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DVD Review: '300'
Prepare for glory with the more informative bonus features
Hanh Nguyen
Zap2It.com
July 31 2007
The story of "300" as told by Frank Miller in graphic novel form and then translated for the big screen by director Zack Snyder captured the imaginations of bloodthirsty moviegoers who rallied to the idea of doing what's right, even in the face of overwhelming odds. Now on DVD, the numerous bonus features simultaneously demystify the legendary story while increasing the fascination with the real Spartan culture.
In "300," Spartan king Leonidas (Gerard Butler) refuses to be intimidated by the Persian bullies, even if they number in the tens of thousands and are being led by immortals. His partner, Queen Gorgo (Lena Headey) holds down the fort while Leonidas takes a mere 300 buff and stubborn warriors to confront their foes in the legendary battle of Thermopylae, which wasn't a technical victory, but a morale-boosting one.
Bypass the rather yawn-inducing audio commentary and skip to the more in-depth historical special features to enhance your "300"-viewing experience. Unlike the rousing, slogan-shouting Spartans, director Zack Snyder isn't the best at expressing himself in a pithy, imaginative manner.
The commentary is filled with numerous silences while Snyder, writer Kurt Johnstad and director of photgraphy Larry Fong get caught up watching the movie. When the director does comment, it's mainly inane stuff like, "that image is straight from Frank Miller's graphic novel," "that's the courtyard from the previous scene where it was snowing" or "that's CG." He does occasionally offer juicy behind-the-scenes insights -- such as the origin of Astinos' name or how he choreographed the love scene -- but it's not really worth it to wait till the middle of the film for him to warm up to this.
Thankfully, the three main questions about the film -- the historical accuracy, faithfulness to Miller's novel and the amount of training required -- are all answered in the bonus features. The most intriguing by far are the combo of "The 300: Fact or Fiction?" and "Who Were the Spartans: The Warriors of 300," both of which delve into the harsh yet inspiring Spartan culture. Boys were truly pushed hard to create warrior citizens, but women were seen as just as important: strong, fit, confident and advanced sexually and politcally for the times.
One historical expert even described Spartans as proto-communists since everybody acted for the good of the city-state, including the king who fought side-by-side with his men. The warriors were also trained in philosophy and trash talking, or at least their version back in the day.
The "Frank Miller Tapes" featurette gives a picture of the storyteller-artist who pursued his career even as a child and then became influenced by crime fiction and film noir -- as seen in "Sin City." Inspired by the 1962 movie "The 300 Spartans," Miller decided that one day when he was ready, he'd retell the story in graphic novel form.
Skip the tepid "making of" extra and go to the numerous gathered webisodes instead. Not only can you select the behind-the-scenes subject of your choice, but they fill in the gaps that haven't been covered by the other features. The informative bursts give a good taste of how the men trained (and got those abs), creating wardrobe for the battlefield, the mix of martial arts and fight disciplines, the fantastical creatures and stars Headey and Butler.
The deleted scenes are way too brief, but at least they won't waste much of the viewer's time. Snyder introduces the clips that show a bit more of the hunchback Ephialtes and the Spartans taking on Persian giants.
A strange little bonus, which should probably be accompanied with a bit of wine, is the "Making of 300 in Images." Basically, it's an edited, fast-motion montage of clips showing all aspects of production from the camera set up, the crew mixing with the costumed actors, green screen, outside photography, worn out production pets, etc., -- all set to weird techno music (Perhaps the "Benny Hill" theme song wasn't available.) It's kind of fun, but wears on you after a while.
EXTRAS:
Hunchback and giant warriors deleted scenes; behind-the-scenes webisodes; audio commentary with director Zack Snyder, writer Kurt Johnstad and DP Larry Fong; "Making of 300 in Images" montage; Featurettes: "The 300: Fact or Fiction?," "Who Were the Spartans: The Warriors of 300," "Frank Miller Tapes," "The Making of 300."
PRICE: $34.98
