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by R.J. Carter Published: July 30, 2007
Gerard Butler plays Leonidas, King of the city-state of ancient Sparta. When he is approached by a messenger from the Persian ruler, Xerxes (played by Rodrigo Santoro), and told to submit or face annihilation, Leonidas does the unthinkable and puts the messengers to death. This incenses Xerxes to invade with literally millions of troops, and Leonidas doesn't have the backing of the council to send the Spartan army to war. So he goes to the invasion point with 300 Spartans loyal to him and arrange the battlefield so that the Persian forces must pass through a narrow gap, the Hot Gates. Here, the 300 Spartans, joined by a contingent of Greek soldiers, mount a defense against impossible odds.
"300" does not set out for historical accuracy. Xerxes towers impossibly over Leonidas, and his voice has an unnatural reverb to it, to underscore his claims to godhood. The creatures in his army -- his Immortals -- are hideously malformed, accompanied by giants and other creatures that simply didn't exist. The hunchback Spartan Ephialtes (Andrew Tiernan) is malformed to the point of unbelievability -- grotesquely shocking -- as are many of the consorts in Xerxes' harem. But what "300" lacks in veracity, it makes up for in sheer cinematic ballsiness. The muted color palletes with splotches of brightness are akin to what was done with Miller's "Sin City" (although not nearly as drab as that.) The ballet of violence is overwhelming in scope, and thrilling to see. The only detraction is that, in places, it appears too computerized. An early scene of a young Leonidas facing down a starving wolf appears to be more videogame than movie scene. This two disc set is full of extras, including an easter egg on disc one. If you go to the Special Features menu on this disc, you will find the option to turn on the feature audio commentary with Zack Snyder, writer Kurt Johnstad, and director of photography Larry Fong. Particularly nice is that the commentary track has it's own optional subtitling, something you don't see on a lot of DVDs. The easter egg is on this menu, to be found if you click over the "Special Features" menu title. Doing so will open up a nearly seven minute interview segment with Snyder, Frank Miller, Gianni Nunnari, Mark Canton, and Deborah Snyder, as Zack Snyder delineates the difficulties faced in getting a studio to finance the film. Snyder utilized some basic animation, then maquettes, and finally a financed single fight scene -- all of which are shown in this featurette. On the second disc, the viewer will find a number of "300" related documentaries. In "The 300 - Fact or Fiction," historians Dr. Victor Davis Hanson and Bettany Hughes educate the masses on Herodotus' original telling vs. Frank Miller's interpretation, pointing out the many similarities as well as a few differences. Snyder and Miller are also interviewed, and the twenty-five minute segment could easily be a History Channel special as it delves into the politics of city-states, the empowered role of women in Sparta, and the powerful fighting techniques of the Spartan phalanx. Hanson, Hughes, Snyder and Miller return in the four and a half minute featurette, "Who Were the Spartans: The Warriors of '300'," where they are joined by Rodrigo Santoro, Gerard Butler and David Wenham, as they talk up their characters. Stepping away from the film itself, the fourteen minute "Frank Miller Tapes" brings in coming book honchos Paul Levitz, Neal Adams, and Bob Schreck, for a few "unfiltered conversations" about graphic novels, comic books, superheroes, and the work of Frank Miller. If you really want to see how "300" was made, you'll have several opportunities, starting with the six minute "Making of '300'" in which the cast and crew give their commentary. This is followed by the three and a half minute "Making of '300' in Images" which is techno music over some sped-up camera footage of set building. And then there are over thirty-eight minutes of "Webisodes", which are all the "making of" segments that were played over the Internet. Finally, there are three deleted scenes, introduced by Snyder, which fill in a few gaps in the story, following the extended tale of Ephialtes and how he came to switch sides. Audio in English 5.1, Spanish 5.1, and French 5.1, with optional subtitles in all three languages. Previews on this release include "Trick 'r Treat", "The Brave One", 300 video game, the "300" Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, a fully-animated trailer for "Superman/Doomsday", and "Blade Runner": The 25th Anniversary (found on disc two.) |
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