Greek general Themistokles leads the charge against invading Persian forces led by mortal-turned-god Xerxes and Artemisia, vengeful commander of the Persian navy.
Detective Sherlock Holmes and his stalwart partner Watson engage in a battle of wits and brawn with a nemesis whose plot is a threat to all of England.
Director:
Guy Ritchie
Stars:
Robert Downey Jr.,
Jude Law,
Rachel McAdams
Years after a plague kills most of humanity and transforms the rest into monsters, the sole survivor in New York City struggles valiantly to find a cure.
When bitten by a genetically modified spider, a nerdy, shy, and awkward high school student gains spider-like abilities that he eventually must use to fight evil as a superhero after tragedy befalls his family.
An ancient struggle between two Cybertronian races, the heroic Autobots and the evil Decepticons, comes to Earth, with a clue to the ultimate power held by a teenager.
A paraplegic marine dispatched to the moon Pandora on a unique mission becomes torn between following his orders and protecting the world he feels is his home.
Director:
James Cameron
Stars:
Sam Worthington,
Zoe Saldana,
Sigourney Weaver
Hancock is a superhero whose ill considered behavior regularly causes damage in the millions. He changes when one person he saves helps him improve his public image.
In the Battle of Thermopylae of 480 BC an alliance of Greek city-states fought the invading Persian army in the mountain pass of Thermopylae. Vastly outnumbered, the Greeks held back the enemy in one of the most famous last stands of history. Persian King Xerxes lead a Army of well over 100,000 (Persian king Xerxes before war has about 170,000 army) men to Greece and was confronted by 300 Spartans, and several hundred Arcadians. Xerxes waited for 10 days for King Leonidas to surrender or withdraw left with no options he moved. The battle lasted for about 3 days and after which all 300 Spartans were killed. The Spartan defeat was not the one expected, as a local shepherd, named Ephialtes, defected to the Persians and informed Xerxes of a separate path through Thermopylae, which the Persians could use to outflank the Greeks. Written by
cyberian2005
Post-production took almost a year. The film was edited on 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 (normally, film is shot 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 2.11:1 and a projected aspect ratio of 2.39:1. See more »
Goofs
(at around 1h 40 mins) During the final fight scene a Spartan says to his king "my king, it's an honor to die at your side." His "6-pack" abs are clearly airbrushed. See more »
Quotes
[first lines]
Dilios:
When the boy was born, like all Spartans, he was inspected.
See more »
Crazy Credits
The opening Warner Bros., Legendary Pictures and Virtual Studios logos are made of stone and appear in front of a brown, cloudy sky. See more »
The key of Zack Zinder's epic style of film was to take the action event and turn it into a mythology He wanted to get to the essence of the Spartans, and to show us the story of a handful of soldiers willing to risk all for a larger western concept of freedom and liberty
"300" is an interpretation of a complex historical event, the collision of cultures that continues to this day Spartan warriors and Persian soldiers were probably the most extreme cultures of that moment
They were interesting elements of truth in Zinder's movie: The Spartans were not like the Athenians They lived under more barbaric rules Every Spartan was a soldier They fight as a specialized unit ("That's the source of our strength!"). Once they get this right group of iron, brass and muscles they become almost undefeatable ("Today no Spartans die!").
If you're a Spartan citizen you're a soldier ("Spartans! What is your profession?"), you're a pure warrior struggling for justice and for what you believe is true The Spartans remain a mystery to everybody They were, probably, unique Till the day of the clash, they have never met an adversary who could offer them what they call 'a beautiful death.' They only were hoping with all the massive army gathered against them, there might be one down there who's up to the task ("Spartans! Ready your breakfast and eat hearty... For tonight, we dine in hell!").
Both the Spartans and Samurai warriors were comparably fierce and passionate ("No prisoners! No mercy!")... They were raging soldiers ("Give them nothing but take from them everything!") But at the same time they had an absolute code of honor on the essence of being a Spartan And it's cruel, very cruel When a boy was born, he was inspected If he's been sick or deformed, the child is murdered From the time he could stand, he was taught not to retreat, never to surrender He was taught that death on the battlefield in service to Sparta was the greatest glory he could achieve in his life At the age of seven, all the boys were taken away from their mothers and plunged into a world of violence, turning them into growing men, ultimate warriors the world has ever known
King Leonidas (Gerard Butler) was a legendary hero, somebody special His name was the descendant of lions He was very powerful, very thoughtful and perhaps in the film far more human than he is even in the graphic novel... Leonidas was a practical man whose life is matched by a straight road to one gleaming moment in destiny and that day, he couldn't meekly swallow the insult of Sparta's submission to the world of Xerxes "This is Sparta!," as he shouted to Xerxes' emissary, affirming that there is no softness, no place for weakness, and only the hard and strong may call themselves Spartans
What I loved about Leonidas was his needs, in his moment of indecision, of a back-up, maybe a second opinion, some assurance of his wife Queen Gorgo So we see him, both times, looking to his wife
Queen Gorgo (Lena Headey) was a great character not only in the film but in history She was sexy and beautiful and above all tough and aggressive There was intensity, elegance and ability in her Also a kind of femininity in her nobility... There's only one moment when she loses it at the end and it was not a breakdown
We know lot of Queen Gorgo thanks to Herodotus, the father of the history, who chooses to write about her which clearly demonstrate she was significant Spartan women were special anyway, they were incredibly beautiful and Sparta was the land of beautiful women They were beautiful because they were physically fit, because they were allowed to exercise They were not repressed and were considered incredibly potent Gorgo could speak among men because as she affirmed it before the Persian emissary: "Only Spartan women give birth to real men!"
