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Zack Snyder Director | previously directed Dawn of the Dead |  |
Led by King Leonidas, 300 brave Spartan warriors defend their home from the invading Persian hordes led by the god-king Xerxes. Based on Frank Miller's graphic novel.
Trivia:
In the comic on which the film is based, the Spartans fight naked. This is meant to set up that that the story is being told by an unreliable narrator - Greek heroes are depicted in art contemporaneous of the war with Persia in the nude.
8 More Trivia |
Zack Snyder | |
| Kurt Johnstad | ||
| Michael Gordon | ||
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Frank Miller | |
| Lynn Varley |
The film begins with a young boy, named Leonidas, training in Sparta. Due to the militaristic emphasis in Sparta, young, able-bodied boys are required to begin training for the Spartan army at a young age, and any with physical disabilities are cast off the cliffs to face certain death.
Time is shown to have passed, and Leonidas is now the ruler of Sparta along with his wife, Golgo. A messenger arrives from Persia to request offerings from Sparta for his land and ruler, King Xerxes. Leonidas reacts violently to the messenger as he does not want Sparta to show submission to any nation, and kicks the messenger and his followers into a great well they stand next to (famously shouting "This is Sparta!").
Leonidas then meets with the Ephors (the religious leaders of Sparta) to request their blessings to go to war and declare his plan. The Ephors meet with the Oracle, who says that Leonidas should hold off his attack because religious ceremonies are under way. Leonidas refuses and leaves to go to war, and the Ephors are seen being bribed by Theron and an unnamed man, both working for Xerxes.
Leonidas gathers a troop of three hundred men, claiming that since he isn't permitted to go to war, the men are his guards and envoys. Leonidas is confident in his men, but knows that it is impossible for his men to win against the massive Persian army. He instead hopes that their inevitable slaughter will want the council to initiate a real war against the Persians. As they head out, they encounter a band of Arcadian soldiers, who offer their services to Leonidas. At first, Leonidas mocks them, claiming that while they all have jobs of craft and trade, all of his men have the profession of warrior. However, Leonidas enlists all the men, and they continue to venture to Thermopylae.
The soldiers arrive in Thermopylae and do they best to construct a barricade to slow the nearing Persian army. Ephialtes, a hunchbacked and crippled man who avoided death in Sparta by having his parents hide him away from the city, approaches Leonidas and asks to fight with him to restore honor to his family. He tells of a secret passageway in Thermopylae that they don't know of that the Persians could easily use to flank their barrier. Leonidas ignores his advice and turns him away from the battle, claiming that his left arm isn't strong enough to lift up a shield and would impact the structural integrity of the phalanx formation the Spartan army fights in. Appalled, Ephialtes leaves Thermopylae and curses Leonidas.
The first wave of Persians arrives and commands the Spartans to drop their weapons and surrender. Leonidas refuses, and a battle begins. The Spartans are successful in using the phalanx and narrow location to rebuke the Persians, but one of their leading soldiers, Astinos, is killed, throwing his father, Captain Artemis, into a blind frenzy.
Elsewhere, Xerxes meets with Leonidas, offering him anything he wants in exchange for his surrender, claiming that he and his troops should not die because of a simple "misunderstanding." Leonidas refuses his offer and insults his troops, saying that he has "many slaves, but few warriors." Enraged, Xerxes sends Leonidas away and sends his group of highly skilled warriors, the "Immortals," after the Spartan army. The Spartans succeed in eliminating the Immortals, but Ephialtes tells Xerxes of the secret pathway, feeling betrayed by Leonidas.
In Sparta, Gorgo pleads to have more soldiers sent to aid Leonidas, but her cries fall on deaf ears. She resorts to sleeping with Theron because of his influence, where he proceeds to have violent sex with her, saying, "This will not be over quickly, you will not enjoy this, I am not your king." Gorgo makes her speech to the council, but Theron betrays her and says that she isn't to be trusted and offered to sleep with him. Enraged, Gorgo pulls a sword from the sheath of a nearby councilman and stabs Theron, repeating the words he spoke to her earlier. As he dies, his coin purse spills, showing that he carries Persian coins. Realizing that they had been manipulated, the council agrees to send troops to Thermopylae to aid the attack.
Seeing Persian troops begin to stray from the main path and go down the secret one, Leonidas realizes that Ephialtes has told Xerxes of it. Knowing that he has no chance of survival, Leonidas sends Dilios, one of his most loyal troops, back to Sparta to convince the council to go to war so that his sacrifice won't be in vain. Dilios refuses, saying that he wants to fight with the army, but Leonidas says that he is the most convincing storyteller and demands that he go. Reluctantly, Dilios leaves with the now retreating Arcadians.
The Persian army surrounds the Spartans, and Xerxes again demands submission, hoping that Leonidas will see the direness of his situation. Leonidas appears to bow before the king, but one of his troops jumps over him and kills one of Xerxes' top generals. Xerxes commands his troops to attack as Leonidas throws his spear at Xerxes. He is unsuccessful in killing him, but manages to graze his cheek, showing Xerxes that he is not a god as he would like to believe. Xerxes orders all of his troops to fire, and a monstrous volley of arrows falls on the army and kills every single one.
