300

[Knightmare213]

Alright, I won't argue that the Persians were seen as the bad guys in the movie, the comic book, etc. because the entire Greco-Persian War started because the Persians wanted more land. Now, the reason of wanting more land could be disputed with two major reasons:

1. The Persians wanted to unify the entire earth, therefore eliminating war between nations (but is not having a war at all possible?).
2. The Persians wanted more land because they felt the need to (if they followed this reason, they would be the bad guys).


Also, how Frank Miller physically portrayed the Persians in the comic book, and how they are portrayed in the movie, may be highly inaccurate. According to the historians, the Persian civilization was highly advanced (as much as the Greeks and the Romans, or more) during those times thanks to King Xerxes' father, King Darius. I'm probably sure that F. Miller wanted to portray the Persians as the bad guys. That's probably why he drew them in a way so that it would disgust the readers when they see how barbaric the Persians are in the comic book.

[aFlipGuy]

well either way, you wont be dissapointed w/ the movie. fighting scenes were done really well....man i'd definately watch it again

[Knightmare213]

I never said that I will be, did I? I had never been excited about a single movie since LOTR: The Return of the King.

How the movie was produced is quite amazing. While the actors and extras were forced to fight each other (all make-believe acting and choreographing, of course) while they were in either a blue or green background. It would've been tough for the actors, but it would have been another challenge that the actors had to pull through to make a kick-ass movie.

[rooboy]

Originally Posted by Knightmare213

Also, how Frank Miller physically portrayed the Persians in the comic book, and how they are portrayed in the movie, may be highly inaccurate. According to the historians, the Persian civilization was highly advanced (as much as the Greeks and the Romans, or more) during those times thanks to King Xerxes' father, King Darius. I'm probably sure that F. Miller wanted to portray the Persians as the bad guys. That's probably why he drew them in a way so that it would disgust the readers when they see how barbaric the Persians are in the comic book.

Spoiler for it all gets spoilers now:

I always had the impression they were the more civilized group from the graphic novel as well. Miller works with a couple of themes - one is that civilization isn't necessarily good (Robert E Howard uses the same theme a lot). He depicts them as civilized, decadent and corrupt - not really barbaric at all. At any rate, the way the Persians are depicted probably has little to do with how they actually were. I imagine the same thing will be true in the movie. Though, of course, the way Herodotus portrayed the Persians had little to do with how they actually were either - in that it follows any source, the source it follows is Herodotus' account.

Again, it follows historical accounts (sort of ), but it's important to remember that what little it does follow historical accounts is from the Greek point of view. The Greeks had lots of reason to lie about the accounts (namely to make themselves look better), and, in all likelihood did. Most first person accounts are like that. If it was told from the Persian point of view, you would get a very different movie (which would probably also be interesting, but would probably tell a very different story).

I've also heard it's very faithful to the comic - which is why I've tried to not post any of the details from the GN. I actually didn't know it had been published as a monthly comic until I followed monir's link to the wiki. I've only ever seen the graphic novel. The graphic novel is oversized (like two or three times the size of a normal comic, and proportioned weirdly as well) - I wonder if the comic was like that too?

And I found out the IMAX in Dallas actually has seats for the Sunday showing. I can't decide if I want to watch it tomorrow night or wait for Sunday in the IMAX.

EDIT:

Spoiler:

And, in case it's not perfectly clear from my post, I'm agreeing with Vexx and Knightmare - the graphic novel itself is really more like a tall tale or a legend than a history lesson. There is a touch of actual history involved to give it a feeling of verisimilitude, but that's all it is, a touch.

[hobobaggins]

Seeing it at midnight. I dont think i could wait, because someone else would probably spoil it for me. IMAX is nice, but the difference to me isnt that great from the theaters we have near me.

[Vexx]

Misrepresenting the enemy is an old tool..... The Romans did a serious whack job propaganda rush on the Kelts when they were expanding and consolidating their lands. Makes sense from a Greek view to portray the Persians as scary people --

ultimate spoiler: the source battle happened thousands of years ago... everyone is dead.

[Kensuke]

I was excited when I first heard that the Battle of Thermopylae is going to filmed, I was expecting some historical drama what I love, like Gladiator, Troy or Kingdom of Heaven, and that battle offers a plenty of that. But to make that to somekind of popcorn movie is just...
Well, it won't come here until April, so maybe I will go to see it. I should just forgot the history and enjoy the ride.

I knew how Troy and Kingdom of Heaven were going to end, so it is not that important, I went to see those because I wanted to see how the events are portrayed.

