Frank Miller's (Sin City) new movie: 300 - Trailer (vid)
 

This movie looks fucking great. It's out on march 9.

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Yea, looks amazing. The trailer makes it look so good, I dont know if the movie can live up to it. I hope it does:)

saw this trailer before, looks lame and too much cgi but maybe ill be surprised..

I will watch just because it is about the battle of Thermopylae which is the baddest military action of the classical age. The name 300 is a little misleading though. In actuality there where more like 3,000 spartan troops but 300 of them where the elite body guard of king Leonidas. A combined total of about 7,000 Greek troops held of a force of 1 to 2 million foreign invaders consisting of almost every eastern military power for over 3 days. Historians say that the Spartans killed anywhere from 50 to over 100 enemy troops for each spartan warrior that died. The spartan where bad ass and trained themselves to be perfect fighters from the age of 8. Everything in their culture focused on defensive war and honor. Even women where trained to compete with men during training exercises and it was thought that an athletic and strong women would bear stronger children.

Have you read Steven Pressman's Gates of Fire?
An unbelievably articulate dramatization of the battle from the eyes of one soldier. And you may recognize a few lines in the movie from the book...

I may be speaking too soon because I haven't seen the film, but from the previews it looks a little too much fantasy/comic book (obviously, considering it's based on one!)

Yes I have. I have read a lot of stuff about the Spartans. Most of the saying come directly from King Leonodis and other important figures from the Sparta. They are some of the few written sayings to be passed down from them.

Upon hearing that the arrows of the Persian where so numerous that they would block out the sun the Spartan reply was "Good, then we will fight in the shade"

When hearing that the Persians had so many ships that their torches at night looked like the stars in the sky Leonodis that that when he was a boy he had always wanted to touch the sky with his spear.

During the one of the olympic games held in Athens an old man was looking for a seat. When he walked by his fellow Athenians they refused to let him sit down but when he went over to where the Spartans where sitting several of the young men stood up and offered him their seats. He was said to have spoke the words that all Greeks know what is right but only the Spartans actually do it.

One women asked a Spartan woman why they bore such strong boys and she replied that it was because only Spartan women gave birth to men that where men.

It's sad that we don't have any writings passed down through the generations from these people like we do with the philosophers of Athens. The main reason is because the Spartans didn't believe in building anything or writing anything down. They only believed in fighting and reaching perfection through physical struggle. They were not conquers although they could have built an empire as big as Rome if they had wanted to. They didn't like to start a war. They only fought when they had to but when they did they would often only send 1 Spartan warrior for every 10 of the enemy and they won %99 of the time.

One Greek philosopher said that the Spartan people where more like ants than people.

To get a better idea of who they wher read this poem by one of their greatest warrior poets. Spartans would rehearse or sing these poems while going into battle

It is beautiful when a brave man of the front ranks
falls and dies, battling for his homeland,
and ghastly when a man flees planted fields and
city
and wanders begging with his dear mother,
aging father, little children and true wife.
He will be scorned in every new village,
reduced to want and loathsome poverty; and shame
will brand his family line, his noble
figure. Derision and disaster will hound him.
A turncoat gets no respect or pity;
so let us battle for our country and freely give
our lives to save our darling children.
Young men, fight shield to shield and never
succumb
to panic or miserable flight,
but steel the heart in your chests with
magnificence
and courage. Forget your own life
when you grapple with the enemy. Never run
and let an old soldier collapse
whose legs have lost their power. It is shocking
when
an old man lies on the front line
before a youth: an old warrior whose head is white
and beard gray, exhaling his strong soul
into the dust, clutching his bloody genitals
in his hands: an abominable vision,
foul to see: his flesh naked. But in a young man
all is beautiful when he still
possesses the shining flower of lovely youth.
Alive he is adored by men,
desired by women, and finest to look upon
when he falls dead in the forward clash.
Let each man spread his legs, rooting them in the ground,
bite his teeth into his lips, and hold.

E tan, e epi tan.

The title isn't misleading. It's based on a graphic novel which was inspired by the battle of Thermopylae. The movie is about Frank Miller's story, not the real story.

That looks like one hell of a fun movie. I love the line "Madness? THIS IS SPARTA!!!!!", followed by huge boot to the chest and heavy energetic music.

My motherfucking cousin already saw it, he says IT ROCKS!

i love these kind of movies, ill torrent and burn it

I am looking forward to it

Realllyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy wanna see that one...

Some people already saw it and give it number 8 on imdb.

Folks... u must see it... would be great movie...

THIS IS SPARTAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

frank miller is the best!!

Looks like an epic movie, can't wait to see it :thumbsup

Good stuff mikesinner, thanks for the posts. I dont get to the movie theater much, but this is one movie that I am going to go see on the big screen.

Some other interesting quotes from the Spartans:
When the Persian king asked the Spartans to surrender their arms, King Leonidas told them: "Come take them!' . The greek army has that saying as their emblem nowadays.

The scene in 300 with the King kicking the person into the well is supposedly true. The persian king had sent emissaries to the Greek states asking for them to submit and to give over token amounts of land and water to show their submission. The Spartans kicked the Persian emissary into a well telling them "Dig it out for yourselves."

I can't wait to see it.

:2 cents:

I will go to the cinema only after someone will tell me it is great.
Judging by the trailter - i doubt that.

Moreso the comic actually mentions all the other Greeks who fought - but concentrated on the 300 Spartans.

But I got to say Mike you know your stuff - it's a great story - and I am happy Frank Miller decided to dramatize it and that it's now coming to the screen. The movie looks sick - I for one will be there opening night!

I meant that it makes people think that the battle was between 300 Spartans and the huger Persian conglomerate army when it was really about 3,000 Spartans and a few thousand other Greeks but they where still outnumbered more than 100 to 1 plus they had no way to reinforce themselves or to get new arms like the Persians did. The Spartans where fighting with dull blades and shattered armor by the third day.

