300
So, we went and saw 300 last night. Shockingly, I didn't hate it, though several times Mark and I had to remind ourselves (or I had to remind him, as he required this more than I did) that this was not really a movie about the battle at Thermpylae Pass, it was a fantasy loosely based on the battle at Thermopylae Pass. Keeping that in mind, we both actually enjoyed the movie, even as CGIed and stylized as it was. We'll probably own it when it comes to DVD.
Not only am I married to a history buff, but my DH also teaches a term of military history every year. Part of that term is on the Greeks, specifically the Spartans, and more specifically, this exact battle. We knew going in that this was going to be a highly stylized rendition, and not particularly historically accurate. The movie did get a few things right. A very few. And Mark liked it well enough to see it again when it comes to DVD, but only so long as he mentally separated it from history in his head. He would never (even without the gratuitous nudity) show this move in his military history class, for example.
First off, he couldn't get over the loin clothes. Now, I had much less issue with them, because gosh, I can't believe the abs on those actors! Like, every single one! They had to be using make up to shadow and highlight and intesify those lines, but even so *fans self*. Mark, however, would laugh at random intervals throughout the movie, just because of the loin clothes. His main comment: "The Spartans wore hoplite armor, just like the rest of the Greeks. That would have looked so much better."
Ok, so it would have looked good. But better? I shamelessly plead the fifth.
Ahem.
Ok, here's the short version of what actually happened at Thermopylae Pass. Yes, there was some festival going on in Sparta, and yes, Leonidas disobeyed the law by taking his "personal guard" of 300 men to try to hold off the Persians at Thermopylae Pass. There were also thousands of other Greeks who joined him, at least at first. Still, the odds were insane. Xerxes' army was the most massive ever assembled in the ancient world - hundreds of thousands. Even with 7,000 Greeks, the odds were still at best 20 to 1, probably closer to 40 to 1. Leonidas successfully defended the pass fora time - much to Xerxes' shock. He did send his famous Immortals against the Greeks, but they weren't some weird ninja looking guys, they were a unit that had earned the name by never suffering a single defeat, and the only garb that denoted them differently from the other Persian troops were the white cloaks they wore. It was MASSIVELY demoralizing to the Persians when the Greeks defeated the supposedly undefeatable Immortals.
The Spartans, btw, would gather their dead each night. And they piled the Persian dead so that fresh troops the next day would have to climb over their own fallen to fight the Greeks. But it was nothing like the wall the movie depicted.
Then came betrayal. Not from some hunchback, but from a greedy shepherd (who else is going to know about a goat trail but a shepherd??) who went to Xerxes and offered to show him the trail for money. And Leonidas knew about the trail, and had a thousand Greeks stationed there. Unfortunately, these troops withdrew to a "safe postion" for whatever reason, and the Persians were able to march past without a fight! Leonidas soon learned of the Persians' movements, and it was at this point that he sent the rest of the Greeks away (knowing they would only die if they stayed). He offered himself and his 300 men to hold the Persians off so the rest of the Greek army could retreat safely. The Spartans had vowed to defend the Pass, and they were a society that did not retreat.
For being so hopeless outnumbered and outflanked, the Spartans did a valiant job. the battle actually went on for hours. When Leonidas fell, Xerses offered to end the fighting and accept the Spartans' surrender if they would only give up their King. The Spartans refused, keeping the body of Leonidas protected behind their line. He then warned them that his royal archers would finish them off if they did not surrender, armed with so many arrows they would blot out the sun. It was then that the Spartans replied with the now famous line "Then we will fight in the shade." Sadly, Xerxes words proved true, and last of the 300 Spartans were killed. But their valiant sacrifice did allow the rest of the Greeks to retreat safely, and their story inspired the rest of the Greek nations to fight against the Persians.
(It was actually, believe it or not, the Athenian navy who sank the majority of Xerxes army at the Battle of Salamis. A lot of people don't realize it, thinking that Athens was all about art and culture and the Spartans were the soldiers, but Athens was to fighting at sea what Sparta was to fighting on land. With his land based army unable to resupply via the sea, Xerxes was finally defeated by the Greeks, ending the Persian wars.)
