...relentless in its attempt to recreate the graphic novel's vision of the carnage at Thermopylae.
"300" is bloody. Graphically bloody, sexual, violent, almost bordering on pornographic. But none of it is done to demean the people on screen or for the sheer thrill of it. Everything has a reason for appearing: the near rape of the queen, as far as we can tell; Leonidas and Gorgo's last night together; Xerxes' court; even the clothing (or lack thereof) worn by the Spartans. Impossibly ripped and themselves appearing as though they stepped out of the comic, they all sport six packs, not to mention precious few clothes. If the film itself is a testament to the visual prowess of technology, then the Spartans (and the Persians) are examples of the finely tuned human form.
Lest "300" gets pigeonholed as a straight action film, there are moments of pure dread. When the Spartans get their first look at the Persian army in their ships on the ocean, the audience's collective heart drops from their chests as the innumerable ships are shown on screen. Nothing like the vessels seen in the beginning of "Saving Private Ryan," every boat that comes onto the screen deflates the audience that much more. By the time the camera shows every vessel on the water, we feel this is a lost cause. Yet those words are not uttered by any Spartan. After a storm vanquishes many of those vessels, the heart plummets again with our first look at the Persian camp. Then we realize this is a true no-win scenario.
With each successive attack by the Persians the Spartans fend off, our hopes rise. The creatures are defeated. The regular troops, the specialized army, the barrage of arrows…the Spartans repel all of it with minimal casualties. Even though we know how this story is bound to end, we hope the climax will be different. While this battle is ongoing, Queen Gorgo is embroiled in Spartan politics, which doesn't matter in the grand scheme of the movie. The scenes aren't weak, but our hearts and attention are with Leonidas and the 300, not with the Spartan council. We clamor in our own blood lust to get back to the main attraction: the battle.
The thing that makes the Spartans, at least the Spartans of "300," great is how much they did with so little. Whereas the Persians massed an army of a million plus with all manner of weapons, reinforcements, creatures, and overwhelming numbers, the Spartans fought only with spears, swords, and shields…and their minds. They are touted as the best warriors in all of Greece. With good reason, as "300" demonstrates. By working together as one unified fighting force, they are able to repulse an army many times their size. This is exemplified in a scene in which Leonidas tells a deformed Ephialtes there is no use for him in the army since he can not raise a shield to protect the man next to him. Sparta is about teamwork, moving as one, following orders, every person doing his part, for if one person falls, they all fall.
Every battle sequence is more than just choreographed swords clanging against one another. They are virtual ballets, with the requisite blood droplets punctuating scenes of stabbing, beheading, jumping, parrying, and deflecting. There is simply too much happening on screen to describe in the written word. "300" has to be seen to be believed. It would not exist in its current form without the likes of "Star Wars" and "The Lord of the Rings." Both of those franchises are obvious inspirations for "300."
"300" may just be the best-looking film of 2007, bar none. It isn't the best acted, but we don't expect it to be. According to some people, it's not the most historically accurate, either. But that is of no consequence. "300" doesn't purport to be anything more than 116 minutes of visual splendor. For that reason, "300" is tough to score. There are plot problems (the cutaways to Sparta slow down the battle narrative), and the acting isn't anything to write home about. But this is a gorgeous film that truly showcases the potential of CGI when it's employed properly.
"300" rates an enthusiastic 8.5 out of 10. It's gloriously over the top in every conceivable way. This is a movie that truly needs to be seen on the theater screen and not just on home video. A visual masterpiece, an orgy for the eyes, "300" is bloody, violent, sexual, frightening, exhilarating, and the most fun we may have at the movies all year.
Video:
Speaking of tough to score, it's also a little hard to evaluate the picture quality of a film that was purposely distorted for effect. The filmmakers admit they drained the color, dulled the pallette, and increased the highlights for maximum contrast. The result on DVD looks very much as I remember it from a movie theater, and WB's 2.40:1 ratio, high-bit-rate, anamorphic transfer does justice to much of the show.
The colors are mainly sepia, gold, and silver-blue in alternating scenes, with splashes of red for dramatic impact. I found most of the hues effective in conveying the feeling of a graphic novel, although some viewers may question the movie's soft focus and grain. The filmmakers intended both of these characteristics, though, so it's hard to complain about them. Certainly, high definition will improve the slightly soft, blurred nature of the images, but it's doubtful HD will help the grain; in fact, high definition may only intensify it. Nevertheless, the grain provides the film with its grittily realistic atmosphere, so it's nothing we'd want to eliminate.
Audio:
The Dolby Digital 5.1 audio is clearly in the demonstration class. It thunders from the very outset of the film and never lets up until the end. There is an enormous dynamic range and bass involved, good localization of information in the surrounds, as well as ambient sounds in the rear channels and room-filling acoustics all the way around. Since this is an action film to the nth degree, the six-channel audio mix has a chance to flex its muscles in practically every shot.
Extras:
Disc one of this Two-Disc Special Edition contains the widescreen presentation of the film; thirty scene selections but no chapter insert; English, French, and Spanish spoken languages and subtitles; English captions for the hearing impaired; and trailers at start-up only for various other WB films and games. In addition, disc one contains an audio commentary by director Zack Snyder, writer Kurt Johnstad, and director of photography Larry Fong. Having seen the film before, I listened this time to over half of it with the commentary turned on. These fellows concentrate almost entirely on behind-the-scenes filmmaking techniques, most of which are fascinating. But there is not a lot here about the real history of Thermopylae or about the actors or about any of the backstage hijinks you sometimes hear in commentaries. Which may come as a relief.
Disc two contains a short documentary, a slew of featurettes, and some deleted scenes. Things start with the documentary, "300 Spartans: Fact or Fiction?," about twenty-four minutes long, with historians, filmmakers, and author Frank Miller discussing this new interpretation of the real-life battle. After that is a brief, four-minute featurette, "Who Were the Spartans?: The Warriors of 300," with the very people who were in the documentary, so it's more or less a continuation of the same. After that is another featurette on the topic, "The Making of 300," five minutes, and by now the subject is getting tiresome. Next there is yet another featurette, "Making 300 in Images," about three sped-up minutes on the staging, blue screens, etc. Then, there is a change of pace with the "Frank Miller Tapes: Unfiltered Conversations with Frank and Friends," about fourteen minutes with the writer of the graphic novel.
But that's not all. We've got three additional scenes, introduced by director Snyder, and after that about thirty-eight minutes of Webisodes. There are twelve of these little segments, most of them three or four minutes each, with self-explanatory titles: "Production Design," "Wardrobe," Stunt Work," "Lena Headey," "Adapting the Graphic Novel," "Gerard Butler," "Rodrigo Santoro," "Training the Actors," "Culture of the Sparta City/State," "A Glimpse from the Set," "Scene Studies," and "Fantastic Characters of 300." Wrapping things up are some further trailers at start-up, a double slim-line case, and a handsomely embossed slipcover.
Parting Thoughts:
"Spartans never retreat! Spartans never surrender!" exclaims Leonidas.
One could say the same thing for the film. It is relentless in its attempt to recreate the graphic novel's vision of the carnage at Thermopylae. In this regard, "300" succeeds convincingly, and, as Jason points out, for many viewers, it will be more than enough. As for me, however, if the movie had a little more heart or soul, it might have had a better chance of maintaining my interest throughout. Instead, I found the film visually striking but repetitious and only intermittently rewarding.
Avearage user rating (1-5):