| Product Summary | | Publisher: Warner | | Format: HD DVD | | UPC: 00085391137641 | | Buy.com Sku: 204891619 | | Item#: V2JYLS | | Buy.com Sales Rank: 2869 | | Category Keywords: Action Battles Drama Legends War | Rating:  |
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| | | From the Creator of Sin City.
Features: DVD, Pan and Scan (TV Format), Hybrid, Widescreen, Aspect Ratio 2.40:1, English, French, Spanish, Subtitled
The epic 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. Retelling the ancient Battle of Thermopylae, it depicts the titanic clash in which King Leonidas (Gerard Butler) and 300 Spartans fought to the death against Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro) and his massive Persian army. Experience history at swordpoint. And moviemaking with a cutting edge.
"...ferocious and painterly images, with as much attention to each frame as a hand-drawn panel." Gianni Truzzi, Seattle Post-Intelligencer
"It's impossible not to be moved by its nearly nonstop visual assault." Jack Mathews, New York Daily News
"...a huge step forward in visually sophisticated storytelling." Lawrence Toppman, Charlotte Observer
"Like nothing you've ever seen...the future of filmmaking." Lev Grossman, Time
"...a landmark motion picture, a spectacular visual feast that is as inventive and groundbreaking as the first Matrix." Pete Hammond, Maxim
"...a feast for the senses...an impressive technical achievement...a hell of a lot of fun." Pete Vonder Haar, Film Threat
"...a movie blood-drunk on its own artful excess. Guys of all ages and sexes won't be able to resist it." Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
Editor's Note
Based on the graphic novel by Frank Miller and Lynn Varley, 300 takes over the screen like an invading horde. With all the gushing blood of a horror movie and the scope of a classic epic, the second film from Zack Snyder (who helmed the 2004 remake of DAWN OF THE DEAD) is an impressive visual spectacle. Gerard Butler (THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA) plays Leonidas, the king of ancient Sparta. The city is famous for its warrior philosophy, and Leonidas won't kneel to the demands of Persia's King Xerxes (LOST's Rodrigo Santoro). Instead, Leonidas leads his 300-strong army against Xerxes's army of millions. Meanwhile, his wife (Lena Headley, THE BROTHERS GRIMM) campaigns in Sparta for the city to send reinforcements as she butts heads with the treacherous Theron (Dominic West, THE WIRE).With its gore and scale, 300 marks director Snyder as a possible successor to Peter Jackson's throne. Jackson also got his start in horror with BAD TASTE and DEAD ALIVE, and the two men share a penchant for ambitious battle scenes. The huge fights in 300 rival Jackson's efforts in the LORD OF THE RINGS films. David Wenham, who starred in two of the Tolkien-based films, plays Dilios, one of the Spartan soldiers. Though the cast doesn't boast any A-list stars, the actors ably fill their larger-than-life roles. In a film filled with men, Headley stands out as Queen Gorgo. She matches her warrior husband in strength, while showing love toward Leonidas and their son. Though there are scenes that demonstrate the humanity of the characters, 300 is undeniably about bravery and blood, and it succeeds because of the stylish depictions of both.
| Features | Audio: English 5.1 MLP, Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 Surround Sound | | Audio: French, Spanish Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 Surround Sound | | Blue Screen Picture-In-Picture (PIP) Functionality | | Dubbed: French, Spanish | | Exclusive HD Strategy Game: Vengeance & Valor | | HD-DVD & DVD Combo! Both Standard & HD-DVD Versions On One Disc | | Interactive Menus | | Scene Selection | | Special Audio Commentary By Zack Snyder | | Subtitles: English, French, Spanish |
| Entertainment Reviews
 | 300 - DVD Review By: Sean O'Connell - filmcritic.com DVD Reviews Published on: 7/20/2007 7:28 PM | |
Everything old is new again in 300, director Zack Snyder's account of the barbaric Battle of Thermopylae, a film that is ridiculously stylish and commendably substantive. I expected the former (Snyder's source material is a graphic novel from cult hero Frank Miller) and was delighted by the latter, as 300 winds up being far more original than I thought possible....read the full review |
| 300 - HD DVD Review By: Rafe Telsch - Cinema Blend DVD Reviews Published on: 8/1/2007 12:08 AM | | The 300 HD DVD release epitomizes the slogan of the format; this movie is the look and sound of perfect, on top of which I'll add the feel of perfect. The disc doesn't leave me wanting in any way. From the movie itself to behind the scenes material, this release is fully loaded. The fact that it's a combo disc, thereby playable on a standard DVD player as well, is just icing on the cake. For every format there's a release that comes out that truly defines the format. For now 300 is the pinnacle of accomplishment on HD DVD. ...read the full review |
