Frank Miller's 300 (2007)

[Neville]

If you enjoyed that one, give "It's raining 300 men" a chance.

[Jim H]

On the note of freedom, I thought all the talk of it was rather silly, considering the state of the majority of the population of Sparta and how incredibly harsh their society often was.  Citizenship in Sparta was inheirited, which in the end was a major reason for their downfall.  The helots were, more or less, slaves.

I don't mind historical innaccuracy, but movies in the ancient world constantly talking about how great freedom is seem to just be trying to spark the American mindset into rooting for the main characters.  It's kind of a lazy way of doing it, and felt rather forced in 300.  It's enough that they were defending their homes from being conquered and standing up for themselves - a right all peoples of the world have.

[trekgeezer]

  The helots were, more or less, slaves.

The Helots were akin to serfs in feudal times. They were not bought and sold, but were tied to the land.

One of the rites of passage for Spartan warriors was to murder a Helot. It's interesting that the point of the exercise was not the murder itself, but rather to avoid getting caught committing it.

[akiratubo]

I think this is a very good bad movie.  And, you know, it doesn't want to be anything other than that.

I was afraid Leonidas would be a huge a***ole, like most heroes in these things are, but he and the other Spartans were an affable bunch of Joes.  Faramir's voiceover was actually pretty good and he's becoming one of my favorite Those Guys (Hey!  It's Faramir!  Woo!).  It was also nice to see Steven McHattie in a high-profile role.  Man, that guy's in good shape for his age.  The weird stuff, like Xerxes being nine feet tall, was a little off-putting but it worked within the context of the movie -- which, after all, was a *story* being told by one of the characters.  Naturally, he was going to embellish.  ("Xerxes stood before Leonidas, and was NINE FEET TALL!!!!")

I had a good time with this one.

[KYGOTC]

I think this is a very good bad movie. 

I dont think this one is a bad movie at all. Its an extremely good movie, dispite what critics are saying. Everyone I know that has seen it has nothing but good things to say about it.

[Neville]

I don't know if Akiratubo calls it a bad movie because of the same reasons as I did. I called it a "good bad movie" or something in the same league afew days ago because although it is a very good movie it also is -on purpose, no doubt- a very simplistic and over the top one. It's a way of saying "Yep, it's good, but it can't touch 2001."

[felgekarp]

Saw this myself over the weekend, one of the better films I've seen period and a definite for the DVD list, has anybody seen The 300 Spartans?  I realise it's not going to be the same as 300 but is it worth watching?

[Jimmy H]

  The helots were, more or less, slaves.

The Helots were akin to serfs in feudal times. They were not bought and sold, but were tied to the land.

One of the rites of passage for Spartan warriors was to murder a Helot. It's interesting that the point of the exercise was not the murder itself, but rather to avoid getting caught committing it.

And serfs weren't much different than slaves.  It's part of the reason slavery didn't really take off too well in Europe.  They didn't have much need of it, because of the peasant class.  Either way, it does make it sound silly when they're talking about how great freedom is, and how Sparta is somehow founded on that idea.

[maxtype]

 I really enjoyed this movie-epic,fast-paced,and fun...........for me,it has a strong connection to movies that don't really get made anymore=men's adventure epics,Hercules,Sinbad,etc.

I also thought the sex-scene between Leonidas and the Queen was one of the sexiest EVER-the actors really have chemistry-they look like a married couple that knows they are making love for the last time...........

[flackbait]

This movie was probably one of the best I have seen in long time. I really really really recommend you see it in theateres, because unless you have a home theatre system you will really miss out.

[venomx]

I dont know Greek history that good I hear this story is true ... But Let me say this I love THIS MOVIE !!!
If thats how it happened wow ... There bad ass , very brave! If anyone here did not see 300 go see it now!

[flackbait]

Just to clarify this was based on Frank Miller's comic book of the same name. But there was a battle of Thermoplye (not sure if this is spelled right). This is the battle in which Miller based the comic book off of.
And yes there were 300 spartans who were lead by king Leonidas and they made a last stand.

[CoreyHeldpen]

Oh yeah, what was up with the goat-headed fellow in Xerxes' Love Shack?  It was pretty funny.

That dude kind of creeped me out. But seriously, what was up with some of those mutants, ie the goat-head guy and the blob with the crab hands? They just show up for a second and disappear. Great movie by the way.

[Neville]

Personally, I think the "mutants" and the beasts like the Rhino / Elephants are there to make us realise it's not an historical movie, but a sword and sorcery stravaganza. It's like having the filmmaker nudging you and saying "don't take it as it is written in stone".

[Kooshmeister]

Just to clarify this was based on Frank Miller's comic book of the same name. But there was a battle of Thermoplye (not sure if this is spelled right). This is the battle in which Miller based the comic book off of.
And yes there were 300 spartans who were lead by king Leonidas and they made a last stand.

Well, actually, Miller based his comic book off the movie The 300 Spartans. At least, that was the film that originally inspired him, or so he claims. So the movie is based on a comic book that was based on another movie that was based on the actual battle.