Two Words; Battle Rhinos.

Great trailer! I hope the movie will be even better. Although it is more fantasy movie, not a historical one :)

Looks fucking amazing... and it'll be playing in IMAX :) I'm going to go to Phoenix Forum a day early just to see it at the Tempe IMAX...

That may be but it's based on actual events. I have studies a lot about Spartan culture and history and I can tell by the previews that there are already some things in it that stay true to the events as we know them.

Persia had conquered almost all of the known world at the time. You can see in the previews that the Spartans fought several armies in those 3 days. King Xerxes threw a different army at them each day and night. They fought the Egyptians, Greeks that had been subjugated, East Indian armies, Persian tribes, A viking like race and the immortals themselves. The immortals where an elite fighting force taken from the kings own personal best. They where the best fighters of the time and called the immortal because they where almost never killed in battle. You can see them from the masks on their heads in the trailer. Even though they where renowned throughout the world as supreme warriors the Spartans still kicked their asses. It was them in the end that defeated the Spartans though. They found a way to outflank them and in the end they where coming at them from both sides. The Spartans where betrayed by a former Greek who had told the Persian king about a goat path that could be used to go around the Spartan army and attack from behind.

In those days attacking a Spartan Phalanx from the front would be like an infantry unit attacking a row of tanks head on, complete suicide. When the Spartans formed up in ranks they where known as the milling machine because everything in their path was cut to pieces

I saw the trailer and it looks great!Let`s hope that the movie it`s the same although i seriously doubt that...

I hope it turns out to be a great movie. I'm glad that the Spartans of Thermopylae are finally getting credit for saving western civilization on the big screen

I'm curious how much time is devoted to the training/lifestyle of the Spartans which I found the most intriguing.

Also looks like entire movie was shot on a green screen, similar to Sin City (okay, 95% was green screen...) which means essentially the director and cinematographer had a lot of freedom for graphics and effects.

Basically those Spartans that where going to grow up to be peers "those that would fight in almost every military action" where hand picked when they where about 7 or 8 and began their training. They where taught wrestling, swimming, fighting and other things that would help them in battle. Singing was encouraged because it increased lung capacity and the same thinking was the reason for swimming, dancing was encouraged because it made a fighter quick on his feet if he had to fight one on one with the enemy although that almost never happened because of the strong cohesion of the Spartan phalanx.

Spartan society seemed very brutal to the outside world but because of geographics the Spartans had to be super tough to fend of enemies that wanted their fertile farmland. Sparta had some of the best soil and some of the most beautiful land in all of Greece. They where constantly fighting with their neighbors.

When children where born they where inspected by a group that was responsible for picking youths that would grow up to become warriors. It sounds cruel but those that had birth defects or where considered scrawny where thrown over a cliff. Today there have been found thousands of small skeletons under a mountainside. Some mother would hide their newborn children because of this.

Some Spartan children where picked to join a sort of death squad when they reached their early teens. These hormone driven teens where given free reign to roam the countryside killing escaped slaves or anyone who would wander through the hills and valleys of lakedaemon. They where feared by many and kept the populace indoors at night. This gave the youth skills that would allow them to fight just like modern day gorilla fighters.

In Sparta it was not illegal to steal but to get caught was a punishable crime. Being able to steal and not get caught taught the youth to survive on a long campaign or in an enemy city. When Spartans where punished for breaking a law they where often caned. The punishment stopped as soon as you cried out but some Spartans would die during their beatings because they where to proud to yell in pain or to give up.

Spartan women where said to be the most beautiful in the world because they where at the peak of physical fitness. Women where encouraged to wrestle with men during training and special festivals, sometimes they where nude and often they would beat their opponents. Women had to be strong to bear many children. Women that bore many children had higher status in Spartan society. Women didn't baby their sons. They taught them to be strong. Mothers told their sons to come home with their shields or on them. Dropping your shield in battle was the most dishonorable thing a Spartan could do because the shield protected you as well as the man to your left or right.

Spartan had to be as strong as an ox to hold up their large shields and their nine foot spears. At that time they where the heaviest weapons and shields in the world. I doubt if most warriors from other countries could have held them up for as long as the Spartans would have in battle. One of the training exercises the Spartans would do involved them forming a phalanx and running themselves into a huge tree. It was called fucking the tree. They would run into the tree with their shields held up while each line behind them pushed against the front. The men in the second row most have felt like jelly after being crushed like that for hours.

Sparta also had a strange form of government. They had 2 kings. The reason was that often a king would go into battle with the army and if he where killed there was still another king.

Training was all the time. Everything in life revolved around war or preparing for war

The new trailer looks awesome, just saw it today

I'm seeing this in IMAX - looks worth every bit kickass IMHO - can't wait!

looks amazing, I'll definitely see that one

I am going to masturbate in the theater during this show thats for sure, mmm artistic ultra violence.

looking forward to it

I'm going to see it at least twice

I saw the Rhino and I think there will be some Elephants to. The Indian warriors would have used them although they where probably used more as a scare tactic.

I remember reading something in Alexander the Great's Biography in which one of his Phalanx's was charged by elephants but the Greeks held their ground, it just shows you what kind of fighters they where. They had never seen such enormous animals and it must have been frightening to see these huge beasts wearing armor charging at you but they did not flinch.

My father is Spartan and I have seen this actual cliff. I don't know if you've ever been to Sparta Mike, but if you haven't you should take a trip there sometime. Don't just go to the tourist sites, but travel around the countryside. Seeing the terrain will give you a greater appreciation of why the Spartans were who they were. To this day men from Sparta are some of the toughest in all of Greece.

I can't wait to see this movie either :)