| Technical Info
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Release Information
| | Studio: Warner |
| Release Date: 7/31/2007 |
| Running Time: 116 minutes |
| Original Release Date: 2007 | | Catalog ID: 113764 | | UPC: 00085391137641 | | Number of Discs: 1 |
Audio & Video
| | Original Language: English | | Available Audio Tracks: English | | Video: Color |
Aspect Ratio | | Widescreen 2.40:1 |
| Cast & Crew | Dominic West | | Gerard Butler | | Lena Headey | | Rodrigo Santoro | | Frank Miller - Executive Producer | | Frank Miller - Based On Graphic Novel By | | Isabelle Guay, et. al. - Art Director | | James D. Bissell - Production Designer | | Jeffrey Silver - Producer | | Larry Fong - Cinematographer | | Lynn Varley - Based On Graphic Novel By | | Tyler Bates - Original Music By | | William Hoy - Editor | | Zack Snyder - Director | | Zack Snyder, et. al. - Screenplay |
| Awards |
Winner (2007) | | | MTV Award, Gerard Butler, Best Fight | |
Nominee (2007) | | | MTV Award, 300, Best Movie | | | MTV Award, Gerard Butler, Best Performance | | | MTV Award, Rodrigo Santoro, Best Villain | | | MTV Award, Lena Headey, Breakthrough Performance |
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| | Professional Reviews | USA Today
"The surreal ode to extreme combat is part Fellini freak show, part LORD OF THE RINGS-style blood feast, and all adrenaline rush....Its bruised beauty is enhanced by an inky palette..." 03/07/2007 p.1DRolling Stone
3 stars out of 4 -- "[Director Zack Snyder] keeps the action roaring....300 dazzles as spectacle..." 03/22/2007 p.90 Ultimate DVD
3 stars out of 5 -- "Everyone is loving 300 for perfectly valid reasons. It is a visual feast....The style exceeds mere competence and satisfies all promise." 03/01/2007 p.86 Total Film
3 stars out of 5 -- "[I]t looks incredible....Not real, not surreal, 300 is something else, a hyperreal realm where myth gasps to life." 05/01/2007 p.38 Box Office
"[W]ith a visual style that injects new energy into the sword-and-sandals epic." 05/01/2007 p.76 Sight and Sound
"[I]ts technical achievement is beyond question....The film's presentation of the cities and battlegrounds of ancient Greece can only be considered a marvel, vividly rendered through a digitised expressionist palette..." 05/01/2007 p.50 Entertainment Weekly
"Snyder uses every trick in the bloodletting playbook, and invents a few new ones, to stage one of history's greatest last stands." -- Grade: B 08/10/2007 p.53 Film Comment
"[I]t is less spectacle than blood rite in which history and myth almost literally bleed into each other." 01/01/2008 p.39 ReelViews 8 of 10
Whatever else 300 may be, it is destined to become beloved for a group of devotees. The size of that group will determine whether it achieves mainstream acceptance or attains cult status. Distilled to its essence, this is a graphic novel come to life - one of those rare instances in which filmmakers seek not merely to adapt a comic book but to interpret it for the screen. Both approaches are valid and have their strengths, but 300 would not be the experience it is had it not clung to the hyper-reality of the images of Frank Miller's graphic novel. From a visual standpoint, 300 (like Sin City before it) exists at a vertex where comic books and motion pictures intersect...300 may not offer masterful storytelling in a conventional sense, but it's hard to beat as a spectacle and that makes it worthwhile viewing for all but the most squeamish of potential audience members. - James Berardinelli
Eye Weekly 8 of 10
Like Miller's graphic novel, 300 relentlessly emphasizes the Spartan ideals of valour, glory and sacrifice. The movie's exaggerated machismo may beg for an ironic attitude as counterbalance but the material is played straight-faced save for Butler's few moments of cheek. Inevitably, 300's singularity of tone and purpose makes the later stages arduous to weather. Likewise, the initially gripping scenes of mayhem feel repetitious by the time of the umpteenth impalement, such that the more unexpected images -- a boy survivor walking out of a destroyed city, a barely clad teenage girl dancing out a message from the gods -- have the most resonance...The dudes will love it anyway. Dames will, too, though that may have less to do with Snyder's decision to enlarge the role of Leonidas' wife Gorgo (Lena Headey) than 300's smorgasbord of beefcake, one largely unparalleled outside the realms of gay porn and Chippendales revues. - Jason Anderson
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