View Full Version : 300
Spartan359
03-12-2007, 00:53
Has anyone seen 300 yet? Thoughts on the movie? Complaints?
82ndtrooper
03-12-2007, 06:20
This is one cool movie !! The director, IIRC, is the same one that directed and did the over molded look for "Sin City" which is another great movie if you like the "comic book" look
17 beheadings, all of which are deserved, was a bit overkill, but none the less, a neat movie that pulls no punches.
Loved it. If you are anal about historical accuracy then you might want to skip it. The best way I can think of describing it, is a fantasy movie, loosely based on a historical event. I shut down my shop and took my whole section to see it on friday afternoon, and it was worth it. Great motivating movie that show's everything america used to stand for. Moral courage, physical courage, integrity, honor, doing the right thing for the right reasons.
I'll be adding this to my deployment movie collection.
Gentleman, this is an essay that was published and spoken by the Director of The 300. I thought you would enjoy.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5784518
That Old Piece of Cloth
by Frank Miller
I was just a boy in the 1960s. My adolescence wasn't infused with the civil rights struggle or the sexual revolution or the Vietnam War, but with their aftermath.
My high school teachers were ex-hippies and Vietnam vets. People who protested the war and people who served as soldiers. I was taught more about John Lennon than I was about Thomas Jefferson.
Both of my parents were World War II veterans. FDR-era patriots. And I was exactly the age to rebel against them.
It all fit together rather neatly. I could never stomach the flower-child twaddle of the '60s crowd and I was ready to believe that our flag was just an old piece of cloth and that patriotism was just some quaint relic, best left behind us.
It was all about the ideas. I schooled myself in the writings of Madison and Franklin and Adams and Jefferson. I came to love those noble, indestructible ideas. They were ideas, to my young mind, of rebellion and independence, not of idolatry.
But not that piece of old cloth. To me, that stood for unthinking patriotism. It meant about as much to me as that insipid peace sign that was everywhere I looked: just another symbol of a generation's sentimentality, of its narcissistic worship of its own past glories.
Then came that sunny September morning when airplanes crashed into towers a very few miles from my home and thousands of my neighbors were ruthlessly incinerated -- reduced to ash. Now, I draw and write comic books. One thing my job involves is making up bad guys. Imagining human villainy in all its forms. Now the real thing had shown up. The real thing murdered my neighbors. In my city. In my country. Breathing in that awful, chalky crap that filled up the lungs of every New Yorker, then coughing it right out, not knowing what I was coughing up.
For the first time in my life, I know how it feels to face an existential menace. They want us to die. All of a sudden I realize what my parents were talking about all those years.
Patriotism, I now believe, isn't some sentimental, old conceit. It's self-preservation. I believe patriotism is central to a nation's survival. Ben Franklin said it: If we don't all hang together, we all hang separately. Just like you have to fight to protect your friends and family, and you count on them to watch your own back.
So you've got to do what you can to help your country survive. That's if you think your country is worth a damn. Warts and all.
So I've gotten rather fond of that old piece of cloth. Now, when I look at it, I see something precious. I see something perishable.
The director, IIRC, is the same one that directed and did the over molded look for "Sin City" which is another great movie if you like the "comic book" look.
Same producer and creator (Frank Miller), different director (Robert Rodriguez for Sin City, Zach Snyder for 300).
Still has a great look, though.
Smokin Joe
03-12-2007, 07:56
Great movie! I'm defiantly setting money aside now for the DVD.
It made me evaluate "Glory" in a whole new light and cherish the moments I get to stand with my "Brothers". My moments may not be as grand but I have to take what I can get.
Team Sergeant
03-12-2007, 08:47
Loved it. If you are anal about historical accuracy then you might want to skip it.
There's never been a historical "movie" nade by hollywood that I can recall.;)
Fantastic movie. Even the girlfriend liked it (she normally can't stomach violence in movies...). It warms the soul to see those virtues that Max_Tab listed praised, as they are so often ridiculed.
...For the first time in my life, I know how it feels to face an existential menace. They want us to die. All of a sudden I realize what my parents were talking about all those years.
...Patriotism, I now believe, isn't some sentimental, old conceit. It's self-preservation.
"Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe."
- John 20:29
Great movie, cant wait for the DVD.
There's never been a historical "movie" nade by hollywood that I can recall.;)
I'm surprised.
TS,
You wouldn't consider The Longest Day historically accurate?
I'm surprised.
TS,
You wouldn't consider The Longest Day historically accurate?
I was thinking of Oliver Stone's JFK. Can't get more accurate than that :D
I was thinking of Oliver Stone's JFK. Can't get more accurate than that :D
:D :D
Back and to the Left.....Back and to the Left.....Back and to the Left......Back and to the Left.....Back and to the Left......Back and to the Left.......Sounds like which way Congress is going now-a-days....Back and to the Left.....Back and to the Left......
