Just saw 300...

[Go Tory Go!]

[quote name='WD40' post='455270' date='Mar 11 2007, 05:16 PM']Tory, do you have a link to that full interview with Frank Miller? I would be interested to read it because, as you suggested and it seems in your quote from the interview, that this movie was politically driven. However, 300 was written by Miller in 1998. I would like to see if the subject matter and timing of this movie were coincidental and Miller made a secondary remark about how it could parallel current times, or if that was the primary intent of making this movie now.[/quote]

The quote is at the bottom of 300's wikipedia entry, as linked in sneaky's post. You may be onto something regarding the context of my interpretation of a relatively-small snippet of an interview; however, it confirmed suspicions I felt while watching the film, and like an umpire of truth, I calls 'em like I sees 'em.

[WD40]

This is what I gather from the wikipedia page (God bless wikipedia-the best thing to come from the net since it's inception).

Gianni Nunnari was the lead producer for this film and was intent on maikng a film about the Battle of Thermopylae. a more historically accurate account was already under works in [i]Gates of Fire[/i], so he went the other way and got Zack Snyder to direct a movie adaptation of [i]300[/i]. Snyder was definitley in the lead in creating this movie, with Miller as a consultant. He took pains to re-create the comic as accurately as possible.

Snyder denies any relevance to present conditions. In fact, he has been quoted as saying that any possible parallels that the movie will probably hurt it in the long run. Miller, however, is hyping it's relevancy (from your quote, I couldn't find the full interview transcript).

Sounds to me like Miller might be using this 15 minutes of fame with the movie to push his personal views on the war in Iraq. Whether this is positive or negative, it's up to each individual to decide. However, it does not sound like this movie was created for anything other than pure entertainment.

[Guest BlackJesus]

[b]Sounds to me like Miller is taking a comic book – “kill em all” movie ... and trying to blend it with the current situation of our war of terror. Now whether his motive is merely financial - and he knows that such a correlation will drive ticket sales --- or whether his connection is one of ideology - I can't be sure.


I have tickets to see the movie at 7:30 in about an hour ... so I will let you know what I think after watching it.





[center]* I guess we will have to wait and see if Bush addresses the battle in his next speech about the surge … [img]http://forum.go-bengals.com/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/23.gif[/img][/b]

[img]http://www.thepolemicist.com/uploaded_images/bush_dumb-763769.jpg[/img]
[b]W:[/b] [i]“You see how those Italians won at the battle of Thermal Pie against the Terrorists … cause they stayed the course” [/i][/center]

[Scoutforlife591]

sneaky,

I think I like you.

Way to have an opinion and laugh.

Anyway, like I said, I agree with on some accounts, I think it's more that we just have different expectations of fiction.

And yeah, your right, we did know she was going to get raped, and so on. But it's a movie ergo visual depiction.

If it was a children's book, he could have said, "you will not enjoy this night," and then ended the chapter.

Instead, it was an adult "R" movie.

I also do not think movies plant the seed of crime and deviant behavior in us. I believe the Devil has done that. We are a fallen people, Frank Miller was not in the Garden of Eden. Can they contribute? In ways, but they are not the cause.

Totally had American patriotic parallels. Absolutely, I was thinking that mid movie, not even needing to reflect on it. It was overtly obvious.

[TDB]

Just saw the movie. I didn't think it was as good as many people are saying, but nor was I disappointed. Solid 9/10.

[Guest Bengals1181]

I hear it did $70 million this weekend. Thats amazing for a movie with absolutely no star power.

[Guest ONYX]

[quote name='Scoutforlife591' post='455307' date='Mar 11 2007, 05:35 PM']sneaky,

I think I like you.[/quote]

[color="#FF0000"][b]You had me at hello.[/b][/color]


[quote]Way to have an opinion and laugh.[/quote]
[color="#FF0000"][b]I'm just naturally silly as hell, even when I'm trying to be serious.[/b][/color]

