300 (FILM)

'''300''' is a 2007 film adaptation of the graphic novel ''300'' by Frank Miller, and is a fictionalized retelling of the Battle of Thermopylae. The film is directed by Zack Snyder with Frank Miller attached as an executive producer and consultant, and was shot mostly with bluescreen to duplicate the imagery of the original comic book.
Spartan King Leonidas (Gerard Butler) and 300 Spartans fight to the last man against Persian King Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro) and his army of over one million soldiers, while in Sparta, Queen Gorgo (Lena Headey) attempts to rally support for her husband. The story is framed by a voice-over narrative by the Spartan soldier Dilios (David Wenham). Through this narrative technique, various fantastical creatures are introduced, placing ''300'' within the genre of historical fantasy.
''300'' was released in both conventional and IMAX theaters in the United States on March 9, 2007, and on DVD, Blu-Ray and HD DVD on July 31, 2007. The film broke box office records, although critics were divided over its look and style. Some acclaimed it as an original achievement, while others criticized it for favoring visuals over characterization and its controversial depiction of the ancient Persians.

Contents

Plot

Cast

Production

Soundtrack

Historical accuracy

Promotion and release

Reception

Box office

Reviews

Awards/Nominations

Controversy

References

External links

Plot

A Spartan orator named Dilios narrates of the young Leonidas undergoing his childhood training, explaining the rigors of Spartan life. Leonidas is cast out into the wild, and survives the harsh winter to return to his home, when he is crowned King. Dilios then tells the story of the Persian messengers arriving at Sparta and demanding Sparta's submission to King Xerxes. Outraged and offended at their behavior, King Leonidas kicks the messenger into a pit; the other messengers suffer the same fate. Resolving to face the Persians, Leonidas visits the Oracle, proposing a strategy to repel the numerically superior enemy, and offers the priests a customary payment in gold. The priests, called Ephors, having already been bribed by Xerxes, interpret the Oracle's message to mean that Sparta should not go to war, so as to not interrupt the sacred Carneian festival.

Despite the warning, Leonidas gathers 300 of his best soldiers to fight the Persians, selecting only those who have already sired male children, so that their family name can continue even after their death. As they march north, they are joined by a group of Arcadians and other Greeks. Arriving at the narrow cliffs of Thermopylae (referred to as the "Hot Gates"), in sight of the Persian army, they build a wall to contain the Persians' advance immediately in front of their position, which is in the narrow-walled canyon known as the "Hot Gates." Ephialtes, a hunchbacked Spartan whose parents had fled to save him from customary infanticide, approaches Leonidas, requesting to redeem his father's name in battle, and warning him about a secret goat path that the Persians could use to outflank them, and surround them. Leonidas turns him away because he is unable to properly hold the shield, and would therefore create a weak spot in the phalanx. Before the battle starts, the Persians ask that the 300 drop their arms. Leonidas responds; "Persians! Come and get them!" The Spartans use the phalanx formation, the narrow terrain, and their fighting skill with shield, spear and sword to effectively fight off numerically superior waves of attackers including Xerxes's elite guards, the Immortals. The 300 defend their position while suffering relatively few losses. Xerxes, impressed after the two armies' first engagement, personally approaches Leonidas and attempts to bribe him with wealth and power in exchange for his surrender. The Spartan king declines, saying that he will instead make the "God King" bleed. Two days after the fighting begins, an embittered Ephialtes reveals the location of the goat path to Xerxes, having been promised a lucrative and powerful position in the Persian Empire.

