300 - The Movie

Just a quick one here, as it's close to 0030 hrs. We just got back from watching the "300" movie. Simply amazing.

I really liked the picturization, the theme, the color scheme - everything.

The movie is remarkably faithful to Frank Miller’s original graphic novel, which is a very stylized retelling of the true story of the 300 Spartan warriors led by their kind Leonidas, who made a suicidal last stand against an invading Persian army led by Xerxes at the Hot Gates of Thermopylae. The narrow pass allowed the 300 efficient fighters to hold off far superior numbers for days before finally being overwhelmed and slaughtered.

The director - Snyder is a visual genius. He's created several gorgeous moments, while at the same time not detracting from the action. It’s quite impressive – 300 identical looking Spartans fighting against hordes of identical looking foes would, in the hands of most modern directors, be a nightmare of confusion, but Snyder doesn’t go for the quick choppy editing technique. He allows the action moments to play out in very, very long shots, relying on speed ramping – everybody’s fast! Now it’s super slomo! – to create the dynamics of a fast edit. The long shots are especially fantastic because you are watching the actors going through multiple moves and multiple opponents.

Xerxes - the Persian king and so called self proclaimed God, is presented as a huge, effeminate figure. In a moment directly from the graphic novel, Xerxes is at his most threatening not when facing Leonidas but when he comes up behind him and places his massive hands on his shoulders.

All in all, a must see.