300
In 1998, Dark Horse comics published an interpretation of history, as visualised, written and illustrated by Frank Miller, with colour from his then wife Lynn Varley. Miller had already made a name for himself for his Sin City stories, stark noirish tales which won acclaim and themselves are being turned into a film series by Robert Rodriguez after the success of the first film in 2005. For 300, he was inspired by an old 1962 sword and sandals epic, The 300 Spartans. The original comic ran for 5 parts, and it instantly won acclaim. In 2005, following the success of Sin City, Warner Bros. picked up 300, bringing in director Zack Snyder, a music video and commercial director with one film credit to his name, a remake of George A. Romero's Dawn of the Dead (2004), which did well and got good reviews, he assembled a mostly British cast. What Sin City did for film-noir, this would do for the historical epic. I'm pleased to say that 300 succeeds, breathing new life into an already dormant looking genre!! Set in Spartain 480 BC, it shows Spartan King Leonidas (Gerard Butler) leading 300 Spartans to defend the pass known as Thermopylae (or 'Hot Gates'), against the Persian army, led by King Xerxes, (Rodrigo Santoro) although having been told they should not go to war. Leonidas believes they are only defending their land. Meanwhile, back in Sparta, Queen Gorgo, (Lena Headey), tries to convince the council to send reinforcements to Leonidas. Leonidas' 300 men are out-numbered by 100,000 Persian troops, but the Spartans are strong, brave and tenacious, and won't stop easily. The historical epic saw a brief revival with Gladiator (2000), but with films like Troy and Alexander in 2004 failing to find big breakout audiences. But, this vision of a historical epic would be alot different to anything before it, for a start, they wouldn't have to travel to some sun-kissed location for the battles, oh no!! The film was shot against blue/green screen, like what Sin City was, and was made in the dead of winter 2005 in a train shed in Montréal, Canada. This was done for a modest $60 million, unlike the other epics that spend well over $100 million a piece, and it's environment would be created by CGI, and it looks wonderful!! Creating an atmosphere and a tense mood, beautifully tinged with a red and bronze hue. Snyder brings the best out of his cast, from Butler's heroic Leonidas to our narrator, Spartan soldier Dilios (David Wenham). He also brings out the best in the battles, using high octane violence, with a lot of blood on show, and very grotesque creatures too, (which you would hardly see in other historical epics like this.) It's the sort of violence directors like Sam Peckinpah and John Woo would be proud of. It's not 100% accurate, the Spartan's never were topless during battle, showing off their bare, hunky bodies, (hence criticisms of homo-eroticism), but who cares?? It all looks good, it's different from anything else out at the moment, and it might just be the future for historical epics, it's cheaper, and it looks a hell of a lot better too!! ;D
It's a historical epic, done with a very good modern sensibility. Zack Snyder is definitely a name to look out for, the success of this will move him onto greater things with his upcoming adaptation of Watchmen. (Which he intends to shoot in the same style as this), and an adaptation of Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six. It's gripping stuff, and it makes for a delightfully violent 2 hours of entertainment!! True, it wasn't like this back then, but who the fuck cares?? If the moods right, then anything goes!! ;)
In 1998, Dark Horse comics published an interpretation of history, as visualised, written and illustrated by Frank Miller, with colour from his then wife Lynn Varley. Miller had already made a name for himself for his Sin City stories, stark noirish tales which won acclaim and themselves are being turned into a film series by Robert Rodriguez after the success of the first film in 2005. For 300, he was inspired by an old 1962 sword and sandals epic, The 300 Spartans. The original comic ran for 5 parts, and it instantly won acclaim. In 2005, following the success of Sin City, Warner Bros. picked up 300, bringing in director Zack Snyder, a music video and commercial director with one film credit to his name, a remake of George A. Romero's Dawn of the Dead (2004), which did well and got good reviews, he assembled a mostly British cast. What Sin City did for film-noir, this would do for the historical epic. I'm pleased to say that 300 succeeds, breathing new life into an already dormant looking genre!! Set in Spartain 480 BC, it shows Spartan King Leonidas (Gerard Butler) leading 300 Spartans to defend the pass known as Thermopylae (or 'Hot Gates'), against the Persian army, led by King Xerxes, (Rodrigo Santoro) although having been told they should not go to war. Leonidas believes they are only defending their land. Meanwhile, back in Sparta, Queen Gorgo, (Lena Headey), tries to convince the council to send reinforcements to Leonidas. Leonidas' 300 men are out-numbered by 100,000 Persian troops, but the Spartans are strong, brave and tenacious, and won't stop easily. The historical epic saw a brief revival with Gladiator (2000), but with films like Troy and Alexander in 2004 failing to find big breakout audiences. But, this vision of a historical epic would be alot different to anything before it, for a start, they wouldn't have to travel to some sun-kissed location for the battles, oh no!! The film was shot against blue/green screen, like what Sin City was, and was made in the dead of winter 2005 in a train shed in Montréal, Canada. This was done for a modest $60 million, unlike the other epics that spend well over $100 million a piece, and it's environment would be created by CGI, and it looks wonderful!! Creating an atmosphere and a tense mood, beautifully tinged with a red and bronze hue. Snyder brings the best out of his cast, from Butler's heroic Leonidas to our narrator, Spartan soldier Dilios (David Wenham). He also brings out the best in the battles, using high octane violence, with a lot of blood on show, and very grotesque creatures too, (which you would hardly see in other historical epics like this.) It's the sort of violence directors like Sam Peckinpah and John Woo would be proud of. It's not 100% accurate, the Spartan's never were topless during battle, showing off their bare, hunky bodies, (hence criticisms of homo-eroticism), but who cares?? It all looks good, it's different from anything else out at the moment, and it might just be the future for historical epics, it's cheaper, and it looks a hell of a lot better too!! ;D
It's a historical epic, done with a very good modern sensibility. Zack Snyder is definitely a name to look out for, the success of this will move him onto greater things with his upcoming adaptation of Watchmen. (Which he intends to shoot in the same style as this), and an adaptation of Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six. It's gripping stuff, and it makes for a delightfully violent 2 hours of entertainment!! True, it wasn't like this back then, but who the fuck cares?? If the moods right, then anything goes!! ;)