the 300 spartans movie review

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I gave a four-star rating to " Sin City ," the 2005 film based on a graphic novel by Frank Miller . Now, as I deserve, I get "300," based on another work by Miller. Of the earlier film, I wrote prophetically: "This isn't an adaptation of a comic book, it's like a comic book brought to life and pumped with steroids." They must have been buying steroids wholesale for "300." Every single male character, including the hunchback, has the muscles of a finalist for Mr. Universe.

Both films are faithful to Miller's plots and drawings. "300," I learn, reflects the book almost panel-by-panel. They lean so heavily on CGI that many shots are entirely computer-created. Why did I like the first, and dislike the second? Perhaps because of the subject matter, always a good place to start. "Sin City," directed by Robert Rodriguez and Miller, is film noir, my favorite genre, taken to the extreme. "300," directed by Zack Snyder , is ancient carnage, my least favorite genre, taken beyond the extreme. "Sin City" has vividly- conceived characters and stylized dialogue. "300" has one-dimensional caricatures who talk like professional wrestlers plugging their next feud.

The movie involves a legendary last stand by 300 death-obsessed Spartans against a teeming horde of Persians. So brave and strong are the Spartans that they skewer, eviscerate, behead and otherwise inconvenience tens of thousands of Persians before finally falling to the weight of overwhelming numbers. The lesson is that the Spartans are free, and the Persians are slaves, although the Spartan idea of freedom is not appetizing (children are beaten to toughen them).

But to return to those muscles. Although real actors play the characters and their faces are convincing, I believe their bodies are almost entirely digital creations. They have Schwarzeneggerian biceps, and every last one of them, even the greybeards, wear well-defined six- packs on their abs. I can almost believe the star, Gerard Butler , may have been working out at Gold's Gym ever since he starred as the undernourished Phantom of the Opera, but not 300, 200 or even 100 extras. As a result, every single time I regarded the Spartans in a group, I realized I was seeing artistic renderings, not human beings.

Well, maybe that was the idea.

The movie presents other scenes of impossibility. Look at the long- shots of the massed Persians. There are so many they would have presented a logistical nightmare: How to feed and water them? Consider the slave-borne chariot that Xerxes pulls up in. It is larger that the imperial throne in the Forbidden City, with a wide staircase leading up to Xerxes. Impressive, but how could such a monstrosity be lugged all the way from Persia to Greece? I am not expected to apply such logic, I know, but the movie flaunts its preposterous effects.

And what about Xerxes ( Rodrigo Santoro ) himself? He stands around eight feet tall, I guess, which is good for 500 B.C. (Santoro's height in life: 6 feet, 2.75 inches). He towers over Leonidas (Butler), so we know his body isn't really there. But what of his face? I am just about prepared to believe that the ancient Persians went in for the piercing of ears, cheeks, eyebrows, noses, lips and chins. But his eyebrow have been plucked and re-drawn into black arches that would make Joan Crawford envious. And what about the mascara and the cute little white lines on the eyelids? When the Spartans describe the Athenians as "philosophers and boy-lovers," I wish they had gone right ahead to discuss the Persians.

The Spartans travel light. They come bare-chested, dressed in sandals, bikini briefs and capes. They carry swords and shields. At the right time, they produce helmets which must have been concealed in their loincloths. Also apples. And from the looks of them, protein shakes. They are very athletic, able to construct a towering wall of thousands of dead Persians in hours, even after going to all the trouble of butchering them. When they go into battle, their pep talks sound like the screams of drunken sports fans swarming onto the field.

They talk, as I suggested, like pro wrestlers, touting the big showdown between Edge and The Undertaker. "Be afraid!" they rumble, stopping just short of adding, "Be very afraid." They talk about going on the "warpath," unaware that the phrase had not yet been coined by American Indians. Their women, like Gorgo ( Lena Headey ), queen of Leonidas, are as bloodthirsty as their men, just like wrestler's wives.

All true enough. But my deepest objection to the movie is that it is so blood-soaked. When dialogue arrives to interrupt the carnage, it's like the seventh-inning stretch. In slow motion, blood and body parts spraying through the air, the movie shows dozens, hundreds, maybe thousands, of horrible deaths. This can get depressing.

In old movies, ancient Greeks were usually sort of noble. Now they have become lager louts. They celebrate a fascist ideal. They assume a bloodthirsty audience, or one suffering from attention deficit (how many disembowelings do you have to see to get the idea?). They have no grace and wisdom in their speech. Nor dignity in their bearing: They strut with arrogant pride. They are a nasty bunch. As Joe Mantegna says in " House of Games ," "You're a bad pony, and I'm not gonna bet on you." That's right before he dies, of course.

Roger Ebert

Roger Ebert was the film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, he won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism.

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Rated R violence, nudity, sexuality

117 minutes

Andrew Tiernan as Ephialtes

Lena Headey as Gorgo

Vincent Regan as Captain

Gerard Butler as Leonidas

Peter Mensah as Messenger

Michael Fassbender as Stelios

Andrew Pleavin as Daxos

Dominic West as Theron

David Wenham as Dilios

Tom Wisdom as Astinos

Rodrigo Santoro as Xerxes

Stephen McHattie as Loyalist

Screenplay by

• Michael B. Gordon
• Kurt Johnstad

Directed by

• Zack Snyder

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The word ‘Spartan’ nestles in the English lexicon as a synonym for words like ‘austere’ and ‘disciplined’. But while the Spartans of ancient Greece were all those things and more, none of these locutions captures the essence of this unique people. A better modern-day equivalent to ‘Spartan’ might be ‘belligerent nutcase’, and anyone in doubt need look no further than 300, which stands as an opulent, brutal and bloody declaration of that fact. An adaptation of Sin City creator Frank Miller’s graphic novel, 300 recounts the country’s finest hour: Sparta kicked plenty of ass over the ages, but it was at Thermopylae, in 480 BC, that she earned eternal renown. What those warriors achieved in life (and lots of death) still echoes through eternity.

Trumpeted by its makers as “Gladiator meets Sin City”, the cinematic rendition of 300 is fiercely loyal to its bronze-and-crimson-coloured graphic progenitor and, as such, is as far removed from reality as the last batch of Celebrity Big Brother housemates. Thermopylae was a real battle, the opening salvo of the Second Persian War no less. The Spartan king Leonidas, played here by Gerard Butler, did defend the ‘Hot Gates’ in Northern Greece with 300 hoplites, against an invading Persian army that Herodotus, the ‘father of history’, numbered at one million strong. While modern scholars insist that the Persian horde, vast as it was, totalled no more than 200,000 men, Miller and Snyder prefer Herodotus’ estimate. They also lift from his dialogue (“Then we’ll fight in the shade” is a line from the great historian, for example), although both happily depart from his source material when counting colossal elephants among the Persian forces.

Still, much like a football match between England and Brazil, 300 vs. 200,000 is hardly a fair contest, Leonidas and co. facing laughably overwhelming odds. Unlike the English football team, however, they offered a remarkable display of mettle — and indeed metal — against an army hundreds of times their size. Their story is the stuff of legend, and that thought was paramount in Miller’s mind when consigning his vision to the page. For Miller’s intention was that 300 should be historically _in_accurate — this was his bid to mythologize an actual event, lending to it the power and grace (and a healthy amount of exaggeration) normally associated with classical epic. If the battle at Thermopylae had occurred a millennium earlier, it would no doubt have formed the basis of a legend every bit as fantastic and entertaining as the works of Homer (much more lively than the pallid cinematic offering that was Troy, based on Homer’s The Iliad).

It’s somewhat ironic that whereas Troy, retelling a story rooted in myth, sought to present a world devoid of the unusual, 300, while recounting a story drawn from fact, is as fanciful as any Homeric yarn (cue fat freak with sharpened tusks for arms and a bard with a goat’s head). Snyder is entirely faithful to Miller’s intent, however, and he has cooked up an astonishing visual feast, spinning a tale that at times mimics the graphic novel frame-by-frame, the raucous content just what you’d expect to hear from some ancient, toothless sage telling hero tales around a campfire. In fact, the film is framed as a saga related by the storyteller Dilios (David Wenham, neither ancient nor toothless). It is this mythic conviction that underpins the film’s failings and informs its successes.

Chief among the latter stand the Spartans themselves, Butler and co. sporting as much muscle as a bouncers’ convention and offering a convincing portrayal of a Spartan crack troop. Fighting in nothing more than big pants, helmet and shield, there are more six-packs on show than at an Aussie off-licence, but they largely manage to convey hard-assedness rather than homoeroticism. The Spartan battle formations and fighting styles are entirely accurate, and some of the battle choreography ranks among the finest committed to film. Snyder makes us believe that these Spartans really could dispatch 100 inferior men apiece, and still have the energy to run a marathon afterwards. Crucially, Butler convinces as a leader of men, bellowing orders, wisecracking or bolstering confidence as the occasion demands, leading from the front and laying out several battalions’ worth of the enemy. Leonidas — noble, stubborn and deadly when roused — may be not be complex, but Butler has the conviction and charisma needed to carry it off.

Sadly, he’s hamstrung by the film’s structure and, ultimately, by its direction. The film shoots for epic from minute one, demanding our awe before it’s been earned and painting with strokes so broad that it’s hard to make out such niceties as character, motivation or period detail. Snyder came to the fore with 2004’s Dawn Of The Dead remake, after learning his trade in the world of commercials, and 300, at times, looks a little like a heavy metal video. At one point, when the Spartans trudge forward to engage their enemy, it sounds like one too, a raging torrent of testosterone that is as merciless in its stabbing delivery as the Spartans themselves. In truth, the music is more than a little overcooked throughout, especially in the Gladiator-lite scenes amid the waving barley. And Snyder loves that slo-mo button, ramping the speed of the action up and down during the fight scenes, the better to move smoothly from kill to kill — a technique which, used sparingly, works beautifully, but is indulged too much during the otherwise storming middle act.