Back in Sparta, Queen Gorgo, upon the advice of a councilman, attempts to enlist the influential Theron to help her persuade the Spartan council to send reinforcements to Leonidas. Theron agrees to help, but demands that Gorgo submit sexually to him; Gorgo reluctantly consents to his advances. Meanwhile, the Greeks realize that Ephialtes has betrayed them, and the Arcadians decide to retreat in the face of certain death. The Spartans refuse to follow, obedient to their law. Leonidas orders only one man, Dilios, to retreat and use his rhetorical skills to tell the story of the 300 to the Spartan people, ensuring that they be remembered. Dilios reluctantly leaves with the Arcadians. At Sparta, Queen Gorgo appears in front of the council, but is not supported by Theron, who furthermore accuses her of adultery. The Queen, enraged at this betrayal, snatches a sword from a nearby soldier and kills Theron. Persian coins fall from his purse, the Council denounces him as a traitor, and unites against Persia.
At Thermopylae, the Persians have surrounded the 300 on all sides. Xerxes's general demands their surrender, saying that Leonidas may keep his title as King of Sparta and become warlord of all Greece, answerable only to Xerxes. Ephialtes begs him to do so as well; Leonidas quips back "may you live forever" (the ultimate Spartan insult, as they wish to die in battle). When Leonidas orders his man to cut down the general, Xerxes orders his troops to attack. The remaining Spartans are killed in the hail of arrows; Leonidas finally falling after delivering on his promise to "make the 'God King' bleed", wounding him on the cheek with a thrown spear. The Persian king is visibly shaken at this reminder of his own mortality. Dilios eventually returns to Sparta and inspires the council with the bravery of the 300.
Dilios finishes his tale on a new battlefield surrounded by raptly listening soldiers. He concludes that the Persian army, who lost countless numbers defeating a mere 300 Spartans a year earlier, must now be terrified to face 10,000 Spartans and 30,000 Greeks from the other city-states. The roused Greek host charges the Persian army, beginning the Battle of Plataea.

Cast

★ Gerard Butler as King Leonidas: King of Sparta

★ Lena Headey as Queen Gorgo: Leonidas' wife

★ David Wenham as Dilios: Narrator and Spartan soldier

★ Dominic West as Theron: A corrupt Spartan politician

★ Michael Fassbender as Stelios: Young and spirited Spartan soldier

★ Vincent Regan as Captain Artemis: Leonidas' loyal captain and friend

★ Rodrigo Santoro as King Xerxes: King of Persia

★ Andrew Tiernan as Ephialtes: Deformed Spartan outcast

★ Andrew Pleavin as Daxos: Arcadian soldier

★ Tom Wisdom as Astinos: Captain Artemis' eldest son

★ Giovani Cimmino as Pleistarchos: Leonidas' son

★ Stephen McHattie as The Loyalist: A loyal Spartan politician

★ Peter Mensah as Persian messenger

★ Kelly Craig as Oracle girl

★ Tyler Neitzel as Young Leonidas

★ Robert Maillet as Über Immortal (Giant)

Production

Producer Gianni Nunnari was not the only person planning a film about the Battle of Thermopylae; director Michael Mann already planned a film of the battle based on the book ''Gates of Fire''. Nunnari discovered Frank Miller's graphic novel ''300'', which impressed him enough to acquire the film rights.^[1][2] ''300'' was jointly produced by Nunnari and Mark Canton, and Michael B. Gordon wrote the script.^[3] Director Zack Snyder was hired in June 2004^[4] as he had attempted to make a film on Miller's novel before making his debut with the remake of ''Dawn of the Dead'',^[5] Snyder then got Screenwriter Kurt Johnstad to rewrite Gordon's script for production⁴ and Frank Miller was retained as consultant and executive producer.^[6]
The film is a shot-for-shot adaptation of the comic book, similar to the film adaptation of ''Sin City''.^[7] Snyder photocopied panels from the comic book, from which he planned the preceding and succeeding shots. "It was a fun process for me... to have a frame as a goal to get to," he said.^[6] Like the comic book, the adaptation also used the character Dilios as a narrator. Snyder used this narrative technique to show the audience that the surreal "Frank Miller world" of ''300'' was related from a subjective perspective. By utilizing Dilios' gift of storytelling, he is able to introduce fantasy elements into the film, explaining that "Dilios is a guy who knows how not to wreck a good story with truth."^[9] Snyder also added the sub-plot in which Queen Gorgo attempts to rally support for her husband.^[10]
Two months of pre-production were required to create hundreds of shields, spears and swords, some of which were recycled from ''Troy'' and ''Alexander''. An animatronic wolf and thirteen animatronic horses were also created. The actors trained alongside the stuntmen, and even Snyder joined in. Upwards of 600 costumes were created for the film, as well as extensive prosthetics for various characters and the corpses of Persian soldiers.^[11]
''300'' entered active production on October 17, 2005 in Montreal,^[12] and was shot over the course of sixty days¹¹ in chronological order¹⁰ with a budget of $60 million.^[13] Employing the digital backlot technique, Snyder shot at the now-defunct Icestorm Studios in Montreal using bluescreens. Butler said that while he didn't feel constrained by Snyder's direction, fidelity to the comic imposed certain limitations on his performance. Wenham said there were times when Snyder wanted to precisely capture iconic moments from the comic book, and other times when he gave actors freedom "to explore within the world and the confines that had been set".^[6] Headey said of her experience with the bluescreens, "It's very odd, and emotionally, there's nothing to connect to apart from another actor."^[6] Only one scene, in which horses travel across the countryside, was shot outdoors.^[16] The film was an intensely physical production, and Butler pulled an arm tendon and developed a foot drop.^[17]
Post-production was handled by Montreal's Meteor Studios and Hybride Technologies filled in the bluescreen footage with more than 1500 visual effects shots. Visual effects supervisor Chris Watts and production designer Jim Bissell created a process dubbed "The Crush," which allowed the Meteor artists to manipulate the colors by increasing the contrast of light and dark. Certain sequences were desaturated and tinted to establish different moods. Ghislain St-Pierre, who led the team of artists, described the effect: "Everything looks realistic, but it has a kind of a gritty illustrative feel."^[18] Various computer programs, including Maya, RenderMan and RealFlow, were used to create the "spraying blood."^[19] The post-production lasted for a year and was handled by a total of ten special effects companies.^[20]

