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[PPZVGOS]

4 minutes ago, Valonqar said:

 

I love it. It's terrifically rewatchable but it's cool to bash it cause homophobia or whatever. Same reason why Braveheart is bashed. 

 

I love both and you won't hear any complaints from me. Characters act like people did in those time. 

 

Lots of people find the overblown, over-the-top imagery off-putting, but I think it was necessary in order for the millennia-spanning heroism of the Spartans to be successfully conveyed. 

[FantasticBeasts]

2 minutes ago, PPZVGOS said:

 

Rise of an Empire is the one that actually pisses all over history. Sparta had no Navy of significance, Athens was the Naval power and it was largely down to them (and Themistocles) that the Battle of Salamis was won. Moreover, Xerxes was not even present at the Battle of Marathon and it was Miltiades that led the charge and also came up with the idea of taking the fight to the far more numerous Persians. Themistocles however, did indeed take part in the Battle of Marathon. Additionally, Artemisia was a secondary commander, not the main one, but she is alleged to have advised Xerxes to wait on the Greeks and not attack inside the Salamis straights, a piece of advise that Xerxes should have taken (with benefit of hindsight) 

 

As for "300", it's actually pretty accurate in its description and reference of historical events (forget the dramatized action scenes that are there to draw the attention of contemporary audiences) 

My main concern is not the accuracy of historical events hitch as you said is quite OK with 300. My problem was that it was a very shallow commercialized interpretation of history with one dimensional characters.

Spartans were more or less presented as killing machines .

[DAJK]

Saw 300 for the first time about a year or two ago, I wasn't too impressed but anyone who doesn't say it wasn't at least kinda fun and entertaining is lying

[PPZVGOS]

1 minute ago, FantasticBeasts said:

My main concern is not the accuracy of historical events hitch as you said is quite OK with 300. My problem was that it was a very shallow commercialized interpretation of history with one dimensional characters.

Spartans were more or less presented as killing machines .

 

That's exactly what they were. The Spartans had no profession or inclination other than infantry warfare (as Gerard Butler declares in the movie) Unlike Athens, Sparta left behind no literary works, no great architecture, no philosophers, no tragedies or comedies. All we know of them is that they were 100% devoted to maintaining a militaristic society. The claims in the movie are correct, every single male child was taken at age 7 and "plunged into a world of violence". The Spartans were so fearsome, that too often their potential opponents would scatter in the mere sight of even a small Spartan formation. They rejected wealth, beauty, great orators and all material comforts. In matter of fact, the only kind of literary artifact that we have from the Spartans is one brief poem that declares that no amount of wealth, beauty, oratory skill or athletic success really matters, the true test of a man comes only when he has to man the right-wing of the first line (in phalanx warfare, that was the part of the phalanx that came under the most brutal pressure and where casualties were highest) 

 

Anyway, my point is that the claims made about the Spartans in "300" were not the interpretation of Zack Snyder or Frank Miller, but that is how history remembers them, that's how all their contemporaries (Greek or non-Greeks) describe them. And yes, they did also practice infanticide (just like everyone in antiquity) but in elevated rates. 

[filmlover]

I once watched 300 again five or so years ago with a bunch of friends who shouted all of the movie's most famous lines along with it. It was mildly embarrassing.

[PPZVGOS]

Last off-topic post by me: 

 

[FantasticBeasts]

2 minutes ago, PPZVGOS said:

 

That's exactly what they were. The Spartans had no profession or inclination other than infantry warfare (as Gerard Butler declares in the movie) Unlike Athens, Sparta left behind no literary works, no great architecture, no philosophers, no tragedies or comedies. All we know of them is that they were 100% devoted to maintaining a militaristic society. The claims in the movie are correct, every single male child was taken at age 7 and "plunged into a world of violence". The Spartans were so fearsome, that too often their potential opponents would scatter in the mere sight of even a small Spartan formation. They rejected wealth, beauty, great orators and all material comforts. In matter of fact, the only kind of literary artifact that we have from the Spartans is one brief poem that declares that no amount of wealth, beauty, oratory skill or athletic success really matters, the true test of a man comes only when he has to man the right-wing of the first line (in phalanx warfare, that was the part of the phalanx that came under the most brutal pressure and where casualties were highest) 

 

Anyway, my point is that the claims made about the Spartans in "300" were not the interpretation of Zack Snyder or Frank Miller, but that is how history remembers them, that's how all their contemporaries (Greek or non-Greeks) describe them. And yes, they did also practice infanticide (just like everyone in antiquity) but in elevated rates. 

No. I have to disagree. Spartans were devoted to warfare and yes all you nd boys were trained to become warriors BUT, they didn't fight to kill people. They were deending their homeland. They had ideals. They were disciplined, laconic ( avoided unnecessary talking), brave and ready to sacrifice themselves for their values. Spartan mothers used to say to their kids that I will wait you either as a Victor or as a dead. 

That's surely some very inspirational characteristics especially for such an age and surely don't make them just killing machines.

Not to mention that Sparta was a far more free society for women even in comparison to Athens miles ahead from any society of its time. They had economical power and were educated equally with men.