[quote]Anyway, like I said, I agree with on some accounts, I think it's more that we just have different expectations of fiction.[/quote]
[color="#FF0000"][b]
I did not dislike the movie, I actually thought it was pretty damn cool. I was just bothered by some of the content.[/b][/color]
[quote]And yeah, your right, we did know she was going to get raped, and so on. But it's a movie ergo visual depiction.
If it was a children's book, he could have said, "you will not enjoy this night," and then ended the chapter.
Instead, it was an adult "R" movie.[/quote]
[color="#FF0000"][b]She did fuck him up though in the end, didn't she?
[/b][/color]
[quote]I also do not think movies plant the seed of crime and deviant behavior in us. I believe the Devil has done that. We are a fallen people, Frank Miller was not in the Garden of Eden. Can they contribute? In ways, but they are not the cause.[/quote]
[color="#FF0000"][b]I agree with that, but when images of deviant behavior is glorified and it is exposed to immature, unstable and
ignorant people, all you are doing is asking for trouble. Don't believe me? ....check out the poster, Killa Nati's Nigga[/b]
[/color]
Totally had American patriotic parallels. Absolutely, I was thinking that mid movie, not even needing to reflect on it. It was overtly obvious.
[color="#FF0000"][b]Yep, thats what the film tried to do, but I wasn't buying it.[/b][/color]

[Jamie_B]

Im not sure how showing her fucking him was conducive to the story (if they would have), where as showing the baby scene was as far as to illistrate the point of them being bread into warriors and the bloodlines being good for that.

[Guest ONYX]

[quote name='Jamie_B' post='455349' date='Mar 11 2007, 07:33 PM']Im not sure how showing her fucking him was conducive to the story (if they would have), where as showing the baby scene was as far as to illistrate the point of them being bread into warriors and the bloodlines being good for that.[/quote]
[color="#FF0000"][b]
I can agree with that, maybe I should have used another example to make my point.[/b][/color]

[Jamie_B]

[quote name='ONYX' post='455351' date='Mar 11 2007, 08:46 PM'][color="#FF0000"][b]
I can agree with that, maybe I should have used another example to make my point.[/b][/color][/quote]


No worries, I can see what your saying and that is debateable wether it would have had as much impact if it was in there or not. Who knows.

[Jamie_B]

Also from a purly story telling aspect I stand by what I said earlier.

However reading what Miller said, does make one take pause of the intention.

[Scoutforlife591]

Frank Miller is right.

He referenced Islamic Extremist.

Not Islam.

Extremist need eradicated, either by effective diplomacy and reeducation, or death/imprisonement.

[Guest BlackJesus]

[color="#0000FF"][b][size=3]Just got back from seeing it ...[/size]


= I would rate it 2 and a half stars.


[u]First to the ratings .... (out of 100)[/u]


[size=3][color="#A0522D"]Cinematography 98 [/color][/size]
(Had some of the best camera angles, lighting effects, visuals etc of any movie I have ever seen. The shots were truly artistic in their own right. This to me is what makes the movie worth seeing from an artistically cinematic standpoint.)


[size=3][color="#A0522D"]Storyline/Plot/Acting 70 [/color][/size]
(Predictable plot line .... also they stole the very end from Brave heart. No real character development, acting was below average, dialogue was horrid --- but what can you expect from this type of film.)


[size=3][color="#A0522D"]Overall 83 [/color][/size]
- I enjoyed some of the matrix like slow motion fight scenes - you could definitely tell an Martial Arts Asian guy helped with the fight scenes, as they were much more "Kung fuish" - that I think was warranted. It was a nice 2 hour distraction ... with cool fight scenes ... a couple seconds of tits ... and a nice machismo heroic message that dying is honorable.




[u]Some random thoughts:[/u]

- They could have done without the Ogre things, Giant Rhinos etc .... I would have preferred the characters been realistic ... and not Giants etc. What the fuck is this lord of the rings? I was waiting for a Hobbit to jump out on the back of wizard with a magical ring. [img]http://forum.go-bengals.com/public/style_emoticons//23.gif[/img] This is supposed to be a story of a historical event of war ... and it comes out looking like it was told by Baghdad Bob or Donald Rumsfeld. Then again I am not a fan of sci fi - wizard crap ... so maybe I am bias in this regard.


- There were some slight racial overtones ... but they were not too strong. Sure the Spartans were all white.... and the barbarian horde - non white .... But then again the barbarian horde also had magical ogres and creatures that should have been in a Hunter S Thompson drug trip instead of this movie.