Peregrino
03-12-2007, 15:49
Just saw it. It's a "graphic novel" writ large. One dimensional and grossly distorted, with every important thought reduced to the profundity of a "soundbite". Personally, I wish they had done "Gates of Fire" and left 300 with the other adolescent fantasies in the comic books section. The history and the ideals are far too important to be trivialized for a quick profit. Sadly, I have no faith that it will inspire today's youth to anything more than another bag of popcorn. I don't think we'll have to wait long for it to be on the shelves in Walmart. Peregrino
Intel_Airman
03-12-2007, 15:57
I went out Friday afternoon to see it after finishing my urinalysis detail. I thought it was fantastic, easily one of the best movies I've ever seen. The parallels between the Spartans vs. Persians and our current GWOT were strikingly similiar. Especially, when the Queen went to the Congress and asked for more Spartans to be sent to the fight and was met by an unwilling group of "thinkers".
82ndtrooper
03-12-2007, 16:04
:D :D
Back and to the Left.....Back and to the Left.....Back and to the Left......Back and to the Left.....Back and to the Left......Back and to the Left.......Sounds like which way Congress is going now-a-days....Back and to the Left.....Back and to the Left......
Great Catch to a line that I now recall from the movie !!! I believe he was describing the "Magic Bullet" and or it's 4th shot to the front of the head.
I actually love JFK, even if it is filled with Olivers Stones personal liberties as to his own conpiracy theory. But, as he said himself, about JFK, he got 255 things right, and maybe only 5 wrong, yet in 1979 even Robert Helms(director of covert ops in 1963) himself admitted that Clay Shaw was a contract agent for the CIA:eek:
Jim Garrison was close, closer than he realized, and yet we cant even see the secret CIA documents till the year 2029. If we even get to see them then.:(
Just saw it. It's a "graphic novel" writ large. One dimensional and grossly distorted, with every important thought reduced to the profundity of a "soundbite". Personally, I wish they had done "Gates of Fire" and left 300 with the other adolescent fantasies in the comic books section. The history and the ideals are far too important to be trivialized for a quick profit. Sadly, I have no faith that it will inspire today's youth to anything more than another bag of popcorn. I don't think we'll have to wait long for it to be on the shelves in Walmart. Peregrino
I too wish they had done Gates of Fire, and maybe with how well this one has done they will dust it off and try and get it made. As for being on the shelves of Walmart soon I disagree, it made way to much money opening week for it to go away like a Steven Segal movie. They may have taken severe liberties with the history but the basic ideal's are still there, and in your face. This movie put's out there what the army has tried to "teach us" with it's army values system.
Hopefully this will get people interested enough to do there own research and learn the true story.
I have nothing but good things to say about this movie, as long as you take it for what it is....a rollicking good story.
NousDefionsDoc
03-12-2007, 17:28
You can't make a movie out of Gates of Fire. It would have to be a mini-series on HBO.
blue02hd
03-12-2007, 17:32
Really enjoyed the 300. Having become a HUGE fan of the book Gates of Fire, I am dissappointed that it couldn't lean more towards fact than fiction. Reguardless, it does well to entertain and atleast introduce the story that the book Gates explains so well. See the movie, it is well done and deserves two thumbs up. If you want more, read Gates of Fire.
GoF should be required reading in the Q Course if you ask me. Might have to add some pictures and take out some of the big words so the 18B's can keep up, but it could work.
It would have to be a mini-series on HBO.
I heard WB and the Lifetime Channel were teaming up for the GOF project
NousDefionsDoc
03-12-2007, 19:49
Gates of Fire is fiction. Historical fiction, but fiction none the less.
Jack Moroney (RIP)
03-12-2007, 19:53
Gates of Fire is fiction. Historical fiction, but fiction none the less.
Well now, I can remember those arrows pretty clearly even though it has been a long time, or was that Agincourt:D
There was definitely a lot of dramatic license taken on the actual story, but it is, in my opinion, one hell of a film.
You can't make a movie out of Gates of Fire. It would have to be a mini-series on HBO.
Now that I'd like to see.
82ndtrooper
03-12-2007, 20:03
Gerard Butler, the lead charachter, King Leonidos, has only really one other great credit to his film acting and that was the "Phantom Of the Opera" in which he did all the singing also:eek: The film remake of the stage play was actually pretty damn good.
He's got a career in the making with "300"
I read G of F a couple of years ago. I was inspired to find out more about them, especially when people would say they were lovers of boys... So I read some of Thucydides, now this guy was an Athenian, and not a friend of Sparta, - his polis suffered mightily from Spartan wrath, - of course he was going to say they were man lovers.