That said, Snyder does bid to temper the testosterone levels by injecting a little oestrogen, courtesy of Queen Gorgo (Lena Headey). The Spartan queen is glimpsed in Miller’s work, but Snyder pushes her further to the fore. Her heartfelt speech to the Spartan assembly, while a little public school debating society, is at least couched in believable language, spilling from the tongue of a character who has some claim on our affection. Something which cannot be said of Leonidas and his Spartans.

Nothing is more epic than the tradition of the defiant David standing up to a mammoth and all-powerful Goliath — Homer knew it; Leonidas knew it; Frank Miller knew it; and after watching 300, you will know it too. But you’re unlikely to care, for such is the nature of myth and epic that characterisation and language exist only to serve the story. For all their bravery and bluster, Spartan deaths or injuries pluck no heartstrings — we neither know these men nor care about their fate. For all Butler’s verbal anguish and warrior dexterity, he and his 300 are cartoon characters, simple archetypes of ancient epic, spitting vitriol and wielding weapons but ill-equipped to connect to those watching them on screen. The result is that the conclusion of this, one of the greatest stories ever told, is sadly fumbled.

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The Frank Miller experience continues with the mythology of the ancient Battle of Thermopylae in 480 B.C. where, according to legend and his graphic novel, 300 Spartan warriors went up against the barbarous hordes of the Persian god-king Xerxes.

By Kirk Honeycutt , The Associated Press February 14, 2007 8:00pm

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This review was written for the festival screening of “300.”

BERLIN — The Frank Miller experience continues in “300.” This is the second movie to transfer a muscular story and visuals from a Miller graphic novel to the screen. Instead of the neo-noir, pulp-fiction theater of cruelty in the Robert Rodriguez’s 2005 film “Sin City,” “300” dives into the mythology of the ancient Battle of Thermopylae in 480 B.C. Here, according to the graphic novel by Miller and Lynn Varley, 300 Spartan warriors went up against the barbarous hordes of the Persian god-king Xerxes and died valiantly defending Greek notions of freedom and justice.

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Those turned off by the sex-and-violence cartoonery of “Sin City” can embrace “300,” which screened Out of Competition here. In epic battle scenes where he combines breathtaking and fluid choreography, gorgeous 3-D drawings and hundreds of visual effects, director Zack Snyder puts onscreen the seemingly impossible heroism and gore of which Homer sang in “The Iliad.” A raging hero mowing down multitudes with sword, shield and spear suddenly seems plausible.

The designed look of this alternative world, the abstraction and beauty of its topography, colors and forms, open up the human action to larger-than-life deeds and grand gestures that in a more realistic context would be pure camp. The film, which opens domestically March 9, will attract a sizable worldwide audience, skewering heavily male, of course.

Greece in the 5th century B.C. is a land truly favored by the gods, bathed in rich, harmonious dark chocolate, beige and gray colors. A prologue swiftly establishes the austere warrior city-state of Sparta, whose men are trained from birth to fight, to never retreat and never surrender.

The film’s hero, King Leonidas (Gerard Butler), has lived his entire life to fight this battle against the Persians. Its sole survivor, Dilios (David Wenham), is the one who narrates the tale. Messengers from the Persian army arrive in Sparta, arrogantly offering either capitulation or annihilation. Leonidas kills the messengers.

But political opportunism rules the Spartan Council, which insists that Leonidas consult the Oracle. This consists of beautiful young and drugged women controlled by sickly, corrupt priests. The Oracle refuses to release the Spartan army to its ruler as no battle can occur during an upcoming religious celebration.

So Leonidas has little choice but to “take a stroll” to the north with 300 of his best warriors as “bodyguards.” He chooses to engage the Persians in the Thermopylae pass, a narrow corridor between the steep cliffs of the Aegean Sea. Here the vast numbers of the enemy count for little since only a few can go up against Sparta’s best at any one time.

The stage is thus set for a cinematic meal: A succession of charges by Persian forces — slave warriors, physical oddities, African animals, magic wizards and an elite guard called the Immortals in black Darth Vader masks — is slaughtered by the 300. Snyder instinctively knows when to shift to slow motion or quick stop-action to catch the brilliant athleticism of his fighting choreography. This is thrilling stuff.

Then comes Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro) himself, a bejeweled, depraved giant carried on a high tower by his slaves. The god-king tries unsuccessfully to seduce Leonidas in a homoerotic passage as the ancient world stands still.

But it is a deformed and pathetic creature, Ephialtes (Andrew Tiernan), an outcast Spartan, who betrays the 300 by showing Xerxes a hidden path leading behind Spartan lines. The 300 are doomed yet die “beautiful deaths.”

Adapting Miller’s take on Spartan battle wear, Snyder and costume designer Michael Wilkinson strip the warriors down to essentials: a helmet, shield, red capes, loin cloths and scandals in warm colors. All the rest is manly flesh. The Persians, by contrast, are dressed in all sorts of jewels, peacock color, gold, purple, black — a hooker’s ball of exotic, foreign and decadent costumes.

Snyder and his writers Kurt Johnstad and Michael B. Gordon open up a second front of villainy back home as wily politician Theron (Dominic West) manipulates the council against sending reinforcements and crudely takes Queen Gorgo (Lena Headey) sexually. This is weak and unconvincing, but it does get the writers around the historical fact that the expedition against the Persians, fully supported by the city-state, probably numbered around 7,000 rather than 300.

Butler is a paragon of manhood as the fine warrior-king, but in a Frank Miller world there is no time for introspection and doubt, making him a two-dimensional creature in this 3-D world.

Headey, looking alarmingly skinny, seems more like a fashion model than reigning queen. Vincent Regan as the Captain is a man with a ferocious appetite for killing. All other roles are somewhat perfunctory as Spartan ideals overrule much of an inner life.

Obviously, the true stars here are the armies of technicians, designers, fight choreographers and cinematographer Larry Fong, who collaborate on this stylized vision of the ancient world. Then add Tyler Bates’ robust, haunting and soulful music.

What isn’t clear after two Frank Miller graphic novel movies is where this technique is leading. So far it has served only exaggerated blood, guts and sex. “300” suggests that it might create worlds of myth and fantasy not necessarily ruled by mayhem. If not, though, it’s going to get old, even ancient, very fast.

300 Warner Bros. Pictures Warner Bros. Pictures in association with Legendary Pictures and Virtual Studios present a Mark Canton/Gianni Nunnari production Credits: Director: Zack Snyder Screenwriters: Kurt Johnstad, Michael B. Gordon Based on the graphic novel by: Frank Miller, Lynn Varley Producers: Gianni Nunnari, Mark Canton, Bernie Goldmann, Jeffrey Silver Executive producers: Frank Miller, Deborah Snyder, Craig J. Flores, Thomas Tull, William Fay, Scott Mednick, Ben Waisbren Director of photography: Larry Fong Production designer: James Bissell Visual effects supervisor: Chris Watts Music: Tyler Bates Costume designer: Michael Wilkinson Editor: William Hoy Cast: King Leonidas: Gerald Butler Queen Gorgo: Lena Headey Dilios: David Wenham Theron: Dominic West Captain: Vincent Regan Stelios: Michael Fassbinder Astinos: Tom Wisdom Xerxes: Rodrigo Santoro Ephialtes: Andrew Tiernan Running time — 117 minutes MPAA rating: R 

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• Action/Adventure , Drama , Sci-Fi/Fantasy , War

Content Caution

In Theaters

• Gerard Butler as King Leonidas; Lena Headey as Queen Gorgo; Dominic West as Theron; David Wenham as Dilios; Vincent Regan as Captain; Michael Fassbender as Stelios; Tom Wisdom as Astinos; Andrew Pleavin as Daxos; Andrew Tiernan as Ephialtes; Rodrigo Santoro as Xerxes; Stephen McHattie as Loyalist

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• Zack Snyder

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Movie Review

“Go tell the Spartans, stranger passing by, that here, obedient to their laws, we lie.”

So says a stone epitaph in Thermopylae, Greece, commemorating 300 Spartan warriors who sacrificed their lives in an epic battle against the invading forces of the Persian king Xerxes in 480 B.C. Based on a graphic novel by Frank Miller (Sin City) , 300 mythologizes and immortalizes these soldiers’ absolute commitment to secure their homeland from tyranny.

The story begins amid political discord. On the eve of Xerxes’ invasion, a Spartan oracle has foretold doom if the city’s king, Leonidas, sallies forth into combat during an important religious festival. But the ferocious Leonidas—the epitome of Sparta’s fiercely disciplined martial culture—puts little stock in the gods’ supposed warning. Defying the oracle and the city’s governing council, Leonidas takes leave of his wife, Queen Gorgo (a lioness in her own right), and marches with 300 men from his personal guard to meet the enemy.

Leonidas’ plan to defeat Xerxes’ 100-nation force—which numbers in the hundreds of thousands—requires defending a narrow mountain pass near the sea known as the Hot Gates— Thermopylae in Greek. Joined by 700 volunteer fighters from Thespiae, Leonidas and his professional soldiers prepare to take their stand. Defeat is likely, but they believe their sacrifice will buy time for the city-states of Greece to rally a larger army (a cause Gorgo pursues in her husband’s absence).

