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Rich
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Sheldon, you're the academic here..time for a paper analyzing the film industry and its quest for "entertainment"...they wait for your opinions with bated breath.... Cool
300
Simon Rosbottom


Joined: 14 Jun 2006
Posts: 287
Location: London, UK
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Saw 300 last night - Pants. I kept looking at the clock - much too long for what's in it - which isn't much.

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mike snook 2


Joined: 04 Jan 2006
Posts: 920
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Simon

Pants (in the UK sense not the US sense!). That's exactly the word I was looking for!! Dreadful ain't it!

As ever

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300 vs Cross of Iron
Simon Rosbottom


Joined: 14 Jun 2006
Posts: 287
Location: London, UK
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D'oh! I mean "PANTS!" in the Homer Simpson sense! Now I'm sure that you all either understand or are still horribly confused.

300 - A classic of the fantasy/gore/soft porn/bondage/lightweight genre. How is it that the Greeks don't bleed at all even when when doing a passable impersonation of a pin cushion but the Persians bleed barrels and barrels of flying blood?

One of my favourite "war" films (in fact anti-war) is Sam Peckinpah's "Cross of Iron." Great performances from Coburn, Mason, Schell and David Warner (who was also in Peckinpah's Straw Dogs but we won't mention that)

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I was kindly bought 'The 300 Spartans' today. Very Happy

It had been a while since I last saw it, and admit, having just watched it, it truly is a great film.

Richard Egan was good as Leonidas.

However, I also see why, 46 years on, and film techniques as they are, why they tried something different with '300'.

Both films are now side-by-side in my 'Last Stand' collection, along with 'Custer of the West', 'The Alamo' (1960), 'The Alamo' (modern version), 'Zulu' and 'Zulu Dawn'.

Hopefully, I'll be adding the 'Zulu' two disc set to it soon.

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John

I'm delighted to tell you I received a couple of books today.

One of them being ' Gates of Fire. ' by Steven Pressfield. Very Happy

I'll now be able to find out more about the 'bigger picture' - who was with the Spartans, etc.

Thanks for bringing my attention to this book.

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Dawn


Joined: 31 Aug 2005
Posts: 610
Location: Auckland, New Zealand
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Well, I saw 300 for the first time last night and I must say I quite enjoyed it. Yes, it is stylised, and yes, there are buckets of blood and yes, the slow motion scenes were sooo ssslllooowwww (my companion called it death by slow motion!) however it was based on a comic strip not a book and was intended for a audience younger than most of us on this forum, myself included. But it will get young people asking who was Leonidas and where is Thermopylae just as people years ago asked who was Chard and where is Rorke's Drift.

Dawn
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Dawn

It is pretty good, isn't it ?

That is, if you look at it the way it is meant to be.

Unfortunately, nowadays, many (not all) of the younger audiences now believe in superheroes - Batman, Spiderman, Superman, X-Men, Fantastic Four, etc., quicker than historical figures and events.

It's not surprising, therefore, that '300' is almost portrayed as 300 superheroes (including capes, etc.) against an evil foe.

Not meaning disrespect to Leonidas, the Spartans and their Greek allies who fought with them in their heroic last stand - it's just audiences are so much more different, competition fierce, you have to find some sort of middleground.

I still like it anyway, as with the earlier '300 Spartans'.

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Dawn


Joined: 31 Aug 2005
Posts: 610
Location: Auckland, New Zealand
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Yes, if you watch it for entertainment value alone, it's not too bad.

I once attended a lecture that said that when America is in the throes of major offences and wars, the film industry responds with films full of heroes and superheroes and I think we have that now. The latest films: X-men, Fantastic Four, Spiderman, even Transformers, have that element of superhumans battling against strong and destructive enemies. It's what the market wants and this is what the market is getting.

Dawn
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If I was to choose another recent 'sword and sandal' film, which covers areas I'm interested in, it would be 'Gladiator'.

At the start, you know Maximus is a General and highly-admired by his men, brave and fearless in combat.

Then, all that is taken away from him.

Afterwards, he literally starts from scratch, his qualities catching the attention of all those around him -

a. Initially refusing to fight in the gladiator training, even though he was being struck repeatedly, he kept his feet.

b. When he does fight, he shows he fights well.

c. Then, after several such encounters, he starts making a huge impact.

d. Finally, in the arena, he manages to unite most of the gladiators, to win the day.

e. Eventually, from the film 'winning the crowd'.

Much of the above, although for the big screen, does show elements of what I am trying to understand about men being born leaders of men, but also staying leaders, no matter the circumstances.

The way his fellow gladiators become almost like his bodyguard, and that even a single signal, such as a nod or shake of his head, they responded, by obeying.

I've not yet obtained the dvd, although I have watched it several times on television.

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Rich
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Good choice there on Gladiator..I like the film too. You know it also focuses much on leadership especially by its handling of how and who Marcus Aureleius wanted to be his heir. Er..Commodus just wasn't the type of fellow according to Aurelius to run the Empire...not even if he was his son. Maximus sure had the qualities. No following in the footsteps of Nero for him!...Wink....
Paul Bryant-Quinn


Joined: 14 Oct 2007
Posts: 551
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... And aren't the Zulu chants the 'Germanic' tribesmen use great? I wonder if due royalties were paid on that one! Laughing
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Rich

Exactly. The scene when Maximus turns down the offer by saying " With all my heart, no. " and is told that is why it must be him.

There is a lot to be read into that, as in, Maximus hadn't been corrupted, and it was only he that could restore order.

Interestingly, Commodus admits he hadn't any of the qualities his father had listed in his letter - but found, what you could call - alternatives of these qualities, that he knew he did have.

He said something like, bravery, although not on the battlefield, but that there were different kinds of bravery. Also, he saw ambition as a good quality, but at what cost I wondered ?

We soon found out !

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Rich
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Right....


Lesson.....w/o character, that bedrock for command, well ya just can't lead.... what do we deduce?...like American Express, leaders can't live without it!...... Wink
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Finished reading 'Gates of Fire'. by Steven Pressfield.

Great book - brilliant descriptions of the battle and the men involved.

Didn't know the Spartans swore as much !

Liked the joke told by one of the warriors. Laughing

I'll only need to get the Osprey Campaign book about Thermopylae to accompany it.

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300 Two-Disc Special Edition Released
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