Soundtrack

Main articles: 300 (soundtrack)

In July 2005, composer Tyler Bates had begun work on the film, describing the score as having, "beautiful themes on the top and large choir," but "tempered with some extreme heaviness." The composer had scored for a test scene that the director wanted to show to Warner Bros. to illustrate the path of the project. Bates said that the score had "a lot of weight and intensity in the low end of the percussion" that Snyder found agreeable to the film.^[21] The score was recorded at Abbey Road Studios and features the vocals of Azam Ali.^[22] A standard edition and a special edition of the soundtrack containing 25 tracks was released on March 6, 2007, with the special edition containing a 16-page booklet and three two-sided trading cards.^[23]
The score has given rise to some controversy in the film composer community, garnering criticism for its striking similarity to several other recent soundtracks, including James Horner and Gabriel Yared's work for the film ''Troy''. The heaviest borrowings are allegedly from Elliot Goldenthal's 1999 score for ''Titus''. "Remember Us," from ''300'', is identical in parts to the "Finale" from ''Titus'', and "Returns a King" is similar to the cue "Victorius Titus."^[24][25][26] Commentators have also noted that the melody of "Message for the Queen" is identical to the song "Zajdi, zajdi" by composer Aleksandar Sarievski.^[27][28] Macedonian portal On.net published a response by Tyler Bates, who claims that he "can't say there is a specific source of inspiration for the cue."^[28]. However, on August 3, 2007, Warner Bros. Pictures acknowledged in an official statement, "a number of the music cues for the score of ''300'' were, without our knowledge or participation, derived from music composed by Academy Award winning composer Elliot Goldenthal for the motion picture ''Titus''. Warner Bros. Pictures has great respect for Elliot, our longtime collaborator, and is pleased to have amicably resolved this matter."^[30]