The Spartans’ fabled military prowess handily repels the first waves of Xerxes’ army. Neither Xerxes’ elite “Immortal” troops, cavalry, a rhinoceros nor even elephants can dislodge Leonidas and his men from the pass. Enter: treachery and betrayal. History (and this movie) tells the rest.

Positive Elements

Leonidas and Gorgo repeatedly make impassioned speeches about the values Sparta holds dear. These include glory, reason, justice, respect, family and freedom. Bravery is hardly a strong enough word to describe these warriors’ fearlessness. Dying on Sparta’s behalf is the highest possible honor, which yields statements such as Gorgo’s words to her husband as he departs: “Come back with your shield or on it.”

Spartan war tactics depend on interdependence. Leonidas says, “A Spartan’s strength is the warrior next to him.” The king’s willingness to sacrifice himself for his men contrasts with Xerxes’ megalomania; the Persian ruler willingly sends hundreds to their death with no concern for their welfare. The only men Leonidas invites to join his war party are those with sons, lest any family’s line be wiped out.

Leonidas and Gorgo enjoy a strong marriage as equals (in a culture that’s known for generally treating women as second-class citizens). Leonidas also displays affection for his 6-year-old son. And he teaches him, “Fear is constant. Accepting it makes you stronger.”

A soldier known as Captain regrets never telling his son, who’s perished in battle, how he truly felt. “I don’t regret that he died. I regret that I never told him I loved him the most. He stood by me with honor. He [represented] all that was best in me.” A mortally wounded Spartan says to his king, “It is an honor to die by your side.” Leonidas replies, “It’s an honor to have lived at yours.” The only words Leonidas wants delivered to his people are simply, “Remember us.”

Spiritual Elements

Spiritual content in 300 revolves around two axes: the Greek belief in a pantheon of gods and oracles who communicate with them; and Xerxes’ insistence that he is a god to be worshiped.

Leonidas visits an oracle, an entranced young woman who’s “tended to” (more on that below) by horribly disfigured men called Ephors. While there, Leonidas is told, “Trust the gods. Your blasphemies have cost us enough already.” The king dismisses the Ephors as “diseased old mystics.” In passing, Leonidas tells his troops to “pray to the gods.” A storm that sinks many Persian ships is attributed to Zeus’ wrath.

Xerxes is frequently described (by himself and his underlings) in divine terms, such as “god of gods,” and he mimics scriptural language when he says things about himself such as, “The lord of hosts is prepared to forgive all.” He speaks of his divine power and promises (almost like Satan’s temptation of Jesus) to make Leonidas the warlord of all Greece if he submits. His Immortals are described as “Persian ghosts, hunters of men’s souls.”

Sexual Content

The oracle is barely clothed in a gauzy sheet that reveals her breast. It’s implied that the Ephors use her sexually at will, and one licks the oracle’s neck as she delivers her prophecy. A graphic sex scene between Leonidas and his wife includes movement, his uncovered rear and several shots of her breasts. Xerxes invites Ephialtes into his harem and uses promises of sexual pleasure to get him to betray the Spartans. Several women are topless and kiss one another in this sensual, orgy-like scene; others are nearly naked.

Queen Gorgo’s chief opponent on the council is a devious man named Theron; in exchange for his help, she allows him to have his way with her. It’s implied (as he violently grabs her) that he’s virtually raping her. (We briefly glimpse her robe fall to the ground.)

Spartan women, especially the queen, wear cleavage-baring robes without undergarments. The Spartan warriors themselves fight shirtless, and the camera often focuses on their physiques. An offhand reference is made to Athenians being “boy lovers.”

Violent Content

Let’s put it this way: Neither torsos nor appendages fare well in 300 . Perhaps thousands of soldiers find themselves on the receiving end of spears, swords and arrows for about an hour and 15 minutes of this two-hour film. A giant is knifed in the eye. Extremities get hacked off (at least three heads, half-a-dozen arms, legs, hands, etc.). After one decapitation, the father of that soldier cradles his son’s headless body (the head lies nearby). Spartans repeatedly wander the battlefield skewering unfortunates who’ve not quite perished yet. (“No mercy” is a Spartan watchword.) Add to such brutality scenes depicting piles of corpses—some skewered on stakes, others “attached” to a tree with arrows and still others used to construct a defensive wall—and you’ve an epic amount of violent imagery in this film.

Non-battlefield violence includes Leonidas spearing a wolf in the mouth as a youth; 7-year-old Spartans-in-training pummeling and bruising each other; older boys receiving whip lashings to learn how to resist pain; a soldier’s wound being cauterized by white-hot metal; and Queen Gorgo stabbing (and killing) a traitorous Spartan. When a herald of Xerxes arrives in Sparta dangling a chain of skulls for emphasis, Leonidas shoves him and several members of his party into a seemingly bottomless pit. Xerxes’ executioner is a monstrosity of a man whose arms have been replaced with blades (which he dutifully uses to dislodge heads of failed generals).

Crude or Profane Language

In telling a story about a war hundreds of years before the time of Christ, filmmakers weren’t able to logically include abuses of His name. Likewise, they knew it’d be a pretty far stretch to include f-words or s-words. So this R-rated-in-every-other-way movie fades to credits with only one mild profanity (“h—uva) to its name.

Drug and Alcohol Content

Leonidas describes the oracle as “a drunken adolescent girl”—and she definitely looks as if she’s in an artificially induced stupor. During the orgy sequence in Xerxes’ tent, some of the people in the background hold goblets presumably containing wine.

Other Negative Elements

Sparta’s devotion to warcraft has a terrible dark side. When baby boys are born, they’re evaluated for physical defect. Imperfect newborns are discarded into a pit to die. (We see a pile of skulls indicating this happens regularly.) Spartan law also makes retreat from battle illegal. Not surprisingly, revenge and glory are closely connected. When Captain tells Leonidas, “I fill my heart with hate,” the king replies, “Good.”

Ephialtes is a disfigured, hunchbacked man whose father was a Spartan but fled the city because he refused to kill his misshapen son. He raised Ephialtes to be a true Spartan warrior. But the man’s deformities prevent him from functioning as an equal. Embittered, Ephialtes betrays his people.

The queen is greeted with derision by the Spartan ruling council, which normally would refuse to let any woman, even a queen, speak to them. When Theron betrays her before the council, she spits in his face. Both the Ephors and Theron are secretly taking bribes from Xerxes to keep the Spartans out of battle.

I can’t remember the last time I went to a movie so violent and tragic. But that’s only the first half of the sentence. Because afterwards, I watched as scores of moviegoers (mostly men) walked to their cars laughing and pounding each other on the back. You’d have thought we’d all just seen Top Gun for the first time. Such is the influence of the latest big-screen Frank Miller adaptation, a hyper-violent, hyper-masculine ode to honor and duty by way of blood, blood and more blood. Did I mention the blood ?

Stylistically, 300 ‘s melees recall the Wachowski Bros. Matrix trilogy and V for Vendetta . Just as those films raised the visual-effects bar, so 300 could well become a new cinematic benchmark. Combat feels dance-like in its choreography, alternating between real time and slow motion. This results in highly stylized violence—which is all the more emphasized by plumes of blood erupting from combatants’ wounds. Regarding the film’s look, director Zack Snyder commented, “It’s not trying to be reality. The blood is treated like paint, like paint on a canvas. It’s not Saving Private Ryan .” Snyder also admitted he was more interested in creating visually compelling shots than he was recreating historically accurate fight scenes. “It’s bulls—,” he said of some combat elements, “but it looks good.”

Looking good felt to me like Gladiator on steroids—with several graphic sex scenes tossed in to add titillation. Despite its consistent and at times moving emphases on duty and sacrifice, family and freedom, this blood-bathed epic remains so thoroughly saturated with visceral imagery that those virtues risk getting buried in battle.

Given that, I think I can safely say that the enthusiasm of the crowd I witnessed had much less to do with the film’s positive themes than the fact that the filmmakers have managed to make slaughter (and sensuality) look so very cool.

Adam R. Holz

After serving as an associate editor at NavPress’ Discipleship Journal and consulting editor for Current Thoughts and Trends, Adam now oversees the editing and publishing of Plugged In’s reviews as the site’s director. He and his wife, Jennifer, have three children. In their free time, the Holzes enjoy playing games, a variety of musical instruments, swimming and … watching movies.

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Josho Brouwers 21 March 2014

Good quotes

To Athens and Sparta he did not send heralds to demand earth for the following reasons. On a former occasion, when Darius sent for the same purpose, the former having thrown those who made the demand into the barathrum [a deep pit in Athens in which certain criminals were thrown], and the latter into a well, bade them carry earth and water to the king from those places.

Elements of Spartan culture

The overall plot, omissions and unnecessary additions, errors and anachronisms, the monstrous persian army, an army of slaves, portrayal of king xerxes, closing remarks.