I really enjoyed reading Herodotus's account of the battle as well as "The Histories."
Xenophon, on the otherhand, is also an Athenian, but a friend of the Spartans, he fought under a Spartan King. He wrote many things, and his life I think is one many modern day professional soldiers can relate to. Check him out. If you really want to know Sparta or "Lacedaemon" read Xenophon's Constitution of Lacedaemon. As I read the history of these people, I felt a familiarity with them. As if the more things change the more they stay the same.
If '300' had been more historically correct, many things would have appeared differently. For instance, Spartans wore their hair long, and in braids, falling out of their helmets. In their opinion, "it looks good, and it costs nothing." Also there were many more than 300 people defending that pass. The Ephors were not a pariah among the Spartans, they were a check and balance for the two Spartan kings. Often they were warriors too old to fight anymore, and popular among their peers, they were elected and could only serve once.
Anyhow... Lets hope 300 will generate enough interest, that perhaps a good movie can be made about all that happened at Thermopylae.
NousDefionsDoc
03-13-2007, 12:07
Spartans by Paul Cartledge
I havn't read that book yet, but VDH cites it in his books, and it is recommended reading by others as well. I'll get to this summer perhaps.
In many ways the Spartans were ahead of us, the Ephors had term limits, and only Veterans were allowed to hold office.
I read that they swore to uphold the laws that Lycurgus gave them until he returned from the Oracle, he never returned, consequently Spartans were bound to his laws, no amendments.
SouthernDZ
03-13-2007, 13:56
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6446183.stm
Iran condemns Hollywood war epic
Historical war epic 300 has been criticised as an attack on Iranian culture by government figures.
The Hollywood film, which has broken US box office records, is an effects-laden retelling of a battle in which a small Greek army resisted a Persian invasion.
Javad Shamqadri, a cultural advisor to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, said it was "plundering Iran's historic past and insulting this civilization".
He branded the film "psychological warfare" against Tehran and its people.
But Iranian culture was strong enough to withstand the assault, Mr Shamqadri said.
"American cultural officials thought they could get mental satisfaction by plundering Iran's historic past and insulting this civilization," he said.
"Following the Islamic Revolution in Iran, Hollywood and cultural authorities in the US initiated studies to figure out how to attack Iranian culture.
"Certainly, the recent movie is a product of such studies."
Daily newspaper Ayandeh-No carried the headline "Hollywood declares war on Iranians".
The paper said: "It seeks to tell people that Iran, which is in the Axis of Evil now, has for long been the source of evil and modern Iranians' ancestors are the ugly murderous dumb savages you see in 300."
Three MPs in the Iranian parliament have also written to the foreign ministry to protest against the production and screening of this "anti-Iranian Hollywood film".
The film has already proved a major box office hit in the US where it earned almost $71m (£36.8m) in its first weekend, making it the best ever March opening in North American cinemas.
This is not the first time Iran has protested over its portrayal in films made in the West.
There was outrage over the 2004 epic Alexander which showed the Macedonian general easily conquering the Persian Empire.
Monsoon65
03-13-2007, 15:21
He branded the film "psychological warfare" against Tehran and its people......
Hmm...kinda like the sound of that!
I just saw the movie today and thought it was great. It is a fantasy film of a historic event, but I thought it was well done and sort of reflects what's going on now, especially the theme of a hardcore army fighting with it's heart while being backdoored by the government.
Since Iran got uppity about the movie, how long until Hollyweird apologizes for it?
Gerard Butler, the lead charachter, King Leonidos, has only really one other great credit to his film acting and that was the "Phantom Of the Opera" in which he did all the singing also:eek: The film remake of the stage play was actually pretty damn good.
He's got a career in the making with "300"
He's made my heart beat a little faster ever since I saw him in Tomb Raider: Cradle of Life.
Now if I can get any of my sissy girlfriends to go with me, I'll go see 300. :rolleyes:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6446183.stm
Iran condemns Hollywood war epic
Historical war epic 300 has been criticised as an attack on Iranian culture by government figures.
He branded the film "psychological warfare" against Tehran and its people.
has protested over its portrayal in films made in the West
Another reason its a great movie might go see it again just for that:)
Daily newspaper Ayandeh-No carried the headline "Hollywood declares war on Iranians".
This is starting to get interesting. Wonder if Hollywood will stand up for one of it's own, they never said anything about all the outrage over Michal Moors film. His film insulted our own country and was not even close to factual..........guess that was different, so they rewarded him.
I am sure if this becomes a bigger issue Hollywood will put out some kind of statement and embarrass the U.S. Freedom of speech only applies if no one will hurt them. Are they showing this film in Germany and France? It will be interesting to see if most European countries roll over and piss on themselves regarding this film. Not that they haven't already given up their national identity to the Muslim culture. Hope the makers of GOF aren't expecting any Oscars next year.
