The 300 Spartans
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Movie Reviews of The 300 Spartans
Movie Review: The 300 Spartans
Summary: 4 Stars
This was a great movie to preview in conjunction with the current 300 movie. It showed the tremendous technoloy differences from the 1960's to the present time.Movie Review: Greece
Summary: 4 Stars
A good movie, worth the price. Better if you are an ancient history major but most everyone should enjoy it.Movie Review: Spears and Sandals.
Summary: 3 Stars
I had not seen "The 300 Spartans" since it was first released theatrically in 1962. I seem to recall it was also called "The Lion of Sparta". Being a fan of these "spear and sandal " epics that were so popular at the time, I am very pleased to see titles like this being issued on DVD.At the same time, "Spartans" is not a great film, although it is certainly colourful and entertaining.
Of course it tells the story of one of the most famous battles of the ancient world--Thermopylae--where King Leonidas of Sparta, and his personal guard of 300 men, held off--at least for a time--the countless hordes of Xerxes of Persia, who was determined to atone for his father, Darius' failure to conquer Greece 10 years earlier. Since they were entrenched in a narrow pass, Leonidas and his men were successful in frustrating Xerxes, until a traitor showed the Persians a secret path around the pass, whereby they could surround and destroy the valiant Spartans. This sacrifice bought the Greek army and navy precious time to unite and ultimately defeat Xerxes.
This film lacks the grandeur ( and budget ? ) of some of the other historical spectacles of the time like Ben Hur and El Cid. It also does not have the cheesy, but enjoyable camp aspects of the Italian "epics" of the day, with Steve Reeves and all those Reeves "wannabes". Richard Egan is Leonidas--while he is not Charlton Heston or Kirk Douglas, he does a credible job of expressing dignity and courage in the face of overwhelming odds. Sir Ralph Richardson is the wily Athenian politician, Themistocles--his voice alone commands your attention. Veteran British actor, David Farrar, chews up the scenery as Xerxes, bellowing orders, threatening fates-worse-than-death and--like any other despot in these types of films--ogling the dancing girls ! As his Commander-in-Chief, Donald Houston looks not at all comfortable in Persian warrior garb, taking constant flak from his increasingly impatient boss ! There is a weak romantic sub-plot that, frankly, gets in the way. The young lovers are played by Diane Baker and Barry Coe--Ms. Baker is fine--as for Mr. Coe, you can see why "superstardom" was not in his future !
The battle scenes are well-staged, although younger viewers--used to the digital wizardry in current movies--may find them quaint.
I see that another viewer has covered the technical aspects of the DVD better than I ever could--I will just say that I found the colourful, wide-screen picture to be excellent for a 40-year old film. Extras are sparse--a couple of trailers, TV promos, and trailers for three other Fox historical films.
Is it a coincidence that this DVD is being released at the same time as that new spectacle about ancient Greece, "Troy" ? I doubt it--but this is good news. While I could not give it 5 stars, "The 300 Spartans" and similar movies of its vintage, deserve to be resurrected, cleaned up and made available on DVD. The price is also attractive. Parents--there is nothing in this film that is inappropriate for children, and if it kindles their interest in history, that really is an "extra" !
Movie Review: The 300 Spartans
Summary: 3 Stars
This version of the Spartan stand at Thermopalyae is historically more accurate than 300 which came out in 2007. 300 does have the better special effects, after all, it's 45 years later. The 300 Spartans was my first experience with this famous battle, as a child I thoroughly enjoyed it. Sadly, I'm now an adult, this film doesn't have the same impact on me. Richard Egan, a second tier star at best, as Leonidas is barely adequate. But I will be honest, the script is stiff, not giving the best lines for the actors to deliver. But as far as the story goes it's fairly accurate to the historical events of the battle.
