The 300 Spartans!

[Incongruous]

Look at this!

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B0...CLZZZZZZZ_.jpg

If this is that new upcoming movie god save us all!

Bugger it looks like this is the 1962 version. Oh well!

http://www.timeout.com/film/news/589.html

Aaah but heres the real deal!

[monkian]

Not really a remake.

Its a movie adaption of Frank 'Sin City' Miller's graphic novel 300 - which is based on the famous last stand of the Spartans and their king.

Should be good

[Ja'chyra]

Except we all know that there were more troops there than just 300 Spartans

[Sjakihata]

managed to defeat the huge Persian army at Thermopylae in 480 BC.

[Grey_Fox]

Yeah, sickening....

Stoopid Hollywood, the story is as good as it gets already, no need to change it...

[monkian]

Except we all know that there were more troops there than just 300 Spartans

Yeah, sickening....

Stoopid Hollywood, the story is as good as it gets already, no need to change it...

managed to defeat the huge Persian army at Thermopylae in 480 BC.

Indeed, but I believe the 300 are the focus of the story - cannot remember if the 2000 or so Greek allies had a central role in the book.

But the book doesnt even try to claim to be historically accurate.

I repeat Its a film of the graphic novel

[edyzmedieval]

Since when did the Spartans defeat the Persians?!

[monkian]

I believe that website got it wrong, they all die in the book

[Kralizec]

When will people stop expecting history films to be historicly accurate?

[monkian]

Especially as ITS NOT A FRIGGING HISTORY FILM ! ITS FRANK MILLER'S FILM OF HIS GRPAHIC NOVEL !!!

God-damn !

[Duke Malcolm]

But, isn't there already a fantastic film entitled The 300 Spartans, in which Leonidas and his band of merry men are defeated?

[Kagemusha]

Frank Miller is one of the best, if not the best writer of comic books at the moment. So i believe it will be good. Its a story, not a document.

[monkian]

But, isn't there already a fantastic film entitled The 300 Spartans, in which Leonidas and his band of merry men are defeated?

Yes, it would be the first link he posted

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B0...CLZZZZZZZ_.jpg

But I assure you they all die in Frank Miller's version too.

From Ign

http://filmforce.ign.com/articles/492/492542p1.html


The Stax Report: Script Review of 300
An exclusive first look at the big-screen adaptation of Frank Miller's graphic novel!
by Stax

February 17, 2004 - Stax here with my reaction to the screenplay for 300. This 121-page second draft dated May 22, 2003 was penned by Michael Gordon (the forthcoming G.I. Joe movie). It is an adaptation of the Frank Miller/Lynn Varley graphic novel miniseries of the same name published by Dark Horse Comics. 300 will be produced by Gianni Nunnari and Mark Canton. Frank Miller is expected to be involved in some capacity. 300 is a separate project than the similar Gates of Fire and The 300 Spartans remake.


300 is a fictionalized account of the Battle of Thermopylae in 480 B.C. where Leonidas, King of Sparta, and his 300 warriors confronted the overwhelming forces of Persian ruler Xerxes. Unlike Gates of Fire, Leonidas is the main protagonist of this retelling. He has long wanted to unite the Greeks under one banner and Xerxes' hostility has given his dream newfound urgency. Sparta will fall to the mighty Persian army unless they stand against Xerxes.

Leonidas determines that the cities themselves cannot be held so the only way to halt Xerxes' seemingly inevitable march towards victory is to make their stand at the Hot Gates (a.k.a. Gates of Fire), an imposing, narrow mountain pass that will give the Spartans a distinct advantage over Xerxes' sheer numbers. The Persians fall for Leonidas' ploy, underestimating the effectiveness of The Hot Gates and the Spartans' will to survive.

The outcome of the Battle of Thermopylae is known to history but why should I spoil it for you if you don't already know? Suffice to say that it's still remembered today along with similar "small force vs. huge army" battles like The Alamo and Rorke's Drift.

What made Gordon's draft of 300 a better account of the Battle of Thermopylae than David Self's adaptation of Gates of Fire was that it succeeded in developing its characters. Leonidas is not overlooked here as he was in Gates; he is Spartacus, William Wallace, and Maximus all rolled into one. A wise and noble leader of men who can also throw down with the best of him.

His beautiful and gutsy wife Gorgo risks her life not only for Sparta (and all of Greece) but also to help save her husband. Leonidas may fight on the battlefield but Gorgo must navigate the treacherous world of Hellenic politics. While she's only a supporting character, Gorgo is a brave and strong-willed heroine in a story otherwise devoid of women.

Leonidas' constant companion and captain of the guard is his younger brother Artemis. Their hatred for the Persians goes back to a tragic encounter in their youth (it's the opening sequence of this draft). The captain, as the script mostly refers to Artemis, is also the father of Stelios but he shows his son no preferential treatment over the other troops.

The character that borders on being the most outrageous and least developed is Xerxes. He is a true supervillain: a garish megalomaniac hellbent on ruling the world. His enormous golden throne is carried by dozens of slaves, he is tended to by a bevy of concubines, and he himself is literally larger-than-life. My only nitpicks with this draft usually involved him. For example, Xerxes has the script's worst line when he utters that old chestnut "resistance is futile." Other than little moments like that, Gordon's script was a smooth and fun ride.