[size=3][center]- I didn't like how Xerxes - looked like a homosexual Jason Taylor with a bunch of earrings
[img]http://espn-ak.starwave.com/media/pg2/2002/1125/photo/i_taylor_hi.jpg[/img][img]http://www.icicom.up.pt/blog/take2/santoro_xerxes.jpg[/img][/size]

[img]http://forum.go-bengals.com/public/style_emoticons//39.gif[/img] [/center]



- Also the movie had way too many homoerotic overtones. I mean damn I was expecting Clay Aiken to jump out of the screen after awhile. I mean we get it ... the Spartans had six packs .... That doesn't mean that we need you to grease them up before each shot and lather them with oil. How much do you wanna bet that this film becomes a cult classic in the fudge packer scene, right up there with Grease and Superbowl *XL ?



[center][size=3]- Why did the leader King have to be Matisyahu the Hasidic rapper ? [img]http://forum.go-bengals.com/public/style_emoticons//39.gif[/img][/size]
[img]http://www.chiemsee-reggae.de/program/artists/bild/matisyahu.jpg[/img]
[img]http://www.popmatters.com/images/film_art/3/300-1.jpg[/img]
[size=5][i]"You ate my Falafel" [/i][/size]

[/center]



That leads me to the political side .... I saw the movie as more an [u]analogy to "Masada"[/u] (A story which I like) [u]and Israel more than the U.S.[/u] [color="#FF0000"]--->[/color] [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masada"]Masada - Wiki Page[/url]


[img]http://forum.go-bengals.com/public/style_emoticons//39.gif[/img] ~ Think about it .... you have a small tiny nation ... of all the same kind of people with facial hair and jew fro's ... they have no tattoos or piercings (not Kosher) and they are outnumbered and up against a myriad of nations led by Iranians (Persians) and men in Arabian attire looking like they were trotting off to a Hamas convention. Also the Spartans spoke of “Reason and democracy” ... while the Persians were enamored with their God and mysticism … a God for whom they bowed down in front of in Islamic fashion (The way Muslims pray to Mecca.) Then the Spartans decide to die rather than Surrender --- this is where the Story of Masada comes in --- which is very prevalent in Jewish and Israeli lore today.


- Now yes there were some tie ins with the US and the war of terror. I mean hell the Spartan Greek bldg looked like the Whitehouse (I realize that D.C. is modeled after Greece yes).... and they said they were "Fighting for Freedom ... while the Politicians at home back in Sparta did not support a troop surge". Also the Queen said that if they did not attack ---- then the Iranian and Arab horde would attack them and never stop till they all were dead. Sound familiar? Also the Iranians hated the Spartans freedoms [img]http://forum.go-bengals.com/public/style_emoticons//23.gif[/img]


- However as has been said ... I could make a much better case for the Persians being the US coalition in Iraq ... against the small rag tag band of Militias (Spartans) who refuse to take prisoners, cut off heads, and will never bow to the Americans and all their gold (Persians).


~ All in all .... it was an alright movie .... I really liked the images, backgrounds, and some of the fight scenes ... and being a fan of art --- it was surprisingly very artistically beautiful at times (minus the half naked men).



As for the - [i]"be all you can be under a hail of arrows"[/i] ... I will leave it to the recruiters to sell that point of being a [i]"Spartan of One"[/i]. [img]http://forum.go-bengals.com/public/style_emoticons//23.gif[/img][/b][/color]

[Jamie_B]

[quote]Cinematography 98
(Had some of the best camera angles, lighting effects, visuals etc of any movie I have ever seen. The shots were truly artistic in their own right. This to me is what makes the movie worth seeing from an artistically cinematic standpoint.)[/quote]

This is why I went to see it moreso than any history or expected story, as I knew it was by the same guys that did Sin City which was similar in this fashion and had a much better story.


[quote]This is supposed to be a story of a historical event of war ... and it comes out looking like it was told by Baghdad Bob or Donald Rumsfeld.[/quote]

I think that was the point. More story than history.

