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The 300 Spartans

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4 star:		(29)
3 star:		(24)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

'The 300 Spartans' holds a special significance for me. I first saw this film as a young boy (I'm now 46), and it sparked an interest in ancient history that remains with me to this day. It would be interesting if someone saw fit to remake the film, with modern visual effects enhancements-but I wonder if it would have the same impact as the original.

Much of the movie is very close to the actual events, which took place in 480 B.C. A huge Persian army, led by the Great King Xerxes, had crossed the Hellespont from Asia to conquer the impudent Hellenes. The disparate, quarreling city-states of Greece had banded together to repel the invader, but could not agree on just what strategy to take. It was decided that a force of Spartans and Allied Greeks would undertake a holding action at what was then a narrow pass between the mountains and the sea. It was known as 'Thermopylae', or 'Hot Gates'. The firmly religious Spartans were unable to send their full contingent of soldiers due to a holy festival (they were curiously tardy throughout their history in such situations). However, Spartan King Leonidas' 300-strong personal bodyguard was not subject to this restriction, so he marched with them to the pass. Along the way, he was joined by an estimated 7,000 or so Allied Greeks. This tiny force went to confront a Persian host estimated by modern historians at around 100,000.

The battle itself is the stuff of legend. Superior weaponry, armor, and tactics (the famed Greek Hoplite phalanx), combined with the narrow pass that favored defense, enabled the Greeks to repel several frontal Persian assaults with tremendous loss. It appeared that the Greeks would be able to hold Thermopylae for a considerable time-until a traitor showed the Persians a goat path through the adjoining mountains which they could use to turn the Greek position. Once this was accomplished, the Greeks were doomed. Leonidas sent most of the Allied contingent to safety, and made plans for his last stand. He along with his entire bodyguard and about 1,700 allied Greek troops were slaughtered to the last man. Even though the Battle of Thermopylae was a Greek defeat, it punctured the myth of Persian invincibility, and served as a powerful inspiration in the future defense of Greece. A simultaneous naval engagement at nearby Artemisium produced similar results: the Persian fleet suffered serious loss due to storm damage and effective Greek action.

Eventually, the Greek navy all but destroyed the Persian fleet near the island of Salamis (near Athens). In 479, an Allied Greek army annihilated the last remnants of the vast Persian land host at Plataea (the greater proportion having crossed back to Asia with Xerxes after the loss of their supporting navy at Salamis), forcing the enemy from Europe for good.

The film adheres pretty closely to this narrative-with some 'Hollywood'. The love story is pure fiction (surprised?); there is some evidence that a Greek contingent may have attacked the Persian camp (possibly an attempt at killing Xerxes, thus circumventing the whole Persian expedition). The Greek army was larger than portrayed in the film-but I'm sure this was due to budgetary constraints. Mardonius, Hydarnes, and the Immortals-10,000 strong-really did exist (Mardonius commanded the Persian forces at the battle of Plataea, and was killed there). Themistocles (played in the film by Ralph Richardson) was the driving force behind the creation of the Athenian navy-and commanded the Greek fleet in the crucial action at Salamis. Unfortunately, the major role he played in the victory over Persia is largely absent in this film.

The actual Sparta was a far cry from the liberal land portrayed in the film; weak or sickly Spartan children were thrown from a cliff at birth, or left to die from exposure. Sparta was a harsh oligarchy, a military society where males were trained to be soldiers from birth. The entire population of Messenia, a nearby city-state, was enslaved so the Spartans could devote their all to military training. Sparta greatly feared a revolt of these 'helots', and many historians quote this as a main reason the whole of the Spartan army was reluctant to leave the homeland when their assistance was requested.

In spite of these inaccuracies, this is indeed a great film to watch-and no one can dispute just what the stand of Leonidas and his 300 mean to democracy in the modern world. See it-you won't be disappointed.

The narrow pass of Thermopalyae is long gone, with centuries of sendiment building a large plain. The location of the statue of King Leonidas of Sparta set up along the highway does provide a sense of how narrow the geography was in 480 B.C. when a small force of Spartans and other Greek warriors held up the advance of King Xerxes and his Persian army (the parallels to the Alamo are palatable). When I visited Greece last week I was glad we were able to stop at the monument for a few minutes, not so much because of what I had read in the history books about the Battle of Thermopalyae but because of the 1962 film "The 300 Spartans."

