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| by Christina Gosnell with additional writing by John Mundazio | ||
| Warner Brothers' ‘300’— Worthy Beyond 'Epic' Proportions | ||
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If you're like me, any film that
involves a profound struggle, a gripping battle and a virtually unknown
cast worthy of A-list status is a film I will not only purchase for my DVD
collection; but one that I will relish and watch over and over again. The
graphic novel by Frank Miller (Sin City) assaults the screen with the
blood, thunder and awe of its ferocious visual style faithfully recreated
in an intense blend of live-action and CGI animation. This isn't your
typical "brain dead" action film... it indeed has both substance and
grace, something rarely depicted in similar films riddled with prima dona
actors and lame stunts. Trust us, "300" is a film truly worthy of the word
"epic," firstly because of its massively dramatic, almost true story. It's
480 BC, and ancient Greece lies in the path of the Persian Empire, the
largest of the ancient world and, as depicted in "300," simply the most
awesome and powerful force in the history of all things. A Persian
emissary is dispatched to the Greek state of Sparta, where he informs the
warrior-king Leonidas that Sparta and his rule over her will be maintained
if Leonidas allows Sparta to be annexed peacefully by the Persian emperor
Xerxes the Great. Ancient Sparta, being above all else a military society
in which the default profession was a soldier, raised its sons to be
warriors practically from birth. Newborn Spartans thought to be infirm or
too small to grow into good soldiers were left to die in the wilderness.
Combat training began as soon as boys could pick up weapons. At age 13,
the boys were sent out into the Greek countryside to survive for years
with nothing but their own ferocious instincts. Upon returning to
civilization, these young men began service in the Spartan military, which
was quite probably the best-trained, most efficient and most fiercely
patriotic war machine in the history of the world.
"Leonidas is probably the most decisive
character I have ever played, but when he has a moment of indecision, when
he needs assurance that he's right, he looks each time to his wife," says
Butler. "And she explains so eloquently why he has to go to war, which is,
'Go and die. I'll never see you again, but you'll do this as a free man.
Don't answer this question as a king or as a Spartan citizen but as a free
man.' That really is the essence of the Spartan woman." |
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Christina Gosnell what is she? It would
be safe to say that she is never the same thing twice. She's always been
a writer; though, she may not have always realized it. The calling may
have made its first appearance when she won the spelling bee in the
fifth grade, an experience she calls, "exhilarating, life-changing,
totally cool!" Did I mention the cool trophy with the gold bumblebee?
From then on, she knew she would somehow write, somehow make words a
part of her life. A dictionary sits on her nightstand at home, a
reminder of her bond with black letters on a page. |
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Butler relished the opportunity to dive into research on this
very formidable culture. "Spartans are shown nothing but pain their whole lives
to teach them endurance, to teach them fearlessness and to teach them to
have no mercy against their opponents," he says. "Everything about it
requires a steeliness and a strength of character, from the violent way the men
are trained to the way the women must surrender their children in the name
of warfare." A feared and revered military leader [king] of the Greek city-state of
Sparta, Leonidas rules with the guidance and support of his queen, Gorgo.
"Gorgo is, by all accounts, brilliant," says Miller. "She and Leonidas
watch each other's backs and she is a great contributor to his strategic
thinking. There is a great depth of emotion and intellectual partnership
between them. Spartan women are Spartan warriors just like the men. They
send the men out first, but you'll see in the movie that the women can
play pretty tough, too." Leonidas would sooner die fighting than kneel
before any conqueror, but if he is to take Xerxes on, it will have to be
without the Spartan army behind him.
As
epic as this tale of legendary heroism really is, nothing can prepare
audiences for the actual experience of the "300." From the studio logos to
the end credits, every frame of "300" pulsates and flexes as if it were
heaving an enormous weight from one shot to the next. The music and sound
effects are pushed completely to the forefront, making every pluck of a
string, every beat of a war drum, every footstep and even every breath
carry the dramatic impact of most other films' entire audio tracks. Each
and very shot is picturesque. Each and every close-up is extreme. Every
single man is muscle-bound and sculpted like the perfect comic book
reproduction. Every woman is elegant and beautiful. Every single monster
is hideous and sickening. Every blow is fatal. Every moment is a moment.
Not one second is wasted in this film. In this fashion, "300" is
relentless and leaves its viewers exhausted, because they will have lived
it. They will understand and experience every motivation, every action,
and every reaction that each character in the film makes, because they
will see the world through the unflinching eyes of Frank Miller's
Spartans. UB
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sparta