[quote]That doesn't mean that we need you to grease them up before each shot and lather them with oil. How much do you wanna bet that this film becomes a cult classic in the fudge packer scene, right up there with Grease and [color="#FF0000"]Superbowl *XL [/color]?[/quote]

[img]http://forum.go-bengals.com/public/style_emoticons//24.gif[/img]:rofl:[img]http://forum.go-bengals.com/public/style_emoticons//24.gif[/img]:rofl:[img]http://forum.go-bengals.com/public/style_emoticons//24.gif[/img]:rofl:[img]http://forum.go-bengals.com/public/style_emoticons//24.gif[/img]

[quote]they said they were "Fighting for Freedom ... while the Politicians at home back in [color="#FF0000"]Sparta did not support a troop surge[/color]".[/quote]

[img]http://forum.go-bengals.com/public/style_emoticons//24.gif[/img]:rofl:[img]http://forum.go-bengals.com/public/style_emoticons//24.gif[/img]:rofl:[img]http://forum.go-bengals.com/public/style_emoticons//24.gif[/img]:rofl:[img]http://forum.go-bengals.com/public/style_emoticons//24.gif[/img]

[quote]then the Iranian and Arab horde would attack them and never stop till they all were dead. Sound familiar? [color="#FF0000"]Also the Iranians hated the Spartans freedoms[/color][/quote]

[img]http://forum.go-bengals.com/public/style_emoticons//24.gif[/img]:rofl:[img]http://forum.go-bengals.com/public/style_emoticons//24.gif[/img]:rofl:[img]http://forum.go-bengals.com/public/style_emoticons//24.gif[/img]:rofl:[img]http://forum.go-bengals.com/public/style_emoticons//24.gif[/img]

[quote]... I will leave it to the recruiters to sell that point of being [color="#FF0000"]a "Spartan of One".[/color][/quote]

[img]http://forum.go-bengals.com/public/style_emoticons//24.gif[/img]:rofl:[img]http://forum.go-bengals.com/public/style_emoticons//24.gif[/img]:rofl:[img]http://forum.go-bengals.com/public/style_emoticons//24.gif[/img]:rofl:[img]http://forum.go-bengals.com/public/style_emoticons//24.gif[/img]

[Guest BlackJesus]

[center][b]Where Persian is still spoken today ... [img]http://forum.go-bengals.com/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/23.gif[/img] [/b]


[img]http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j318/Tredcrow/Illusion/farsi_map.gif[/img]


[/center]

[Guest BengalBacker]

[quote name='BlackJesus' post='455381' date='Mar 11 2007, 10:10 PM']How much do you wanna bet that this film becomes a cult classic in the fudge packer scene, right up there with Grease and Superbowl *XL ?[/quote]


[img]http://forum.go-bengals.com/public/style_emoticons//24.gif[/img]


not that there's anything.......

[Guest BlackJesus]

[center][img]http://mypetjawa.mu.nu/archives/300.JPG[/img]

[size=4][b]Persians:[/b] [i]"I think they are in their last throes" [/i][/size]


[/center]

[Guest BlackJesus]

[size=4][u][quote][img]http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2007/03/05/arts/3001600.jpg[/img]
[b]That Film’s Real Message? It Could Be: ‘Buy a Ticket’ [/b]
By MICHAEL CIEPLY
March 5, 2007
NY Times [/u][/size]



LOS ANGELES, March 4 — Three weeks ago a handful of reporters at an international press junket here for the Warner Brothers [b]movie “300,”[/b] about the battle of Thermopylae some 2,500 years ago, [b]cornered the director Zack Snyder with an unanticipated question.[/b]

[size=4][b]“Is George Bush Leonidas or Xerxes?” one of them asked.[/b][/size] [img]http://forum.go-bengals.com/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/39.gif[/img]

[b]The questioner[/b], by Mr. Snyder’s recollection, [b]insisted that Mr. Bush was Xerxes,[/b] the [b]Persian emperor [/b] who led his force against Greek’s city states in 480 B.C., [b]unleashing an army on a small country guarded by fanatical guerilla fighters so he could finish a job his father had left undone.[/b] [img]http://forum.go-bengals.com/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/23.gif[/img] More likely, [b]another reporter [/b]chimed in, [b]Mr. Bush was Leonidas, the Spartan king who would defend freedom at any cost.[/b]

Mr. Snyder, who said he intended neither analogy when he set out to adapt the graphic novel created by Frank Miller with Lynn Varley in 1998, suddenly knew he had the contemporary version of a water-cooler movie on his hands.