Gorgo's one love scene with Leonidas and the dialogue beforehand, was powerful: "It is not a question of what a Spartan citizen SHOULD do nor a husband, nor a king. Instead ask yourself, my dearest love, what should a free man do?"
Brutally violent and completely faithful to Miller's work, Zinder's "300" is inspiring, brave, and bloody artistic film
91 of 165 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful to you?
The key of Zack Zinder's epic style of film was to take the action event and turn it into a mythology He wanted to get to the essence of the Spartans, and to show us the story of a handful of soldiers willing to risk all for a larger western concept of freedom and liberty
"300" is an interpretation of a complex historical event, the collision of cultures that continues to this day Spartan warriors and Persian soldiers were probably the most extreme cultures of that moment
They were interesting elements of truth in Zinder's movie: The Spartans were not like the Athenians They lived under more barbaric rules Every Spartan was a soldier They fight as a specialized unit ("That's the source of our strength!"). Once they get this right group of iron, brass and muscles they become almost undefeatable ("Today no Spartans die!").
If you're a Spartan citizen you're a soldier ("Spartans! What is your profession?"), you're a pure warrior struggling for justice and for what you believe is true The Spartans remain a mystery to everybody They were, probably, unique Till the day of the clash, they have never met an adversary who could offer them what they call 'a beautiful death.' They only were hoping with all the massive army gathered against them, there might be one down there who's up to the task ("Spartans! Ready your breakfast and eat hearty... For tonight, we dine in hell!").
Both the Spartans and Samurai warriors were comparably fierce and passionate ("No prisoners! No mercy!")... They were raging soldiers ("Give them nothing but take from them everything!") But at the same time they had an absolute code of honor on the essence of being a Spartan And it's cruel, very cruel When a boy was born, he was inspected If he's been sick or deformed, the child is murdered From the time he could stand, he was taught not to retreat, never to surrender He was taught that death on the battlefield in service to Sparta was the greatest glory he could achieve in his life At the age of seven, all the boys were taken away from their mothers and plunged into a world of violence, turning them into growing men, ultimate warriors the world has ever known
King Leonidas (Gerard Butler) was a legendary hero, somebody special His name was the descendant of lions He was very powerful, very thoughtful and perhaps in the film far more human than he is even in the graphic novel... Leonidas was a practical man whose life is matched by a straight road to one gleaming moment in destiny and that day, he couldn't meekly swallow the insult of Sparta's submission to the world of Xerxes "This is Sparta!," as he shouted to Xerxes' emissary, affirming that there is no softness, no place for weakness, and only the hard and strong may call themselves Spartans
What I loved about Leonidas was his needs, in his moment of indecision, of a back-up, maybe a second opinion, some assurance of his wife Queen Gorgo So we see him, both times, looking to his wife
Queen Gorgo (Lena Headey) was a great character not only in the film but in history She was sexy and beautiful and above all tough and aggressive There was intensity, elegance and ability in her Also a kind of femininity in her nobility... There's only one moment when she loses it at the end and it was not a breakdown
We know lot of Queen Gorgo thanks to Herodotus, the father of the history, who chooses to write about her which clearly demonstrate she was significant Spartan women were special anyway, they were incredibly beautiful and Sparta was the land of beautiful women They were beautiful because they were physically fit, because they were allowed to exercise They were not repressed and were considered incredibly potent Gorgo could speak among men because as she affirmed it before the Persian emissary: "Only Spartan women give birth to real men!"
Gorgo's one love scene with Leonidas and the dialogue beforehand, was powerful: "It is not a question of what a Spartan citizen SHOULD do nor a husband, nor a king. Instead ask yourself, my dearest love, what should a free man do?"
Brutally violent and completely faithful to Miller's work, Zinder's "300" is inspiring, brave, and bloody artistic film