300 Sparks an Outcry in Iran All of Tehran was outraged. Everywhere I went yesterday, the talk vibrated with indignation over the film 300 — a movie no one in Iran has seen but everyone seems to know about since it became a major box office surprise in the U.S. As I stood in line for a full hour to buy ajeel, a mixture of dried fruits and nuts traditional to the start of Persian new year festivities, I felt the entire queue, composed of housewives with pet dogs, teenagers, and clerks from a nearby ministry, shake with fury. I hadn't even heard of the film until that morning when a screed about it came on the radio, so I was able to nod darkly with the rest of the shoppers, savoring a moment of public accord so rare in Tehran. Everywhere else I went, from the dentist to the flower shop, Iranians buzzed with resentment at the film's depictions of Persians, adamant that the movie was secretly funded by the U.S. government to prepare Americans for going to war against Iran. "Otherwise why now, if not to turn their people against us?" demanded an elderly lady buying tuberoses. "Yes, truly it is a grave offense," I said, shaking my own bunch of irises. I returned home to discover my family in a similar state of pique. My sister-in-law sat behind her laptop, sending off an e-mail petition against the film to half of Tehran, while my husband leafed through a book on the Achaemenid Empire, noting that Herodotus had estimated the Persian army at 120,000 men, not one million as the film claimed. The morning newspaper lay on the table with the headline "300 AGAINST 70 MILLION!" (the population of the country). It was echoed by the evening news: "Hollywood has opened a new front in the war against Iran." The timing of the computer-generated film, which depicts the ancient confrontation of Sparta and the Persian empire at the Battle of Thermopylae, is certainly inauspicious. It falls on the eve of Norouz, Persian new year, a time when Iranians typically gather in proud celebration, observing rites that date back over 3,000 years, way before Islam, to the age of Zoroastrianism, when their ancient land produced the world's first monotheistic religion. It is not a particularly welcome season to be portrayed as pillaging, deranged savages. Since the entire country will be on two weeks of official holiday, there will be no shortage of time to sit about discussing the slight and what it portends for Iran's current confrontation with the United States. For a people prone to conspiracy logic, the box office success of 300, compared with the relative flop of Alexander (another spurious period epic dealing with Persians) is cause for considerable alarm, signaling ominous U.S. intentions. While the hullabaloo over 300 may dampen Iranians' holiday spirits, it offers common cause between people and their estranged government. Top officials and parliament have scorned the film as though it were a matter of state, and for the first time in a long while, taxi drivers are shaking their fists in agreement when the state news comes on. Agreeing that 300 is egregious drivel is fairly easy. I'm relatively mellow as Iranian nationalists go, and even I found myself applauding when the government spokesman described the film as fabrication and insult. Iranians view the Achaemenid empire as a particularly noble page in their history and cannot understand why it has been singled out for such shoddy cinematic treatment, as the populace here perceives it, with the Persians in rags and its Great King practically naked. The Achaemenid kings, who built their majestic capital at Persepolis, were exceptionally munificent for their time. They wrote the world's earliest recorded human rights declaration, and were opposed to slavery. Cuneiform plates show that Persepolis was built by paid staff rather than slaves And any Iranian child who has visited Persepolis can tell you that its preserved reliefs depict court dress of velvet robes, and that if anyone was wearing rags around 500 B.C., it wasn't the Persians. It is going to take an act of foolhardy courage to distribute that film in Iran. It will truly be 70 million against 300. http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1598886,00.html?cnn=yes
That stuff is nuts in my opinion. This movie is clearly based from a novel that was made before 9/11 and the war. The movie came out in 1962ish (the very original called "the 300 Spartans). The novel was made in 1998 which was based on the original movie. And then the movie came out being based on the novel since it seems this decade (or last ten years) have been about remaking old movies. But i'm not surprised that this kind of assumption can come out of America. ANYWAY: I can't stop watching the PG rated trailer!
Um kinda spoiler So who thinks Leonidas missed on purpose? I think he did because in the middle of the movie he was like "I'm going to show you that gods can bleed too" or something like that. And also, Xerxes looked like he was only 100-200 ft away from Leonidas, there's no way he would miss his target right? So he dropped his helm and shield and said something about his helm obscuring his vision, his shield is too heavy and his target is small.
I thought the movie was based off a Comic Book that was based off a novel, that was based off the original movie.
umm this is based off of a true event in history, actually the first recorded battle in human history. of course it was dramatized by the greeks when they added their heroes, etc. and further dramatized by Frank Miller.
Oh that's a big my bad. I thought the main purpose of that article was more about the movie being propaganda for a war between the USA and IRAN. I should have read ALL. >_<
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_thermopylae for those too lazy to do it themselves. That article is retarded, as this stuff is literally ancient history and should have no bearing on peoples current foreign policy towards a persian country
Movie rocked. I just saw it this weekend. The cinematography was awesome. Honestly, I was suprised how the theatre was still so packed after a few weeks of opening. My wife didn't join me, but I've talked it up so much, she's interested in checking it out. Of course, after I said "SPARTANS" in the voice of King Leonidas at any chance I could get, she wanted to kick me out of the house!
This was without a doubt the campiest piece of shit I've ever tried to watch. Made it through 30 minutes and had to turn it off. Horrible dialogue, piss poor acting, and just laughably stupid. I am aware it was based on a comic, but god damn, even Judge Dredd was ten times better than this steaming turd.
Im watching 300 now. You just have to appreciate the cinematography of it. Its made to be an inspiring movie and show off kick ass special effects. If you don't appreciate a good hearty story of bravery than yea, you will probably find the dialogue campy
I think you are a little extreme with your commentary, but I agree with you for the most part. If you want violence, this is the movie for you. If you want a good story, and character development, watch something else.