300

A war film set in ancient Greece. A messenger comes to Sparta and asks for submission. King Leonidas refuses. The council will not authorise war. Leonidas sets out with three hundred men as his personal guard; technically they have not gone to war. From there the film takes place at a single pass. A narrow road, the sea, rocks, and a far larger army opposite. The narrative is told by a soldier, and that is deliberate. What he describes is exaggerated; there are monsters, giants and magical figures, because the man telling it is building a legend. What the narrative is interested in is not history but propaganda: the film gives the battle through the construction of a story, and the last scene explains why. The imagery is entirely artificial. Almost every frame was shot in front of blue screen and the backgrounds were added afterwards; the colour is drained and the sky is permanently copper. The fights were shot with changing speed. Slowing on one move and accelerating on the next, the technique was imitated for years afterwards. The source is Frank Miller's comic and the film takes much of its framing straight from the pages. The production makes no claim to historical accuracy, for which it was both criticised and defended. Gerard Butler, Lena Headey, David Wenham, Dominic West and Rodrigo Santoro are in the cast. Zack Snyder directed. Who it is for: anyone who likes stylised violence and strong visual design. Who it is not for: anyone looking for history; the film uses the real battle only as a frame and draws the Persians as caricature.