SouthernDZ
03-13-2007, 19:47
Interesting reading:
http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=ZjM0NDEyZjM1M2JlNjE0ZGMwNDEwMzk5MzlkZjJmYjA=
Leozinho
03-14-2007, 12:08
I read G of F a couple of years ago. I was inspired to find out more about them, especially when people would say they were lovers of boys...
This sentence, taken by itself, probably doesn't read the way you wanted it to read. :eek: (Don't worry. I know what you meant.:D )
So I read some of Thucydides, now this guy was an Athenian, and not a friend of Sparta, - his polis suffered mightily from Spartan wrath, - of course he was going to say they were man lovers.
I really enjoyed reading Herodotus's account of the battle as well as "The Histories."
Xenophon, on the otherhand, is also an Athenian, but a friend of the Spartans, he fought under a Spartan King. He wrote many things, and his life I think is one many modern day professional soldiers can relate to. Check him out. If you really want to know Sparta or "Lacedaemon" read Xenophon's Constitution of Lacedaemon. As I read the history of these people, I felt a familiarity with them. As if the more things change the more they stay the same.
If '300' had been more historically correct, many things would have appeared differently. For instance, Spartans wore their hair long, and in braids, falling out of their helmets. In their opinion, "it looks good, and it costs nothing." Also there were many more than 300 people defending that pass. The Ephors were not a pariah among the Spartans, they were a check and balance for the two Spartan kings. Often they were warriors too old to fight anymore, and popular among their peers, they were elected and could only serve once.
Anyhow... Lets hope 300 will generate enough interest, that perhaps a good movie can be made about all that happened at Thermopylae.
This article may be a good place to start for those that want to know what part of 300 was fictionalized.
http://www.thestar.com/article/190493
Well, I forced some random man to go see 300 with me last night. LOVED IT. Now I'm going to go to work tonight and take my inner freed-man-kicking-tyrant-ass self out on some unsuspecting immoral citizen. Ha.
HA! When I considered that there is another way to interpret what I wrote I had to laugh at myself for writing that! Stuck my foot in it that time.
scrateshooter
03-15-2007, 06:15
I guess the movie would have been better if I was 15.
I guess the movie would have been better if I was 15.
You went to it knowing it was based off a comic book, right?
scrateshooter
03-15-2007, 11:54
It was like watching an inner city pep rally, just with less blood.
Team Sergeant
03-21-2007, 12:54
Funny how a work of hollywood fiction can raise the ire of the iranians yet the deliberate murder of small children in a car bomb has yet to make headlines or protest in any muslim-islamic country.
Now think for a second what sort of WorldWide head lines we'd have had had we (The United States and it's military) deliberately planned and murdered children in an effort to kill our enemies. Food for thought.
Team Sergeant
Iranian Officials Angry Over 'Hostile Portrayal' in Hollywood Hit Movie '300'
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Iran, which turned a deaf ear last year to protests over its attempt to rewrite history through a Holocaust conference, now is crying foul over what it calls a "fabrication of culture and insult" to Iranians in the Hollywood hit movie "300."
"Cultural intrusion is among the tactics always used by the aliens," a government spokesman charged in a statement made to the state FARS News Agency. "Such a fabrication of culture and insult to people is not acceptable by any nation or government and we consider this attitude as hostile."
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,258727,00.html
jasonglh
03-21-2007, 13:35
Fred Thompson on "300" (http://pajamasmedia.com/2007/03/_exclusive_to_pjm_fred_thompso.php)
:)
NousDefionsDoc
03-21-2007, 15:23
I watched 300 from a computer link. While it was ok, I really didn't care for it all that much. Might have been the hype, but I was disappointed. Maybe I'm just old.
HBO needs to do Gates of Fire as a mini-series.
Peregrino
03-21-2007, 16:09
I watched 300 from a computer link. While it was ok, I really didn't care for it all that much. Might have been the hype, but I was disappointed. Maybe I'm just old.
HBO needs to do Gates of Fire as a mini-series.
+1. We're having a great time watching "Rome". If HBO (or anybody else for that matter) were to put the same effort into G of F, it'd be fantastic. (And yes - I know G of F is fiction :p but it's "educated" fiction.) Peregrino
Team Sergeant
03-21-2007, 20:05
I watched 300 from a computer link. While it was ok, I really didn't care for it all that much. Might have been the hype, but I was disappointed. Maybe I'm just old.
HBO needs to do Gates of Fire as a mini-series.
I purchased a hard copy of "Gates of Fire" for a non-military friend. Read some of the "press" associated with the book, guess who owns the rights to the movie.....