And it has turned out to be one that [b]could be construed as a thinly veiled polemic against the Bush administration, or be seen by others as slyly supporting it.[/b]

In the era of media clutter, [b]film marketers increasingly welcome controversy as a way to get attention for their more provocative fare.[/b] The companies behind the Dixie Chicks documentary “Shut Up & Sing” and “Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan,” for example, positively reveled in it.

But the dance can be more delicate when viewers find a potentially divisive message in big studio movies that were meant more to entertain than enlighten. [b]The danger is that an accidental political overtone will alienate part of the potential audience[/b] for a film that needs broad appeal to succeed.

Spontaneous debate on the Internet and around the office can be a film’s best friend when, as with a picture like “The Passion of the Christ,” even potential negatives, like accusations of anti-Semitic undertones, feed curiosity.

“Whatever the question is, it’s wonderful for the movie,” said Peter Sealey, a former Columbia Pictures executive who is now an adjunct professor of marketing at Claremont Graduate University’s Drucker School of Management.

Yet studios can be wary of seeming to foster it. Walt Disney largely sidestepped arguments about whether its Pixar-created animated film “The Incredibles” was quietly channeling Ayn Rand. “We feel that the longer we either refute or debate a subject like that, the more the story will live,” said Dennis Rice, senior vice president of marketing for Disney’s Buena Vista Pictures unit. “So we chose to do nothing.”

Executives at Warner, which is releasing “300” in the United States on Friday declined to discuss the studio’s approach in marketing the film. Billboards and trailers, seeming to mirror Disney’s tack with “The Incredibles,” have focused heavily on the picture’s battle action and visual flamboyance — “Prepare for Glory!” runs the most oft-repeated advertising line — while avoiding some deeper story elements that are stirring unexpectedly heated reactions, especially abroad.

Shortly after his press-junket grilling Mr. Snyder — an established commercials director, whose best-known previous credit was a remake of George Romero’s “Dawn of the Dead” — ran into some surprising reactions at the Berlinale film festival in Germany. [b]Some attendees walked out of a screening there[/b], [b]while others insisted on seeing its [size=4]presentation of the Spartans’ defense of Western civilization in the face of a Persian horde as propaganda for America’s position vis-à-vis Iraq and Iran.[/b][/size] [img]http://forum.go-bengals.com/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/23.gif[/img] (By contrast it drew applause at a Los Angeles screening last month.)

“Don’t you think it’s interesting that your movie was funded at this point?” Mr. Snyder recalled being asked in Berlin. [b]“The implication was that funding came from the U.S. government.” [/b]

When a Feb. 22 report on Wired.com carried a brief mention of the question about Mr. Bush’s proper parallel in the film, Web commentators in the United States began to lock on its supposed political vibe. Yet attempts by both the left and the right to appropriate the lessons of Thermopylae clearly predated the movie.

[b]Mr. Bush has been compared to Xerxes at least since his “axis of evil” speech in the wake of 9/11,[/b] for instance, while the Spartan cry “Molon labe,” or “Come and take them,” has long been a rallying call for supporters of the right to bear arms.

According to Deborah Snyder, Mr. Snyder’s wife and an executive producer of “300” (which has more than a dozen credited producers of various levels, including Mark Canton and Gianni Nunnari), some changes to Mr. Miller’s original story may have inadvertently amplified its political resonance.

In a key twist Mr. Snyder and his collaborators expanded the presence of Gorgo, the Spartan queen and Leonidas’s wife, including, among other things, a sequence in which she inspires a wavering populace and weak-willed council to resist the Eastern armies even at the cost of battle deaths. “Her story is that she is trying to rally the troops,” said Ms. Snyder, who dismissed as irrelevant a question about her and her husband’s personal political philosophies.

Mr. Snyder acknowledged that Mr. Miller — who declined to be interviewed for this article — had opened the door for contemporary comparisons with his passionate, [b]if not entirely accurate, portrayal of the ancient Spartans as saviors of Western civilization.[/b] “He’d be on their side regardless of who they were fighting, because he just loves them,” Mr. Snyder said.