Dilios arrives in Sparta months after Leonidas' defeat, and convinces the council to go to war with Persia after claiming that a mere three hundred men were able to kill thousands. Other Greek poleis hear the stories of Leonidas and his men and are inspired to help defeat the Persians, each sending men to aid Sparta's attack. The Spartan army is now in the thousands, and though they still fall short of the numbers of the Persian army, Dilios says that they will claim victory and charges into battle with the troops, presumably starting the Battle of Plataea.
Leonidas kicking the messenger into the well.
Leonidas then meets with the Ephors (the religious leaders of Sparta) to request their blessings to go to war and declare his plan. The Ephors meet with the Oracle, who says that Leonidas should hold off his attack because religious ceremonies are under way. Leonidas refuses and leaves to go to war, and the Ephors are seen being bribed by Theron and an unnamed man, both working for Xerxes.
The Spartan army meeting with the Arcadians.
Leonidas gathers a troop of three hundred men, claiming that since he isn't permitted to go to war, the men are his guards and envoys. Leonidas is confident in his men, but knows that it is impossible for his men to win against the massive Persian army. He instead hopes that their inevitable slaughter will want the council to initiate a real war against the Persians. As they head out, they encounter a band of Arcadian soldiers, who offer their services to Leonidas. At first, Leonidas mocks them, claiming that while they all have jobs of craft and trade, all of his men have the profession of warrior. However, Leonidas enlists all the men, and they continue to venture to Thermopylae.
The soldiers arrive in Thermopylae and do they best to construct a barricade to slow the nearing Persian army. Ephialtes, a hunchbacked and crippled man who avoided death in Sparta by having his parents hide him away from the city, approaches Leonidas and asks to fight with him to restore honor to his family. He tells of a secret passageway in Thermopylae that they don't know of that the Persians could easily use to flank their barrier. Leonidas ignores his advice and turns him away from the battle, claiming that his left arm isn't strong enough to lift up a shield and would impact the structural integrity of the phalanx formation the Spartan army fights in. Appalled, Ephialtes leaves Thermopylae and curses Leonidas.
The first wave of Persians arrives and commands the Spartans to drop their weapons and surrender. Leonidas refuses, and a battle begins. The Spartans are successful in using the phalanx and narrow location to rebuke the Persians, but one of their leading soldiers, Astinos, is killed, throwing his father, Captain Artemis, into a blind frenzy.
One of Xerxes' Immortals.
In Sparta, Gorgo pleads to have more soldiers sent to aid Leonidas, but her cries fall on deaf ears. She resorts to sleeping with Theron because of his influence, where he proceeds to have violent sex with her, saying, "This will not be over quickly, you will not enjoy this, I am not your king." Gorgo makes her speech to the council, but Theron betrays her and says that she isn't to be trusted and offered to sleep with him. Enraged, Gorgo pulls a sword from the sheath of a nearby councilman and stabs Theron, repeating the words he spoke to her earlier. As he dies, his coin purse spills, showing that he carries Persian coins. Realizing that they had been manipulated, the council agrees to send troops to Thermopylae to aid the attack.
Ephialtes, the betrayer.
The Persian army surrounds the Spartans, and Xerxes again demands submission, hoping that Leonidas will see the direness of his situation. Leonidas appears to bow before the king, but one of his troops jumps over him and kills one of Xerxes' top generals. Xerxes commands his troops to attack as Leonidas throws his spear at Xerxes. He is unsuccessful in killing him, but manages to graze his cheek, showing Xerxes that he is not a god as he would like to believe. Xerxes orders all of his troops to fire, and a monstrous volley of arrows falls on the army and kills every single one.
Dilios rallying the troops.
|
300 Trailer
Here's the awesome trailer for Zack Snyder's adaptation of Frank Miller's graphic novel. |
| blog | The Unrecognized Genius of Watchmen | TheSavageAssasin |
| review | Spartand vs Persians, and Once Again, Gerard Butler's Nekkid Ass! (4 out of 5) | ruckus24 |
| blog | It's Just Too Graphic | unwritten_duck |
| news | 300 Follow-Up Gets A New Director And Title | Tom_Pinchuk |
| review | 300 (3 out of 5) | Adrenaline |
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General Information
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| Name | 300 |
| US Release | March 9, 2007 |
| UK Release | March 23, 2007 |
| AUS Release | April 5, 2007 |
| Runtime | 116 |
| Language(s) |
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| Genre(s) | |
| Theme(s) | |
| Rating | R |
| Alias(es) |
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Box Office
Domestic $210,614,939 Foreign +$245,453,242 - = total worldwide gross $456,068,181
- - a reported budget of $65,000,000
- = a 601.6% net profit of $391,068,181
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In today's dollars
Domestic $210,614,939 Foreign +245,453,242 - = total worldwide gross $456,068,181
- - a reported budget of $65,000,000
- = a 601.6% net profit of $391,068,181
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