A thoughtful meditation on the futility of war? Er, no. Sword 'n' sandals flick 300 is all about the glory, and that didn't sit too well with some critics. However, most found this adaptation of Frank Miller's graphic novel "hugely entertaining". With a heavy dose of CG, it tells the story of the 300 Spartans who faced down the Persian army in 480 BC. For actor Gerard Butler it was a long-awaited box office triumph.
Call To Action
Director Zack Snyder thanks the fans in his introduction to this Special Edition DVD and, in the documentary Fact Or Fiction, also gives props to Frank Miller and Herodotus. The latter is the ancient Greek historian who's credited with writing the earliest draft of this story. Experts pick over the details in this fascinating documentary, but in the featurette Who Were The Spartans? Snyder and Miller admit they're more interested in the mythology than the reality. More than that, they were excited by the sheer guts of the Spartans, and it's clear Butler is singing from the same hymn sheet. In a ten-minute Making Of he tells us, "There's a time to pray to the winds and there's a time to go kick some ass."
Time-lapse footage reveals the more mechanical aspects of making the film, but it's a section of 12 webisodes that reveal most about the production. A sneak peek at fight training sees Butler put through his paces while his coach assures us there'll be "tears and vomit". Individual looks at stunts, wardrobe, and the process of adaptation are included along with more contribution from the actors. Surprisingly, there isn't much on the groundbreaking visual effects. Head techno wizard Chris Watts says this is the most difficult film he's ever worked on, but still reckons that the toughest thing was trying to get Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro) to look a couple of feet taller than Leonidas (Butler).
The Casualties
Set designer James D. Bissell gets a forum as well, and perhaps because he doesn't have much else to cling to, takes a lot of pride in the polystyrene rocks he crafted for the green screen soundstage. Even cinematographer Larry Fong doesn't say much about the look of the film. He, along with screenwriter Kurt Johnstad keep quiet for the best part of the main commentary. Snyder tries to fill in the gaps and insists that, despite the glossy visuals, many of the practical effects were "low-tech". For instance, he reveals that a simple board mounted on springs helped depict an earthquake. Similarly, a camera strapped to a sled was used to convey the earth-shattering clash between Greeks and Persians.
Snyder pops up in a 3-minute reel of deleted footage to explain why he made the cuts. The first off-cut sees the treacherous and guilt-ridden Ephialtes (Andrew Tiernan) fling himself into a ravine, and survive... "Gods you are cruel," he groans (which may be understating it). When it comes to scenes of midget Persian archers riding into battle atop the shoulders of giants, Snyder sheepishly confesses, "It was too much."
A part-gushing, part-grudging tribute to Frank Miller rounds off this Special Edition. In all, the package isn't as tight as the Spartan defence, but it's good fodder for a night of male bonding. Not that we're hinting at a homoerotic subtext or anything...
EXTRA FEATURES
300 DVD is released on Monday 1st October 2007.