• Cast & crew
• User reviews

• In the ancient battle of Thermopylae, King Leonidas and 300 Spartans fight against Xerxes and his massive Persian army.
• In the Battle of Thermopylae of 480 BC an alliance of Greek city-states fought the invading Persian army in the mountain pass of Thermopylae. Vastly outnumbered, the Greeks held back the enemy in one of the most famous last stands of history. Persian King Xerxes led a Army of well over 100,000 (Persian king Xerxes before war has about 170,000 army) men to Greece and was confronted by 300 Spartans, 700 Thespians, and 400 Thebans. Xerxes waited for 10 days for King Leonidas to surrender or withdraw but left with no options he pushed forward. After 3 days of battle all the Greeks were killed. The Spartan defeat was not the one expected, as a local shepherd, named Ephialtes, defected to the Persians and informed Xerxes that the separate path through Thermopylae, which the Persians could use to outflank the Greeks, was not as heavily guarded as they thought. — cyberian2005
• 480 B.C. When a Persian envoy arrives at the gates of Sparta, Greece, demanding submission to King Xerxes, brave King Leonidas sends word to the Persian ruler that Spartans will never give up their rights over their land. As enraged King Xerxes dispatches armed-to-the-teeth multitudes of Persian soldiers to Thermopylae, a narrow coastal passage of strategic significance, King Leonidas and just 300 of his finest royal bodyguards march against the invading army, refusing to bow to the all-powerful enemy. And although the Spartans were vastly outnumbered, King Leonidas' men crushed wave after wave of superior Persian forces--a fierce, winner-take-all confrontation that would go down in the annals of history as the legendary Battle of Thermopylae. — Nick Riganas
• In 480 BC, the Persian king Xerxes sends his massive army to conquer Greece. The Greek city of Sparta houses its finest warriors, and 300 of these soldiers are chosen to meet the Persians at Thermopylae, engaging the soldiers in a narrow canyon where they cannot take full advantage of their numbers. The battle is a suicide mission, meant to buy time for the rest of the Greek forces to prepare for the invasion. However, that doesn't stop the Spartans from throwing their hearts into the fray, determined to take as many Persians as possible with them. — rmlohner
• 300 starts with a voice over explaining how Spartan boys turn into real Spartan men. When the child is born, he is observed thoroughly by a Spartan baby inspector over a cliff where hundreds of feet below lay the bones of dead babies who did not make the cut. If there are any signs of weakness, sickness, or problems with the baby, he will be killed. The boys learn how to fight and train at an early age and when they turn seven, they are separated from their mothers where they train some more and go through an initiation of rights before they can return home. Life is moving along in Sparta when a Persian messenger rides through the city and asks to speak to King Leonidas (Gerard Butler). The messenger and his guards are led to the King where he explains that he is here on behalf of Xerxes, the Persian god/ king who wants the people of Sparta to bow down to him. When Queen Gorgo (Lena Headey) makes a comment, the messenger gets upset and asks how a woman can talk like that among men. The messenger warns King Leonidas to carefully think before he replies to what Xerxes has asked of Sparta, but the King turns on the messenger and points his spear in his face, making the Persian back up to the edge of the black pit. Leonidas roars back "this is Sparta" before he shoves the Persian (and his guards) into the pit. There is a law among Sparta where if the King wants to go to war, he has to consult the Oracle and the Ephors, who are "more creature than man". The Oracle is the most beautiful young girl of Sparta, and her beauty is also her curse as she is forced to stay up in the mountains with these ugly Ephors, most of the time drugged or drunk, to be able to tell these truths or futures. Leonidas climbs the mountains and after giving the Ephors gold and explaining his plan to go North to corner Xerxes's army, he asks what the Oracle says. The Ephors say that he cannot go to war when there is a celebration coming up anyways. The King is upset as he cannot just sit and do nothing. Councilmen, Theron (Dominic West), paying the Ephors with gold (from the Persians) for telling the King that he cannot go to war. King and Queen do not trust Theron, and rightly so as he turns out to be a traitor to Sparta. The next morning, Leonidas and his Captain (Vincent Regan) are looking through his "army" of 300. He notices that one of the men is the captain's son and the King comments that he is too young and has not fully enjoy the "warmth of a woman", but the Captain insists that he fight. Theron and the other councilmen join the King and ask what he is doing. The King says he's merely out for a stroll and that these 300 men are just his personal bodyguards. Theron sarcastically asks where the King will be walking to and he replies to the North. The Persians are coming from the sea. On the beach there is a narrow opening, the sides surrounded by huge rocks. There is no other way for the enemy to get through except via the narrow opening. That's where the King and his 300 Spartans will be. While they are marching out they meet with another group - the Arcadians. The leader of the Arcadians says they heard that Sparta was going out to fight against Xerxes and they are here to join. Meanwhile the Queen wants to talk to the councilmen to ask if they will send an army to help Leonidas fight against the Persian army. She has one of the councilmen try to set up the meeting and he says that she will be able to speak in two days. She says that the King may not have two days. When the group finally get to the beach area the Arcadians are starting to doubt themselves when they see how many Persian boats are in the ocean. That night, a huge storm turns over and destroy some of those boats, but the number of boats seemed to have not diminish. As they are setting up a wall of stone, someone from Xerxes's army comes up to demand, once again that Sparta bow on their knees. Xerxes admires their arrogance and strength and promise that Sparta will be the wealthiest city and that he will leave the city's women and children alone if only they lay down their weapons and look to him as leader. One of the Spartans cuts off the messenger's arm and orders him to tell Xerxes that the fight is on! Some of the Spartans notice that someone is following them. It turns out to be Ephialtes, a hunched back monster who wants to help fight. He warns the King that there is another opening that the Persians can get through. He has a strong thrust with his spear but cannot raise up the heavy shield he carries. The King says he cannot fight with the Spartans, because the Spartans use their shields to cover not only themselves, but also cover the man to their left and since Ephialtes cannot raise his shield, he is of no use. Ephialtes gets extremely upset. In the first battle, In the narrow opening they stand and wait while the first group of Persian armies come out to fight. They easily beat that army killing all and losing no one. While they catch their breath, the rest of the Persian army shoots out so many arrows that they block the sunlight. In unity, the Spartans fend off the arrows with their shields. Xerxes comes out to meet with Leonidas. Xerxes is a seven-foot bald and pierced god/ king. He again offers Leonidas a chance to bow down to him. Xerxes is angry and says that he can wipe out Sparta and no one on earth will ever know about them, will never know who they are. The next battle is against the Immortals. The Spartans easily defeat these enemies, though they do lose some of their men. As Xerxes watches on, the narrator says that this god-like deity feels a human chill go up his spine. The next fights have the Persians bringing on as much power as they can using rhinos, magic, elephants from halfway around the world, monsters. When Xerxes sees the army losing, he "disciplines" his generals by chopping off their heads. During one of these battles, the Captain's son's head gets chopped off and he cries out as his heart is broken. While both sides retreat once again, King Leonidas calls out to one of his men, Dilios, who got hurt in one of the fights. He asks how Dilios is, which he replies, "it's just an eye". The King asks him to return home to tell the tale of Sparta, to tell everyone, all the Greeks his story and his 300 men. He knows that they are going to die and though he is sad he will not see his wife, he is happy to be doing what he is doing, for Sparta. He gives back the necklace his wife gave him to Dilios to return to her. Meanwhile the Queen is meeting with Theron. She offers him something to drink to which he asks if it's poison. He says that the councilmen will never allow an army to go to the King and he insinuates that he can persuade them to if she sleeps with him. She allows it and he roughly starts to have sex with her. Ephialtes has gone to Xerxes. In the tent there are belly dancers, concubines, contortionists, transsexuals, slaves, etc. He is in awe of everything Xerxes has to offer, wealth, women, a chance to fight if only he bows down to him. Ephialtes, mesmerized by everything, agrees and tells him about the second opening where the Persian army can easily overpower the Spartans. The next day the Queen gets to meet with the councilmen. She gives a great speech to why they should allow the army to go and help the King. When she ends her speech Theron sarcastically applauds her. He turns against her by saying that why should anyone listen to her as she is an adulteress. He tells everyone that she came on to him and offered herself to him but that he is an honest man and turned her down. She grabs one of their swords and stabs Theron in the stomach. When she pulls out the sword his money pouch also comes free and as he falls, so do the Persian coins that he's been bribed with. The other councilmen pick one of the coins up and realize he's a traitor and word spreads quickly. The Persian army is surrounding the 300. Once again Xerxes comes out to watch and one of his minions asks Leonidas to bow down to Xerxes. But this time Leonidas actually takes off his head gear and puts down his shield and spear and kneels down. But only to compose himself as his huddled group of Spartan men break way and one member runs up and jumps on Leonidas's back to spear that minion to death. As everyone starts fighting again, the King picks up his spear and throws it where it slices through Xerxes' cheek (but does not kill him). Xerxes is surprised and holds his hand up to his bleeding face. One by one the Spartans fall, even the King. One of them tells him that it is an honor to die at his side to which the King replies that it was an honor to live at his side. After facing the sun and saying his last words ("my love"), the rest of the Persian army kills him, and they make sure all the Spartans are dead by shooting a gazillion arrows into the air again. Dilios returns home to give the Queen the necklace and he spreads the word about their "victory". It ends one year later where Dilios looks like he's the leader of the Spartan army now and they are getting ready to fight the Persians again. But this time there are thousands and thousands of Spartans and on command they run for battle.

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Common Sense Media Review

Bloody, fanboyish retelling of an ancient battle.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that this is no Masterpiece Theater rendition of ancient history. Like Sin City , 300 is an ultraviolent tale based on a graphic novel by Frank Miller. There's blood galore as the Spartans -- trained war machines -- defend their land against Xerxes' massive Persian army…

Why Age 17+?

Extended love scene between Leonidas and the queen; viewers can see her nude bre

Over-the-top battle-scene violence, including graphic decapitations, severed lim

Colorfully worded insults like: "motherless dogs," "philosophers and boy-lovers,

Any Positive Content?

