The 300 in March!

stevengregory

stevengregory

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I saw an ad on TV today for 'The 300,' starting March 9th, I beleive. It looks like it might be pretty intense, so I'm looking forward to it. I would have liked for someone to have done a movie version of Steven Pressfield's book, 'Gates of fire,' but this might even be better, who knows. For those who don't know what this movie is about, it's about King Leonidas and the 300 Spartans and their squires who held off the entire Persian army at Thermopylae for nearly a week, allowing Greece to prepare an adequate force to eventually defeat the Perians in an ultimate battle of domination. This should be a good one!
 
I just watched the theatrical trailer on their website, called '300,' and I can guarantee that I will be there on opening night ot see it.
 
I was quite excited about it ( see my sig ) but the trailer makes it look like it's going to be wierd and extremly over the top , remember the movie Troy ?

I just hope they do not take one of the most fascinating events in history and make it look bad.

Yes , I will see it for sure.
 
http://www.amazon.com/300-Frank-Miller/dp/1569714029/sr=8-1/qid=1170207887/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/105-8070647-9474054?ie=UTF8&s=books

The movie is based off the graphic novel by Frank Miller. Frank Miller also draws/writes the Sin City books.

The graphic novels are pretty intense. Similar to what was done with Sin City, the intent of 300 was to try to "simulate" the feeling/art that was done in the book. So the idea is not to try to make it "realistic". The goal was to make it like the graphic novel.

I recommend anyone who's interested to check out the book. Either buy it from Amazon, or if you're a cheapskate like me, go to your local Barnes and Noble or Border's and read the book there.
 
Well, I loved Sin City and the trailer looks cool, so I'll be there. Let's hope they do another good job.
 
I bought the series in single issue format, I think I have the hardcover book somewhere. The movie is shot in the style of the 300 comic book, but while that worked for Sin City, I don't know if this will work for 300. I became familiar with the battle after reading 300, and I don't care if its accurate or not, but I really don't think the style will agree with this movie. I too will be there.

A question. I brought this movie, the comic and the battle itself up to a buddy of mine who is of Greek ancestry, and he had never even heard of it. That means nothing in and of itself, but does this battle mean anything to those of Greek ancestry? Three hundred Spartans basically held off about a million troops, with the help of mercenaries for awhile, but basically 300 warriors held off an army of millions long enough for the rest of the Greek city states to band together to fight off the Persian army, at least enough to make the Persians decide to take them on as business partners, not subjugate them to Persian rule.

Whew...
 
I watched the trailer, and it does look interesting. Likely not intended to be a historical re-creation of the famous battle....
 
It is going to be very cool, but it also going to be excessively artistic and stylized. They are going to take the story of the 300 Spartans and turn it into s sci-fi fantasy event. I will be there opening night to see it, but I will remember what I am going to see....a fun effects film, not a historical recreation.
 
Whats the thing with blades for arms in the trailer, I don't remember seeing that in the comic.
 
smokelaw1 said:
It is going to be very cool, but it also going to be excessively artistic and stylized. They are going to take the story of the 300 Spartans and turn it into s sci-fi fantasy event. I will be there opening night to see it, but I will remember what I am going to see....a fun effects film, not a historical recreation.
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Hollywood and historical accuracy hardly ever go together. But, this one is probably going to take the concept of artistic license to somewhat of an extreme. As long as you have a good understanding of history, though, you can set that aside and enjoy the movie for what it is. At least that is what I'm going to try to do.
 
The Battle of Thermopylae is one of the greatest stories in western culture. It needs no fantasizing to make it "better" or "more thrilling." So why is the film hoking it upwith having Persians riding rhinoceroses into the battle? I have the book and will have to find it to see if it has the same silliness in it. I do not remember Miller doing that. I remember the book as being a relatively (for a graphic novel) straight telling of the story.

"Go and tell the Spartans, stranger passing by,
that here, obedient to their law we lie."

This sacrifice gave the Athenians time to evacuate their city, saving the people if not the buildings, and to rally the Greek ships in the Straits of Salamis where they were able to beat the Persian fleet and turn back Xerxes' invasion. Without it, we would never have had the flowering of Athens' Golden Age, the great Hellenic Era, or the Age of Alexander, and all that followed, including Christianity as we know it.
 
FullerH said:
The Battle of Thermopylae is one of the greatest stories in western culture. It needs no fantasizing to make it "better" or "more thrilling."...This sacrifice gave the Athenians time to evacuate their city, saving the people if not the buildings, and to rally the Greek ships in the Straits of Salamis where they were able to beat the Persian fleet and turn back Xerxes' invasion....
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I agree, FullerH. This is one of the most stunning examples of heroism in history. It might be the most definitive example, as these men all knew they faced insurmountable odds and would not be returning home and, you're right, an honest retelling of the event leaves no need for embellishment. I would have much preferred Pressfield's historically accurate novel as the basis for a movie, but we, unfortunately, have to settle. I guess I'm happy to have this movie to look forward to. If it's a disappointment, I can always re-read Pressfield's book. I probably will, anyway.
 
No one ever mentions the Thespans or the Thebans.

Of course I'm going to watch the film, it sounds like the novel "Firebrand".
 
Actually, I tend to remind people that there were some 10,000 Greek troops at Thermopylae in the beginning of the fight, but that Leonidas sent them away when it became clear that there was no hope of survival. The Thespians refused to leave, however, anf fought and died along side the Spartans. I was unaware of any Theban involvement at that point. I do know that the Greeks numbered some 1,000 on the beginning of that final day.
 
Have any of you imagined what that must have been like ? I am not downplaying our historic events like Gettysburg or Normandy (to name a couple) but this story makes those look a little smaller in scope.

I have also wondered if the numbers of the Persian army are exaggerated ?
At any rate , I'm sure it will be a film worth seeing , I enjoy any warlike movie in that time period even if they are way over the top like Troy.
 
Well, the Persian army wasn't made up of all Persians. Lots of different nationalities. So, when they say a million Persians, they mean the Persian army was about a million strong. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I read somewhere that the only true Persians in the army were Xerxes personal guardsmen and his assassins/special forces.
 
They enjoyed some tactical advantage because of their extraordinary proficiency in combat, as well as their fighting style, and in the bottle-neck effect of the pass at Thermopylae, but even at a strength of 1,000 they were heavily outnumbered by their opponents. You have to wonder how long they could have held if they hadn't been sold out by a traitor. One million men would have eventually overwhelmed them, in any case, but having to fight two forces, from front and rear, made the end come much quicker.
 
stevengregory said:
I've read of numbers from 300,000 to, possibly 3 million. I can't remember what Pressfield said about it in his book.
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That's just it , I had a book I wish I still had that was all stories of historic battles in which one side was massivly undersized or underadvantaged and still came out on top but this book tries to de-bunk some of the numbers involved on one side or both involved in various battles.
My suspiscion is because back then a million men was a ginormous flippin' force to not only gather but to feed and keep organized etc.
I guess nobody will ever know ?
 
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