[Kinny Riddle]

Originally Posted by Vexx

Misrepresenting the enemy is an old tool..... The Romans did a serious whack job propaganda rush on the Kelts when they were expanding and consolidating their lands. Makes sense from a Greek view to portray the Persians as scary people --

ultimate spoiler: the source battle happened thousands of years ago... everyone is dead.

I believe it's spelled "Celts".

Anyway, like you said, this movie is just Herodotus/Miller's artistic portrayal of the battle and nothing else. It's supposed to be faithful to the "artistically exaggerated" graphic novel, not the historical event itself, and I would be going to watch this movie from this perspective, and not from a history buff perspective, which I did when watching Kingdom of Heaven.

More Sparta trivia: Spartans live and die by their shields. Before they go off to battle, each warrior's wife would personally hand their husband their shields and say, "You return with this, or you return (dead) on this." Meaning they have to come back alive with the shield, or die in battle with their comrades carrying their body on the shield back to Sparta. Anyone who loses their shield is deemed an outcast.

Speaking of Spartans, when is the undead slashing Spartan from God of War going to return in the sequel?

[cheyannew]

Saw it, liked it, that is all.


My husband was grinning through half the movie

Just keep in mind it's a movie, not a documentary hehehe

I'm forced to watch enough of the History channel thanks to hubby.

[Shay]

Originally Posted by aFlipGuy

i saw the movie last saturday at a movie premiere =D

the action was done really well

as for the history part...i thought they didnt do a bad job since most of it were true.

Spoiler:

from xerxes not dying from that spear leonidas threw but piercing his face to amuse the audience, to person who betrays the 300 spartans

i thought they were pretty accurate w/ historical events.

i really dont wanna say more because it would suck if i gave it away.

has anyone read Gates of Fire? it was about the 300 spartans at thermopylea...the story is prolly more accurate than the movie 300 when it came to historical facts but if you love the movie, i suggest you pick up the book also for more spartan action =D

I have! Many times. It's one of my favs. Can't wait to see this movie. And I know for a fact I'm going to think I am a Spartan for a good couple of days afterwards. lol

[Shinoto]

That so got me God of War pumped.
I really wish they had more fighting in it is my major compliant. They jumped around to much and mushed too much together.

[Jiji]

I am really confused by all the people in this thread talking about how this movie or the books or other movies are "inaccurate". How do you know? There is no reliable historical source for the events. This movie could very well be exactly accurate. (Okay, probably not, but you see my point.) I've read a good portion of the historical sources surrounding the Battle, and I'm personally fairly impressed with Miller's devotion to the widely-accepted historical sources. I'm just saying, don't throw around words like "accurate" or "inaccurate" when they're meaningless.

[WanderingKnight]

Originally Posted by Ueda

I am really confused by all the people in this thread talking about how this movie or the books or other movies are "inaccurate". How do you know? There is no reliable historical source for the events. This movie could very well be exactly accurate. (Okay, probably not, but you see my point.) I've read a good portion of the historical sources surrounding the Battle, and I'm personally fairly impressed with Miller's devotion to the widely-accepted historical sources. I'm just saying, don't throw around words like "accurate" or "inaccurate" when they're meaningless.

Well, there's a limit to what may be possible... and that's maybe what many historians think. It's been stated before in the thread about how enlarged the numbers could be done by the post-battle. History is written by the winners . If the Spartan king said 300 Spartans beat a million Persians, it'd have a much bigger political impact than saying 300 Spartan plus 7,000 Greek reinforcements beat 200,000 Persians... you get what I mean.

[Knightmare213]

Originally Posted by Ueda

I am really confused by all the people in this thread talking about how this movie or the books or other movies are "inaccurate". I'm just saying, don't throw around words like "accurate" or "inaccurate" when they're meaningless.

Of course, remembering the events that occurred about 2,000 years ago can be hard and very difficult to confirm whether it is true or not. There's always a possibility that the Battle never had taken place or it could have been taken with 600 Spartans and 250,000 Persians only. In other words, we really aren't sure.

However, only thing we can trust is the analysis of the archaeologists' and the historians'. Why? Because they studied various texts, translated them best they could and came to a conclusion that can always be wronged at any time. Like I said, the Battle may never have taken place. It may have been some kind of a proto-form of a propaganda to rouse the Greeks to fight the invading Persians.

One of the examples where the historians came to a wrong conclusion is when most of the world believed that the Parthenon was a temple for worship. However, newest conclusion countered the older one by saying that the Parthenon was more of a treasury. Discussions like this thins the line between historical accuracy and inaccuracy.