Historical accuracy

''300's director Zack Snyder stated in an MTV interview that "The events are 90 percent accurate. It's just in the visualization that it's crazy.... I've shown this movie to world-class historians who have said it's amazing. They can't believe it's as accurate as it is." He continues that the film is "an opera, not a documentary. That's what I say when people say it's historically inaccurate".^[31] However he is quoted in a BBC News story that the film is, at its core "a fantasy film." He also describes the film's narrator, Dilios, as "a guy who knows how not to wreck a good story with truth."⁹
Paul Cartledge, Professor of Greek History at Cambridge University, advised the filmmakers on the pronunciation of Greek names, and states that they "made good use" of his published work on Sparta. He praises the film for its portrayal of "the Spartans' heroic code," and of "the key role played by women in backing up, indeed reinforcing, the male martial code of heroic honor," while expressing reservations about its "'West' (goodies) vs 'East' (baddies) polarization."^[32] Cartledge writes that he enjoyed the film, although he found Leonidas' description of the Athenians as "boy lovers" ironic, given his views on the institutional pederasty of the Spartan educational system.^[33]
Ephraim Lytle, assistant professor of Hellenistic History at the University of Toronto, states that ''300'' selectively idealizes Spartan society in a "problematic and disturbing" fashion, as well as portraying the "hundred nations of the Persians" as monsters and non-Spartan Greeks as weak. He suggests that the film's moral universe would have seemed as "bizarre to ancient Greeks as it does to modern historians."^[34]
Victor Davis Hanson, formerly professor of Classical history at California State University, Fresno, who wrote the foreword to a 2007 re-issue of the graphic novel, states that the film demonstrates a specific affinity with the original material of Herodotus in that it captures the martial ethos of ancient Sparta and represents Thermopylae as a "clash of civilizations". He remarks that Simonides, Aeschylus and Herodotus viewed Thermopylae as a battle against "Eastern centralism and collective serfdom", which opposed "the idea of the free citizen of an autonomous polis".^[35] He further states that the film portrays the battle in a "surreal" manner, and that the intent was to "entertain and shock first, and instruct second."^[36]
Touraj Daryaee, associate professor of Ancient History at California State University, Fullerton, criticizes the central theme of the movie, that of "free" and "democracy loving" Spartans against "slave" Persians. Daryaee states that the Achaemenid (Persian) empire hired and paid people regardless of their sex or ethnicity, whereas in fifth-century Athens "less than 14%" of the population participated in democratic government, and "nearly 37%" of the population were slaves. He further states that Sparta "was a militaristic monarchy with a council of elders which decided political matters, but it was not a democracy."^[37]

Promotion and release

The official ''300'' website was launched by Warner Bros. in December 2005. The "conceptual art" and Zack Snyder's production blog were the initial attractions of the site.^[38] Later, the website added video journals describing production details, including comic-to-screen shots and the creatures of ''300''. In January 2007, the studio launched a MySpace page for the film.^[39] The Art Institutes created a micro-site to promote the film.^[40]
At Comic-Con International in July 2006, the ''300'' panel aired a promotional teaser of the film, which was positively received^[6] but despite stringent security, the trailer was then leaked on the Internet.^[42] Warner Bros. released the official trailer for ''300'' on October 4 2006⁵³ and later on it made its debut on Apple.com where it received considerable exposure. The background music used in the trailers was "Just Like You Imagined" by Nine Inch Nails. A second ''300'' trailer, which was attached to ''Apocalypto'', was released in theaters on December 8 2006,^[43] and online the day before.^[44] On January 22 2007 an exclusive trailer for the film was broadcast during prime time television.^[45] The trailers have been credited with igniting interest in the film and contributing to its box-office success.^[46]
In April 2006, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment announced its intention to make a PlayStation Portable game, '', based on the film. Collision Studios worked with Warner Bros. to capture the style of the film in the video game, which was released simultaneously with the film in the United States.^[6] The National Entertainment Collectibles Association produced a series of action figures based on the film,^[48] as well as replicas of weapons and armor.^[49]
Warner Bros. Pictures promoted ''300'' by sponsoring the Ultimate Fighting Championship's light heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell, who made personal appearances and participated in other promotional activities.^[50] The studio also joined with the National Hockey League to produce a 30-second TV spot promoting the film in tandem with the Stanley Cup playoffs.^[51]
In August 2006, Warner Bros. announced ''300's release as March 16, 2007,^[52] but in October the release was moved forward to March 9, 2007.^[53] ''300'' was released on DVD, HD DVD and BD on July 31 2007 in Region 1 territories, in single-disc and two-disc editions. ''300'' was released in single-disc and steelcase two-disc editions on DVD, HD DVD and BD on August 2007 in Region 2 territories, albeit not in every Region 2 country such as the United Kingdom and Germany.
On July 9, 2007, the American cable channel TNT bought the rights to broadcast the film from Warner Bros. TNT spears "300" for basic cable TNT will be able to start airing the movie in September of 2009. Sources say that the network paid between $17 million TNT Loves 300 Spartans and just under $20 million for the movie. TNT agreed to a 3 year deal instead of the more typical 5 year deal.

