300

[sinjin]

I have been anxiously awaiting this one opening today here in SoCal:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhi5x7V3WXE

[joshuatree]

Re: 300

I have been anxiously awaiting this one opening today here in SoCal:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhi5x7V3WXE

Just hoping not all the best parts of the film is already covered by the trailer.

[shaveice]

Re: 300

the one review i read (new york times) totally slammed the movie but i hope it's not as bad as he/she thinks.

watched a program on the history channel last night about the real events and it was fascinating. catch it if you can. it was excellent.

[buzz1941]

Re: 300

Saw it last night at midnight showing. Regal has digital projection!

Amazing film, but definitely an acquired taste.

[sinjin]

Re: 300

Saw it last night at midnight showing. Regal has digital projection!

Amazing film, but definitely an acquired taste.

Did you like Sin City?

[pzarquon]

Re: 300

I love how the reviews of "300" are all over the map.

Like "Sin City," I'd see it just to enjoy the experimental filmmaking than I would for any semblance of plot.

[NoCal Boy]

Re: 300

I just got back from sneaking out of work early and catching a matinee. I thought it was great. Think of it as an early summer popcorn movie. Effects were well done - I liked Sin City but the black and white artificial lighting got a bit old. The violence here is in all shades of blood red. No, not a ton of plot, but lots of action! Then again, I'm a sucker for "fighting teams": Justice League/Teen Titans/Legion of Super Heroes comics; Seven Samurai; heck, even the Science Patrol from Ultraman!

And from another thread: my Netflix queue just went up one with the addition of the 1962 movie "The 300 Spartans". I bet it's the same movie I can only remember one image of from childhood: a small band of soldiers banding together and creating one massive shield to protect them all from a hail of arrows. There's a similar scene in 300 that kicked in a deju vu moment for me.

[shaveice]

Re: 300

i'll definitely go to watch it, esp after seeing that program on the history channel. it was just a chance viewing but the historical background definitely peaked my interest and i believe will make me appreciate the movie even more.

btw, the real events come across like fiction. just an amazing series of events. don't wanna spoil it for anyone but there's a whole story that deals with the battle on the sea (persian navy vs. "greek" navy) that i suspect will hardy be mentioned in the movie but it was absolutely critical to the land battle.

it's not exhaustive by any means but if anyone doesn't mind some historical background before (or after) watching the movie, you can read a bit about it here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/300_Spartans

[buzz1941]

Re: 300

Yeah, I liked "Sin City" too, but then I think Rodriguez is a genius. I even like the Spy Kids movies.

The Frank Miller graphic novel "300" is actually an adaption of "The 300 Spartans," and there are lines of dialogue that are identical. I just watched the original movie last week. I picked it up for $4 when Tower was going out of business.

BTW, the radio promo preview of "300" earlier this week turned away a couple of hundred people, all of whom were annoyed with the radio station for giving away twice as many tickets as there were seats.

[Marco]

Re: 300

i'll definitely go to watch it, esp after seeing that program on the history channel. it was just a chance viewing but the historical background definitely peaked my interest and i believe will make me appreciate the movie even more.

Any chance the History Channel will show a repeat? I'd love to see it.

I just saw "300", and thought it was pretty good: lots of testosterone, adrenaline, blood, etc. It would probably be my favorite movie of all time if it had come out 8-9 years ago when I was just hitting puberty. Now that I'm all old and mature *cough*, it was just entertaining.

Though, I died a little inside at the line "Freedom isn't free!" *snickers*

[nachodaddy]

Re: 300

The movie was historically inaccurate but still fun. Rodriquez rocks.

Read the book "Gates of Fire" by Steven Pressfield if you want to know how life was back then.

[Pua'i Mana'o]

Re: 300

The movie was historically inaccurate but still fun. Rodriquez rocks.

Read the book "Gates of Fire" by Steven Pressfield if you want to know how life was back then.

I *loved* Gates of Fire! I didn't know anyone else (besides me) who has read it. The writing level is quite high and it is narrarated from voice of one of the slaves who was among the 300 men.

It is one of the few paperbacks I've kept.

[shaveice]

Re: 300

I *loved* Gates of Fire! I didn't know anyone else (besides me) who has read it. The writing level is quite high and it is narrarated from voice of one of the slaves who was among the 300 men.

one of the "slaves"? if the documentary on the history channel is to be believed, i'm not sure any of the 300 would be considered a slave. yes, the spartans definitely had slaves (in fact, a right of passage for young spartan men training for military service was the killing of a slave without being caught!). other examples of spartan life: a) if a baby were deemed unworthy (i.e., weak), that baby would be left outdoors to die! b) the whole purpose of spartan boys/men was to serve sparta and that meant military service. c) young boys were taught to fight from a very early age. d) an example of the kind of stuff they used to experience as young boys: hugging a column while being whipped by an adult male; the goal was to be the last boy standing; parents would watch and cheer for their sons not to give up! e) it wasn't uncommon for boys to kill one another while training/fighting. etc, etc.

amazing stuff. a little paragraph from yet another page at wikipedia: "Sparta was, above all, a militarist state, and emphasis on military fitness began virtually at birth. Shortly after birth, the mother of the child bathed it in wine to see whether the child was strong. If the child survived it was brought before the elders of the tribe by the child's father. The elders then decided whether it was to be reared or not. If found defective or weak, the baby was left on the wild slopes of Mt Taygetos. In this way the Spartans attempted the maintenance of high physical standards in their population. From the earliest days of the Spartan citizen, the claim on his life by the state was absolute and strictly enforced...." absolutely mindblowing, which is why i said the real history behind the story of Battle of Thermopylae is as incredible as any fiction. i don't know when the history channel will air that show again but i think it's very likely.

http://www.cablemediasales.com/pages...t&id=hist_3985

[shaveice]

history channel: youtube!

it's not the program that was released in march 2007 (history channel), but it is from the history channel...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6BDHGa4CEY

and the making of the movie...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OdsO...elated&search=

[reineke]

Re: 300

I am really, really hoping to love this one. I liked Sin City very much despite everyone's objections. And I didn't like Spy kids I've read a few mixed reviews. It's fun to read vehement discussions about 300's historical accuracy. One professional reviewer placed Sparta on the shores of the Adriatic. With that in mind I suppose the movie's sufficiently accurate.