300 - Page 2

Early reviews from this movie are very favorable. Can't wait.

BTW, went and saw Pan's Labyrinth last night. GREAT movie. Not everyone will like this movie (if you are turned off by subtitles, stay away) but it was probably one of the most imaginative and beautiful (yet grisly) movies in a long time.

I can't wait to see this one.... Read and have the novel... can't wait to see it on the big screen.

On a side note I really want to see PL also....

R~

How much of the movie (and action sequences) was in slow motion?

I like the fact that slow-motion wasn't mentioned in any of the early reviews, so perhaps that means that it's a trailer-only attribute.

Spartans were so fast that watching them in slow motion is the only way you could hope to capture their blindingly fast movements. They're like humminbirds with swords.

It looks interesting to me, however, 3 min trailers usually only happen when the movie is not so good. You end up with a trailer that has all of the best scenes in it to get the audience in. I'll wait to hear the reviews.

BTW the full trailer in 1080p is available on the PS3 store, my son downloaded it I have yet to run it on my HLS6187w to see how it looks.

I didn't like Sin City, yet 300 intrigues me....

Took a look at the 1080p trailer last night and it does look great. The sound was so/so but the picture was fantastic and if the whole movie is as good as a trailer it will be a fun watch.

Name one Blu-ray that's used its extra storage capacity for extras?

Anyway, this is a Warner Bros. title and will be released identically on both formats (likely even a "Total HD" disc).

I liked the Dawn of the Dead remake (same director) and Sin City, but the trailer for this looks like a bad music video.

I saw on the preview that this was also getting released on IMAX. Its the first rated R movie that I know of to be released in IMAX as most of those films tend to be family oriented. Anyone have an idea about how widely released the IMAX version will be? I would love to catch it if it is coming to the Louisville IMAX theatre...

Molon Labe!

I'm so excited about this movie there is no way it can live up to my expectations.

I hope they capture the legendary arrogance of the Spartans.

Phillip II (Alexander the Great's father) was invading Greek city-states and sent this message to Sparta. Note their answer.

"You are advised to submit without further delay, for if I bring my army into your land, I will destroy your farms, slay your people, and raze your city".

The Spartans answer:

"If"

Now THAT is hubris !

A few years ago Michael Mann was working on making a picture of Gates of Fire, an excellent novel (not an overgrown comic book) about Thermopylae, too bad it didn't come off.

Well we still have The 300 Spartans.

And I'll go see this new picture though it looks too stylized and self-conscious; history is weird enough, you don't have to dress it up, believe me.

Was George Clooney also involved with this one?

http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/preview/1808404115

I hope it still makes it to the big screen!

From the Yahoo link for Gates of Fire:

"Based Upon: The 1998 novel of the same title by Steven Pressfield, based upon the true story of 300 Spartans who, along with about 7,000 allied Greeks, held back an army of over 2 million Persians (you read that right) for several days in 480 B.C. at the Battle of Thermopylae."

It's funny how the number of Persians is different everytime I read it. I've seen over 600,000 and 1,000,000 but 2,000,000 is new to me.

The two Matrix sequels were both R-rated and released in IMAX.

That's hilarious.

"It's funny how the number of Persians is different everytime I read it. I've seen over 600,000 and 1,000,000 but 2,000,000 is new to me. "

Herodotus estimated the Persian force at Thermopylae as 5,283,220; this inclusding troops brought from Asia, Greek and Thracian allies, the fleet, servants, camp-followers and logistics support. But you know ole Herodotus.

Says Professor Paul Cartledge of Cambridge "sober modern estimates by the best military historians cut down the Persian's land forces to numbers estimated to as low as 80,000 to a quarter of a million, and the navy to roughly 600 ships."

Tom I've noticed the same wild variances.

Thermopylae was a very narrow passage so I can see the Spartans, Thebans, Thespians and others (yes people there were more than just Spartans there fighting. The Thespians lost 700 of their own conscripts) inflicting severe damage due to superior entrenchment. However those who believed that each spartan had 20x body count on the Persians is fooling themselves.

They knew it was a suicide mission and the goal was to stall the Persian army enough to let Athenians flee and Sparta to prepare. I shall name my first born Leonidas ...ok well too late but my son's middle name is Alexander. And I don't even like Macedonians LOL.

You could make a hundred movies about the many battles between the Greek city-states. Man that must have been a wild time. Everyone had their moments from the Macedonians to the Athenians, Sparatans and Thebans. Europe can thank their rich heritage of arse kicking from the Greeks. The Irish don't have a thing on these fighting fools.

All I can say is I'm sure glad I wasn't alive back then. The thought of wading into battle with thousands of people hacking away and getting hacked up with swords is about the most frightening and gruesome thing I can imagine. But if you're raised in that culture, maybe it's different. It's amazing what a human being can be programmed to do.

"They knew it was a suicide mission and the goal was to stall the Persian army enough to let Athenians flee and Sparta to prepare."

You're probably aware too that Leonidas may have been deliberately courting death because of the Delphic prophesy that Sparta would be saved by the death of one of it's kings.

Yeah not doubt. A lot of them shat themselves right on the battle field. Perhaps that's where the saying "scared shitless" came from. Seriously.

In his books "The Western Way of War" and "Carnage and Culture" historian Victor Hansen traces the Western penchant for closing to blows and willingness to stand up to fire and accept huge losses back to Greek hoplite warfare. Hansen goes on to state that this sheer bloodymindedness of Westerners was usually an advantage when fighting peoples from other cultures.

Every Western commander who considers retreat or surrender has to compare himself to Leonidas. Sometimes this is good and sometimes bad.

I was going to recommend "Gates of Fire" as a good primer before seeing the movie, but a couple of youse beat me to it! Excellent book, with a lot of historical background - will give you a great insight into the different types of Greek infantrymen and their tactics.

Brown---Did you read Pressfield's book on Alcibiades? (name escapes) Not as good as Gates of Fire but not bad.

Gates of Fire inspired me to get The 300 Spartans dvd. I can only say that from the standpoint of acting, production values, and simply conveying the compelling nature of the Spartan effort as depicted in the book, it was weak.

Go tell the Spartans, stranger passing by, that here obedient to their laws we lie. P.S. Also tell them to skip The 300 Spartans dvd.

Jim--

Quite to the contrary, I think The 300 Spartans tells the story very well. The picture has all the main characters---Leonidas, Xerxes, Themistocles---and many of the interesting minor charcters such as Artemisia and Demaratus, indeed, Demaratus is one of the more intriquing characters of the war and it's a treat to see him portrayed.

I admit that much of the acting is second rate yet the essentials of the characters come across, especially the resolution and courage of Leonidas and the intelligence and noble genorosity of Xerxes combined with his impatience and thirst for power.

And the scene of the seer Megistias prophesizing the Athenian victory at Salamis with the goddess Athena watching on-----that's Greek to me.



"Here lies Megistias, who died

When the Mede passed Spercheius' tide.

A prophet; yet he scorned to save

Himself, but shared the Spartan's grave"


The epitath of Megistias, Herodotus-Book Seven