[monir]

Originally Posted by rooboy

And I found out the IMAX in Dallas actually has seats for the Sunday showing. I can't decide if I want to watch it tomorrow night or wait for Sunday in the IMAX.

IMAX! IMAX!! IMAX!!! The blood, the gore, the flying body parts, the exaggeration of it all that electrifies the forever young shounen heart... it can't be experienced in a puny screen with puny sound. King Leonites is a hard ass, and he isn't hesitant to show it. Talk about visual. The soundtrack is so awesome, and if you mix it with those dialogues, you concoct something that spell pure entertainment. IMAX man, IMAX!

Originally Posted by rooboy

Spoiler:

There's actually better dialogue (though I have no idea if it made it into the movie).

Xerxes initially sent envoys to each of the Greek city states saying he only wanted some shade and water. The Thebans (I think it was the Thebans) threw the envoy into a dry well and told him to dig it out himself. The Spartans threw him into a pit and left him to die. This is the part in the movie where Leonidas shouts out, "This is Sparta!" >Rawr!<

It's there!

Originally Posted by shay

I have! Many times. It's one of my favs. Can't wait to see this movie. And I know for a fact I'm going to think I am a Spartan for a good couple of days afterwards. lol

hehe.. well, in that case, I claim seniority. I'm your senpai-Spartan, and don't you forget it after you get high.

[rooboy]

Originally Posted by Ueda

I am really confused by all the people in this thread talking about how this movie or the books or other movies are "inaccurate". How do you know? There is no reliable historical source for the events. This movie could very well be exactly accurate. (Okay, probably not, but you see my point.) I've read a good portion of the historical sources surrounding the Battle, and I'm personally fairly impressed with Miller's devotion to the widely-accepted historical sources. I'm just saying, don't throw around words like "accurate" or "inaccurate" when they're meaningless.

Spoiler:

It is somewhat true to events as narrated by Herodotus - the person many historians consider the most reliable source of the time. However, even that is stretching it. It has been changed in many ways for dramatic effect. Just one example (among numerous ones), Herodotus claims approximately 7,000 total Greeks (warriors - not support), but they're curiously absent for most of the movie. Again, it's a dramatization designed to heighten specific themes - not a history lesson. The bulk of it is undeniably true. 300 Spartans (lead by Lyonides) died defending Greece within that pass. The reason only 300 Spartans were there is because the rest were attending an important festival. The Spartans did decimate the Persians in pretty much exactly the way shown. They had superior training, superior morale and superior armament. Other than that, a lot of it is made up. It could be true. It could also be true that Martians came down and decimated the Persian ranks to allow Lyonides' men to rest. One interesting thing archaeologists have confirmed is that the Persians did eventually kill the last of the men in a hail of arrows. Of course, being archaeologists, none of them can agree about it, and in ten years they may have changed their minds.

Originally Posted by monir

IMAX! IMAX!! IMAX!!! The blood, the gore, the flying body parts, the exaggeration of it all that electrifies the forever young shounen heart... it can't be experienced in a puny screen with puny sound. King Leonites is a hard ass, and he isn't hesitant to show it. Talk about visual. The soundtrack is so awesome, and if you mix it with those dialogues, you concoct something that spell pure entertainment. IMAX man, IMAX!

I couldn't wait any more - a friend and I went to see it on one of the giant AMC digital screens.

Originally Posted by monir

It's there!

Spoiler:

I saw that they mentioned them! (And it was the Athenians, not the Thebans). They also included the "come and get them" line (which is very famous as far as anecdotes go).
I told my friend it would be a very testosterone-laden >RAWR< movie, he didn't understand beforehand, but on the way out he said, "You meant it'll make you want to go out and kick ass after we see it, didn't you?" I just grinned.

[Aoie_Emesai]

I couldn't see it all of the time slots were out so none for me. I couldn't believe how popular this movie was gonna be.

[psycho bolt]

Seen it and read the comics so I already knew what was gonna happen. I actually had to prepurchase the tickets. A lot of people watching the movie when I went.

[Spectacular_Insanity]

I thought it was very good, except for the few inaccuracies that happened for the sake of cinematography. Forexample, their lack of armor.

(Damn, those guys were ripped though, and none of it was computer generated---that's right, it was all real!)

[jedinat]

Saw it las night and thought it was okay... I mean, the battle scenes were awesome but there was little substance. (the entire movie gave the impression of a video game cut scene... albeit a very good one)
I was a bit disappointed that the abomination with cleaver arms wasn't sent into battle