Granted the acting in this film from director Rudolph Maté is wooden, on a par with the Trojan Horse and the ships that turned out to the wooden walls of Athens that defeated Xerxes at Salamis. But there is still something substantial to the battle sequences, as when Xerxes sends his Immortals against the Spartans and when the Spartans make a final valiant charge to kill the Persian monarch. The basic political history of the times is covered in the film; Greece was debating whether or not to send soldiers that far north to stop the invaders and the Spartans decided not to send troops until a religious festival was over. Consequently, King Leonidas (Richard Eagan) left with his personal bodyguard of 300 soldiers. There is a trivial romantic subplot involving a young Spartan soldier and the girl he tried to leave behind, as well as an exiled Spartan King, Demaratus (Ivan Triesault) who tries to educate Xerxes (David Farrar) about the worth of these 300 soldiers. In the end, the Spartans are betrayed by a Greek traitor who tells the Persians of a pass through the mountains where they can attack from the rear. Leonidas learns of the treachery in time to evacuate the rest of the Greek army, but the Spartans will never retreat.

This was one of the last films directed by Maté, a respected cinematographer ("Pride of the Yankees," "Lady From Shanghai") who directed movies as different as "D.O.A." and "When Worlds Collide." The battle sequences are the best part of "The 300 Spartans," making excellent cinematic use of the contrast between the Spartans in their gold armor and red cloaks versus the black draped Persians with their wicker armor. Eagan does not do much with the role of Leonidas, but he certainly gives the character the requisite sense of honor and nobility. But perhaps the most memorable part of this film, which is one of the most cherished from my youth, is the marching music of the Spartans written by Manos Hadjidakis. Clearly I am not alone in that regard. "The 300 Spartans" is not a great film, but it has its moments and the tale is worth the telling. Recently Frank Miller ("Batman: The Dark Night") did his own graphic novel version of this story, which may well inspire Hollywood to remake this film. It is certainly a tale worth telling again.

I first saw this film when I was 12 or 13. At that age I thought it was an action movie and I took it solely for that - it was good with large battle scenes, sword clanging against shield, etc. However, it is a little deeper than that. The film tells the story of King Leonidas of Sparta who took a small cohort of Spartan soldiers to stand at Thermopylae against a huge Persian army. Most of the rest of the Greek city-states declined to send troops because the pass was so far from their territory. Leonidas realized that the pass was the best place to meet the Persians as the narrow space would allow a small force to block a tremendously larger force. The Spartans marched hard to get to the pass before the Persians and then fought like demons when the Persians arrived - actually driving them back and temporarily routing them with some well-planned tactics and ferocious sword play. After several days their position is betrayed and their meager allies killed or put to flight. The Spartans are then surrounded. Their sacred customs do not permit surrender or retreat so they make a suicidal charge at the Persian king. Leonidas falls and the Persians then massacre the remaining Spartans who refuse to give up his body.
Richard Egan is suitably noble and brave as Leonidas. It is obvious that he fears nothing as he wades into battle with spear,sword and shield. One comment is that Leonidas is like his name - that is, like a lion, and he is. The supporting cast is also quite good, including Sir Ralph Richardson as Themistocles (a crafty Athenian politician and statesman) and Diane Baker in an early role. The film is in technicolor or some similar process so the color of the Spartan's cloaks is a brilliant red and there are a lot of other bright colors, perhaps a little bit much considering the gore. What is perhaps most impressive and memorable is the music playing in the background as the Spartans march - it is haunting. As Leonidas says - no army in the world marches faster. The Spartans march for several days with almost no rest and the music slows to mirror their exhaustion - the men look haggard, dirty and unshaven - yet they continue to march. These marching scenes may be the best in the film showing the desperate race to reach Thermopylae before the Persians. At the end of the film there is a flashback to the Spartans marching with the music in the background. A narrator explains that the Greeks went on to defeat the Persians in large part because the Spartans delayed them long enough for an organized defense to be planned - also, perhaps because all of Greece was awed by the remarkable courage and nobility of a small band who sacrifice their lives for their country.
The film has definite defects and the end result could have been better. However, it is still quite good and I find that I like it even better now. While the film takes a few liberties with history, the basic story line is accurate - small group of Spartans under Leonidas hold off huge Persian army at Thermopylae and go down fighting. I have seen the film rated as only one star - I don't know who did this rating but it is off the mark badly - it is easily rates four stars and just missed five.

