300

[perchorin]

So I've been checking out previews for "300" and I can't decide if this will be one of the most amazing new movies in years or utter shite. What do you guys expect? It could be a real hit with the CC crowd either way I suppose...

[kclborat]

Very excited!!

[vtmarik]

Oh man I'm so looking forward to this.

It's Frank Miller! End of Story

[Kid_A]

i have high expectations

[perchorin]

i have high expectations

Well that's kind of what I meant, although I didn't say it well. I have really really high expectations for this movie but that leaves me with a sneaking suspicion that I'll leave the theater disappointed. I'm also worried that it may be over-stylized...you know that looks great in the previews but how will you feel after 2 hours plus of it?

[Spuzzell]

Wha?

*heads to IMDB*

I'm back! And I brought a summary:

In 480 BC, the Persian king Xerxes sends his massive army to conquer Greece. The Greek city of Sparta houses its finest warriors, and 300 of these soldiers are chosen to meet the Persians at Thermopylae, engaging the soldiers in a narrow canyon where they cannot take full advantage of their numbers. The battle is a suicide mission, meant to buy time for the rest of the Greek forces to prepare for the invasion. However, that doesn't stop the Spartans from throwing their hearts into the fray, determined to take as many Persians as possible with them.

I think.. no, not really excited about that. Sounds ok though

Transformers, on the other hand.. *explodes in excitement*

[Serbia]

I think it was a great idea for a movie, but looking at the trailer, looks like a video game to me. I have low expectations, and expect to be dissapointed, because they could have really made something great out of it.

[P Gizzle]

it indeed was a great idea, but it looks like they are gonna make it fantasy-like, which ticks me off, cuz i wanted to see it like it happened irl....but w/e, i guess

[shakewell]

looks like a ton of great set-pieces put together, lots of cool scenes by themselves, hopefully there's a good story to pull everything together. acting doesn't look too cheesy, will probably get the dvd

[stinkycheese]

If I'm not mistaken...this movie has already been made before, has it not?

[btownmeggy]

I become so enraged when I see this preview. It looks SO DUMB. And I think it's ridiculous how the movie apparently tries to portray the Spartans as a nation fighting for LIBERTY and FREEDOM, when they were one of the most totalitarian, militaristic societies to ever, ever exist. I might find it similar to a movie celebrating Nazi Germany's struggle for LIBERTY and FREEDOM.

It looks visually interesting, I admit, but there's NO WAY I'll go see it.

[Warrior987]

I think the battle scenes will be amazing. Lot better than the original 300 Spartans.

[got tonkaed]

really its a pretty interesting story from antiquity and the quote from the spartan leader about fighting better in the shade after the persians say they will blot out the sun is one of the dynamite quotes of history.

[AndyDufresne]

The story of Thermopylae is one of my favorites of all time. I can't decide if it looks good...I'd really perfer they didn't make a shit film and bastardize the story, but I'll hold out chance that it will be a good film. I'll just have to see...


--Andy

[Guiscard]

The story of Thermopylae is one of my favorites of all time. I can't decide if it looks good...I'd really perfer they didn't make a shit film and bastardize the story, but I'll hold out chance that it will be a good film. I'll just have to see...


--Andy

Yeh. I'd rather see a really good true historical version, else none at all really. Will still see it though, I think as it is a brilliant narrative.

Didn't really set the Persians back at all in the long run, though...

[areon]

It's going to be horrible, better to watch old epic movies with real war scenes than crappy CGI sequences. If it doesn't have 500 extras it isn't worth watching

[Guiscard]

It's going to be horrible, better to watch old epic movies with real war scenes than crappy CGI sequences. If it doesn't have 500 extras it isn't worth watching

Zulu ftw!!

[heavycola]

Oh man I'm so looking forward to this.

It's Frank Miller! End of Story

[got tonkaed]

i think they could probably actually do a fairly popular movie about the Cortez and Montezuma story...either from a tragic angle looking at the Aztec side and their inability to break away from their religion (with some pretty saucy little scenes of human sacrifrice to hit their blood quota) or from the Cortez angle as he is probably the luckiest man in the history of mankind.

[Guiscard]

Anyone watched the original 1962 film 'The 300 Spartans'?

[Jesse, Bad Boy]

I become so enraged when I see this preview. It looks SO DUMB. And I think it's ridiculous how the movie apparently tries to portray the Spartans as a nation fighting for LIBERTY and FREEDOM, when they were one of the most totalitarian, militaristic societies to ever, ever exist.

Yeah, because the Persians came promising freedom and prosperity, as well as a democratically advanced republic.

Frankly, I think this is more of an uneducated response then any "pepulz will get killed, lulz". The Spartans were fighting for Liberty and Freedom, despite what you may think. If you've been put under the impression that Xerxes was on a liberation campaign, you've been misinformed.

Additionally, how were the Spartans totalitarian? The right to vote was afforded to men who served in the military (which was the norm of the time), and the king didn't have as much power as the democratically elected government.

I might find it similar to a movie celebrating Nazi Germany's struggle for LIBERTY and FREEDOM.

Yes, you might, if you have an asshole so tight that I could shove coal up there and pull out diamonds.