Themes of underdog heroism and not bowing to corruption get a little lost in the

Even in the face of sure defeat, brave soldiers stand firm against tyrannous thr

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Extended love scene between Leonidas and the queen; viewers can see her nude breasts and his butt. The adolescent Oracle writhes and sways while wearing a sheer cloth that reveals her breasts. A character unwillingly has sex to procure a politician's favor. Although no nudity is shown in that scene, the aggressor whispers menacingly: "This will not be fast. You will not enjoy this." Xerxes' lair is depicted like an orgy, with various half-dressed Persian women kissing, moaning, and having sex.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Violence & Scariness

Over-the-top battle-scene violence, including graphic decapitations, severed limbs, mutilated bodies piled high, arrow-filled torsos, etc. Young Spartan boys are forced to furiously fight each other. The Spartan mottos are "No retreat, no surrender" and "No prisoners, no mercy."

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Colorfully worded insults like: "motherless dogs," "philosophers and boy-lovers," etc.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Positive Messages

Themes of underdog heroism and not bowing to corruption get a little lost in the blood and gore.

Positive Role Models

Even in the face of sure defeat, brave soldiers stand firm against tyrannous threats to freedom. A corrupt Spartan councilman is exposed as a traitor and brought to justice. But also some stereotyping based on Asian culture, as well as one character's physical disability.

Parents need to know that this is no Masterpiece Theater rendition of ancient history. Like Sin City , 300 is an ultraviolent tale based on a graphic novel by Frank Miller. There's blood galore as the Spartans -- trained war machines -- defend their land against Xerxes' massive Persian army. Battlefield valor and violence is glorified by the Spartans, who take no prisoners and show no mercy. Heads literally roll, blood splatters, exotic animals are sliced and speared. Many, many soldiers on either side die gruesomely. If on-screen death and war -- even one so stylized and cartoonish at times -- is too disturbing a subject matter for your kids (or you!), this bloodfest isn't a safe bet. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

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Parent and Kid Reviews

• Parents say (35)
• Kids say (109)

Based on 35 parent reviews

It's soooooo heavy handed

What's the story.

Adapting Frank Miller's graphic novel 300, Snyder takes a hyperstylized visual approach to depicting the famed Battle of Thermopylae, where King Leonidas ( Gerard Butler ) and his 300 elite personal guards defied their Oracle and the odds to wage war against Xerxes' huge, unrelenting Persian army. Faced with the choice of submitting to Xerxes (Brazilian Lost regular Rodrigo Santoro, rendered nearly unrecognizable in earrings and eye makeup) or waging war, Leonidas makes the only choice a warrior-king can: fight. Leonidas and his personal detachment, led by his captain (fine character actor Vincent Regan) and Dilios (David Wenham), discover that although they're grossly outnumbered, they can funnel the enemy into the Hot Gates (the literal translation of "Thermopylae"), a narrow pass where the Spartans' special-forces skills will crush wave after wave of the Persians. And, oh, how they crush. It's impressive and disarming to see the 300 delight in the "glory" of warfare. The Spartans, so drunk on warlust that they dismember, skewer, decapitate, and spear the enemy -- whether it's human, animal, or something in between -- are brave, but also a bit mad. What the Spartans want (unlike the Arcadians, a group of fellow Greeks that joins them) is not to survive but to "die a beautiful death" in battle.

Is It Any Good?

At times engrossing and at times laughably over-the-top, 300 is entertaining as an extended war sequence. However, the film falls short of reaching the revolutionary Matrix -like status that the film's creators claim. The whole segment in Xerxes' lair, with its hedonistic sensuality, smacks of stereotypical Orientalism, not to mention some of the grossly depicted Persian soldiers and the disfigured hunchback who plays a central role.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about the Spartans' upbringing and values. Why are 7-year-olds forced to fight each other -- and adults?

Xerxes offers Leonidas what sounds like a sweet deal; why does the king, facing certain death, turn it down?

Movie Details

• In theaters : March 8, 2007
• On DVD or streaming : July 31, 2007
• Cast : David Wenham , Gerard Butler , Lena Headey
• Director : Zack Snyder
• Inclusion Information : Female actors
• Studio : Warner Bros.
• Genre : Action/Adventure
• Run time : 117 minutes
• MPAA rating : R
• MPAA explanation : graphic battle sequences throughout, some sexuality and nudity.
• Last updated : July 24, 2024

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The 300 spartans blu-ray review.

The 300 Spartans (1962)

Genre(s): War, Adventure, Drama Fox | NR – 114 min. – $19.99 | February 25, 2014

Plot Outline: The 300 Spartans is the iconic action classic about the epic 480 B.C. Battle of Thermopylae. Spartan King Leonidas (RICHARD EGAN) commands a small band of fearless Greek warriors in their defense of the civilized world’s last bastion of freedom. Impossible outnumbered by the marauding forces of the totalitarian Persian Empire, these brave heroes will take no prisoners and never surrender… even unto death!

SPECIAL FEATURES – 0.5/5

The only features included are some TV Spots (1:38) , the Original Theatrical Trailer (2:37) and even the Spanish Trailer (2:37) .

VIDEO – 3.5/5

Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment releases The 300 Spartans onto Blu-ray presented in its original 2.35 widescreen aspect ratio and a 1080p high-definition transfer (MPEG-4 AVC codec). The picture doesn’t look the best at times looking soft in some areas, distant images especially, and even jittery in other scenes. However, some close-ups do show some good detail and colors look mostly even-handed with bright.

AUDIO – 3.5/5

The DTS-HD MA 1.0 lossless track comes out a tad better though it is still limited due to the source. The dialogue is decent though tops out a few times as does the music/score. However, it’s a fine track showcasing the action scenes from sword fights to the roar of the warriors.

OVERALL – 2.25/5

Overall, The 300 Spartans is a extravagantly made war-drama with impressive costume and set designs to go along with the hundreds of extras. The Blu-ray released by Fox offers little in bonus material with only TV spots and trailers while the audio/video transfers aren’t anything overly impressive but certainly a good upgrade over the DVD version.

Published: 03/08/2014

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The 300 Spartans Reviews

As sword-and-sandal films go, 'The 300 Spartans' is a good one, but don't expect hard-edged action and graphic violence of the '300' sort.

Full Review | Original Score: 7/10 | Feb 21, 2014

The battles seem more realistic because they are done essentially like a stage play in real time. This requires real skill and training.

Full Review | Original Score: C+ | Aug 4, 2010

Tecnicamente eficiente (especialmente no que diz respeito aos figurinos), o filme dilui sua fascinante base histrica em romances proibidos, dilogos superficiais e batalhas desinteressantes.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Mar 29, 2007

The poor Spartans, all 300 of them, are in a supercilious film.

Full Review | Original Score: C | Jun 24, 2004

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

• Top Ten Lists

300 SPARTANS, THE

• Post author: Dennis Schwartz
• Post published: August 5, 2019
• Post category: Uncategorized

( director/producer: Rudolph Mate; screenwriters: story by Gian Paolo Callegari & Giovanni D’Eramo/George St. George/ Remigio Del Grosso/Ugo Liberatore; cinematographer: Geoffrey Unsworth; editor: Jerry Webb; music: Manos Hadjidakis; cast: Richard Egan (King Leonidas of Sparta), Ralph Richardson (Themistocles of Athens), Diane Baker (Elias), Kieron Moore (Ephialtes, Greek Traitor), David Farrar (Xerxes, Persian King), Barry Coe (Phylon); Runtime: 114; MPAA Rating: NR; producer: George St. George; 20th Century Fox; 1962)

“ The poor Spartans, all 300 of them, are in a supercilious film. “

Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz

Rudolph Mate directs a lively sword-and-sandals epic based on a true historical event that has some saving graces such as the accuracy of its narrative despite wooden acting and a limp script. Also, Mate does a great job filming the battle scenes. But, alas, the poor Spartans, all 300 of them, are in a supercilious film.

The film centers around Sparta, under King Leonidis, defending a mountain pass for the ancient Greek states against Persia’s attack at Thermopylae (located about 85 miles from Athens and known as the Gates of Fire) in 480 B.C., as the 300 Spartans bravely defend themselves against a much greater force estimated to be of at least 360,000 soldiers by modern historians (though the ancient historian Herodotus gave the number as 5 million). By holding off the Persians led by King Xerxes for three days, a greater Spartan army was able to amass and enter the combat to save the day. The Spartans were considered the best soldiers of their time and this heroic battle added to their legend.

Sir Ralph Richardson as Themistocles of Athens guides the Athenians as their military strategist, and comes off as the thespian who could best say his trite lines with a straight face and still come out of this pic with his dignity intact–no small task.

History also notes Leonidas’ famous saying to the Persian emissary when asked to surrender: “Molon Labe,” which roughly means come and take my army, if you can.

REVIEWED ON 6/26/2004 GRADE: C 

https://dennisschwartzreviews.com/

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300 Ending, Explained

The Spartans lived their lives to serve in the war, and a glorious death was the preferred choice over cowardly submission. Zack Snyder adapts the famous graphic novel by inker and novelist Frank Miller for the screen in the enthralling 2006 war movie ‘300.’ The story follows Spartan king Leonidas ( Gerard Butler ) and his fearless troop of three hundred as they march to the Hot Gates to defend their kingdom.

The enemy is the formidable battalion of the Persian Empire, led by godly King Xerxes. The ending of the historical epic movie is decidedly gory and tragic, but there is a ray of hope. Do the Spartans win the war? Allow us to recollect the final moments from close quarters. SPOILERS AHEAD.

