# Who is going to see 300?



## Carol (Mar 9, 2007)

Anyone planning on seeing it?  Or, have you seen it already?

No spoilers, please


----------



## MBuzzy (Mar 9, 2007)

I plan to see it!  I'm curious to see how well they do combining the visual effects with the actual history.

Every time a new historical epic comes out, I'm anxious to know if they were accurate or not.


----------



## samurai69 (Mar 10, 2007)

i plan on seeing it

3 people i know have and they say it rocks

Its not accurate, and is based on the comic remember ........... ;-)


.


----------



## terryl965 (Mar 10, 2007)

Me it is all about the fight scenes


----------



## tellner (Mar 10, 2007)

I'm not sure. Thermopylae is a great story. Frank Miller can be a good writer. It's still not clear if this is going to be a good telling or just an opportunity for CGI effects. If it is, nah.


----------



## michaeledward (Mar 10, 2007)

It is going to be presented on an IMAX theater in Reading Mass - at Jordan's furniture, - so that is probably where I will see it.

Sin City was a pretty gruesome film. This looks like it will be even more so.

Despite that, it is on the list.


----------



## Brian R. VanCise (Mar 10, 2007)

You know I want to see it for the special effects and the 
story of the 300 Spartans is a great one.  So I am hoping 
to catch it in the next week or so.


----------



## Makalakumu (Mar 10, 2007)

The movie isn't historically accurate and it is bloody.  The fight scenes are very dramatic and you do get a sense of the story through them.  However, the sheer amount of blatent propaganda crammed into every corner of this movie (hell, every symbol!) gets really old.  

After a while it seemed like one of those Marine or Army recruitment commercials (you know, the fantasy ones) except that this one went on for two hours.

Seven dollars well spent?  

:idunno:


----------



## MBuzzy (Mar 10, 2007)

Well, I think that I will be able to enjoy it more knowing that it is complete fantasy.  The ones that are close to being historically accurate have me questioning and scrutinizing it.  If it is nowhere close....much easier to enjoy.

I definately will like the visuals and blood though!


----------



## Empty Hands (Mar 10, 2007)

THIS! IS! SPARTA!

Now, how could I resist that? 

Also, upnorthkyosa, do you mean propaganda in the sense of pro-war, pro-martial values?  If that is the case, then I would see that "propaganda" as entirely fitting given the real historical values of the Spartan people.  Not every movie and every ancient value system should be read by modern sensibilities and perceived as a modern commentary IMO.


----------



## CoryKS (Mar 10, 2007)

I'm going to see it, though I was disappointed to see that they turned it into a fantasy.  I wasn't aware of the Frank Miller graphic novel, and was hoping for something more like Gates of Fire.


----------



## arnisador (Mar 10, 2007)

We'll be going, despite the so-so reviews.


----------



## grydth (Mar 10, 2007)

Carol Kaur said:


> Anyone planning on seeing it?  Or, have you seen it already?
> 
> No spoilers, please



Plan on seeing 300?   Carol, I'll be lucky if I make it to 55!


----------



## Kreth (Mar 10, 2007)

After Braveheart, Last Samurai, Kingdom of Heaven, Troy, Flyboys, Pearl Harbor, et al, I no longer worry if Hollywood movies will be historically accurate. I just watch for entertainment value.


----------



## tellner (Mar 10, 2007)

Troy was actually truer, in a number of ways, than most of the historical dramas coming out of Tinseltown. Unless people don't mind the thread getting mildly hijacked I'll keep quiet about them here.


----------



## Blotan Hunka (Mar 10, 2007)

Empty Hands said:


> THIS! IS! SPARTA!
> 
> Now, how could I resist that?
> 
> Also, upnorthkyosa, do you mean propaganda in the sense of pro-war, pro-martial values? If that is the case, then I would see that "propaganda" as entirely fitting given the real historical values of the Spartan people. Not every movie and every ancient value system should be read by modern sensibilities and perceived as a modern commentary IMO.


 
Im waiting for the "its a symbolic representation of evil "American" values" any moment now. Wait for it.


----------



## CoryKS (Mar 10, 2007)

Blotan Hunka said:


> Im waiting for the "its a symbolic representation of evil "American" values" any moment now. Wait for it.


 
Your wait is over.  Our predictable friends would never let us down, would they?


----------



## Sukerkin (Mar 10, 2007)

I have to say that *Kreth*'s point is the one that most mirrors my own position.

As for propoganda?  I can't speak for a movie I've not seen yet but, in general terms, in times when governments needed it to, then cinema has been a most pliable string to the opinion-shaping-bow.