Literary Guild and Military Book Club selections; film rights sold to Universal Studios for George Clooney and Robert Lawrence's Maysville Pictures; UK rights to Bantam, Spanish rights to Grijalbo Mondadori, Italian rights to Rizzoli.
http://www.amazon.com/Gates-Fire-Novel-Battle-Thermopylae/dp/0553580531
NousDefionsDoc
03-21-2007, 20:32
I know. I've been told they buy them as an investment and they sell them. I'm hoping that is the case in this case.
Sweetbriar
03-21-2007, 21:51
I thought 300 was visually stunning. One of those you need the big screen to do it justice. It really captures the flavour of a legend told around a camp fire for thousands of years.
I don't know if you've seen this, but the article is quite interesting.
John Eade on 300 (http://www.pajamasmedia.com/2007/03/300_then_and_now.php)
NousDefionsDoc
03-21-2007, 23:07
The Stand At Thermopylae is not a legend.
Sweetbriar
03-22-2007, 06:33
Absolutely, it is not. But the truth painted large in story, color and time can speak to those Truths that still work in our lives here today. Any given story can be told by the historian, the scientist, the politician, the artist or any one of us. The artist's task is to speak to our imagination, but his gift is often to affect our spirit. Frank Miller's retelling of a true story cast up on a movie screen seems to be doing just that for many.
Some people prefer to hear (or see) the historian's or the politician's retelling of a story, and I enjoy those very much, too. But I purposed to set that aside when I knew it came from a graphic novel. When I watched I gave the movie access to my heart, the very ground of courage, fear, loyalty, honor and vision. I can be a cynic, but I don't always have to be - sometimes I can be a youth with passion about what is True. 300 affected her, and it's good to know she's still in there.
I look forward to the historian's telling of the story in movie or mini-series form. The liberal politicians who write op-ed, news and blogs will still be bothered by it, however. Their spirits are entrenched in Lies and this story will always confuse them.
p.s., legend - 3. famous, renowned, person or event - per the Collins Compact Dictionary I keep handy for spelling.
The Stand At Thermopylae is not a legend.
Not a legend, but most certainly legendary.
Glad to say I watched 300 for the 3rd time this week....that should be sufficient as I will probably never get to ever watch it on the big screen again and will have to wait for the dvd to come out, but what a well made movie.
Given it isnt historically accurate, its still a fantastic movie about glory, honor, courage and sacrifice.
Kahuku Saint
03-24-2007, 00:36
The comic book was better. It was also far more historically accurate than the flick could ever hope to be. Good campfire tale, though.
82ndtrooper
03-24-2007, 15:21
I purchased a hard copy of "Gates of Fire" for a non-military friend. Read some of the "press" associated with the book, guess who owns the rights to the movie.....
Literary Guild and Military Book Club selections; film rights sold to Universal Studios for George Clooney and Robert Lawrence's Maysville Pictures; UK rights to Bantam, Spanish rights to Grijalbo Mondadori, Italian rights to Rizzoli.
http://www.amazon.com/Gates-Fire-Novel-Battle-Thermopylae/dp/0553580531
As much as I hate to admit this George Clooney and his family are from my hometown of Augusta, Kentucky which is just about 30 minutes from where I currently live. I played on the highschool basketball team with George and he was actually one of the better players as a senior.
His mother and father still live in Augusta on Main Street in a lime green house surrounded by trees that almost cover the entire house. Their front door is alway's open and all you have to do is open it and announce your presence and you are welcome to join Nick Clooney for a glass of wine.
I also am proud to have a first cousin that won the Miss America contest in 2000. Heather Renee French Henry. Henry is her married name. She of course married the Lt. Governor of Kentucky after winning the crown. She was born in Maysville, Kentucky just down the road from Augusta, hence the name of George's new film studio and production company.
He's usually in town in the summer when he's not in Lake Como, Italy or in La and I have played pool with him and Andy Garcie and Brad Pitt at their river front lodge in Augusta. Believe it or not, I beat Brad Pitt two different times with just the 8 ball left on the green slate.
He's such a liberal bastard though and his parents are completley republican and libertarian.
Back to regular scheduled programming...............300 I believe ?
Surgicalcric
03-24-2007, 16:11
Saw the movie myself this past week. Thought it was pretty good for what it was, a loose representation of the comic book. It had some good special effects. As a side note, I don't understand those who go into ANY movie expecting it to be historically accurate.
...Also, the ending kind of bugged me. The Spartans died fighting, in this it was almost like they just sacrificed themselves to the Persians at the end.
Return with your shield or on it.