Thanks to computer-generated effects that contribute to “300’s” highly stylized look, the film’s cost, according to its makers, was considerably less than the outsized production budgets of “Troy,” which did relatively well for Warner, and “Alexander,” which did not. But Warner could use a hit after finishing last year behind several competitors at the domestic box office. (A success in the second half of 2006, like “Happy Feet,” could only do so much to make up for duds like “Poseidon.”)

And the enormous expense of making and marketing any major studio picture — the combined costs appear likely to exceed $100 million in the case of “300” — sharpens the risk in alienating a portion of the hoped-for audience.

In any case Mr. Snyder said he was pleased about the debate, though he never meant the movie to provoke it. “If that’s a by-product, that’s good,” he said.[/quote]


[url="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/05/movies/05spartans.html?_r=1&oref=slogin"]http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/05/movies/0...amp;oref=slogin[/url]

[Guest BlackJesus]

[center][img]http://www.post-gazette.com/images4/20070309ho_spartafilm_450.jpg[/img]

[size=3][color="#556B2F"][b]= The Spartans were better armored than your average Baghdad Humvee [img]http://forum.go-bengals.com/public/style_emoticons//39.gif[/img] [/b][/color][/size]



[/center]

[Guest ONYX]

[color="#FF0000"][b]Now that I think about it, it seems as if they made Xerxes look like Dhalsim from Street Fighter II.[/b][/color]

[img]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/35/Streetfighter_dhalsim_illust.png[/img]
[size=4][color="#0000FF"][b]"Yoga Noogie !!!!!"[/b][/color][/size]

[Guest BlackJesus]

[center][img]http://www.popmatters.com/images/film_art/3/300-3.jpg[/img]

[size=4][b]Xerxes:[/b] [i]"They're going to welcome us as liberators" [/i]


[/center][/size]

[Guest ONYX]

[quote name='BlackJesus' post='455381' date='Mar 11 2007, 09:10 PM'][color="#0000FF"][b][size=3]Just got back from seeing it ...[/size]
= I would rate it 2 and a half stars.
[u]First to the ratings .... (out of 100)[/u]
[size=3][color="#A0522D"]Cinematography 98 [/color][/size]
(Had some of the best camera angles, lighting effects, visuals etc of any movie I have ever seen. The shots were truly artistic in their own right. This to me is what makes the movie worth seeing from an artistically cinematic standpoint.)
[size=3][color="#A0522D"]Storyline/Plot/Acting 70 [/color][/size]
(Predictable plot line .... also they stole the very end from Brave heart. No real character development, acting was below average, dialogue was horrid --- but what can you expect from this type of film.)
[size=3][color="#A0522D"]Overall 83 [/color][/size]
- I enjoyed some of the matrix like slow motion fight scenes - you could definitely tell an Martial Arts Asian guy helped with the fight scenes, as they were much more "Kung fuish" - that I think was warranted. It was a nice 2 hour distraction ... with cool fight scenes ... a couple seconds of tits ... and a nice machismo heroic message that dying is honorable.
[u]Some random thoughts:[/u]

- They could have done without the Ogre things, Giant Rhinos etc .... I would have preferred the characters been realistic ... and not Giants etc. What the fuck is this lord of the rings? I was waiting for a Hobbit to jump out on the back of wizard with a magical ring. [img]http://forum.go-bengals.com/public/style_emoticons//23.gif[/img] This is supposed to be a story of a historical event of war ... and it comes out looking like it was told by Baghdad Bob or Donald Rumsfeld. Then again I am not a fan of sci fi - wizard crap ... so maybe I am bias in this regard.
- There were some slight racial overtones ... but they were not too strong. Sure the Spartans were all white.... and the barbarian horde - non white .... But then again the barbarian horde also had magical ogres and creatures that should have been in a Hunter S Thompson drug trip instead of this movie.
[size=3][center]- I didn't like how Xerxes - looked like a homosexual Jason Taylor with a bunch of earrings
[img]http://espn-ak.starwave.com/media/pg2/2002/1125/photo/i_taylor_hi.jpg[/img][img]http://www.icicom.up.pt/blog/take2/santoro_xerxes.jpg[/img][/size]