300 Plot Synopsis

Dilios, a hoplite soldier late in the Greco-Persian War, tells how King Leonidas unleased a beast about a year ago, in the battle of Thermopylae (or the battle of Hot Gates). Past snippets recollect Leonidas’s upbringing, from his rigorous life in the agoge to ascension to the throne. A troop of Persian messengers reach the court and ask for earth and water as tokens of submission to King Xerxes. Leonidas does not like the tone, and the messenger and his party of archers go into a potentially bottomless well.

Leonidas visits the Ephors, prophetic inbreds who must keep the oracle drunk. The king’s plan entails luring the enemy into a narrow strait called the Hot Gates . The oracle states that Greece will fall if they do not respect the celebration of Carneia. But Leonidas does not care much for the concerns of the council. With some boost from the Queen (and wife) Gorgo, he casually ventures out north with 300 of his best warriors as “bodyguards.” The movie tells the story of their mighty defeat and victory against the Persians.

300 Ending: Is Leonidas Dead or Alive? Does He Submit to Xerxes?

After surviving the horde of magical creatures, the Spartans seem invincible. Their formation seems unbreakable. While some of the soldiers die on the battlefield (including the son of the General), their spirit remains strong as ever. After the betrayal of Ephialtes, however, the Arcadians lose several of their soldiers. The Persian army attacks the garrison at night. Arcadian General Daxos comes to deliver Leonidas and the Spartans the devastating news. The Arcadians retreat, but a Spartan does not know how to flee the battleground.

But by the third day of the war, the Persians have surrounded the Spartans, with some help from Ephialtes. Leonidas prepares the remaining soldiers for one final blow. In the final sequence, Xerxes meets Leonidas, asking him once more for submission. Ephialtes comes out of the crowd to speak on behalf of Xerxes. Leonidas opens his Corinthian helmet, drops his shield on the ground, and his spear is next to fall. He kneels before Xerxes, and we think of the act as Leonidas’ submission for a moment.

But let us not be naïve, viewers. We both know that Leonidas is not the king to submit to an enemy. It turns out that he frees his head only to make his vision clearer. His shield is weighty and obstructs him from hitting a far-off target. As Leonidas kneels, Stelios kills the arrogant Persian General. Leonidas picks up his spear and aims for Xerxes. Although he misses the head by inches, Leonidas manages to wound Xerxes. After the act, Xerxes can’t allow the Spartans to leave the battlefield alive. Persian soldiers growl, arrows rain on the Spartans, and an ending shot (akin to a mural) unveils King Leonidas as dead, along with his army.

Do The Spartans Win The War?

King Leonidas and the troop meet some Arcadians and other Greeks on the way. They expected more soldiers from the Spartan side. But the vast Arcadian army comprises people from all walks of life, whereas the Spartans are warriors from birth. Meanwhile, the Persians have summoned beasts from the darkness, and the day of the reckoning has seemingly come. When a Persian General comes their way, he is greeted by Stelios and Daxos. When the General sees the Phocian wall made of rock and Persian scouts, he threatens Stelios that he will die by noon, but soon after, Stelios slays him. The Oracle also previously states that Greece will fall. So, do the Spartans win the war?

Thankfully, Leonidas sends much of the troops back to the council to prepare to fight the war in the coming days. Dilios loses his eye in the battle and this hinders his ability to fight. Thus, Leonidas sends him back to the city-state as the messenger. Although the king and pretty much everyone can guess their final fate, Leonidas tells Dilios to tell the council about their victory. As Dilios narrates the story to his fellow soldiers, he says that the words of Leonidas came to him as cryptic. But now, a year following the death of Leonidas, Dilios assures that he now understands the meaning behind Leonidas’ confidence.

Although Leonidas has died on the battlefield with the most gifted of his soldiers, his bravery has given hope to Greece. He has shown the kingdom that the Persians can be defeated, and in the final sequence, Dilios and the Greeks head to the Battle of Plataea, the last land battle in the Greco-Persian Wars. 10,000 Spartans headed by Dilios vanguard the 30,000 free Greeks into war. Leonidas and the 300 become a myth, remembered by the Greeks as a symbol of strength and determination against adversity.

What Happened to The Real Xerxes? Was Xerxes Really A God?

Xerxes claims to be a God, asking the Greeks to bow down before his divinity. He comes off as a benevolent tyrant, but a tyrant nonetheless. When Leonidas rejects Ephialtes, the hunchback Spartan joins hands with the Persians. He goes to the Persian war tent to spill the secret of the other path before the king. The king shows Ephialtes a hedonistic life, enough to win command over Ephialtes. Xerxes also has the power to summon the “beasts from the darkness,” the soulless fantastical creatures who unleash hell on earth. With the mighty army, Xerxes may as well think of himself as God incarnate.

While Xerxes’ words may come off as obstinate in the day, kings always speak in lofty and condescending tones. The religious association is not unnatural since the Persian Empire had the concept of “Khvarenah,” which refers to the idea of a divine mystique force aiding the ruler. The name perhaps arrives from the early Mesopotamian culture where kings like Shulgi of Ur were revered like deities after their deaths. The concept, which translates as the “glory,” also has a second meaning, that of “good fortune.”

Coincidentally, Xerxes does not die in the movie due to sheer fortune. Leonidas seemingly aims for the head of Xerxes, but he misses the target. The king lives to see another day, and history tells us that he would go on to burn Athens after the Battle of Thermopylae. After capturing Athens, Xerxes would have control over the entire mainland Greece. However, his victory was short-lived, as Greeks retaliated in the Battle of Salamis.

According to Herodotus’ account, Xerxes retreated to Asia, fearing the Greeks would trap his army in Europe. Another reason for his return was the growing unrest in Babylon, which was a key province within the Persian Empire. However, when Leonidas’ spear wounds Xerxes, we see him bleeding. The injury proves that Xerxes is no king. When the myth is shattered, the Greeks gather all the more courage to defeat the Persians on the battlefield.

Read More: Is 300 Based on A True Story?

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The 300 Spartans Reviews

• 1 hr 54 mins
• Drama, Action & Adventure
• Watchlist Where to Watch

Greek locations brighten this account of the Battle of Thermopylae in 480 B.C. Richard Egan, Diane Baker, Ralph Richardson, Barry Coe. Xerxes: David Farrar. Hydarnes: Donald Houston. Ephialtes: Kieron Moore. Queen: Anna Synodinou. Pentheus: Robert Brown. Rudolph Maté directed.

An overlong spectacle that tells how a band of only 300 Spartans fended off an army of thousands in the Battle of Thermopylae in 480 BC. The filmmakers were more concerned with the immenseness of battle than with historic credibility or story, though amid all the excess Richardson's performance (given the feebleness of the script) shines through. Not much better than the Italian muscleman imports.

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This is sparta: 10 behind-the-scenes facts about 300.

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Zack Snyder’s 300 is the movie that put him on the map. It established his signature visual style — saturating colors, using comic books as storyboards , and cutting in and out of super slow-motion during action scenes — and put him in good stead to direct Hollywood blockbusters for years to come.

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Although the movie is very upfront about the fact that its telling of the Battle of Thermopylae is coming from a wildly unreliable narrator, 300 was so surprisingly successful that a lot of non-history buffs have taken its version of events as gospel. Here are 10 fascinating details from behind the scenes of 300 .

Frank Miller Based His Graphic Novel On A Childhood Viewing Of The 300 Spartans

300 is adapted from a graphic novel by Frank Miller. Miller had been fascinated with the Battle of Thermopylae ever since he saw Rudolph Maté’s movie The 300 Spartans when he was six years old.

According to Miller, Richard Egan’s portrayal of King Leonidas changed his perception of the role of a hero. He realized that heroes don’t always succeed, and sometimes they have to sacrifice themselves for the greater good .

The Line “This Is Sparta!” Wasn’t Originally Supposed To Be Yelled

In the original script for 300 , the line “This is Sparta!” wasn’t supposed to be yelled. In the comic book, it’s delivered in a stern but calm manner. Gerard Butler tried a few takes in which he delivered the line this way, but it didn’t have much of an impact.

He tried one take in which he yelled the line at the top of his voice. Zack Snyder loved this delivery of the line and asked him to do it again. The second yelled take of “This is Sparta!!!” is the one that ended up in the movie.

The Oracle’s Dialogue Was Just Improvised Gibberish

The dialogue spoken by the Oracle wasn’t scripted. Kelly Craig, the actor playing her, just improvised some gibberish. Zack Snyder was glad that she managed to work the word “Carneia” — the name of one of the great national festivals of Sparta — into the dialogue.

The flowing visual effect that appears in the scene in which the Oracle is dancing was achieved by filming the actor underwater.

Zack Snyder Adapted The Graphic Novel Shot-For-Shot

When he was adapting 300 for the screen, Zack Snyder decided to basically use the graphic novel as a storyboard. Robert Rodriguez had used a similar technique when he was adapting Sin City  — another Frank Miller comic — for the big screen.

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Snyder photocopied panels from the graphic novel and used them as an endgame, figuring out which shots would come before and after them, which he said was a fun challenge.

Warner Bros. Initially Wanted A PG-13 Rating

Although Frank Miller’s comic is as gory and graphic as the film based on it, Warner Bros. initially wanted their big-screen adaptation of the book to get a PG-13 rating. When Zack Snyder signed on, he wanted to make it R-rated, and Warner Bros. eventually relented.

