300 (Widescreen Edition)
by Zack Snyder
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DVD details
Actor: David Wenham, Frank Miller, Gerard Butler, Lena Headey, Zack SnyderDirector: Zack Snyder
Brand: Warner Brothers
Writer: Zack Snyder
Writer: Frank Miller
Producer: Ben Waisbren
Producer: Bernie Goldmann
Writer: Kurt Johnstad
Writer: Lynn Varley
Writer: Michael Gordon
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Dubbed); Spanish (Dubbed)
Format: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD-Video, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.66:1
Running Time: 116 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2007-07-31
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Warner Home Video
DVD Reviews of 300 (Widescreen Edition)
DVD Review: A movie created to entertain 12 yr old boys
Summary: 2 Stars
What is the plot of this movie?
Persians come and insult the Spartans. The 300 Spartan warriors fight and butt kicks the Persian army. In the end, the 300 Spartans all get killed by Persians because of a betrayal by one of their own. *yawn*
This movie has a plot of a comic book written for a 12 yr old. Oh wait, it derived from a comic book written for a 12 yr old!
The acting and action remind me of WWF wrestling. It is not only fake, but it is also macho fake. They must also have used cheap 1980's kung-fu films for inspiration of their fighting sequences. Characters carry a dialogue while almost playfully slashing their foes.
All this is too bad since the real story of the 300 Spartans hardly had to be sensationalized. The heroics of the 300 Spartans is one of the truly memorable "last stand" in military history. Most, if not all, military academies teach the valor of the 300 Spartans who gave up their lives NOT for their ego but to protect the flanks of other retrieving Spartans (yes Spartans DID retreat when it made sense).
If anything, this movie downplays the heroism of the 300 Spartans. Why did the story ignore the fact the 300 Spartans knowingly sacrificed themselves to protect the flanks of the entire Spartan army?
Lastly, the movie had some sinister themes. For example, politicians who oppose war are the sinister antagonists. The hero Leonidis, the protagonist, recklessly engages in a battle against Persians even though it is "illegal" and not sanctioned by rest of the Sparta.
Who are the Persians? (present day Iran and parts of Iraq). They are portrayed as inhuman warmongers who happens to have a 7-9 foot tall androgenous dude as their leader.
Were the creators trying to draw analogy to George W Bush's invasion of Iraq?
Who knows. But I know I would have enjoyed this movie more if I was 12, but I am not.
DVD Review: A Great Action Movie
Summary: 5 Stars
I gave this movie a '5' because it is a great action flick and I am a fan of action movies. Part computer-generated and part traditional film, this story is about the 300 great Spartans that fight the thousands of Persians to try and hold on to Greece. We learn about war-driven Sparta where boys are trained from their early years to be great warriors - to fight without surrender, never show pain, bear a sword with skill, and love their fellow warriors.
I was riveted during the whole film. There is not a boring minute. It is non-stop action, intrigue and testosterone-driven fun. For any action lovers out there, this is a must-see.
DVD Review: One of the Best Collector's Editions EVER!!!!
Summary: 5 Stars
I have at my private stash of DVD'd close to 1,100 movies so far...and this is, hands-down, one of the best collector's editions I've seen! The value/buck here is incredible!DVD Review: Well Told Story for Our Times
Summary: 5 Stars
"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." (Edmund Burke)
I know of no military service member who would want to be at war when he/she could be at home with family.
I'm sure my dad felt that way when he sailed the China sea and watched bodies float down the Yantzee river after a terrible flood in China.
I'm sure my Uncle Randolph felt that way as a paratrooper in World War II as he watched Japanese soldiers jump to their deaths to avoid capture.
My Uncle Walt in France during World War I. My distant Cousin George at San Juan Hill. My 5th Great Grandfather Robert in the Revolutionary War. I would imagine dying a hero meant nothing when I'm sure he would have been much happier at home.
I often wonder if they all understood the price of freedom. That sometimes pivotal events take place, and we can act. Or, we can stand on the sidelines.
What if everyone wanted to stand on the sidelines? What would it really mean to our freedom?
I wonder if the Spartans knew what their sacrifice would really mean almost 3,000 years later?
Every once in awhile a historical event occurs that has the power to change the future forever. Such is the Battle at Thermopylae.
In 480 BC, the Medes-Persian emperor Xerxes planned an invasion of the countries that now form the modern day Greece. He needed "earth and water" to continue his campaigns, and the Greeks stood in the way.
Specifically, the Spartans. Sparta, like all the Greek nations of the time, was democratic and autonomous. They had no intention of relinquishing that autonomy to a tyrant like Xerxes.
King Leonidas, one of the two hereditary kings of Sparta, decided the Spartans had to take a stand. Although he couldn't take the full Spartan Army with him because of a festival taking place in Sparta, he chose to take action anyway.
He chose 300 "Sires" for his unit. Sires were men who had sons to carry on the family name, as well as assume responsibility for the families left behind.
The king and his small army met Xerxes and his million at Thermopylae, a narrow pass that led to Central Greece.
By taking a stand at the pass, Leonidas coul negate Xerxes's millions and hold off Xerxes's army indefinitely.
The fighting was brutal. Xerxes's army suffered heavy losses, even when he sent in his elite troops, the Immortals.
The Spartans were defeated on the third day when they were betrayed by a man from one of the local villages. He led the Persians through a goat path and around the Spartans.
And so the Spartans lost, and they all died.
