you are depriving yourself of a great opportunity. Some of these conversions really make a top notch experience and this is certainly one.

Art

it was awesome at the imax

Is there an Imax in the Washington D.C/ Alexandria VA area that's showing it?

I saw the IMAX version of this today. Very good movie. This was my first IMAX film. The image was HUGE! It was so big there was noticable film grain on quite a few shots.... probably intended.

I'm not sure if they open matte this for IMAX or what... it was definitely not 2.35:1 like imdb says. I wouldn't think they would zoom it. Does anyone know?

I'm not sure if they open matte this for IMAX or what... it was definitely not 2.35:1 like imdb says. I wouldn't think they would zoom it. Does anyone know?

The only IMAX presentation of a "normal" film I've ever seen was when Episode II came out about 5 years ago.

At that time, at least, you couldn't project a 2.35:1 film in IMAX and there was a 2-hour limit on how long the film could be. Episode II was shown zoomed/cropped and was edited down to 2 hours.

I don't know if any of this has changed (probably not)... but the presentation of 300 was likely zoomed in to meet the aspect ratio criteria of IMAX.

300 on the IMAX screen, is a must see. You are depriving yourself of a good thing

I saw this on IMAX, too, and it was amazing. They also showed the Spiderman 3 trailer and it was great.

Do any of the IMAX screens in the Washington DC, Alexandria VA area have 300 showing?

I looked online and don't see any listings for Wash.

I am thinking the IMAX version of this is a combination of open matte and a slight zoom. The film didn't fill the whole IMAX screen from top to bottom. This was my first IMAX film, so I'm not sure if the normal IMAX movies fill the whole screen.

It was an incredible experience though. It was VERY loud too.

I saw this at the Imax and I may even go see it again at the Imax before they stop showing it. Of course I will be pre ordering this title as well.

I can't recommend seeing this movie in IMAX enough. Now I've only been able to see 2 films in IMAX thus far, and that is The Matrix Reloaded (which was amazing in it's own right) and this movie.

300 is spellbinding in IMAX; the visual "pop" and audio quality were second to none. In fact, I'm probably going to see it again before it stops playing, it's just that damn good.

So, how many years before IMAX screens are up for sale? :D

So, how many years before IMAX screens are up for sale? :D

I'm betting more on virtual reality technology that recreates the home theatre/IMAX experience, at a freaction of the cost :) .

Come to think of it, I think such a thing is very, VERY technologically feasible...

*does some research*

A bombastic spectacle of honor and betrayal, “300” is about as violent as “Apocalypto” and twice as stupid. (?)
Hate to say I saw a post like this coming, but... ;)

I saw it at the IMAX also, they presented it in the correct aspect ratio.

Saw the trailer on "the Departed", last night.
It did not look as grainy as in the theater. Smaller screen, maybe??? :o
The only part I saw a "swarm of bees" (TM) was the famous 'we'll fight in the shade' clip.
Anyone know if this will lose the excessive grain of the theatrical presentation?
Thanks.

Oh, and thanks to all, for all the hard work on the site today. BIG thanks!!! :D