Reception

Box office

''300'' was released in North America on March 9 2007, in both conventional and IMAX theaters.^[54] It grossed $28,106,731 on its opening day and ended its North American opening weekend with $70,885,301, breaking the record held by '' for the biggest opening weekend in the month of March.^[55] ''300's opening weekend gross is the 24th highest in box office history, coming slightly below '' but higher than ''Transformers''.^[56] It was the third biggest opening for an R-rated film ever, behind ''The Matrix Reloaded'' ($91.8 million) and ''The Passion of the Christ'' ($83.8 million).^[57] The film also set a record for IMAX cinemas with a $3.6 million opening weekend.^[58]
''300'' opened two days earlier, on March 7, 2007, in Sparta, and across Greece on March 8.^[59][60] Studio executives were surprised by the showing, which was twice what they had expected.^[61] They credit the movie's stylized violence, the strong female role of Queen Gorgo which attracted a large number of women to the movie, and the MySpace advertising blitz.^[62] Producer Mark Canton said, "MySpace had an enormous impact but it has transcended the limitations of the Internet or the graphic novel. Once you make a great movie, word can spread very quickly."^[62]

Reviews

Since its world premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival on February 14, 2007, in front of 1,700 audience members, ''300'' has received generally mixed reviews. While it received a standing ovation at the public premiere,^[64] it was reportedly panned at a press screening hours earlier, where many attendees left during the showing and those who remained booed at the end.^[65] In North America, critical reviews of ''300'' are divided. On Rottentomatoes.com, it has a 61% approval rating from listed critics and 49% from its "Cream of the Crop."^[66] On MetaCritic.com, ''300'' received a rating of 51/100 based on 34 reviews, resulting in "Mixed or Average Reviews" status.^[67]
The two major industry trades published generally positive reviews. ''Variety's Todd McCarty describes the film as "visually arresting,"^[68] while Kirk Honeycutt, writing in ''The Hollywood Reporter'', praises the "beauty of its topography, colors and forms."^[69] Writing in the Chicago Sun Times, Richard Roeper acclaims ''300'' as "the ''Citizen Kane'' of cinematic graphic novels."^[70] ''300'' was also warmly received by websites focusing on comics and video games. Comic Book Resources' Mark Cronan found the film compelling, leaving him "with a feeling of power, from having been witness to something grand."^[71] IGN's Todd Gilchrist acclaimed Zack Snyder as a cinematic visionary and the "possible redeemer of modern moviemaking."^[72]
A number of critical reviews appeared in major American newspapers. A.O. Scott of the ''New York Times'' describes ''300'' as "about as violent as ''Apocalypto'' and twice as stupid," as well as criticizing its color scheme and suggesting that its plot includes racist undertones.^[73] Kenneth Turan writes in the ''Los Angeles Times'' that "unless you love violence as much as a Spartan, Quentin Tarantino or a video-game-playing teenage boy, you will not be endlessly fascinated."^[74] Some Greek newspapers have been particularly critical, such as film critic Robby Eksiel saying that moviegoers would be dazzled by the "digital action" but irritated by the "pompous interpretations and one-dimensional characters."^[75]60

Awards/Nominations

At the MTV Movie Awards 2007, ''300'' was nominated for Best Movie, Best Performance for Gerard Butler, Best Breakthrough Performance for Lena Headey, Best Villain for Rodrigo Santoro, and Best Fight for Leonidas battling "the Uber Immortal".^[76] It eventually won the award for Best Fight.

