“With filmmaking both epic and imaginative, 300 is the stuff that legends are made of.”
-Russ Breimeier
300 is an epic retelling of King Leonidas and his 300 Spartains at the Battle of Thermopylae. Unable to convince the elders of Sparta to martial troops against immanent attack of the god-king Xerxes’ immense Persian hoards, Leonidas gathers a group of elite solders to mount a valiant and bloody defense of Sparta.
Directed by Zack Snyder, the film is an adaption of Frank Miller’s graphic novel. The award winning, five-issue series was masterfully written and illustrated by Frank Milller and painted by Lynn Varley.
300 does not attempt to completely reproduce the graphic novel unlike Miller’s Sin City which faithfully reproduced panels from the book, but many scenes are still very much the same.
When making the film, great effort was taken to retain the original feel and color of the book; browns and warm colors with splashes (many times literally) of red in striking contrast against the rugged and dirty browns. Grant Freckelton, who oversaw all visual effects said “we were going to do this film as something stylized, not as a literal adaptation of the Battle of Thermopylae.” Realism takes second seat to breathtaking spectacle, while still retaining unbroken seriousness.
The movie’s action was meticulously choreographed and brutal. Battles are bloody and stylistic, with Snyder using changing camera speeds and zooms follow the action while keeping the audience in awe. Creatures, armies, and terrain are made ten times larger than life. Characters are solid and believable, not without thoughts and feelings. Leonidas shows tenderness and feeling beneath the firmness and strength of a warrior king. His relationship with his wife shows devotion unlike most “guy movies”.
The film displays a style achieved by digitally creating and editing environments, lighting and texturing to bring a “painterly” quality to the movie. Each frame of the film is a work of art in itself, receiving a ‘panel on panel’ treatment. Skies made of photographic plates painted over mixed with coffee stains, to achieve a iconic and messy feel and grit and lighting was added to actors. To get the gritty feel and unified style was especially difficult since four different companies worked on the effects. Action was filmed against bluescreen, mostly with only actors and props on scene.
The beautiful images, cutting edge techniques, and archetypal and universal story, go into making an epic tragedy. I ate the entire movie up, yal should check it out.
“300 isn’t just a movie, it’s the next step in filmmaking”
- Larry Carroll
To see the trailer from apple.com, click here.