Studio executives thought that the best-case scenario for 300 would be to match Sin City ’s $74 million box office gross, so they were pleasantly surprised when it ended up topping $200 million.

Most Of The Blood Was Added In Post-Production

300 is one of the bloodiest, goriest action movies of the 21st century. However, not an awful lot of fake blood was used during filming. In fact, the whole production only used about two gallons of fake blood. The rest was added digitally during the post-production phase.

In real life, every Spartan soldier wore a plume, but in the movie, only Leonidas has one. This was so the audience could tell him apart from the other Spartans in the battle sequences.

The Actors Underwent A Grueling Training Regime

Since the script required all the male cast members to be ripped and shirtless in basically every scene, the actors were subjected to a grueling training regime for eight weeks before shooting. The regime was put together by Marc Twight, a record-breaking professional mountain climber. The actors never did the same exercise more than once to prevent their bodies from getting accustomed to certain types of exertion.

Gerard Butler called his training for 300 the hardest thing he’s ever had to do. When the regime was over, Twight confessed to pushing the 300 cast harder than he’d pushed anyone before, including himself.

Leonidas’ Father Was Played By Gerard Butler’s Stunt Double

Leonidas’ father bears more than a passing resemblance to him, and that’s because the actor who was hired to play him, Tim Connolly, was also working as Gerard Butler’s stunt double. The younger version of Leonidas, on the other hand, was played by Zack Snyder’s son.

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When the real-life Leonidas died, he was 60 years old. Butler was nowhere near the age of 60 when he played him. This is just one of many historical inaccuracies found in 300 , a movie that hardly goes out of its way to be realistic.

The Filmmakers Favored Blue Screens Over Green Screens

Out of the 1,523 cuts featured in 300 , more than 1,300 of its shots contain some elements of visual effects. All in all, 300 contains a grand total of 8,631 VFX elements. The crew decided to use blue screens a lot more than green screens, utilizing blue screens for 90% of shooting and green screens for just 10%.

This is because blue was better-suited to the lighting choices they’d made in pre-production, and the Spartans’ red capes photographed better against a blue background than a green background.

Zack Snyder Told The Writers To Dial Up The Weirdness

Zack Snyder began work on 300 before he’d begun work on his directorial debut, his 2004 remake of George A. Romero’s Dawn of the Dead . Around the same time that Snyder was developing 300 with Warner Bros., Michael Mann was planning an unrelated film about the Battle of Thermopylae that he ended up having to cancel.

During pre-production, Snyder bonded with Frank Miller over a shared affection for samurai movies and gory low-budget horror cinema. Snyder’s main note to the screenwriters adapting Miller’s graphic novel was to add more weirdness.

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300: History vs. Hollywood

Did the Spartans really fight with virtually no body armor?

Why is King Leonidas the only Spartan in the movie wearing a plumed helmet?

In what year did the Battle of Thermopylae take place?

Were the spartans really 'good guys'.

Did the Spartans really discard their unfit offspring?

"If after examination the baby proved well-built and sturdy they [the state] instructed the father to bring it up, and assigned it one of the 9,000 lots of land. But if it was puny and deformed, they dispatched it to what was called 'the place of rejection', a precipitous spot by Mount Taygetus, considering it better both for itself and the state that the child should die if right from its birth it was poorly endowed for health or strength."

"If an older man with a young wife should take a liking to one of the well-bred young men and approve of him, he might well introduce him to her so as to fill her with noble sperm and then adopt the child as his own. Conversely, a respectable man who admired someone else's wife noted for her lovely children and her good sense, might gain the husband's permission to sleep with her -- thereby planting in fruitful soil, so to speak, and producing fine children who would be linked to fine ancestors by blood and family."

Did Spartan boys really leave home at the age of 7 for warrior training?

Yes. As shown in the film, on a young Spartan male's seventh birthday, he would leave home to begin an education and training regime known as the agoge. In addition to separation from one's family, the agoge involved cultivation of loyalty to one's group, loving mentorship, military training, hunting, dance and social preparation. The literal translation of agoge is 'raising'. The boys lived in groups (agelae, herds) under an older boy leader. They put their loyalty to their group above their family. Even after they were married, they would not eat dinner with their wives until they were 25 (formal agoge training ended at age 18). Sons of the King were the only males exempt from the agoge.

Was Leonidas' right of passage really to kill a wolf in the woods?

Did Sparta go up against the Persians alone?

No. Perhaps the biggest problem with the movie 300 is that the film leaves the audience believing that the Spartans were the only Greek force to lead an attack against the Persians. The movie leaves out the decisive amphibious battle that took place in the straits adjacent to Thermopylae, where allied Greek fleets led by Athens held off the Persian fleets. Soon after, this Athenian led fleet saved Greece by destroying the Persian fleet during the Battle of Salamis, which marked the turning point in the war. Sparta and Athens working together also marked the beginning of Greece as a unified nation, instead of a collection of warring city-states. Prior to these battles, it was originally the Athenians who had asked Leonidas to help them defend against the Persians.

Was the Persian King Xerxes really bald and 9-feet-tall?

No. The real Persian King Xerxes had a beard and was much shorter. He never went to the front line at the Battle of Thermopylae as his character does in the movie 300 . Actor Rodrigo Santoro portrays the 9-foot-tall Xerxes in the film. Rodrigo, who starred on ABC's Lost , is around 6'2". His height and voice were both altered for the role of the Persian King. Director Zack Snyder talked about Xerxes' exaggerated features in an interview, "...because we scaled him as we did, when his normal voice played, it was even stranger to me. He was out of scale of his voice, not that it wasn't commanding." The actor's actual voice is heard in the film, only with the pitch scaled down.

Did Leonidas really consult an Oracle to aid in his decision to go to battle?

Did the Persians really use charging elephants and rhinos at Thermopylae?

No. The Persians didn't bring any charging elephants or rhinos to the Battle of Thermopylae. This was a liberty taken by 300 author Frank Miller and the filmmakers, in order to add to the movie's elements of fantasy. The Persians did use horses in battle, as their army was twenty percent cavalry.

Is the movie's hunchbacked traitor Ephialtes based on a real person?

Are the Immortals based on a real Persian fighting unit?

Does 300 accurately represent spartan women.

Yes. The movie presents a strong willed Queen Gorgo (Lena Headey), who advises her husband on both military and political matters. At one point in the film, a Persian messenger insults the Queen after she offers her input during a political discussion. The Persian felt that the Queen (a woman) should not speak on such matters. The film's depiction of the role of Spartan women is accurate. The relative freedom and empowerment of their women helped to further set the Spartans apart from other cultures. The empowerment of Spartan women could be compared to the freedoms of modern day American women versus the restricted roles of many present day Middle Eastern women.

Did Queen Gorgo really kill council member Theron?

No. This is an element of fiction added by the filmmakers to enhance the role of the Queen in the storyline. In an Entertainment Weekly interview, author of 300 Frank Miller stated his opposition to this alteration of his graphic novel, "At first I very much disagreed with it. My main comment was, 'This is a boys' movie. Let it be that.' The story itself, in historical terms, really didn't involve her all that much, from most accounts. But Zack had his reasons. He wanted to show that King Leonidas was fighting for something, by giving him a romantic aspect and by lingering in Sparta a little bit." In reality, Queen Gorgo's husband King Leonidas was her half uncle. Leonidas and Gorgo's father Cleomenes were paternal half-brothers.

Did Queen Gorgo really have an active role in the Spartan political arena?

Yes. Greek historian Herodotus mentions her several times in his writings. When she was only eight or nine-years old, she advises her father to not trust Aristagoras: "Father, you had better go away, or the stranger will corrupt you." Cleomenes follows her advice. She makes a second appearance in Herodotus' Histories when a message from Demaratos reaches Sparta: "When the message reached its destination, no one was able to guess the secret until, as I understand, Cleomenes' daughter, Gorgo, who was the wife of Leonidas, divined it and told the others that, if they scraped the wax off, they would find something written on the wood underneath. This was done; the message was revealed and read, and afterwards passed on to the other Greeks." Perhaps most recognizable from the movie 300 are Queen Gorgo's quotes that appeared in the Greek historian Plutarch's writings: "When asked by a woman from Attica, 'Why are you Spartan women the only ones who can rule men?', she said: 'Because we are also the only ones who give birth to men.'" "On her husband Leonidas' departure for Thermopylae, while urging him to show himself worthy of Sparta, she asked what she should do. He said: 'Marry a good man and bear good children.'"

Did King Leonidas really utter catchphrases like, "Tonight we dine in Hell!!"?

Were the Spartans very different from other Greeks?

Yes. The Spartans were much more focused on war and preparing for it. This is emphasized in the movie 300 when King Leonidas (Gerard Butler) asks several Arcadian soldiers to state their professions. Leonidas then turns to his own Spartan soldiers and asks them, "What is your profession men?" They reply with a loud warrior cry, indicating that they are soldiers by trade.

Who does Frank Miller see as being today's equivalent of Spartan soldiers?

In an Entertainment Weekly interview, graphic novelist Frank Miller addressed this by saying, "The closest comparison you can draw in terms of our own military today is to think of the red-caped Spartans as being like our special-ops forces. They're these almost superhuman characters with a tremendous warrior ethic, who were unquestionably the best fighters in Greece."

Is there a political message in director Zack Snyder's movie 300 ?