Besides, its better to die with your fellow warrior fighting than end up being beheaded on CNN for your family and the rest of the world to see... :lifter
Crip
Team Sergeant
03-24-2007, 16:39
I don't understand those who go into ANY movie expecting it to be historically accurate.
Crip
One things for certain, no modern "persians" will fight any western forces face to face anymore........;)
Manstein
03-24-2007, 19:49
I saw the movie two weeks ago. Most everything I want to say about the movie has already been said it seems. I just found it interesting how the Spartan tradition of killing/alienating deformed Spartan youth turned out to be their down-fall in the end. A nice use of Irony by Frank Miller...unfortunately not even close to what transpired in history with the real Ephialtes.
I too have read The Gates of Fire, and I wish they would make a movie/mini-series on it. The characters are developed so well, and there are nice twists towards the end. As previously mentioned, Clooney and Co. bought the rights to the book years ago, but any progress on a movie has stalled since then from what I understand.
http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=YWQ0MjFmOWY3NDAwNjI4MDYwZTJkZjVmYzJhOWE1ODA=
The above is a link to an article written by James S. Robbins of the national review. It's quite a funny read...he has a very sardonic wit. He gives a lot of attention to the Thespians (of which 700 stayed to fight and die with the Spartans), yet they aren't even mentioned in the movie "300".
82ndtrooper
03-25-2007, 04:55
And here I thought Oliver Stones "JFK" was gospil and he'd given us the answer to who and what and how John was shot in Dallas. :D
Monsoon65
03-25-2007, 16:15
And here I thought Oliver Stones "JFK" was gospil and he'd given us the answer to who and what and how John was shot in Dallas. :D
Hey, JFK rocked!! "Back and to the left....back and to the left", "triangluation of crossfire; that's the key!"
I went to Dallas on a boondoggle of a TDY once and we checked out the School Book Suppository. It's mainly offices, but the one floor is a museum to the assassination. Really interesting. In one section, they have a huge flow chart of all the theories of the assassination.
I told my friends that out of all the theories we were looking out, one of them was right on the money, but we'd never know.
I loved the movie. It was awesome. I guess the Spartans were like the special forces back then. Read that there was going to be a sequel, but I don't know how that's going to happen.
Here is the History Channels take on the events at Thermopylae.
http://www.history.com/shows.do?episodeId=214233&action=detail (http://www.history.com/shows.do?episodeId=214233&action=detail)
I haven't seen the movie yet...but I plan too.
Hey, JFK rocked!! "Back and to the left....back and to the left", "triangluation of crossfire; that's the key!"
I went to Dallas on a boondoggle of a TDY once and we checked out the School Book Suppository.
School book suppository?
Darn. Those Texans are serious about education. :eek:
Sionnach
03-26-2007, 08:56
Here is the History Channels take on the events at Thermopylae.
http://www.history.com/shows.do?episodeId=214233&action=detail (http://www.history.com/shows.do?episodeId=214233&action=detail)
I haven't seen the movie yet...but I plan too.
Thanks for the heads-up on that, SF18C. I can't wait to check it out.
The whole premise behind the movie being like a comic book or graphic novel was kinda cool. However, I couldn't help but feel like I was watching some old, wierd East German Homo Erotic retro movie. I mean- what was up with Xerxes? No wonder the Iranian government was pissed off.
I think they overdid the abs a little much also. Didn't these guys wear any armor?
I think it was NDD that said that Gates of Fire would be best as a mini - series. After thinking on this a bit, I have to agree. There is so much dialogue in the book, so many conversations that make it a great story. To edit the book for a film would cut so much of that out, making the finished product a watered down version of the great story.
Think of Band of Brothers, a book turned into a mini - series. If one used the Band of Brothers model to put gates of fire onto a screen, I think it would be a huge hit.
Pressfield has a website; he was made an honorary citizen of Sparta and wrote about the experience on his site. It's a great side bar story. Here is the link : http://www.stevenpressfield.com/content/journal.asp
The Reaper
03-26-2007, 11:21
The whole premise behind the movie being like a comic book or graphic novel was kinda cool. However, I couldn't help but feel like I was watching some old, wierd East German Homo Erotic retro movie. I mean- what was up with Xerxes?
I don't know, I have never watched an old, weird East German Homo Erotic retro movie.
TR
82ndtrooper
03-26-2007, 12:07
I don't know, I have never watched an old, weird East German Homo Erotic retro movie.
TR
I just spit up Starbucks all over my keyboard !! :D
Perhaps he'd like to share this "weird East German HOmo Erotic retro" movie over in the "Best underground movies" thread ?
That's what gets me though, I thought the historically accurate ending would've been more "Hollywood" then the ending they gave it; from my understanding, in the real battle, the phalanx was holding up fine, until the Spartans were attacked from behind, then it fell apart and it was just a fight to the death. I think that would've been a better end for the movie.