'300 Spartans' is nothing if not a B movie. Production values were mediocre for the 60's and downright archaic for today. Acting was on a par with the old Steve Reeves 'Hercules' movies, that is to say wooden. But '300 Spartans,' as poorly made as it was, tells a marvelous story.

I first read the story of Leonidas at Thermopylae over 45 years ago in volume 8 of Collier's 'The New Junior Classics: Stories from History,' and that became the germ of a lifelong interest in ancient history and pregunpowder military history. I next met Leonidas in the pages of J.B. Bury's 'A History of Greece,' and A.R. Burns' 'Persia and the Greeks,' and I've recently renewed my acquaintance in Peter Greene's 'The Greco-Persian Wars' and Ernle Bradford's 'Thermopylae.' All of those books save the first can be purchased from Amazon.com. A public domain reprint of the first may be available from Amazon.com under the title 'Stories from Greece and Rome, Junior Classics Part 3.'

In brief, the story of Leonidas:

As Xerxes (aka Ahasueras), the Great King of the greatest empire the world had ever seen, prepared the greatest invasion force ever mustered, the Greeks sought advice from the Oracle at Delphi. The Oracle pronounced that wooden walls would save Athens, but only the death of a Spartan king would save that unwalled city from ruin.

As the Persian juggernaut crossed over a two mile long pontoon bridge into Europe and began its relentless march into Greece, the Greeks temporized, argued, and dithered. Finally, Sparta sent King Leonidas with three hundred Spartiates to hold the pass at Thermopylae against the Persian hordes. Leonidas stiffened his contingent with Helots (Spartan serfs) and volunteers from several other Greek city-states. Phocis, Thebes, Thespia, and a few others swelled Leonidas' ranks to a few thousand.

Upon being told that when the Persians loosed their arrows the sky went black, the Spartiate Dienekes rejoined "Then we shall fight in the shade." At a point in the pass no more than 20 yards wide Leonidas met the Persians and stopped them dead in their tracks. For three days he and his men held the mightiest empire's mightiest army at bay, slaughtering the flower of the Persian army by the hundreds, if not thousands. He might have held, but a traitorous Greek showed the Persians a mountain pass by which they could turn Leonidas' position.

Leonidas had guarded the pass with 1,000 Phocians, but the Persian 'Immortals,' Xerxes' best unit, brushed them aside. Upon learning of this treachery, Leonidas sent the other city-states' contingents home and prepared for his last stand. The Thebans and Thespians volunteered to stay, and Leonidas chose for his battleground a wider section of the pass. He wanted as wide a front as possible so he could kill as many Persians as possible.

The Spartans joined battle with the Persians for the last time, and the slaughter was horrific. When, as anticipated, the Immortals took them in the rear, the Spartans retreated to a hillock, formed what the Middle Ages would call a 'Swiss Hedgehog,' and died to the last man.

As prophecy foretold, the Spartans lost their king, but saved their city, and the rest of Greece with it. The invasion continued apace, and Athens was sacked, with her entire population fleeing to the island of Salamis. There in the straits between Salamis and Athens, the Greeks lured the Persian navy to its doom. Later, on the plains of Plataea, Sparta avenged the death of their king by slaughtering the Persian army and ending once and for all the Persian threat.

'300 Spartans' follows this plot remarkably well, failing only in authenticity of detail. In the light of modern depictions of pregunpowder battle in movies like 'Ran,' 'Braveheart,' and 'Gladiator,' the battle scenes were near laughable, but we must remember the budgetary and special effects limitations of a 60's era B movie.

The movie got more right than it did wrong: The dithering of the Greeks, the insanity of Leonidas' march, the gritty determination and martial excellence of the Spartiate soldiers, the hubris of Xerxes, the death by archery of the Spartiates as they formed a Swiss Hedghog for their final stand, but most of all the heroic person of Leonidas the king who willingly laid down his life to save his city-state and all of Greece with it.

Richard Egan is probably best known for his portrayal of the villianous gladiator who was Victor Mature's foe in 'Demetrius and the Gladiators.' He makes a better villian than he does a hero, but there was still something very engaging in his portrayal of the heroic but doomed Spartan King.