[img]http://forum.go-bengals.com/public/style_emoticons//39.gif[/img] [/center]
- Also the movie had way too many homoerotic overtones. I mean damn I was expecting Clay Aiken to jump out of the screen after awhile. I mean we get it ... the Spartans had six packs .... That doesn't mean that we need you to grease them up before each shot and lather them with oil. How much do you wanna bet that this film becomes a cult classic in the fudge packer scene, right up there with Grease and Superbowl *XL ?
[center][size=3]- Why did the leader King have to be Matisyahu the Hasidic rapper ? [img]http://forum.go-bengals.com/public/style_emoticons//39.gif[/img][/size]
[img]http://www.chiemsee-reggae.de/program/artists/bild/matisyahu.jpg[/img]
[img]http://www.popmatters.com/images/film_art/3/300-1.jpg[/img]
[size=5][i]"You ate my Falafel" [/i][/size]

[/center]
That leads me to the political side .... I saw the movie as more an [u]analogy to "Masada"[/u] (A story which I like) [u]and Israel more than the U.S.[/u] [color="#FF0000"]--->[/color] [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masada"]Masada - Wiki Page[/url]
[img]http://forum.go-bengals.com/public/style_emoticons//39.gif[/img] ~ Think about it .... you have a small tiny nation ... of all the same kind of people with facial hair and jew fro's ... they have no tattoos or piercings (not Kosher) and they are outnumbered and up against a myriad of nations led by Iranians (Persians) and men in Arabian attire looking like they were trotting off to a Hamas convention. Also the Spartans spoke of “Reason and democracy” ... while the Persians were enamored with their God and mysticism … a God for whom they bowed down in front of in Islamic fashion (The way Muslims pray to Mecca.) Then the Spartans decide to die rather than Surrender --- this is where the Story of Masada comes in --- which is very prevalent in Jewish and Israeli lore today.
- Now yes there were some tie ins with the US and the war of terror. I mean hell the Spartan Greek bldg looked like the Whitehouse (I realize that D.C. is modeled after Greece yes).... and they said they were "Fighting for Freedom ... while the Politicians at home back in Sparta did not support a troop surge". Also the Queen said that if they did not attack ---- then the Iranian and Arab horde would attack them and never stop till they all were dead. Sound familiar? Also the Iranians hated the Spartans freedoms [img]http://forum.go-bengals.com/public/style_emoticons//23.gif[/img]
- However as has been said ... I could make a much better case for the Persians being the US coalition in Iraq ... against the small rag tag band of Militias (Spartans) who refuse to take prisoners, cut off heads, and will never bow to the Americans and all their gold (Persians).
~ All in all .... it was an alright movie .... I really liked the images, backgrounds, and some of the fight scenes ... and being a fan of art --- it was surprisingly very artistically beautiful at times (minus the half naked men).



As for the - [i]"be all you can be under a hail of arrows"[/i] ... I will leave it to the recruiters to sell that point of being a [i]"Spartan of One"[/i]. [img]http://forum.go-bengals.com/public/style_emoticons//23.gif[/img][/b][/color][/quote]

[img]http://forum.go-bengals.com/public/style_emoticons//24.gif[/img]

[color="#FF0000"][b]Glad that you enjoyed it. I liked it too......for the most part.[/b][/color]

[Paul]

Damn the was a great movie that had amazing cimatography and delivers on all the hype.

[Jamie_B]

[quote name='BlackJesus' post='455414' date='Mar 11 2007, 11:32 PM'][center][img]http://www.popmatters.com/images/film_art/3/300-3.jpg[/img]

[size=4][b]Xerxes:[/b] [i]"They're going to welcome us as liberators" [/i]
[/center][/size][/quote]

[Skitch]

I saw this today and I liked it pretty well. The fight scenes were really good and well done. I agree with sneaky on the giants, rhinos, freaks, goats whatever. It may have been more like the graphic novel but it came off as oddly placed and distracting to me in the movie. It just didn't need it. Also in the beginning the wolf looked really fake to me. Battle scenes saved it and luckily battle scenes make up about 85% of the movie. Very visually interesting style for the whole movie.