----------



## hong kong fooey (Mar 11, 2007)

I saw it yeaterday. it was actully pretty good. very bloody but kool it kept you on the edge of your seat


----------



## matt.m (Mar 11, 2007)

I plan to see it when I go down for our convention weekend in Cape.  I have talked with others.  They say it rocks.  Sorry, If I want absolute history I would read a book.  If I want history fiction I will go see Miller's work.

He always goes a bit over the top: 70's - 80's Daredevil, Elektra, Ronin, Batman Year 1, The Dark Knight Returns, Sin City, Hard Boiled, Robocop II.


----------



## Tez3 (Mar 11, 2007)

http://www.gymjones.com/knowledge.php?id=35

Interesting article on the training of the exras for 300.


----------



## tradrockrat (Mar 11, 2007)

loved it loved it loved it!

THe CGI was kick ***, but the plot was pure comic book - predictable in the extreme.

However, as the battle of Thermopylae is the very story that hooked me on History (followed closely by the first crusade) I went with the hope of good fights and a decent representation of societal beliefs and ideals of the time.  I was not disappointed.

They never could have fit all that went on in the three days of battle in one movie and they left out the entire naval engagement, but much of the timeline was very near the historical account (highly embelished of course).  They left out the 7000 other Greeks that were there for the first two days and skiped over the whole 700 Thespians that also stayed and died on that last day, but it didn't matter.  It was a character driven movie and it worked for me.


----------



## Makalakumu (Mar 11, 2007)

Empty Hands said:


> Also, upnorthkyosa, do you mean propaganda in the sense of pro-war, pro-martial values? If that is the case, then I would see that "propaganda" as entirely fitting given the real historical values of the Spartan people. Not every movie and every ancient value system should be read by modern sensibilities and perceived as a modern commentary IMO.


 
By "propaganda" I mean that the "Greeks" were awefully American.  Spartan values were almost completely interchanged with the American mythos.

Other then that, it was entertaining...


----------



## Makalakumu (Mar 11, 2007)

Blotan Hunka said:


> Im waiting for the "its a symbolic representation of evil "American" values" any moment now. Wait for it.


 
I love how the "traitors" and Spartan "weaklings" in this movie sound so much like Ted Kennedy...


----------



## Tames D (Mar 11, 2007)

I hear it took in $70 million this weekend. Biggest opening for a movie ever in March.


----------



## tradrockrat (Mar 12, 2007)

upnorthkyosa said:


> By "propaganda" I mean that the "Greeks" were awefully American.  Spartan values were almost completely interchanged with the American mythos.



This has me curious.  Would you care to tell me the specific values you are refering to?

Thanks.


----------



## Makalakumu (Mar 12, 2007)

I think the most glaring example is how the whole "freedom isn't free" phrase cropped up verbatim as I wrote it, or slightly altered, again and again.  Spartans were alot of things, but they were NOT "free" in any sense that we would classify them.  

I wish I had a script in front of me, because I would pull out alot more along those lines, but, alas, I've only seen the movie once.  The bottom line is that IMHO, I see this movie as making some clear allusions to current politics with stuff like that.


----------



## Kreth (Mar 12, 2007)

upnorthkyosa said:


> I love how the "traitors" and Spartan "weaklings" in this movie sound so much like Ted Kennedy...


So was there a scene with a Spartan traitor driving his chariot off a bridge and killing an innocent woman? :idunno:


----------



## CoryKS (Mar 12, 2007)

Kreth said:


> So was there a scene with a Spartan traitor driving his chariot off a bridge and killing an innocent woman? :idunno:


 
Hey, that's all water under the bridge.


----------



## rutherford (Mar 12, 2007)

Tez3 said:


> http://www.gymjones.com/knowledge.php?id=35
> 
> Interesting article on the training of the exras for 300.




Ahhh, looks like a lot of Pedro Sauer's people train at that Gym.  An impressive sounding facility.  I really enjoyed their site.

Thank you.


----------



## Makalakumu (Mar 12, 2007)

Kreth said:


> So was there a scene with a Spartan traitor driving his chariot off a bridge and killing an innocent woman? :idunno:


 
Heh.  No, but that would have been really funny.


----------



## tradrockrat (Mar 12, 2007)

upnorthkyosa said:


> I think the most glaring example is how the whole "freedom isn't free" phrase cropped up verbatim as I wrote it, or slightly altered, again and again.  Spartans were alot of things, but they were NOT "free" in any sense that we would classify them.
> 
> I wish I had a script in front of me, because I would pull out alot more along those lines, but, alas, I've only seen the movie once.  The bottom line is that IMHO, I see this movie as making some clear allusions to current politics with stuff like that.