At last, I watched a Hollywood film that tells the story the way it happened. The theme of the movie is the battle of Thermopylae, maybe the most important battle in the history of Europe. The Persian troups were delayed for 3 days by 300 Spartan warriors, led by Leonidas, at the narrow passage of Thermopylay (Gates of Fire). This gave time for the Athenians, Ionians, Corinthians, Macedonians and the rest of the Greeks to assemble the fleet and give the advancing Asian barbarians the final blow at Salamis.

The movie takes place on lacation, at a very scenic area, with many extras, performing excellent in man to man combat and chariot combat, too.

The classic phrases "Molon Lave", told by Leonidas to Xerxes and "I tan i epi tas", told by the Spartan mothers to their sons, are told, and explained in the movie.

The armor of the Spartan warriors is the historically accurate one, with the big Greek "L" on the front (standing for "Lacedemoniis" (Spartans in ancient Greek), they wear the red cloaks, (so no Spartan blood would be visible to the enemy). The daggers are of the correct size and not mistaken by the Sariza, and the battle cries are the appropriate ones.

The musical score is by Manos Hadjidakis, capturing the epic history in a bewildering way.

After all the "historical" epic - junk i watched lately, i was pleasantly surprised to watch this marvel that was filmed more than 40 years ago. Well done!

While not a perfect movie, this is an eminently watchable one. In the tradition of the movies Hollywood liked to make in the early 1960s dealing with the ancient world, this film dwells on the topics of honor and loyalty. Richard Egan is terrific as King Leonidas. This film does a wonderful job explaining what happened in the famous battle in which 300 Spartans held off an entire Persian army of thousands at the Battle of Thermopalye Pass long enough for the Greeks to organize and prepare to repel the Persian invaders. While I am not a sufficiently knowledgeable historian to know whether this film hews closely to historical accounts of what happened, the film tells a coherent story that is certainly based upon actual events.

While the acting in this film (other than Egan's) is not terrific, this is nevertheless a film that is suitable for the whole family to watch. This is solid entertainment. The DVD features good sound and superb video--the colors are crisp and bright. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and recommend it to anyone.

Here is a credible portrayal of the heroic stand that the 300 Spartans made at the pass of Thermopylae in 480BCE. Trying to make their way through the pass was a Persian army that likely numbered around 200,000. It was led by king Xerxes, son of Darius.

The Persians were set on conquering Greece, and Xerxes was out for revenge. 10 years earlier, in 490BCE Darius had launched an ill-fated invasion force that was turned back at Marathon. This time, Xerxes believed he had a large enough army that the outcome of the war between Greece and Persia would not be in doubt.

Unfortunately for Xerxes, he had never faced a fighting force of the like fielded by the Spartans. The valiant Lacedamons along with a handful of Greek coalition forces held the pass for the better part of 3 days.

On the third day, the Spartan king Leonidas dismissed the rest of the Greek forces so that they would live to fight another day. The Thespians declined to leave and they stayed and fought to a last man alongside the Spartans.

It is this obstinate and awe-inspiring battle that is depicted in the film. All-in-all, it is quite well done and does a reputable job of introducing most of the major characters in the period such as Themosticles, Leonidas, Xerxes, Mardonious, Aspasia and Ephialtes.

The best part of the film lies in its authenticity regarding Spartan battle dress and weaponry. In the film the Spartan shields have an upside down "V," which was the symbol of the Homoioi (full citizens). This was, in fact, what their shield depicted.

The Laconians had a long (roughly 8 foot) spear + a short-sword, and this is what the actors wielded. The Spartans also wore red to (supposedly) hide their blood, and this is accurately brought out in the film as well.

On the downside, there are a few weak parts of the script. The most egregious is an anachronism; Mardonious informs Xerxes that the Spartans "fight like machines."

There are also some directorial lapses and a few spots where armies are supposed to be in close combat and yet the extras move so slowly that you think they don't have a care in the world. I rather doubt the tension at Thermopylae 2,500 years ago would allow for such insouciance.

The acting is fairly good. Richard Egan gives a solid performance as the venerable Leonidas. The Xerxes in the film is not, I would think, too far removed from the actual pompous king who invaded Greece all those centuries ago.

