Customer Reviews

300 Spartans

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

"The 300 Spartans" is the story of an impossible, yet inspiring, stand by 300 Greek soldiers against the greatest army in the ancient world. Richard Egan, a buff, second string matinee idol, is King Leonidas of Sparta. His attempts to back the full scope of his military in defence of Thermopylae is hampered by political squabbling. Undaunted, Leonidas sets out to destroy Persian king, Xerxes - all the while realizing just how futile his journey is and how tragic his destiny shall be. The usual prerequisites of half naked women and massively overdone battle sequences - that all Hollywood epics circa the mid 50s to late 60s had - are reinstated for this film. Visually, it's stunning. Dramatically: below par and very long on spectacle over substance.

TRANSFER: Fox gives us a very clean, very nice looking anamorphic transfer of this would be classic. Colors are rich, vibrant and bold. Contrast and black levels are dead on. There is some fading present during several night sequences. Film grain is noticeable but not distracting. Age related artifacts are kept to a minimum. Digital anomalies (edge enhancement, pixelization) are present but do not distract. The audio is 5.1 and nicely brings back the stereophonic appeal of classic Cinemascope movies. There's a sonic breadth to the musical score that does not extend to dialogue sequences.
EXTRAS: Theatrical trailers and a few TV spots. Big deal!

BOTTOM LINE: This is a movie for people who truly love and admire Hollywood epics. But it does not represent the height or even the best that the genre can offer. If you're starved for this sort of entertainment, I would recommend either "Ben-Hur" or "Cleopatra" over this film.

THE 300 SPARTANS does creditable job of recreating one of the most famous Last Stand battles in history. Director Rudy Mate makes excellent use of on-location sites to render the mytho-historical Battle of Thermopylae fought in August of 480 BC. An elite, 300 man-guard of Sparta's Battle King Leonidas arrayed itself in the narrow "Hot Gates" pass.[North of Athens and Thebes, but far north east of Lacedaemon/Sparta. This is critical,because Sparta's senate initially voted to defend much closer-to-home portion of the Peloponnesian Peninsula near the strategic land bridge of the Gulf of Corinth]. Xerxes,invading Persian Monarch and would-be world conqueror, myriad legions were averred so numerous that their force "drank the streams dry" marching to the attack.

Richard Egen does excellent job as Leonidas. He is charismatic yet characterisically laconic leader of Lacedaemons whose "warrior cult" society was legendary even to its Greek City-State peers,embodying The "RETURN HOME WITH YOUR SHIELD...OR ON IT!" victory or death ethic. David Farrar is fine as haughty despot Xerxes who none the less conveys astonishment(and once when a desperate,final Flying-Wedge assault by the Spartans threatens him personally)and respectful fear. Sir Ralph Richardson's role as Athenian senator who struggles to cobble unity from fiercely independent Hellenic poleis is "instructive" and understated.As noted,the background romance involving Diane Baker and a Spartan soldier initiate is essentially filler; Mate employs it well,however, to introduce a Greek traitor who discloses the mountain pass which allows Persians to flank...annihilate...the Spartans and their small cohort of allies.

THE 300 SPARTANS may not be epic film making but it's quite good. It's interestingly attentive to detail(wicker shields for Persians;the Lambda signum on shields of Spartans...dressed in red cloaks so enemies cannot see them bleed.)Photography is fine using both panoramic sweep and jump-cut close-up's. Battle scenes are convincing(lacking CGI magnus/extravagance)effectively conveying claustrophobic chaos and terror of close, no-quarter combat. This is an exciting,dramatic recreation of one of the signum battles of history. Overwhelming odds are confronted by resovled courage. It's the right stuff of myth that both chides the spirit as well as excites the imagination.

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.

Of course, that is because I was a very young child when this movie was originally being played. It's still fun to watch. The acting is marginal, costumes are poorly done and some of the spoken lines are terrible. It's main redeeming quality...it's a good clean movie that is biased toward the admirable qualities in mankind...duty, honor, country. This is something that you don't get to see very often from Hollywood these days.

I waited a very long time for this to come out on DVD, and bought it immediately. It will forever be part of my collection, and I will watch it many more times over the years. It's not The Ten Commandments or Ben Hur, but for me and probable many other baby boomers, it's still a "must have" movie.

Okay. So the actual truth was a little different. But in 61 the kids loved it and as one of the so called epics it wasn't bad. Now some years later it still brings out that feeling of the few against the many, while the Spartans didn't win the battle they in effect won the war.
Good simple stuff sadly long missed in todays cinema.

I saw this movie when it first came out in 1961. I remember all the kids running to the candy counter during the "boring" senate debate scene. It's fun to watch for nostalgia's sake, but it's far from a good movie.

My key problem is the way it depicts the Spartans fighting. They preferred not to engage in individual swordplay, as shown in the film. The Spartans' power came from the phalanx--shields locked together, men surging forward in step, and spears plunging again and again into the Persians. (They didn't throw the spears, by the way; they simply stabbed over the tops of their shields.)

