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Frank Miller's 300

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wadc45;748785; said:
I know this film is basically a work of fiction, but I will say that I love period/epic films of this nature...films like Gladiator, Braveheart, Troy, Alexander (wasn't as good), Hero, Spartacus, The Promise, etc.

That second trailer is the one I saw during the previews this weekend...I watched both of them again on 300's website, but thanks for posting them here, bigballin.
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Braveheart- awesome movie. One of those movies that if I am flipping through the channels and catch, I know I am stuck there for the next 3 hours.

Hero- Also awesome. similar light.

Troy- Bad bad movie. I regret that decision.

Spartacus- a classic. love that flick.
 
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BayBuck;748795; said:
Great list, and I would include "Lawrence of Arabia" in that group as well.
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Good call...there are certainly some other great ones, like Lawrence of Arabia, The Last Emperor, Kundun, The Messenger (another one I like, which probably puts me in the minority), Seven Swords and The Seventh Seal. Kingdom of Heaven is one that I think belongs with Alexander as having not been very good.

Braveheart and Gladiator are still in a class by themselves.

Still haven't seen Apocalypto yet...which would probably factor into this discussion.
 
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wadc45;748800; said:
Good call...there are certainly some other great ones, like Lawrence of Arabia, The Last Emperor, Kundun, The Messenger (another one I like, which probably puts me in the minority), Seven Swords and The Seventh Seal. Kingdom of Heaven is one that I think belongs with Alexander as having not been very good.

Braveheart and Gladiator are still in a class by themselves.

Still haven't seen Apocalypto yet...which would probably factor into this discussion.
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Apocalypto really isn't on that same scale. Braveheart, Troy, etc... about big armies doing big battles. Apocalypto is about a man trying to save his family.

But it is a great movie.

Maybe more recent times, but Last of the Mohicans is good for that list.
 
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Buckeye Buh Nim;748803; said:
Apocalypto really isn't on that same scale. Braveheart, Troy, etc... about big armies doing big battles. Apocalypto is about a man trying to save his family.

But it is a great movie.

Maybe more recent times, but Last of the Mohicans is good for that list.
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That gets in to a whole other category, but I am also a big fan of war movies like that one...Glory was one of my favorite movies as a teenager. Last of the Mohicans is another one I can't pass up when it is on TV.
 
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wadc45;748809; said:
That gets in to a whole other category, but I am also a big fan of war movies like that one...Glory was one of my favorite movies as a teenager. Last of the Mohicans is another one I can't pass up when it is on TV.
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I have a friend who was in Glory. He had just graduated from Law School when they had the casting call. He figured what the hey.

Real good guy. Last name is Peppers, but they misspelled it on his birth certificate omitting the "s".

Now that he is a JD. He is technically Dr. Pepper.
 
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While a lot of "artistic license" has been used in making the movie, there are
some fascinating historical truths in it.

480bc was a very long time ago!

The story of the Persians "darkening the sky with arrows" has been proven
by archaeologists, who have found thousands of Persian arrow heads at the hill of the last stand.

There were more than 300 Greeks at Thermopylae.
Latest findings say:
300 Spartans
1000 Thespians
And another 3000 assorted forces.
For a total Greek force of about 4000-5000.

The Persian force was estimated in original writings as over 2 million.
That is an exaggeration to make better story by the Greeks.
Recent research says it was closer to 250,000-400,000.
Still a very large force for that time!

The "style" of fighting is well represented in the trailers.
Greek shield wall "phalanx".
With only the first 2 rows actually fighting, and those behind in the "phalanx" pushing forward in a "scrum" like advance to break the attackers lines.

Long Spears (9ft long) were the primary weapon.
And a over hand, thrusting motion was used.
The spears had iron heads and a bronze pointed tip at the back.
As you can guess there were many incidents of "friendly" injuries in the heat of battle from the thrusting motion.
Many were face wounds!

The Spartans, themselves, were very conservative and rarely went to war!
They preferred the "Big Stick" win by intimidation approach.
Why have to fight and possibly lose?
This partially explains,
"Why only 300?"
And the Spartans were involved in a very important religious festival at the time.

The movie seems to show bare chests.
That is inaccurate.
As most Greeks wore a breastplate, helmet, arm bands and lower leg guards, and the hoplite shield.
Helmets had no liners so long hair was the rule of the day.
Battles were not meant to be fought longer than a couple hours at most as the heavy armor and heat would quickly exhaust any army.

Only the Spartans hand unit armor.
All other Greeks carried their personal, bought armor with much variation in styles.

The primary advantage the Spartans had was in their standard of training.
Which was extreme.
 
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The Hoplite Experience


Classical Greek warfare was the purest form of battle. The antithesis of modern day notions that favor stealth capability or covert guerilla tactics, Greek warfare displayed the honesty of two armies facing each other head on in broad daylight. The phalanx formation called for each man to trust his neighboring infantryman, often times a friend or relative. With a shield in his left hand and a spear in his right, each man depended on his fellow hoplite's shield for full body coverage. Battles were won and lost depending on the phalanx's ability to hold its formation. Lined shoulder to shoulder with approximately sixty-five pounds of armor, limited vision and hearing, a hoplite's crucial duties required little tactical skill, only to push forward and keep the line together. Outstanding valor rose from a man's ability to keep his nerve amidst such confusion and brutality. In a time when the outcome of battles rested on fellow soldiers? trust for one another, an individual hoplite's reputation for strength and courage was his greatest asset in keeping his adjacent hoplites bound in a line. The nature of battle for the individual hoplite necessitated trust in one's fellow infantryman for personal and group survival, a tradition that resonates through the history of war, yet exemplified to its finest on the battlefield of Greek antiquity.



http://www.holycross.edu/departments/classics/dawhite/
 
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