Ive only just watched 300 on dvd...I know Americans get to see all the films before we Brits do, so forgive me if its an old film to you.. but....I LOVED IT!! What a beautifully shot film..the action was fab..the men..the men...*drool dribble* - well fit even if sometimes it looked like their chests had been sprayed on!!

Just wondered what anyone else thought of the film..

I have and thought it was quite good myself. Yes great action and beautiful. The men well ... but Queen Gorgo gave me 300 different thoughts .
I enjoyed a few memeorable lines.

"Spartans! Prepare for glory! "

"Queen Gorgo: Spartan!
King Leonidas: Yes, Milady?
Queen Gorgo: Come back with your shield, or on it.
King Leonidas: Yes, Milady. "

"Persian: My arm.
Stelios: It's not yours, anymore! "

"King Leonidas: Dilios, I trust that "scratch" hasn't made you useless.
Dilios: Hardly, my lord, it's just an eye. The gods saw fit to grace me with a spare. "

I have to admit I was extremely upset with the film when I saw it,because it seemed more like a video game with a few clever Greek quotations thrown in for atmosphere than the story of a handful of Greeks defending civilisation against Eastern despotism. Treacherous hunchbacks (I kept thinking he would mumble something about "precious"), gremlin or ogre armies, videogame animation of the battle scenes, the King of Persia looking like some Goth entertainer mocked the great and epic story. I kept thinking that it could have been done so much better. Leave it to modern film making to trivialise something like this.
Z

Yup, seen it and liked it Think sometime around summer when it was still at the theatres.

THIS IS SPARTAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It was awesome to watch at the movie theatre, wouldn't really be the same if watched on TV.


Agreed. Though, I like video games like this, so....

The quotes were fab and you have quoted my faves apart from one..this one stood out for me:

Stelios: It is an honour to die at your side
King Leonidas: It is an honour to have lived at yours.


That to me was the best quote..fab!


It reminded me of Sin City the way it was shot...I loved the way it was shot..the slow motion fight scenes and the colours...and I thought the men looked like the images we see of ancient Greeks..all muscle and square jawed. I just thought it was a beautifully filmed film and enjoyed all the weirdness - the hunchback, the very very wierd creatures...my kinda film and I wish I had seen it at the cinema.

your right doll eyes bout the sin city connection both were written by frank miller
300 i believe looked good but i think it should have been longer it was over to quick in my opinion

I forgot to mention that one of my favorite aspects was the slowing down of the combat. I really showed the great technique of that combat form. The phalanx and individual style looked as well as any practiced martial art and perhaps the best of it's day. There sheer numbers of casualties inflicted by such a small number of warriors (tho' I believe with the others that stayed it was more like 1300,300 Spartans) against insurmountable odds. Still a thousand to one.

This post has been edited by boopme: Oct 27 2007, 09:41 PM

In real life, the Greeks possessed far better armor, with metal helmets and body protection, than did the Oriental contingents, who used protection more suitable to hot climates: wicker shields and cloth or leather to protect their body.
Yet the Greek phalanx, especially in the hands of the trained Spartan army, but also in general, was virtually a human tank bristling with long, metal pointed spears, and dominated the classical battlefield for some time.
As far as I know, historians generally accept the number for the Greeks fighting, perhaps 300 Spartans and a few thousand other allies, and consider the Greek estimate of the invaders somewhat exaggerated. Still the odds would be so lopsided that the feat of Sparta continues to be impressive.
Z

This weekend, I watched "Troy" and remembered this thread. As a historical drama, I thought it much better than "300."

Would agree with you there Z
Troy was far superior but both still lag behind gladiator in my opinion.
As for great historical drama's i think i'd be hard pressed to think of something to equal Braveheart.

Braveheart was good, too, I have to admit.
Of course, there was Cleopatra; no one could afford to make something like that now, alas!
I am also looking forward to the second part of Elizabeth.
Z

I far preferred 300 to Troy. Troy pretends to have some kind of historical accuracy about an event we know almost nothing about, and suffers greatly for this. If you can't do it properly, don't bother to do it at all. I would much have preferred it if it had followed the Iliad much more closely, with gods popping in left and right, and so on.

300 doesn't have any pretension to any form of historical accuracy. In many ways it ends up being the better illustration of Greek culture because of it. If there had been a guy who went back to tell about the battles, this is how he would have depicted them. Almost god-like heroes and supernatural monsters. This is what Greek storytelling was all about. Exaggerate to the point of absurd.

Then there is the other side of 300. It is beautiful. The cinematography and graphics design were unlike anything I have ever experienced.

This post has been edited by Mr Alpha: Dec 22 2007, 06:55 AM

When I saw it in theatres, my brother was literally shaking next to me. It was absolutely amazing.
Of course, it was made to target me (teenage guy) so of course it appealed to me.
My favorite part in the film was when the Queen finally stabbed the backstabber, and repeated his words into his face. "This will not be slow, you will not enjoy this, I am not your queen," or something to that effect.
I definitely think the film will usher in new methods of videography. Very interesting.