Well I have to agre with you there - the Spartans weren't any more enlightened than any other Greek city-state of the day.  Slavery was common within Sparta and in real life Leonidas didn't kill a wolf to become a man, he murdered a slave - as did most boys of Sparta if they wished to become a man.  It was expected of them to kill a human and not get caught in the act.  Part of Spartan warfare was stealth and sneaking about, not just good sheild walls (thought they were excellent at that as well).

The funny thing though is that I found / saw clear allusions to our present situation reflected in the Persians... a rather less than enthusiastic veiw on the American regime, so to speak.


----------



## Makalakumu (Mar 13, 2007)

tradrockrat said:


> The funny thing though is that I found / saw clear allusions to our present situation reflected in the Persians... a rather less than enthusiastic veiw on the American regime, so to speak.


 
Heh.  That is a pretty interesting POV.  I can see how you could see that.

On the other hand, I think the whole "clash of civilizations" theme, along with all of its archtypes, needs to have a really big and bad enemy.  Thus if you think about the ubiquitous and ephermal "terrorist" in our culture you can also see parellels to the cultures that "create" them.

Enter the Persians.  Enter the American Mythos.  Enter the propaganda.

It would be interesting to find out if the Pentagon provided some funding for this movie.  They have done so in the past, especially for movies that present the military in a positive light or for movies that will impact other military goals.


----------



## CoryKS (Mar 13, 2007)

upnorthkyosa said:


> It would be interesting to find out if the Pentagon provided some funding for this movie. They have done so in the past, especially for movies that present the military in a positive light or for movies that will impact other military goals.


 
That, or someone predicted - rightfully - that this thing would make an assload of money for the studio.  But your theory sounds much more plausible.  :shrug:


----------



## shesulsa (Mar 13, 2007)

Sex and violence? I'm SO there.


----------



## Makalakumu (Mar 13, 2007)

CoryKS said:


> That, or someone predicted - rightfully - that this thing would make an assload of money for the studio. But your theory sounds much more plausible. :shrug:


 
I don't have any theory.  I've just pointed out a few things.  Are you denying that our government dabbles in propaganda now and then?

Oh, and maybe both could occur simultaineously...wait is that a theory?


----------



## Blotan Hunka (Mar 13, 2007)

Told yall so.


----------



## CoryKS (Mar 13, 2007)

Kewl - VDH liked it.


----------



## Blotan Hunka (Mar 13, 2007)

upnorthkyosa said:


> I don't have any theory. I've just pointed out a few things. Are you denying that our government dabbles in propaganda now and then?
> 
> Oh, and maybe both could occur simultaineously...wait is that a theory?


----------



## MetalStorm (Mar 13, 2007)

Best movie I have seen in quite some time now, those battles were great, cant wait to see it again.


----------



## CoryKS (Mar 13, 2007)

Ima have to get one of those for my brother-in-law, BH!  :rofl:


----------



## Makalakumu (Mar 13, 2007)

Blotan Hunka said:


>


 
Where did you find that?  That is really funny...

And, just go see the movie and try not to overthink it...


----------



## Bob Hubbard (Mar 14, 2007)

Saw it, rolled eyes at a few parts, overall liked it and will add to DVD collection when available.

As an aside, I just ordered "300 Spartans" which the comic which this film was based off of.


----------



## arnisador (Mar 14, 2007)

Good movie. I loved the style it was filmed in. I would've liked seeing more of the diplomacy in Sparta or planning by Xerxes so as to break up the action at the gates a bit.


----------



## Bob Hubbard (Mar 14, 2007)

From what I've gathered, the fight style used by the Spartans in the film was close to what is historically thought they did, though 'hollywooded' a bit. Supposedly, it's about 80-90% accurate historically overall.

btw: battle info:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Thermopylae


----------



## green meanie (Mar 14, 2007)

Woo hoo! I am so there! Can't wait to see it.


----------



## tradrockrat (Mar 14, 2007)

Bob Hubbard said:


> From what I've gathered, the fight style used by the Spartans in the film was close to what is historically thought they did, though 'hollywooded' a bit. Supposedly, it's about 80-90% accurate historically overall.
> 
> btw: battle info:
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Thermopylae




Tell ya what bothered me just a bit - no armor?  Just leather speedos on professional soldiers. I don't think so.

But yes, the Romans didn't invent the phalanx - just perfected an idea taken from ancient Greece.  The movie didn't really show it, but the Spartans actually used the front two lines to fight simultaneously.  The front row held their shields up and thrusted from under them.  The second row thrust from over top of the front rows shields.  It was a meat grinder.

As for the "propaganda"  It wasn't until I got online here that I even thought about it.  It's a comic book fer christs sake.