But that's not the end of the story. On the surface, they did lose. They were wiped out. Xerxes's army got past them.
Because of the sacrifice of the Spartans, it led to what happened next. And what happened next changed the course of history. Not only did it lead to Greek victory, but it preserved democracy.
The Greeks rallied. One year later, they defeated Xerxes. He never recovered. 150 years later, Alexander the Great would defeat the entire Persian empire and become the dominant force in the world. Greek culture would spread over the known world, and any influence of the Medes-Persian empire would be reduced to ashes.
Over 2,000 years later, democratic principles are still the dominant force in the world. The East has never successfully invaded the West.
That's the history, and the backdrop for the movie. Although that's what happened in the movie, the movie was much more dramatic.
The movie itself is based on the graphic novel by Frank Mills. The movie is basically shot scene for scene based on the graphic novel, and all of the backgrounds are done on blue screen.
Unlike Spiderman, which had some of the worst transitions I've ever seen, this movie is so visually stunning you are compelled to watch every scene.
The actors are captivating as one facial expression says more than an entire monologue. The one liners are excellent and add a comic element to what is often a serious moment.
Lena Heady as the Spartan queen is as beatiful as she is strong, and Gerard Butler plays a handsome Leonidas who needs few words as his expressions say it all.
To paraphrase my daughter, "You wouldn't associate compassion or gentleness with Spartans. You could see from the way they looked at each other though, that it was there. These were people who loved one another. They just had a different way of showing it."
One thing I did find striking was the bold differences between good and evil, between the Spartans and the Persians, and this is a story of good versus evil.
All of the Spartans were beautiful to the point of being magnificent. The men were really manly, and they exuded a strength you don't see in the politically correct version of men today.
The Persians stood in stark contrast to the Spartans. I saw ugliness there, something often beastly, something that made me feel that nothing good would come of the situation if the Persians won.
And Xerxes is arrogant to the point of making you want to hate him. Xerxes was too arrogant though, and Leonidas taught him that all men can bleed, even those who claim to be a god.
To be honest, even though I thought the telling of this story would be superficial, I still wanted to see it. What I found instead is a movie where it's so visually stunning, with acting that's well done, and every element in the movie contributes to a fair, accurate, and deep story telling of a serious subject for a movie.
This is movie making at its best, and I hope Hollywood will take note. Although graphic at times, the graphic sexual and violent elements contribute in a meaningful way to the overall telling of the story. These elements allow you to see what life was really like for these people and how life can be tough no matter what your station in life.
Even though this story has been told before in the movie, "The 300 Spartans", I'm glad to see it's been told again. This time, it's being told on a deeper, richer, and more meaningful level.
I recommend this movie is for anyone who understands the high price of freedom and knows it must be paid. For those who don't get it, like the story of Huckleberry Finn, it can still be enjoyed as just another larger than life story and a truly great movie.
DVD Review: One star for decaps; one star for spearings.
Summary: 2 Stars
How can anyone like a movie with black computer-generated blood splatter ? This is one of those films where it seems the director can't decide if it should be in black and white or in color. This story was better done on the history channel with total animation. I did like the through-and-through spearings and the quick-slice decapitations in the battle scenes. Cool. A little creativity there. I didn't care about any grainy scenes on this blu-ray disc since I didn't like the movie anyway. Save your money. Rent or borrow it.
Description of 300 (Widescreen Edition)
The epic graphic novel by Frank Miller (Sin City) assaults the screen with the blood, thunder and awe of its ferocious visual style faithfully recreated in an intense blend of live-action and CGI animation. Retelling the ancient Battle of Thermopylae, it depicts the titanic clash in which King Leonidas (Gerard Butler) and 300 Spartans fought to the death against Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro) and his massive Persian army. Experience history at swordpoint. And moviemaking with a cutting edge.Like Sin City before it, 300 brings Frank Miller and Lynn Varley's graphic novel vividly to life. Gerard Butler (Beowulf and Grendel, The Phantom of the Opera) radiates pure power and charisma as Leonidas, the Grecian king who leads 300 of his fellow Spartans (including David Wenham of The Lord of the Rings, Michael Fassbender, and Andrew Pleavin) into a battle against the overwhelming force of Persian invaders. Their only hope is to neutralize the numerical advantage by confronting the Persians, led by King Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro), at the narrow strait of Thermopylae.
More engaging than Troy, the tepid and somewhat similar epic of ancient Greece, 300 is also comparable to Sin City in that the actors were shot on green screen, then added to digitally created backgrounds. The effort pays off in a strikingly stylized look and huge, sweeping battle scenes. However, it's not as to-the-letter faithful to Miller's source material as Sin City was. The plot is the same, and many of the book's images are represented just about perfectly. But some extra material has been added, including new villains (who would be considered "bosses" if this were a video game, and it often feels like one) and a political subplot involving new characters and a significantly expanded role for the Queen of Sparta (Lena Headey). While this subplot by director Zack Snyder (Dawn of the Dead) and his fellow co-writers does break up the violence, most fans would probably dismiss it as filler if it didn't involve the sexy Headey. Other viewers, of course, will be turned off by the waves of spurting blood, flying body parts, and surging testosterone. (The six-pack abs are also relentless, and the movie has more and less nudity--more female, less male--than the graphic novel.) Still, as a representation of Miller's work and as an ancient-themed action flick with a modern edge, 300 delivers. --David Horiuchi
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