300 the movie

300 is a stylised recounting of the Spartans’ epic last stand against the Persian army at Thermopylae in 480 BC. But the movie’s unflattering portrayal of Persians, the physically deformed, and its alleged homophobic and xenophobic content has come in for flak.

Siddhartha Sarma found at http://cities.expressindia.com/ Delhi Monday , March 19, 2007

New Delhi, March 18: This was a controversy in waiting. The country’s multiplex generation has waded into the thick of a raging international political debate around a movie. No, not another Bush-bashing saga like Fahrenheit 911 or a religious controversy on the lines of The Da Vinci Code. It’s a movie based on a graphic novel.

300, based on acclaimed comic book artist Frank Miller’s book of the same name and directed by Zack Snyder, was released in India on Friday — a full week after it released worldwide.

The movie, a scene-by-scene rendering of the novel with a few additions, had earlier received a standing ovation at the Berlinale (but got booed at a press screening earlier at the same film festival) and was called as good as good as Sin City, based on another Miller novel.

300 is a stylised recounting of the Spartans’ epic last stand against an alleged one million-strong Persian army at Thermopylae in Greece in 480 BC. But the movie’s unflattering portrayal of Persians, the physically deformed, and its alleged homophobic and xenophobic content has come in for flak. In the US, with the election year approaching, 300 has fuelled a second Thermopylae between liberals and conservatives. In India, the movie released with very little fanfare.

But as word of mouth spread, viewers flocked in to catch the movie on the first day. But their profile crossed the target audience of Frank Miller fans and covered senior citizens, the politically aware, the culturatti, PhD research scholars, artistes, graphic designers and ad professionals.

The colour tinting, CGI effects and the graphic, choreographed violence were subsumed by the viewers’ take on the political undertones. And repeated references to “the Asian hordes” did not go down well.

“It is amazing how the American establishment has expropriated even Greek history for its own ends, promoting xenophobia,” said a prominent TV show host and culture expert after the 7 pm show at PVR Saket. “I am surprised the Parsis in India, for whom the Persian Emperor Xerxes and his father Darius are such important figures, have not objected.”

“This movie is just another example of how the Bush administration is bent on promoting chest-thumping jingoism through Hollywood,” said Meenakshi, a sociology researcher from Bangalore, referring to Spartan king Leonidas’ (Gerard Butler) repeated references to “freedom” and “democracy” and the portrayal of Greeks as upholders of that freedom against the tyrannical Persians.

“Although the production quality is excellent, as are the CGI effects, I doubt if non-Miller fans would like the basic premise of the movie, especially among non-whites,” said Sikant Vijayan, an ad copywriter for a prominent MNC firm based at Kalkaji. “Also, and though I do not look at it that way, the portrayal of Asian women with lesbian undertones and that almost every deformed, ugly guy in the movie is somehow made to look detestable.”

There was also Dr K V Rao, retired history professor from Defence Colony, who dropped in with his wife and took an objective view. “See, I am not a Miller fan, but I know that the graphic novel was majorly inspired by the ‘60s movie 300 Spartans. So this is a retelling of a retelling of a retelling. We should not be taking this seriously. And yes I enjoyed it,” the professor in his mid-sixties admitted. There were also a few handfuls of comic fans, who insisted on taking the movie as what it was — “hey, it’s Frank Miller, man.” But only a few.

The figures indicate just where this movie stands today, for an offering with no Arnold, Stallone or Brad Pitt in it. It released across eleven theatres in NCR, with a total 36 show listings. Significantly, there were 26 premier shows. And for a weekday, all six theatres in south and west Delhi ran to full houses — and each of the viewers had a strong political take on it.
Welcome to the new world.

Official 300 filmclip

New 300 Trailer, Dec 7th 2006. Based on the epic graphic novel by Frank Miller, "300" is a ferocious retelling of the ancient Battle of Thermopylae in which King Leonidas (Gerard Butler) and 300 Spartans fought to the death against Xerxes and his massive Persian army. Facing insurmountable odds, their valor and sacrifice inspire all of Greece to unite against their Persian enemy, drawing a line in the sand for democracy. The film brings Miller's (Sin City) acclaimed graphic novel to life by combining live action with virtual backgrounds that capture his distinct vision of this ancient historic tale.

Starring: Gerard Butler, Lena Headey, David Wenham, Vincent Regan, Rodrigo Santoro, Dominic West Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama, War Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures Release Date: March 9, 200

'300' Conquers Box Office Again

$31.2 Million Weekend

AP found at abclocal.go.com

Mar. 18 - Spartans continued to fend off the box-office competition as the battle epic "300" took the No. 1 spot for the second-straight weekend with $31.2 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.

The Warner Bros. movie, the story of vastly outnumbered Spartans defending against Persian invaders, shot past the $100 million mark after just a week in theaters, bringing its total to $127.5 million.

Young males are the main audience for "300." In Boston, with its heavy Irish-American population, crowds for "300" were down 70 percent on St. Patrick's Day compared to the previous Saturday, while the drop in the rest of the country was just 49 percent, said Dan Fellman, head of distribution for Warner Bros.

Even so, overall box office rose, with the top-12 movies taking in $102.4 million, up 10.5 percent from the same weekend last year.

Movie attendance this year is up 3.5 percent compared to 2006 admissions, with hits such as "300" and "Wild Hogs" giving Hollywood an early start on what is expected to be a huge summer season. Among summer's blockbuster sequels are "Shrek the Third," "Spider-Man 3," "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" and "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix."

"`300' and the other late-spring hits have put us in a fantastic position heading into the homestretch leading up to summer," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Media By Numbers.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Media By Numbers LLC. . "300," $31.2 million. 2. "Wild Hogs," $18.8 million 3. "Premonition," $18 million. 4. "Dead Silence," $7.8 million. 5. "I Think I Love My Wife," $5.7 million. 6. "Bridge to Terabithia," $5.1 million. 7. "Ghost Rider," $4 million. 8. "Zodiac," $3.1 million. 9. "Norbit," $2.7 million. 10. "Music and Lyrics," $2.2 million.

300 the Movie

Now Playing: '300's' big bucks

300 comments on 300 — another battle brews over Thermopylae

Official 300 filmclip

'300' Conquers Box Office Again

$31.2 Million Weekend

related: Iran against 300 Iran outraged by Hollywood war epic