Aside from all that, the primary reason one should buy this DVD is that it is real history. While some of it is fabricated and fudged, it is nevertheless an excellent representation of what really happened. To this day, to commemorate those three days in August of 480BCE there is an epigraph at Thermopylae. Translated into English, it reads thus:

GO TELL THE SPARTANS, STRANGER PASSING BY
THAT HERE OBEDIENT TO THEIR LAWS WE LIE.

I saw this film as a kid and I surprised that most reviews don't mention the great music. I memorized the theme music and used to sing to it

WE ARE 300 Spartans!
We are men of the king!
Onward men to the battle!
To Death, To Death or Victory!
Go and tell the Spartans!
You who do pass by!
That here obedient to our laws
We lie, we lie for all eternity!

WE ARE 300 Spartans!
We are men of the king!
Onward men to the battle!
To Death, To Death or Victory!

I remember that some old time travel TV show used outakes from this film. This is an imperfect film, almost childish I know but it was a great family film about a thrilling theme.

A little bit of Leonidas is with all of us today. He was simply one of the greatest heroes of all time. This is a fun film. Along with JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS this was one of my favorite films of my boyhood. Today I realize Spartacus is better but as a kid I liked 300 Spartans more. The basic story is so dramatic and so courageous that the hokey parts are forgiven and forgotten. After all this is just a movie. Enjoyable it is -and that's what movies are for. If it also sparks interest in Greek heritage and history so much the better.

If you like the big historical epics from the '60s, this is definitely the film for you! The story tells of the fight of the ancient Geek city-states,led by Spartan soldiers, against the invading forces of the Persian Emperor Xerxes.It's full of action, adventure, and epic battle scenes. The film is filled with themes of patriotism, heroism, and the importance of fighting for freedom and what is right. It is basically accurate, and incorporates many small details that actually did happen. In my opinion, this is one of the best historical movies ever made; a story of larger-than-life characters pitted against overwhelming odds, who are ready to sacrifice all to preserve their freedom from foreign tyranny.

I have fond memories of seeing this movie often in my youth, back in the days when a character called Barry Lillis used to host WGRZ Buffalo's after-school "Money Movie". They used to devote a whole week at a time to the genre along with other classic sword'n'sandal epics like the Steve Reeves flicks, etc. While the historical accuracy of some of these movies may be questionable, I have to say they really opened up my young eyes to ancient history and sparked an interest which has stayed with me to this day.

Now watching this movie again for the first time in 25 years or so, like many other reviewers here it isn't quite as wonderful as I remembered. But compared to other Italian-made B-movie epics of the time, I would say this production with American, British, French and Greek involvement is still a cut above.

Richard Egan makes a decent Leonidas (--OK maybe a bit wooden, but hey it's a B-movie, right?), and keeps the film firmly anchored. But I did find the Shakespearean thespian British accents of some of the other actors made some of these ancient Greeks and Persians seem more like genteel English gentlemen to me (--in particular the actor playing Xerxes, whose blue eyes didn't help his believability either.) And then of course the filmmakers had to go and throw in a sappy love story that doesn't really serve any purpose.

Well, what can I say? If you go into this expecting a "Gladiator" or even a "Ben Hur", you'll probably be disappointed. But if you take it for what it is -- a typical early 60's grade-B sword'n'sandal flick -- you'll find it's a damned good one at that. Probably that's why there are so many of us who, even recognizing that the film is very much of its era and does have its shortcomings, are still so glad to finally have it available on DVD to own and watch anytime.

As for the DVD itself, they have done a beau~tiful job restoring the colours and it really looks great. And best of all the film is presented in wide-screen format, which is not done often enough in DVD releases of this type of movie. Don't expect too much in the way of extras (the English and Spanish trailers plus a few old B & W TV spots), but for me having this movie so respectfully restored and released in widescreen is reason enough to be happy.

I don't know....say what you will, but even though they're cheesy and dated, somehow I still think I'd rather watch one of these old sword'n'sandal type movies starring a Steve Reeves or a Richard Egan instead of one of today's big-budget, over-hyped "blockbusters" starring the latest overpaid "hot stars" of the day like Brad Pitt or Orlando Bloom. Somehow they seem to have more of a soul to them.

Geez, I must be gettin' old huh....? ;)