Friday, March 09, 2007

300-The Movie

STARRING: Gerard Butler, Lena Headey, David Wenham, Dominic West, Rodrigo Santoro, Vincent Regan
DIRECTOR: Zack Snyder
SCREENWRITER: Zack Snyder
STUDIO: Warner Bros.





Let me come straight out and say it, I love the movie. The movie followed closely the Frank Miller's comic even to the narrative. "SPARTAN...come back with your shield --or on it." Great send of if your husband is going to war. Its shades of gray lighting, with virtual background gives me the feeling that I am watching the comic.


The movie is faithful to the characters created by Frank Miller, the costumes, the deformed traitor, the uniforms, down to the nose rings and earrings of the Persian ambassadors. No, not that closely, because in the comic most of the Spartan are naked and have only a cloak, their helmet, shield, sword, and spear. In the movie, they are modestly wearing hot pants.


The battle sequence is exciting with slow motion frames, cutting, thrushing and lopping off of body parts. Gerard Butler looks like King Leonidas in the comic. He also looks like a younger Mel Gibson. 300 Spartans against a million Persians. When the Persian archers shot their arrows, the sky blacken. The Spartans with distain says, "Then we shall fight in the shade."


The only part I did not like is the part added into the movie but not in the comic. That's the part about the queen trying to get the Council to send the rest of the Spartan army to help their king.

There was an earlier movie, 300 Spartans which covered the same battle. The only memorable part of that movie is Richard Burton running around in a short skirt.

Steven Pressfield wrote a novel, Gates of Fire, which is worth reading.

The war scenes are quite graphic and may be scary for small children. Definitely worth watching...in a cinema. Do not miss the sound effects.

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6 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

just one simply crucial question: any censorship involved by our friends at the Lembaga Filem????

12:39 AM  
Blogger Alex Tang said...

hi alwyn,

Not that I noticed. *smile*

12:42 AM  
Blogger Yik Sheng said...

I think they did censor out the sexual scenes (expecially early in the movie, at Xerxes court & perhaps the queen's effort to get help for her husband), but left the violence uncut.

12:46 PM  
Blogger Alex Tang said...

Hi Israel,

Interesting. In a way, I am glad they have censored the sexual scenes because it does not really add to the story.

I like the way you connect the movie to Christian concepts in your blog. It is really interesting.

Hi Paul,

I guess I never lost the 'sense of wonder' I had as a kid and I hope I never will.

Blessings

12:40 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hi,, i noticed that one of you mentioned that a version of the movie had the sexual scenes censored but all else was left intact??

could you please tell me wher eto get a copy of that please because i really want to get the movie but i parents would not allow those "unwanted" scenes so i cant get it unless it is censored

8:49 PM  
Blogger Alex Tang said...

hi anon,

I think one of us have to respond to you but it is not me :)

12:21 AM  

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