Controversy

Prior to the release of ''300'', Warner Brothers expressed concerns about the political aspects of the film's theme. Snyder relates that "There was a huge sensitivity about East versus West with the studio."^[77]
Media speculation about a possible parallel between the Greco-Persian conflict and current events began in an interview with Snyder that was conducted before the Berlin Film Festival.^[78] The interviewer remarked that "everyone is sure to be translating this [film] into contemporary politics." Snyder replied that, while he was aware that people would read the film through the lens of contemporary events, no parallels between the film and the contemporary world were intended.^[79]
Outside the current political parallels, some critics have raised more general questions about the film's ideological orientation. The ''New York Post's Kyle Smith writes that the film would have pleased "Adolf's boys,"^[80] and Slate's Dana Stevens compares the film to ''The Eternal Jew'', "as a textbook example of how race-baiting fantasy and nationalist myth can serve as an incitement to total war".^[81] Roger Moore, a critic for the ''Orlando Sentinel'', matches ''300'' to Susan Sontag's definition of "fascist art."^[82]
However, ''Newsday'' critic Gene Seymour states that such reactions are misguided, writing that "the movie's just too darned silly to withstand any ideological theorizing."^[83] Snyder himself dismisses ideological readings, suggesting that reviewers who critique a "graphic novel movie about a bunch of guys...stomping the snot out of each other" using words like " 'neocon,' 'homophobic,' 'homoerotic' or 'racist' " are "missing the point."^[84]

A ''300'' movie poster depicting the Persian Uber-Immortal.

Since its opening, ''300'' has also attracted controversy over its portrayal of people of the Persian Empire. Various critics, historians, journalists, and officials of the Iranian government including President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad^[85] have denounced the film.^[86][87][88] As in the graphic novel, the Persians are depicted as a monstrous, barbaric and demonic horde, and King Xerxes is portrayed as androgynous. Frank Miller and 300's Assault on the Gay Past François Peneaud and Joe Palmer 300 Movie Review, Sweating it out at the Hot Gates Critics have suggested that this is meant to stand in stark contrast to the masculinity of the Spartan army.^[89] Steven Rea argues that the film's Persians are a vehicle for an anachronistic cross-section of Western stereotypes of Asian and African cultures.^[90]
The film's portrayal of ancient Persians caused a particularly strong reaction in Iran. A Racist and Insulting Film - 300 vs. Iran (and Herodotus Azadeh Moaveni of ''Time'' reports that Tehran is "outraged" following the film's release. Moaveni identifies two factors which may have contributed to the intense reaction: its release on the eve of Norouz, the Persian New Year, and a common Iranian view of the Achaemenid Empire as "a particularly noble page in their history." ''300'' Sparks an Outcry in Iran Azadeh Moaveni ^[86][87] Various Iranian officials condemned the film.^[93][94][95] Iran accuses Hollywood of 'psychological warfare' Robert Tait The Iranian Academy of the Arts submitted a formal complaint against the movie to UNESCO, labelling it an attack on the historical identity of Iran. Iranian Academy of Arts to submit UNESCO declaration against '300' Iran complains to UNESCO The Iranian mission to the U.N. protested the film in a press release,^[96] and Iranian embassies protested its screening in France, Thailand, Turkey and Uzbekistan.^{[97][98][99][100]}
In response to the criticisms, a Warner Bros. spokesman stated that the film ''300'' "is a work of fiction inspired by the Frank Miller graphic novel and loosely based on a historical event. The studio developed this film purely as a fictional work with the sole purpose of entertaining audiences; it is not meant to disparage an ethnicity or culture or make any sort of political statement."