Add to that, your analogy is totally wrong. First, Nazi Germany held an expansionist policy that was supplemented by the Allies appeasement. Sparta, on the other hand, was a small city state with a tradition in military and for the most part lacked an expansionist policy. Second, as mentioned above, Ancient Sparta and Nazi Germany have two totally different political atmospheres. Nazi Germany was a total dictatorship with a history of atrocity, while the Spartans were a democratic military state. Granted, the only way you were guaranteed the right to vote is if you went through military training, but that was necessity at the time (if this isn't already obvious).

So while you're getting upset of possible ways it can be seen, you're not looking at it from an objective standpoint. If they didn't fight, thousands, perhaps millions would have been executed, tortured, and enslaved.

It looks visually interesting, I admit, but there's NO WAY I'll go see it.

Because, what, it might imply something that you don't agree with, or use dramatic license?

Oh, and CAPS LOCKS IS CRUISE CONTROL FOR COOL.

[AK_iceman]

Yeah, it looks pretty good.
I'm reading a book right now about the Battle of Thermopylae called "Gates of Fire".
I'm gonna vote after I watch the movie though.

[btownmeggy]

I become so enraged when I see this preview. It looks SO DUMB. And I think it's ridiculous how the movie apparently tries to portray the Spartans as a nation fighting for LIBERTY and FREEDOM, when they were one of the most totalitarian, militaristic societies to ever, ever exist.

Yeah, because the Persians came promising freedom and prosperity, as well as a democratically advanced republic.

Frankly, I think this is more of an uneducated response then any "pepulz will get killed, lulz". The Spartans were fighting for Liberty and Freedom, despite what you may think. If you've been put under the impression that Xerxes was on a liberation campaign, you've been misinformed.

Additionally, how were the Spartans totalitarian? The right to vote was afforded to men who served in the military (which was the norm of the time), and the king didn't have as much power as the democratically elected government.

I might find it similar to a movie celebrating Nazi Germany's struggle for LIBERTY and FREEDOM.

Yes, you might, if you have an asshole so tight that I could shove coal up there and pull out diamonds.

Add to that, your analogy is totally wrong. First, Nazi Germany held an expansionist policy that was supplemented by the Allies appeasement. Sparta, on the other hand, was a small city state with a tradition in military and for the most part lacked an expansionist policy. Second, as mentioned above, Ancient Sparta and Nazi Germany have two totally different political atmospheres. Nazi Germany was a total dictatorship with a history of atrocity, while the Spartans were a democratic military state. Granted, the only way you were guaranteed the right to vote is if you went through military training, but that was necessity at the time (if this isn't already obvious).

So while you're getting upset of possible ways it can be seen, you're not looking at it from an objective standpoint. If they didn't fight, thousands, perhaps millions would have been executed, tortured, and enslaved.

It looks visually interesting, I admit, but there's NO WAY I'll go see it.

Because, what, it might imply something that you don't agree with, or use dramatic license?

Oh, and CAPS LOCKS IS CRUISE CONTROL FOR COOL.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sparta#Constitution

Here's some interesting quotes from the article:

"The Spartan government was by many standards considered totalitarian."

"kings' power was exercised in most aspects of Spartan life; military, religious, and judicial."

"Sparta was, above all, a militarist state"

"If found defective or weak, the baby was left on the wild slopes of Mt Taygetos."

"Spartan boys left home for military boarding school at the age of seven, and were required to serve in the army until age thirty."

"Spartan education from the ages of seven to thirty emphasised physical toughness, steadfastness in military ranks, and absolute obedience to orders."

"Spartans were absolutely debarred by law from trade or manufacture, which consequently rested in the hands of the perioeci, and were forbidden (in theory) to possess either gold or silver."

"Crypteia (or Krypteia) was an "adolescent death squad" made up of the most promising young Spartans. Their job was to roam the countryside killing Helots [slaves] at night in order to instill fear in the slave population and prevent rebellion."

Ancient Sparta was a society that was in NO WAY amenable to liberty or freedom.

[perchorin]

Yeah, it looks pretty good.
I'm reading a book right now about the Battle of Thermopylae called "Gates of Fire".
I'm gonna vote after I watch the movie though.

Another book you guys might like is "The Ten-Thousand" by Michael Curtis Ford. It's a novelized account of these guys http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ten_Thousand_(Greek)
and a pretty awesome story, which thanks to the aforementioned wiki article I found out was also the inspiration for The Warriors, one of the coolest movies ever!!

[vtmarik]

I hate how some people are trying to assign historical accuracy to dramatic license.

This particular movie, 300, is based on the graphic novel of the same name by Frank Miller, the man who brought us the graphic novel Sin City (and co-directed the film).

How about we evaluate its merits on the basis of drama and not turn this into some kind of history lesson about the governmental system of ancient Greek city-states. This film is not intended to be philosophically or politically accurate, it's meant to be historical fiction.

More Info:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/300_%28comic_book%29
From the article: "300 is a graphic novel, written and illustrated by Frank Miller with painted colors by Lynn Varley. The comic loosely depicts the Battle of Thermopylae and the events leading up to it from the perspective of Leonidas I, king of Sparta."

The king of Sparta would certainly use terminology regarding freedom and liberty to motivate his people to battle. I have never once heard a speech where any leader started with the words "You're fighting to continue your own oppression."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historical_Fiction


Thank you for your time.