Regarding the armor, I just think it would've looked more impressive from a theatrical standpoint if they had body armor on, that's just me though.
Otherwise, as for historical accuracy, I don't know how ANYONE could be upset by the disregard for historical accuracy in this movie, I mean after that CG wolf, giant elephants, giant rhino, the Immortals who apparently were related to Orcs, and that big Frankenstein guy, they could've had a couple Apache attack helicopters fly through shooting and I wouldn't have been shocked one bit:cool:
Hey hey...dont be giving any B-Movie directors any ideas...you will find a crappy version of 300 coming out eventually and some idiot will find an excuse for cobra or apache gunships to suddenly turn up in the middlle of a battle....its happened before! lol
I guess the Spartans were like the special forces back then.
And I guess you'll be like all the other banned users if you don't fill out your profile soon.
Everybody else, no pile-ons required.
NousDefionsDoc
03-26-2007, 21:25
If you are interested in The Fight, you should check out Paul Cartledge's Thermopylae. It is good. He also wrote Spartans. I recommend getting them both and reading Spartans first.
He relies heavily on Herodotus, but how could he do otherwise? I find his insight to be to my liking and they are not a heavy read.
Surgicalcric
03-26-2007, 21:46
...Perhaps he'd like to share this "weird East German Homo Erotic retro" movie over in the "Best underground movies" thread ?
There isn't a place here for him to share "weird East German Homo Erotic Retro." He can take that genre of sharing to the DNC. ;)
Crip
NDD,
Did you read Herodotus, or Xenophon? I've read them both and I didn't think they were very difficult to read, I really enjoyed them both. There were some real gems in there. If anyone wants to read these books without buying them, most if not all of Xenophon and Herodotus's works are available online for free at project gutenberg.
Herodotus: http://www.gutenberg.org/browse/authors/h#a828
Xenophon: http://www.gutenberg.org/browse/authors/x#a543
Excerpt:
"Xenophon the Athenian was born 431 B.C. He was a pupil of Socrates. He marched with the Spartans, and was exiled from Athens. Sparta gave him land and property in Scillus, where he lived for many years before having to move once more, to settle in Corinth. He died in 354 B.C.
The Polity of the Lacedaemonians talks about the laws and institutions created by Lycurgus, which train and develop Spartan citizens from birth to old age."
My two favorites of his works are "The Polity of Lacedaemonians" and the "Anabasis." I can't help but wish I had been there to see Sparta in its prime after reading the first. He also puts to rest (at least in my opinion) the stories of Pederasty among the Spartans. In the Anabasis, he tells of the trials and tribulations of a professional army of Greeks from various provinces that hired themselves out to a brother of the Persian king, with an aim to defeat the king and install their principal on the throne. Well they get deep inside Persia, kicking ass all the way there, when finally their principal gets a little too brave during a battle and ends up getting chopped to bits. Suddenly they find themselves thousands of miles from home - on foot - deep inside enemy territory, and all their promises of pay evaporated. On top of that the Persian king demands that they lay down their arms and surrender (never mind that the Greeks won the battle) , instead they decide to march back home (through Iran, Iraq, and Turkey) . Here begins the real adventure.
I had a good time reading what ancient men thought of the world they lived in, the more things change the more they stay the same. Much of what was true then is still true today. Xenophon was a guy we could all relate to. Herodotus tried his best to tell it as true as he could though he did get some of it wrong (dog faced men in Africa: Baboons), it's still interesting at least for me, to see how they thought.
NousDefionsDoc
03-27-2007, 16:41
Herodotus, Thuycides and of course Homer. Xenophon is next, but first I will take a break. I have Roughneck 9-1 and I guess I should finish Masters of Chaos. Plus I have my professional reading.
Cool. You're busy then. Well if you get the inclination to check out Xeno someday, you won't regret it. I havn't read too much Thucydides, he irritates me.
NDD,
Did you read Herodotus, or Xenophon? I've read them both and I didn't think they were very difficult to read, I really enjoyed them both. There were some real gems in there. If anyone wants to read these books without buying them, most if not all of Xenophon and Herodotus's works are available online for free at project gutenberg.
Herodotus: http://www.gutenberg.org/browse/authors/h#a828
Xenophon: http://www.gutenberg.org/browse/authors/x#a543
Excerpt:
"Xenophon the Athenian was born 431 B.C. He was a pupil of Socrates. He marched with the Spartans, and was exiled from Athens. Sparta gave him land and property in Scillus, where he lived for many years before having to move once more, to settle in Corinth. He died in 354 B.C.
The Polity of the Lacedaemonians talks about the laws and institutions created by Lycurgus, which train and develop Spartan citizens from birth to old age."