Also, as a kid I thought it ludicrous that the Persian Immortals would use wicker shields, but later I found out they're quite ingeneous. A sword or spear plunged into a wicker shield is very hard to pull out, which effectively disarms an opponent.

The Spartans defeated the Persians basically by bowling them over with the phalanx.

Anyway, a fun movie if you don't expect too much.

The only reason I have not heaped more stars on this 1961 classic is the lack of extra's on the DVD, although the Widescreen reproduction is good, the picture and sound crisp, and overall a great package. Recently referred to in "The Last Samurai" whilst drawing parallels of futile "last stands", this movie is beginning to attract a new audience, as well as enthrall those who remember it the first time around. With the renewed interest in the genre (Troy / Alexander the Great) at theaters now, and in post production respectively, this is a timely release. Another plus is that this movie is seldom seen on countless reruns on TV like so many, and is a worthy addition to any fans collection. In a similar way to Troy, there is an air of inevitability to the story which heads for the ill fated battle at Thermopylae. Some policital bungling and bad planning pits Richard Egan and his elite but small army against the ravages of Xerxes (he who commanded an army of 1,000,000)at the aforementioned pass, and the end result though predictable is stirring. Some interesting metaphors abound (as was the practice at that time) comparing the political problems of 1961 to the historical aspects of the movie, but otherwise this is a solid picture. The battle sequences are a bit tame by todays standards, but there is a wonderful dramatic quality to the direction and script, often missing in todays CGI festooned reproductions. Oldy but Goody - Enjoy!

This was one of the last of the great sword-and-sandal epics. Unlike many before it or since, it managed to get the facts generally correct. The story, recorded in Herodotus, concerns a small band of troops from Sparta who held off the advance of the Persian army in the 5th century B.C. In doing so, they gave their fellow Greeks time to organise a larger army. Themes include: democracy vs. despotism, and sacrifice for the sake of the common good. Ever stoic Richard Egan (star of

"Pollyanna," "Esther and the King," and other fun films) does a great job of projecting the inner strength of Spartan leader Leonidas. This film is not to be missed and ranks with other memorable epics of the 1960s, such as "The Long Ships". Note: this is newly remastered and should not be confused with the botched version released some months prior.

I had not seen "The 300 Spartans" since it was first released theatrically in 1962. I seem to recall it was also called "The Lion of Sparta". Being a fan of these "spear and sandal " epics that were so popular at the time, I am very pleased to see titles like this being issued on DVD.
At the same time, "Spartans" is not a great film, although it is certainly colourful and entertaining.

Of course it tells the story of one of the most famous battles of the ancient world--Thermopylae--where King Leonidas of Sparta, and his personal guard of 300 men, held off--at least for a time--the countless hordes of Xerxes of Persia, who was determined to atone for his father, Darius' failure to conquer Greece 10 years earlier. Since they were entrenched in a narrow pass, Leonidas and his men were successful in frustrating Xerxes, until a traitor showed the Persians a secret path around the pass, whereby they could surround and destroy the valiant Spartans. This sacrifice bought the Greek army and navy precious time to unite and ultimately defeat Xerxes.

This film lacks the grandeur ( and budget ? ) of some of the other historical spectacles of the time like Ben Hur and El Cid. It also does not have the cheesy, but enjoyable camp aspects of the Italian "epics" of the day, with Steve Reeves and all those Reeves "wannabes". Richard Egan is Leonidas--while he is not Charlton Heston or Kirk Douglas, he does a credible job of expressing dignity and courage in the face of overwhelming odds. Sir Ralph Richardson is the wily Athenian politician, Themistocles--his voice alone commands your attention. Veteran British actor, David Farrar, chews up the scenery as Xerxes, bellowing orders, threatening fates-worse-than-death and--like any other despot in these types of films--ogling the dancing girls ! As his Commander-in-Chief, Donald Houston looks not at all comfortable in Persian warrior garb, taking constant flak from his increasingly impatient boss ! There is a weak romantic sub-plot that, frankly, gets in the way. The young lovers are played by Diane Baker and Barry Coe--Ms. Baker is fine--as for Mr. Coe, you can see why "superstardom" was not in his future !

The battle scenes are well-staged, although younger viewers--used to the digital wizardry in current movies--may find them quaint.

I see that another viewer has covered the technical aspects of the DVD better than I ever could--I will just say that I found the colourful, wide-screen picture to be excellent for a 40-year old film. Extras are sparse--a couple of trailers, TV promos, and trailers for three other Fox historical films.

Is it a coincidence that this DVD is being released at the same time as that new spectacle about ancient Greece, "Troy" ? I doubt it--but this is good news. While I could not give it 5 stars, "The 300 Spartans" and similar movies of its vintage, deserve to be resurrected, cleaned up and made available on DVD. The price is also attractive. Parents--there is nothing in this film that is inappropriate for children, and if it kindles their interest in history, that really is an "extra" !

Not only is this a true story , but the story itself is one that even Hollywood can not copy. Davis vs Goliath at its best- the DVD quality is quite good for something that was never released previously. The world can only learn from the Spartan warriors as there will never be another race like them again.