The basic story is that the Persians are invading Greece with one of the largest armies ever assembled up to that time. Xerxes (David Farrar) is bent on conquering the Greeks but the why isn't mentioned nor is his character given much room to develop, this is an action-adventure film. The Greeks decide in a Senate style meeting that a holding action must be done in order to give themselves enough time to muster their armies. It must be understood, at this time, Greece wasn't a unified country, they were a loose confederation of City-States headed by their own king & not always willing to cooperate with one another. Once all of this is decided, etc., King Leonidas of Sparta is approached & convinced he is the needed buffer between the Persians & Greeks. In essence, Thermopylae is The Greeks version of the Alamo; here they'll stand in order to preserve the Greek democracy. Unfortunately, the Spartans are in the midst of a religious festival & can't go to battle. Leonidas, in order to circumvent the festival, names 300 Spartans as his personal bodyguard.
The selection of Thermopylae as a defensive position was a stroke of genius & luck. It is a very narrow stretch of beach with water on one side & high, unscalable cliffs on the other. This forces the Persians to attack in piecemeal, never able to throw their entire army into battle in mass. The Spartans were probably the first truly professional army in the world which gave them a great advantage on this narrow strip of land. The movie focuses on the 300 Spartans but they weren't the only Greeks there. They are others mentioned & shown in the movie but their presence doesn't have much to do with the film. This is the Spartans' heroic stand against a superior force, fighting to preserve democracy. What's barely mentioned is the navy the Greeks were assembling in order to cut off the Persians. The Greeks needed time to do this also, in fact, not long after the Battle of Thermopylae, there was a naval battle where the Greeks succeeded in defeating the Persian navy, thereby cutting them off from supplies & an escape route. Themistocles (Sir Ralph Richardson) is basically the brains behind it all & the leader of the Greek navy.
The 300 Spartans is a so-so movie once you get past the dialog. It's also easier to take as a story than it's more famous 300. I consider this film to be a better & more historically accurate version of the Spartans stand than 300 though the special effects are miles apart.
Movie Review: Filmed during the golden age of historical epics, this movie should have been much better
Summary: 3 Stars
Way back in the 1960's, before the advent of VHS/DVD or cable, each of the three networks had their own "Night At The Movies" broadcast, with NBC being the first network to do so, I believe. These movies provided many truly great films with their network TV debuts. These airings were the first showings of these great movies that many Baby Boomers ever saw. I first saw the best Hitchcock films (REAR WINDOW, VERTIGO, THE BIRDS, NORTH BY NORTHWEST) on NBC Saturday Night At The Movies, along with many of the golden age westerns of the 1950's.
CBS and ABC soon followed suit, but I believe it was on NBC in the mid-1960's where I first saw THE 300 SPARTANS. My brother and I remembered it through the years as being a good movie, but having just rented it on DVD, I could only say that the movie overall was average at best. What drags the movie down most is the lack of action during the first 2/3 of the movie and the aforementioned soapy subplot, a la Kate & Leo in TITANIC, that was no doubt inserted to interest the younger audience and females in general. A good musical score can truly help an action movie, but this film and the little action that exists towards the end is accompanied by a less-than-stellar soundtrack.
Although the cast contained Sir Ralph Richardson and Laurence Naismith, most of the acting is less inspired. I always enjoy Richard Egan, but I feel that he exudes more natural charisma than true acting skills as the Spartan King Leonidas. Barry Coe is especially bad as Diane Baker's love interest, but this was one of his very first roles and I believe he grew somewhat as an actor, as did Baker. Director Rudolph Mate was chiefly known for his skill as a cinematographer, and this is where the movie shines. It is a beautiful film to look at and was filmed very close to where the actual events occurred.
The fact that the film was made in 1961 (released in 1962) is no excuse for the average results. Compare THE TEN COMMANDMENTS, SPARTACUS, BEN-HUR, KING OF KINGS, all made before this film. It is obvious that comparatively speaking, this project had a somewhat limited budget (the B-movie cast alone bears that out), which is truly sad, since it was made by a major studio, 20th-Century Fox, was filmed on location in Greece (a much bigger deal back then than it would be today, and a fact that likely used up most of the budget), and saddest of all, the true story was worthy of first-class cinematic treatment, which it certainly does not get here.
The definitive version of the story of the Battle at Thermopylae may have yet to be made, but 300 is very entertaining and will certainly do until a more realistic and less fantastical version is made. It would be unfair to compare that film and this one but not very unfair to compare other similar films made in the 1950's and 1960's and in doing that, THE 300 SPARTANS is average at best.