Some things the movie got right:
~ Yes, Spartan boys were taken from their mothers at the age of 7 to begin their military training. They were without a doubt the most fierce fighting men in all of Greece. They didn't believe in retreat.
~ Spartan women were hard. They were quoted correctly in the movie, as saying "come home victorious, or come home on your shield" - this is what the women told their sons upon giving them their shield before sending them to battle. To come home without one's shield meant cowardice. To come home with it meant victory, and to come home on it meant an honorable death. Spartan women were also among the most coveted in the Greek world. They tended to be athletic and hard bodied, and many a Greek man would speak of their virtues (without perhaps knowing how sharp their tongues could be.) They also had more freedom than any other women in all the ancient world, with the right to own property and go where they pleased.
~ Yes, the elders would decide if a babe was strong enough to live. If born deformed or obviously weak, the baby was left on the slopes of Mt. Taygetos to die of exposure. From the moment of his/her birth, children were considered the property of the state. This practice was to ensure the physical superiority of their army.
~ Sparta was indeed ruled by a King, but also by a council, and the King was subject to the laws and rules fo the Gods, like everyone else. Athens, by contrast, was a democracy, with no monarch.
Some things the movie got really, really wrong:
~ er, the loin clothes. (see above)
~ there were no elephants in the Persian army, at least at that time.
~ or jewel encrusted rhinos, or deformed trolls, or demon-ninjas. At one point, I did wonder what left turn we made into a LOTR tribute.
But beyond the historical inaccuracies, I did enjoy the movie. Gerard Butler was a very good Leonidas. I enjoyed all the Spartans, really, although the Captain would probably never have gotten that emotional over the death of his son (which was a stereotypical and cheesy death, anyway), especially given his statement to Leonidas earlier to the effect of "I have others to replace him". The visuals were truly stunning - this movie was made for people to icon. (I wouldn't mind one with a nice shot of all the Spartans' abs, *cough*). It was sort of like eating popcorn - yummy, but not really hearty and filling. I'll probably enjoy it more the second time around, when I'm not mentally comparing it to history in my head.
Thankfully, this doesn't even compare to Sin City, which I hated, and actually made me feel physically ill once or twice during viewing. I actually enjoyed 300.
Not only am I married to a history buff, but my DH also teaches a term of military history every year. Part of that term is on the Greeks, specifically the Spartans, and more specifically, this exact battle. We knew going in that this was going to be a highly stylized rendition, and not particularly historically accurate. The movie did get a few things right. A very few. And Mark liked it well enough to see it again when it comes to DVD, but only so long as he mentally separated it from history in his head. He would never (even without the gratuitous nudity) show this move in his military history class, for example.
First off, he couldn't get over the loin clothes. Now, I had much less issue with them, because gosh, I can't believe the abs on those actors! Like, every single one! They had to be using make up to shadow and highlight and intesify those lines, but even so *fans self*. Mark, however, would laugh at random intervals throughout the movie, just because of the loin clothes. His main comment: "The Spartans wore hoplite armor, just like the rest of the Greeks. That would have looked so much better."
Ok, so it would have looked good. But better? I shamelessly plead the fifth.
Ahem.
Ok, here's the short version of what actually happened at Thermopylae Pass. Yes, there was some festival going on in Sparta, and yes, Leonidas disobeyed the law by taking his "personal guard" of 300 men to try to hold off the Persians at Thermopylae Pass. There were also thousands of other Greeks who joined him, at least at first. Still, the odds were insane. Xerxes' army was the most massive ever assembled in the ancient world - hundreds of thousands. Even with 7,000 Greeks, the odds were still at best 20 to 1, probably closer to 40 to 1. Leonidas successfully defended the pass fora time - much to Xerxes' shock. He did send his famous Immortals against the Greeks, but they weren't some weird ninja looking guys, they were a unit that had earned the name by never suffering a single defeat, and the only garb that denoted them differently from the other Persian troops were the white cloaks they wore. It was MASSIVELY demoralizing to the Persians when the Greeks defeated the supposedly undefeatable Immortals.