----------



## Carol (Mar 14, 2007)

tradrockrat said:


> Tell ya what bothered me just a bit - no armor?  Just leather speedos on professional soldiers. I don't think so.
> 
> But yes, the Romans didn't invent the phalanx - just perfected an idea taken from ancient Greece.  The movie didn't really show it, but the Spartans actually used the front two lines to fight simultaneously.  The front row held their shields up and thrusted from under them.  The second row thrust from over top of the front rows shields.  It was a meat grinder.
> 
> As for the "propaganda"  It wasn't until I got online here that I even thought about it.  It's a comic book fer christs sake.



Go back to that part about Leather Speedos....?


----------



## Steel Tiger (Mar 14, 2007)

tradrockrat said:


> Tell ya what bothered me just a bit - no armor? Just leather speedos on professional soldiers. I don't think so.
> 
> But yes, the Romans didn't invent the phalanx - just perfected an idea taken from ancient Greece. The movie didn't really show it, but the Spartans actually used the front two lines to fight simultaneously. The front row held their shields up and thrusted from under them. The second row thrust from over top of the front rows shields. It was a meat grinder.
> 
> As for the "propaganda" It wasn't until I got online here that I even thought about it. It's a comic book fer christs sake.


 
Actually, because of the size of the hoplon (shield) the Greeks carried, it was not uncommon for soldiers to where only a helmet and greaves.  Ancient Greece, afterall, was a 'naked' culture and armour was expensive so its not really that surprising to see minimal clothing.  As for the leather speedos, its actually more likely that they would have been naked or wearing a light garment called a kiton.


----------



## Tames D (Mar 15, 2007)

Carol Kaur said:


> Go back to that part about Leather Speedos....?


LOL.


----------



## tradrockrat (Mar 15, 2007)

Steel Tiger said:


> Actually, because of the size of the hoplon (shield) the Greeks carried, it was not uncommon for soldiers to where only a helmet and greaves.  Ancient Greece, afterall, was a 'naked' culture and armour was expensive so its not really that surprising to see minimal clothing.  As for the leather speedos, its actually more likely that they would have been naked or wearing a light garment called a kiton.



Spartans wore a sophisticated breast plate that was a laminate of linen, leather and metal that was actually able to prevent Persian (and other) arrows from piercing it.  They were professional soldiers and all had access to the armor.  The only real difference was that the Leaders wore their horsehair plumes running from left to right rather than front to back.  And it was red (nothing like standing out to your enemies...).  Greece was indeed a naked society, but spartans weren't ordinary Greeks.  hoplights fought for a living.  Soldiers wear armor.

carol - six pack abs and leather speedos for two larger than life hours on the big screen - have fun... lol


----------



## Bob Hubbard (Mar 15, 2007)

I saw something about that armor. The Historychannel aired something recently, and the demonstration was impressive.


----------



## Steel Tiger (Mar 15, 2007)

tradrockrat said:


> Spartans wore a sophisticated breast plate that was a laminate of linen, leather and metal that was actually able to prevent Persian (and other) arrows from piercing it. They were professional soldiers and all had access to the armor. The only real difference was that the Leaders wore their horsehair plumes running from left to right rather than front to back. And it was red (nothing like standing out to your enemies...). Greece was indeed a naked society, but spartans weren't ordinary Greeks. hoplights fought for a living. Soldiers wear armor.
> 
> carol - six pack abs and leather speedos for two larger than life hours on the big screen - have fun... lol


 
The laminated construct you refer to, known as a composite cuirass, was available throughout Greece and it is true at the time of the Persian wars a hoplite wore armour.  The practice slowly died out so that by the Pelopponesian War even the Spartans were not wearing armour.  So it seems reasonable, if not completely accurate for the Spartans to not be wearing armour.  Greece is a hot place, armour of any kind is hot.  Of course by the time of Philip and Alexander armour had come back into fashion.


----------



## theletch1 (Mar 17, 2007)

History channel will be doing something along the lines of the history vs hollywood show tonight at 8 pm est about the "300".  I'll be watching that right after the 4 hour marathon ufc stuff on spike...hey, it's saturday, it's cold outside and I need a break.  I'm gonna be a couch potato for the day.


----------



## Carol (Mar 18, 2007)

theletch1 said:


> History channel will be doing something along the lines of the history vs hollywood show tonight at 8 pm est about the "300". I'll be watching that right after the 4 hour marathon ufc stuff on spike...hey, it's saturday, it's cold outside and I need a break. I'm gonna be a couch potato for the day.



The History Channel piece was excellent.  They provided a very vivid recap of the events and how important they were in the wake of history.  

Caught that and then went to see the midnight showing of 300 in iMax.  It was one helluva good evening.


----------



## Kreth (Mar 18, 2007)

I saw 300 last night. It was about what I expected after Sin City. Great action scenes.


----------