My two favorites of his works are "The Polity of Lacedaemonians" and the "Anabasis." I can't help but wish I had been there to see Sparta in its prime after reading the first. He also puts to rest (at least in my opinion) the stories of Pederasty among the Spartans. In the Anabasis, he tells of the trials and tribulations of a professional army of Greeks from various provinces that hired themselves out to a brother of the Persian king, with an aim to defeat the king and install their principal on the throne. Well they get deep inside Persia, kicking ass all the way there, when finally their principal gets a little too brave during a battle and ends up getting chopped to bits. Suddenly they find themselves thousands of miles from home - on foot - deep inside enemy territory, and all their promises of pay evaporated. On top of that the Persian king demands that they lay down their arms and surrender (never mind that the Greeks won the battle) , instead they decide to march back home (through Iran, Iraq, and Turkey) . Here begins the real adventure.
I had a good time reading what ancient men thought of the world they lived in, the more things change the more they stay the same. Much of what was true then is still true today. Xenophon was a guy we could all relate to. Herodotus tried his best to tell it as true as he could though he did get some of it wrong (dog faced men in Africa: Baboons), it's still interesting at least for me, to see how they thought.
There was a book I read that was similar to GoF that was based off the march of the 10,000. Don't have much info, cuz I can't remember the name or the author, but it was a good read.
I heard there was a novel or movie about it too. The real story is pretty easy to read. Right now I am working on VDH's "A War Like No Other."
Irish_Army01
03-31-2007, 07:49
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pi2t58CRmbU :D :D
Take a look at this video....
https://www.infantry.army.mil/videos/video22/index.htm
Not Special Forces but very respectable...
Dan
Take a look at this video....
https://www.infantry.army.mil/videos/video22/index.htm
Not Special Forces but very respectable...
Dan
Holy Shit...I almost drove down to the recruiter to join back up!!! This LTC has stones and what a great way to send young men to their first unit!!!
Great find OIFDan! Very inspiring...
82ndtrooper
04-03-2007, 17:18
Take a look at this video....
https://www.infantry.army.mil/videos/video22/index.htm
Not Special Forces but very respectable...
Dan
Here's another great video for those of us that are and were AIRBORNE !!! (Notice the appropriate song playing, first guess ?)
https://www.benning.army.mil/videos/video05/index.htm
x SF med
04-03-2007, 17:39
Looks like Fryar DZ, damn, I miss falling out of the sky like a rock with everything I own strapped to my body, at night, into a little cut away in a foreign country..... tell me again why I got out?
82ndtrooper
04-03-2007, 17:45
Looks like Fryar DZ, damn, I miss falling out of the sky like a rock with everything I own strapped to my body, at night, into a little cut away in a foreign country..... tell me again why I got out?
I was thinking Fryar also since it came from the Benning website.
I've played this today for a few of the fellow financial advisors here and they couldn't believe that we did that with all that equipment. :lifter
x SF med
04-03-2007, 17:51
Bah! those were Nerf Rucks, BAC students - no weapons, and they moved way too easily to be humping more than 35-40 lbs in those ALICEs
82ndtrooper
04-03-2007, 17:55
Bah! those were Nerf Rucks, BAC students - no weapons, and they moved way too easily to be humping more than 35-40 lbs in those ALICEs
Nerf rucks and 2x4's in the weapon case. ;)
Sionnach
04-03-2007, 18:39
Take a look at this video....
https://www.infantry.army.mil/videos/video22/index.htm
Not Special Forces but very respectable...
Dan
Hot damn! Makes me proud to have been part of the 2/58 IN.
If this speech is any indication of the type of leader he is, I'd follow LTC White to hell and back.
kachingchingpow
04-04-2007, 12:02
I'm not so sure it was a BAC class. Payday jump maybe. 5 or six jumpers have 82nd combat patches. You can see them during the slo-mo portion on the outside camera.
Take a look at this video....
https://www.infantry.army.mil/videos/video22/index.htm
Not Special Forces but very respectable...
Dan
"For my money there are two kinds of men that walk the earth: Men of action, and all others."
Hot damn. Nice find Dan.
tell me again why I got out?it was either a woman or...a woman...either way, you f'ed up...
x SF med
04-05-2007, 07:39
it was either a woman or...a woman...either way, you f'ed up...
Thanks Dai-Ui, I can feel the love and admiration... I already figured out the last part.
Thanks Dai-Ui, I can feel the love and admiration... I already figured out the last part.sorry Doc...you asked...;)
meanwhile, back to our regularly scheduled thread...:munchin
Take a look at this video....
https://www.infantry.army.mil/videos/video22/index.htm
Not Special Forces but very respectable...
Dan
What an awesome post. Thanks much!!!!!