The movie depicts a small group of European freedom fighters holding off a large army of Iranian slaves. Although people might draw comparisons to modern day conflicts, Zack Snyder said that he did not intend to create the movie to be a commentary on current events, "Someone asked me, 'Is George Bush Leonidas or Xerxes?' I said, 'That's an awesome question.' The fact they asked tells me that this movie can mean one thing to one person and something totally different to another. I clearly didn't mean either. I was just trying to get Frank's book made into a movie."

Why were Iranians upset over the movie 300 ?

On Sunday March 11, 2007, just two days after 300 's U.S. release, Iran's Fars News Agency reported that the Iranian government was not happy with the movie's depiction of their culture. Javad Shamqadri, an art advisor to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, charged that the movie was "part of a comprehensive U.S. psychological war aimed at Iranian culture", said the report. Shamqadri was quoted as saying, "Following the Islamic Revolution in Iran, Hollywood and cultural authorities in the U.S. initiated studies to figure out how to attack Iranian culture," adding, "Certainly, the recent movie is a product of such studies." The movie's effort would be fruitless, because "values in Iranian culture and the Islamic Revolution are too strongly seated to be damaged by such plans", said the Iranian official.

Why was the movie shot almost entirely on a soundstage?

300 director Zack Snyder answered this question during a Wired interview, "I wanted to get at the book as much as I could. Shooting outside, we couldn't control the skies and lighting to the extent I wanted to. And the landscapes are different than in real life. They don't exist in the real world, only in Frank Miller's imagination."

Does the director's real life son appear in the movie?

Yes. Director Zack Snyder's son Eli plays a young Leonidas during the punching scene early in the movie.

How do historians know so much about the Spartans and the Persians?

Watch the 300 related videos below, including a 300 video featuring comments from the man behind the 300 graphic novel, Frank Miller. Other videos offer a behind the scenes look at the making of the film. They also feature interviews with director Zack Snyder, actor Gerard Butler, and others. The videos offer good tidbits of information related to the 300 Spartans history investigated earlier.

• Read Herodotus' The Histories Online in Parallel English/Greek Text
• 300 Official Movie Website

"One of the 50 Coolest Websites...they simply tell it like it is" - TIME

300 | 2007 | R | - 6.9.2

SEX/NUDITY 6 - A nude man stands at a window (his bare buttocks, back and legs are shown), he joins his wife in bed, they kiss and caress each other and have sex (we see thrusting and kissing from multiple positions and her bare breasts are visible). ►  The nude, dead bodies of the residents of a city are attached to a tree with arrows and their bare breasts and genitals are visible. A woman wears very low-cut dresses that reveal cleavage, bare shoulders, part of her bare breasts from the side and bare abdomen, in many scenes. Men are shown bare-chested in many scenes, with a leather bottom covering. ►  Scantily-clad women dance seductively (several are bare-breasted) and a couple of women kiss and caress each other; several women kiss and caress a malformed man whom another man is trying to bribe (the man promises him as many women as he wants). ►  A woman drops her dress in front of a man (we see her bare shoulders), he slams her against a wall and prepares to have sex with her. ►  A young woman wearing a sheer dress writhes on the floor, stands and continues to writhe, her dress falls open revealing her bare breasts, bare buttocks and thighs, and a man (with badly scarred face and discolored teeth) licks her cheek. ►  A man makes a remark about a young man being too young to have felt the warmth of a woman.

VIOLENCE/GORE 9 - A man holds a large knife on a man, he kicks him into a deep well, and other men stab and slash several other men, who are also thrown into the well; we see blood spurt, and the point of a knife pokes through a man's back. ►  A wolf with large fangs and claws and glowing red eyes snarls and circles around a boy, the boy walks into a cave, the wolf follows and lunges for the boy, but it is trapped in a narrow passageway and the boy stabs it through the mouth (we see the silhouette of the spear entering the wolf and we hear it whimper). ►  A large army charges a smaller army, they clash, many men are run through by spears (blood spurts and we hear squishing), and the larger army is pushed back and slaughtered (one man is stabbed by three spears and the points push through his back, and one man's leg is hacked off at the knee and we see it separate). ►  Another large army attacks a smaller army, many men on horseback are slashed and run through, horses are slashed and run through also, and blood sprays and spurts and we hear squishing and screaming. ►  An enormous man is released from his chains and begins attacking many men (we hear crunching), and we see near strikes and slashes; the man throws an ax that nearly strikes a man in the head, and one man stabs him through the arm, the leg, then the eye, and finally cuts his head off (we see the head separate, fall to the ground and blood spurts from the neck). ►  As punishment for losing, soldiers are placed on a stone and a man with crab claws for arms cuts their heads off (we hear a slash, blood splatters and we see a severed head floating in the air, with blood at the neck). A man on horseback cuts the head off another man (we see the head separate and see blood spurt from the neck). ►  A man is stabbed by three spears, and he strikes each of the three men down before dying himself. Many wounded men writhing on the ground are stabbed with spears and killed. A man is struck through the chest by a spear and falls from his horse. Many arrows strike many men (we see bloody holes where they have been struck) and they fall to the ground. ►  A woman stabs a man in the stomach, he lurches forward, and she pushes the knife deeper, twice (we hear crunching), and then withdraws it and the man falls to the floor. A man throws a spear that slashes another man's face (blood pours from the wound. A man with a large knife jumps toward a man who raises a whip, and cuts his arm off (we see the arm separate and blood splatters). ►  A rhinoceros pierces several men and tosses them into the air, and a man throws a spear striking the rhino in the head and it falls dead on the ground. Many elephants rear and stomp near men, the elephants are frightened, they back up and fall off a high cliff. ►  There are several dead men who have been speared up through their bodies and out the mouth. An enormous wall of bodies is built and pushed over and onto an approaching army. There are many dead bodies that have been used as "mortar" in a stone wall (we see blood on them). ►  Many men come upon a city that has been attacked and has been left burning (we see a dead horse on the ground with large gaping wounds and flies buzzing around it) and a child approaches the men and tells them what happened; we see a large tree with the nude bodies of residents of the city attached to it with arrows. ►  Flaming jars are thrown, they explode and send shrapnel everywhere (we see one man struck in the leg by a piece). Many men are pushed back to a cliff's edge and over it, falling onto rocks and the sea below. Many arrows are launched toward men who cover themselves with their shields. A man loses the use of his eye during a battle. ►  A man grabs a woman by the throat and shoves her against a wall, he then turns her around, pushes her against a wall and prepares to have sex with her. A boy straddling another boy punches him repeatedly in the face (blood spurts, and the boy's face is bloody and bruised, as are the aggressor's hands). ►  A boy is tied to a pole and lashed across the back repeatedly (he winces). A man whips men who carry him on a heavy platform. A man whips soldiers that are marching into battle. ►  A man and a boy (they're father and son) fight with knives, the boy's knife is knocked out of his hands and the man strikes him in the face (we see his bloody lip); they then continue to fight. We see a boy being taken from his mother at the age of 7 (the mother struggles against two guards holding her, as does the boy). A woman slaps a man in the face. ►  Thunder crashes and lightning flashes on a mound of skulls at the bottom of a cliff while a man examines a newborn for imperfections (we hear that imperfect infants are discarded). Men on horseback charge into a city, one horse rears and the rider holds a string of skulls (we are told they are the skulls of fallen kings). ►  We see five men with badly scarred faces, and discolored and malformed teeth. A badly malformed man with a hunchback and scarring on his back and face is shown in several scenes. The mask of a man is knocked off and we see a grey-tinged face. Several people are shown with piercings on their heads and faces. ►  Many ships are crushed during a heavy storm (we see the bodies of men sinking into the water and a few large wounds are visible). A man climbs up a sheer rock wall. ►  A man grieves over the death of his son. A man talks about a group of warriors who cannot be killed or defeated. We hear about boys being trained to be warriors by being placed in extreme circumstances and left to fight for survival. There are several allusions to the fact that, once a country is occupied, its women will be raped and the women and children will be enslaved. A man is dismissive of a woman and questions her right to speak to men. A man threatens a man with death.

LANGUAGE 2 - 3 sexual references, 3 mild obscenities, name-calling (swine, motherless dogs, stupid).

SUBSTANCE USE - People are shown drinking wine in a couple of scenes. There is smoke in the air in a scene and people act as if they might be under the influence of something, but it is not clear.

DISCUSSION TOPICS - Warrior societies, freedom, slavery, submission, being tested, love, respect, honor, mercy, betrayal, reason, kindness, idealism, realism, opportunism, mortality, retreat, bribery, surrender, regret, hate, liberty, justice, hope, courage, choices, bravery, duty, remembering those who fall in battle, anarchy, hubris, glory, trust, adultery, fear, oracles, treason, tyranny, mysticism, death of a child.

MESSAGE - Trust reason before faith. Duty should be placed above all else, including life.

Be aware that while we do our best to avoid spoilers it is impossible to disguise all details and some may reveal crucial plot elements.

We've gone through several editorial changes since we started covering films in 1992 and older reviews are not as complete & accurate as recent ones; we plan to revisit and correct older reviews as resources and time permits.

Our ratings and reviews are based on the theatrically-released versions of films; on video there are often Unrated , Special , Director's Cut or Extended versions, (usually accurately labelled but sometimes mislabeled) released that contain additional content, which we did not review.

REVIEWS See ratings & reviews at Critics.com

WEB LINKS Official Site    IMDb

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THE ASSIGNED NUMBERS Unlike the MPAA we do not assign one inscrutable rating based on age but 3 objective ratings for SEX/NUDITY , VIOLENCE/GORE & LANGUAGE on a scale of 0 to 10, from lowest to highest depending on quantity & context | more |

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