300

300

This new film 300 is a glimpse into the window of the future of filmmaking. It is a film, like Robert Rodriguez’s Sin City from a couple of years back, that was composed almost entirely within the camera and the digital computer; that is, the actors were filmed almost exclusively against the process know as green screen, in costume and with minimal props and sets, and the rest of the world was built within the computer. Some critics have noted a dislike for this new stage in moviemaking, an assumed deviation from the old process of location shooting and massive set building. While the older method will, one hopes, continue to flourish for years to come, the limitless vision enabled by the new digital process will surely allow for grander and more robust films than we have seen for some time. The Lord of the Rings utilized this tool to great effect, revealing an epic scope that was, previous to the advent of the digital revolution, beyond prohibitive – it is a simple matter and dollars and cents: the grand epic has become too costly to stage in the real world.

300, like Sin City, is based on the graphic novel work of writer-illustrator Frank Miller, and like Sin City attempts a literal, moving recreation of Miller’s pages. Miller himself was a revolutionary figure in the history of comic books – his bold re-imagining of Batman forever changed the temperament of the Dark Knight into a harsh harbinger of justice, unrestrained by the social laws that for so long defined the superhero. It is only fitting that two of his masterworks (Sin City and 300) should serve as templates for the next stage in filmed entertainment.

300 revolves around the actual events of the Battle of Thermopylae, or the “Hot Gates”, wherein a small band of three-hundred Spartans and some few thousand additional Greeks made a stand against the encroaching conquest of Xerses of Persia. Led by King Leonidas of Sparta, this small phalanx of citizen soldiers stood in the way of millions, and for a few days at least, held them at bay. There had never been a fighting force like the Spartans, trained from the time they could stand to fight or die, baptized in combat. To them, a “beautiful death” in battle was the highest honor. Before the end of the days long siege by Xerxes, the Spartans had cut their way through thousands of Persians, their bodies stacked high on the battlefield. It is one of the greatest battles ever fought in history, and it could nto have been a pleasant thing.

Director Zack Snyder, taking his inspiration from Miller’s book, give us a brutal, blood soaked vision of primitive warfare – limbs fly heedlessly about, spears pierce the chests of man and beast alike and growls and howls of death and victory. It is definitely not a film for all tastes, by which I mean mostly teenage boys and grown boys of the 25 to 35 year old variety will like the film.