The Spartans, btw, would gather their dead each night. And they piled the Persian dead so that fresh troops the next day would have to climb over their own fallen to fight the Greeks. But it was nothing like the wall the movie depicted.
Then came betrayal. Not from some hunchback, but from a greedy shepherd (who else is going to know about a goat trail but a shepherd??) who went to Xerxes and offered to show him the trail for money. And Leonidas knew about the trail, and had a thousand Greeks stationed there. Unfortunately, these troops withdrew to a "safe postion" for whatever reason, and the Persians were able to march past without a fight! Leonidas soon learned of the Persians' movements, and it was at this point that he sent the rest of the Greeks away (knowing they would only die if they stayed). He offered himself and his 300 men to hold the Persians off so the rest of the Greek army could retreat safely. The Spartans had vowed to defend the Pass, and they were a society that did not retreat.
For being so hopeless outnumbered and outflanked, the Spartans did a valiant job. the battle actually went on for hours. When Leonidas fell, Xerses offered to end the fighting and accept the Spartans' surrender if they would only give up their King. The Spartans refused, keeping the body of Leonidas protected behind their line. He then warned them that his royal archers would finish them off if they did not surrender, armed with so many arrows they would blot out the sun. It was then that the Spartans replied with the now famous line "Then we will fight in the shade." Sadly, Xerxes words proved true, and last of the 300 Spartans were killed. But their valiant sacrifice did allow the rest of the Greeks to retreat safely, and their story inspired the rest of the Greek nations to fight against the Persians.
(It was actually, believe it or not, the Athenian navy who sank the majority of Xerxes army at the Battle of Salamis. A lot of people don't realize it, thinking that Athens was all about art and culture and the Spartans were the soldiers, but Athens was to fighting at sea what Sparta was to fighting on land. With his land based army unable to resupply via the sea, Xerxes was finally defeated by the Greeks, ending the Persian wars.)
Some things the movie got right:
~ Yes, Spartan boys were taken from their mothers at the age of 7 to begin their military training. They were without a doubt the most fierce fighting men in all of Greece. They didn't believe in retreat.
~ Spartan women were hard. They were quoted correctly in the movie, as saying "come home victorious, or come home on your shield" - this is what the women told their sons upon giving them their shield before sending them to battle. To come home without one's shield meant cowardice. To come home with it meant victory, and to come home on it meant an honorable death. Spartan women were also among the most coveted in the Greek world. They tended to be athletic and hard bodied, and many a Greek man would speak of their virtues (without perhaps knowing how sharp their tongues could be.) They also had more freedom than any other women in all the ancient world, with the right to own property and go where they pleased.
~ Yes, the elders would decide if a babe was strong enough to live. If born deformed or obviously weak, the baby was left on the slopes of Mt. Taygetos to die of exposure. From the moment of his/her birth, children were considered the property of the state. This practice was to ensure the physical superiority of their army.
~ Sparta was indeed ruled by a King, but also by a council, and the King was subject to the laws and rules fo the Gods, like everyone else. Athens, by contrast, was a democracy, with no monarch.
Some things the movie got really, really wrong:
~ er, the loin clothes. (see above)
~ there were no elephants in the Persian army, at least at that time.
~ or jewel encrusted rhinos, or deformed trolls, or demon-ninjas. At one point, I did wonder what left turn we made into a LOTR tribute.
But beyond the historical inaccuracies, I did enjoy the movie. Gerard Butler was a very good Leonidas. I enjoyed all the Spartans, really, although the Captain would probably never have gotten that emotional over the death of his son (which was a stereotypical and cheesy death, anyway), especially given his statement to Leonidas earlier to the effect of "I have others to replace him". The visuals were truly stunning - this movie was made for people to icon. (I wouldn't mind one with a nice shot of all the Spartans' abs, *cough*). It was sort of like eating popcorn - yummy, but not really hearty and filling. I'll probably enjoy it more the second time around, when I'm not mentally comparing it to history in my head.
Thankfully, this doesn't even compare to Sin City, which I hated, and actually made me feel physically ill once or twice during viewing. I actually enjoyed 300.