References

1. Exclusive interview: Producer Gianni Nunnari's epic struggle for '300'
2. March to Glory
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5. An epic tale, told '300' strong
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10. Zack Snyder on keeping '300' sharp Chris Brown
11. ''300'': The Set Visit! Edward Douglas
12. '300' counts for WB Pamela McClintock
13. Warners bets a bundle on swords-and-CGI '300' Pamela McClintock
14.
15.
16. An epic battle is pumped up Mark Olsen
17. “300” – ONE-ON-ONE WITH GERARD BUTLER
18. Meteor hits 300 Sean Davidson
19. Meteor, Hybride pumped blood into 300
20. The Art of War
21. Exclusive Interview with Tyler Bates, Score Composer for ''The Devil's Rejects'' Daniel Robert Epstein
22. WB Records to Release ''300'' Soundtrack
23. 300 Soundtrack To Hit Hard
24. 300 Justin Bielawa
25. 300 James Southall
26. 300 Demetris Christodoulides
27. Plagijat na "Zajdi, zajdi" vo film za Spartancite
28. 300 the Movie Fails to Attribute Use of Macedonian Folk Song in Soundtrack
29. 300 the Movie Fails to Attribute Use of Macedonian Folk Song in Soundtrack
30. 300 on DVD
31. '300' Trivia: Albino Giants, Sequel Chances - And Sienna Miller Josh Horowitz
32. This is Sparta? The history behind the movie '300'
33. Another View: Paul Cartledge, Professor of Greek History, on ''300''
34. Sparta? No. This is madness
35. With Your Shield or On It Victor Davis Hanson
36. '300' Fact or Fiction? Victor Davis Hanson
37. Go tell the Spartans Touraj Daryaee
38. ''300'' Invades the Web
39. ''300'' MySpace Page Launched
40. Frank Miller: Graphic Novelist & Filmmaker
41.
42. UPDATE: The New ''300'' Promo Trailer!
43. New ''TMNT'' and ''300'' Trailers this Week
44. The ''300'' Theatrical Trailer!
45. 300 Premiering in Berlin
46. Weekend Box Office (March 9 - 11, 2007)
47.
48. Spartans! Tonight We Dine in Hell!
49. Are You a Spartan or a Persian?
50. ''300'' Teams with UFC's Chuck Liddell
51. NHL promotes '300'
52. Warners Shuffles Dates
53. Official ''300'' Trailer Hits!
54. 300 The Movie Home Page
55. 300
56. Biggest Opening Weekends at the Box Office
57. 300... and 70 Million Dollars!
58. 300 Sets IMAX Opening Records
59. 'Homecoming' for '300' in Sparta
60. ‘300’ wows Sparta home crowd despite some critics’ complaints
61. Surprise! Spartans Assault Box Offce
62. `300' a multi-pronged box-office triumph
63. `300' a multi-pronged box-office triumph
64. 300 World Premiere Gets Standing Ovation
65. Berlinale Update: 300 Screens To Chorus Of Boos In Berlin Erik Davis
66. 300
67. 300(2007)
68. 300
69. 300
70. Battle worthy: gloriously violent ''300'' sets bar for cinematic 'comic books'
71. REVIEW: "300" THE MOVIE
72. IGN: 300 Review
73. Battle of the Manly Men: Blood Bath With a Message
74. The visually arresting '300' gets bogged down in blood and bodies
75. Greek critics lash Hollywood's ancient epic '300'
76. MTV Movie Awards Nominees: Pirates, Spartans — And That Crazy Kazakh
77. Giving '300' movie a comic-book grandeur
78. That Film's Real Message? It Could Be 'Buy A Ticket'
79. 300 Brings History to Bloody Life
80. Persian Shrug
81. A Movie Only a Spartan Could Love
82. 300 as Fascist Art
83. On the field of this battle, war is swell
84. "300" Post-game: One-on-one with Zack Snyder
85. Iran president irked by '300'
86. Iran outraged by Hollywood war epic“300”
87. Iran condemns Hollywood war epic
88. Iran's U.N. Mission Outraged at '300'
89. '300': A Losing Battle in More Ways Than 1
90. Just 300, but CG on their side
91. Iran outraged by Hollywood war epic“300”
92. Iran condemns Hollywood war epic
93. Iran official condemns Hollywood movie
94. Spartans film is psychological war, says Iran
95. Movie "300" an Insult to Iranians
96. Iran's UN mission: Movie 300 is full of deliberate distortions
97. Embassy of Iran Protests at Screening of '300' Film in France
98. IRI slams '300' show in Thailand
99. İran’ın ’300’e tepkisi sürüyor
100. Embassy protests to screening of anti-Iranian movie in Uzbekistan

External links

★ Official site

★ ''300'' Production notes

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★ "Inside 300" by HowStuffWorks

★ An in-depth Interview with the Spartan Martial Arts Consultant from 300