[baumer]

1 hour ago, ban1o said:

Get out is really dropping now. Disappointing. I expected more from it. Guess the hype wore off. 

 

Are you suddenly trying to develop a sense of humor?

[PPZVGOS]

9 minutes ago, FantasticBeasts said:

No. I have to disagree. Spartans were devoted to warfare and yes all you nd boys were trained to become warriors BUT, they didn't fight to kill people. They were deending their homeland. They had ideals. They were disciplined, laconic ( avoided unnecessary talking), brave and ready to sacrifice themselves for their values. Spartan mothers used to say to their kids that I will wait you either as a Victor or as a dead. 

That's surely some very inspirational characteristics especially for such an age and surely don't make them just killing machines.

Not to mention that Sparta was a far more free society for women even in comparison to Athens miles ahead from any society of its time. They had economical power and were educated equally with men.

 

Yes, I didn't mean that the Spartans were mindless brutes looking for victims and wars. What I meant to say is that the military aspect was the only thing that counted in their society. Despite their great military power, they rarely (if ever) were the aggressors, and they never tried to use their power for conquest and plunder (which is what almost everyone else in history has been doing) They strictly avoided taking trophies from the foes they defeated because they rightly knew that it would corrupt their heroic/martial ethos. And yes, courage and bravery was not the only thing that was superlative about the Spartans (in any case, bravery is not that rare a quality, ISIS is mighty brave, for example) it was their self-discipline and devotion that set them apart. And yes, just as Lena Heady says in the movie: "ἢ τὰν ἢ ἐπὶ τᾶς" which means: "with your shield, or on it" 

 

You are also correct to point out that Spartan society has been inspirational for western civilization (especially JJ Rousseau) as the apex of devotion to the common good. What you say about Spartan women is also correct. Women in Sparta could train, compete in sport, manage the finances of the household, walk freely around the city without male supervision, wear what they liked and even enjoyed a degree of sexual freedom. This was probably due to the fact that their men had no time or energy left for domestic responsibilities since all their time was spent on military training. 

[DAR]

300 is one of those films I thought would have a long cable life on FX or Spike but it doesn't show up that often.*

 

*Of course this means it's probably been showing on a loop somewhere.

[John Marston]

6 minutes ago, DAR said:

300 is one of those films I thought would have a long cable life on FX or Spike but it doesn't show up that often.*

 

*Of course this means it's probably been showing on a loop somewhere.

 

 

checked TV Guide and it looks like it is playing on the premium channels right now

[DAR]

3 minutes ago, John Marston said:

 

 

checked TV Guide and it looks like it is playing on the premium channels right now

Well there you go

[Plain Old Tele]

1 hour ago, FantasticBeasts said:

I am really not the type of patriot at all but having Greek roots, I was really offended by the sheer disrespect to greek history.

 

Preach. 

[parkerthegreat]

Holy shit, was it really a decade ago that 300 came out? That's the first movie I really followed box office for. Can't believe it's been a whole decade.

[titanic2187]

4 hours ago, baumer said:

Ive explained it before.

 

I think from a technical perspective its a very weak film. And I didn't find anything special about the acting and the third Act is a complete mess and the fact that Nyomi Harris was NOMINATED for best supporting actress kind of makes me ill.

it's a visual poem, a pure art film, where I do not dare to judge as it involved the most technical skills and deep knowledge on art $ literature.......  

[Goffe]

Not a 300 fan either, but it's a hell lot better than the sequel, now that's agonizingly boring film.

[PDC1987]

2 hours ago, Valonqar said:

 

I love it. It's terrifically rewatchable but it's cool to bash it cause homophobia or whatever. Same reason why Braveheart is bashed. 

 

I love both and you won't hear any complaints from me. Characters act like people did in those time. 

Bullshit. The Spartans were depicted as raging homphobes in 300 even though their society accepted homosexuality and they literally screwed each other as part of their training.

[Plain Old Tele]

13 minutes ago, PDC1987 said:

Bullshit. The Spartans were depicted as raging homphobes in 300 even though their society accepted homosexuality and they literally screwed each other as part of their training.

 

The movie unfortunately carries over Frank Miller's hyperbolic "interpretation" of Spartan culture, which weirdly over-emphasizes some things and ignores others. It also paints Sparta as the last defender of the Greek city-states, when in fact Athens (so mocked in the movie) was the cultural and military power of that area (at that time).

[Barnack]

The movie is told from a Spartan narrator trying to build a myth in history and inspiring/convincing is city to go to war, that guy telling that story is yes being hyperbolic, hyper-patriotic, diminishing of the other cities place and role, etc.. It is in part the concept of the movie.

 

I don't think it paints much more than what a Spartian soldier talking about how it wanted that moment to be romanced and remembered.  Does the audience will see it like that, even if the movie is really clear that it is an unreliable narrator with magical beast, giants, and showing that everything we saw was the way it was told by a soldier ?, I don't know.

[DAJK]

26 minutes ago, Goffe said:

Not a 300 fan either, but it's a hell lot better than the sequel, now that's agonizingly boring film.

I watched an hour long lecture about the real event. The professor standing there talking was way more interesting than the movie (granted the dude was a great speaker).