[Movie] 300

Originally Posted by Shenlon

the visual style is somewhat impressive but overall I'm not interested in these kind of movies. I never liked the gladiator type films since they all feel the same in my opinion.
We all know the hero dies ^^

I really disliked Gladiator as well, but the ultra-stylized look in this movie, as well as crazy characters and pretty much over the top everything has me interested because it seems to be taking a fantasy approach to something that (at least supposedly) did happen.

In that same vein, I think attempting to apply a historical value to this movie is kind of pointless. It's so far removed that you're basically talking about two different Spartas.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

On another note, because this has become legend, as Brady pointed out, I feel like something that is archetypal in nature would better fit the storytelling than something that tries to be historically accurate.

In 300's case, what you're going to see is a fairy tale or a myth. The costume, set, and character design reflect that somewhat in creating clearly defined good and bad guys, establishing heroic as well as tragic scenes. You're going to see spectacle, but it's pretty obvious you won't be surprised whatsoever if Whatshisface betrays Whoosit, or Bob Spartan takes an arrow in the back.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

If I may reiterate after seeing it:

Originally Posted by Skexis

In 300's case, what you're going to see is a fairy tale or a myth. The costume, set, and character design reflect that somewhat in creating clearly defined good and bad guys, establishing heroic as well as tragic scenes. You're going to see spectacle, but it's pretty obvious you won't be surprised whatsoever if Whatshisface betrays Whoosit, or Bob Spartan takes an arrow in the back.

It really disturbed me how many reviewers came out of the film talking about how distasteful and extravagant it was. The reason I ended up liking the film was because it didn't have to appeal to any preconceived notions of how things worked at the time.

In this film, it's like Miller found the best spoken word story in the world and wanted it to come across visually. And, as we collectively gasp, that means hyperbole and metaphor. Here's an example.

The executioner loomed over the failed captain, covered in a sheen of sweat, his gut hanging from him, but no less the fearsome man for it. As he raised the blade, it seemed to meld into his arm, becoming a part of it, and as it swung down, cleaving free the captain's head, no one spoke, knowing their words could bring them under the executioner's blade as well.

In my opinion it's a rather interesting use of storytelling devices in a visual sense. That's ultimately how I interpreted it. But given Miller's past record, it could also simply be that he wanted to take everything to the Nth level.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.