Unlike Leonidas, Xerxes relies on his generals to fight his battles and if they fail ... well, let's just say there apparently wasn't much job security in the ancient Persian army. On the positive side, though, they were apparently a more diverse outfit – including Africans, Asians, and Indians – than the Greeks.




Dark Horse

The most interesting and memorable character was the deformed hunchback Ephialtes. A Spartan by birth, Ephialtes lives in the mountains because his parents feared raising him in the city. He knows this terrain better than anyone and wants to serve his king but the regular Spartan troops show him no respect. Ephialtes is this story's Gollum, a sympathetic wretch capable of both decency and deceit. Simply put, he steals the show.

The actual battle of Thermopylae spans most of the story, taking place in segments. My favorite one wasn't necessarily the final stand, which was powerful and poignant, but rather a sequence three-quarters of the way through where the Persians' seemingly invincible elite corps, The Immortals, make the unfortune mistake of raiding the Spartan camp. Things don't go quite as they had expected. 'Nuff said.

The scale of 300's battle scenes was beyond epic. They are akin to those depicted in the Lord of the Rings trilogy (and possibly Troy, judging by its latest trailer). The spectacle of thousands upon thousands of Persians storming this craggy mountain pass would have seemed unfilmable just a few years ago but in this post-Helm's Deep era anything is possible thanks to CGI.

Hopefully, these epic battles won't be scaled down too much due to budgetary concerns but there's no denying that this film will be hugely expensive. Fortunately, it will be worth every cent.

300 was a grand tale of heroism and valor during wartime. Its timely (and clearly allegorical) overtones gave it an additional resonance but even if one didn't pick up on them, 300 still packed an emotional punch. This glorious war epic deserves to be realized onscreen but the question remains whether it can now escape the gates of fire, er, development hell. – STAX

[Gawain of Orkeny]

But, isn't there already a fantastic film entitled The 300 Spartans, in which Leonidas and his band of merry men are defeated?

There can be victory in death. The Spartans lost the battle but because of them the Greeks won the war. The Spartans werent defeated but they were killed.

[monkian]

There can be victory in death. The Spartans lost the battle but because of them the Greeks won the war. The Spartans werent defeated but they were killed.

Indeedy, they were victorious in the long term - their objective was never to defeat Persia there and then

[Duke Malcolm]

There can be victory in death. The Spartans lost the battle but because of them the Greeks won the war. The Spartans werent defeated but they were killed.

I know that, but in the article it says that the 300 Spartans led by Leonidas defeated the mighty Persian Army at Thermopylae.

[Gawain of Orkeny]

I know that, but in the article it says that the 300 Spartans led by Leonidas defeated the mighty Persian Army at Thermopylae.

In hindsight they did indeed.

[The Stranger]

bleugh

[Slyspy]

There can be victory in death. The Spartans lost the battle but because of them the Greeks won the war. The Spartans werent defeated but they were killed.

Erm in fairness the Spartans were defeated. They were all killed and the pass was then open for the Persian horde. However as you say, and this is why the battle is so famous, their sacrifice was the foundation of eventual Greek victory. Thermopylae was a defeat, but it was also a success. The Spartans etc did not fail. Kind of the opposite to a Phyrric victory.

The old film about it is, by the way, utter pants.

[QwertyMIDX]

The people who actually won the Persian War for the Greeks were the Athenian sailors at Salamis, never seen a movie about them though.

[Kanamori]

One of histories greatest sea battles.

[Teleklos Archelaou]

I love seeing new movies come out that are set in the ancient world, but I could do without another 'heroic sacrifice' against the forces-of-evil movie. Especially one that has gotten most of its praise from its gritty and bloody realism, and expects to be a stylish slaughterfest.

[Alexanderofmacedon]

Would they have that at a local Hollywood/Blockbuster video? I need to watch that...


You guys should relive thermopolae(sp?). put 3 units of 121 spartans all gold def. atk and exp. and then put like 4 full stacks of Parthians. It's cool...

[solypsist]

sounds like a cool flick

[Leet Eriksson]

Will the movie have the same style of sin city?

I can't wait, sounds awesome!

[Alexanderofmacedon]

The 300 Spartans (or so) were to hold off the Persians to give time to the Greek allies to go deeper into Greece to regroup (I think it was to regroup). The Spartans were to hold a pass; Thermopylae. The Persians threw tons of men that were all defeated by the Spartans. The Persians thought there was no other way through the mountains other than that pass so they kept hitting it and failing.

A Greek peasant trying to gain favor with he Persians told the Persian King an other pass. The Persians went through it and incircled the Spartans. The Persian king did not let them die fighting, but instead ordered his archers to rain hell on the remaining Spartans.








I think...

[jimmy]

and the fate of leonidas his body was mutilated after his death on account of how many persian soldiers lost there lives.a modern day equivelant would be the battle for the grain elevator at stalingrad.[were approx fifty russian soldiers defied three german divisons].

[Grey_Fox]

Or at a pass in North Africa where 300 German troops held off 15,000 Americans which was celebrated in Germany as another Thermopylae, albeit they succeeded where the Greek army of 8000 failed.

[monkian]

Will the movie have the same style of sin city?

I can't wait, sounds awesome!

The graphic novel is in a similar style- but in colour with plenty of red for blood

[monkian]

Or at a pass in North Africa where 300 German troops held off 15,000 Americans which was celebrated in Germany as another Thermopylae, albeit they succeeded where the Greek army of 8000 failed.

I don't think the Spartans had guns though