3

[Edited on March 12, 2007 at 12:46 AM. Reason : 00]

3/12/2007 12:45:54 AM

It will probably break the record for best March debut ever, what with $70 million over the weekend.

I liked it, it was one kickass film.

3/12/2007 1:45:57 AM

Does anyone know about the actual history behind the spartans stand? If so, how close was the movie to the real events?

3/12/2007 2:44:52 AM

kinda close, minus the monsters.

3/12/2007 2:46:25 AM

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Thermopylae

3/12/2007 2:46:28 AM

read my post as per the guy with the sword hands. ephilates makes sense but i doubt he was -that- disfigured.


otherwise I thought it was pretty "historically" accurate, they drumed down the spartan numbers a bit and likewise with the persians, but hell there hasn't been more than 2 consistant accounts of anyone from that time period so meh to that.


the general flow of events tho seems to be pretty close to what herodotus wrote (that wall of dead people thing was an acctual spartan military maneuver used to demoralize opposing forces as per the discovery channel special !)



and

Quote :

"In essence, the Oracle's warning was that either Sparta would be conquered and left in ruins or one of her two hereditary kings, descendant of Hercules, must sacrifice his life to defend her. "

the oracle at delphi's "real" message was a bit different than the one in the movie, although not much... it's possible they just left out the last half in the movie

[Edited on March 12, 2007 at 7:20 AM. Reason : .]

3/12/2007 7:17:55 AM

The movie was bad ass. I loved it, and it'll be a definite DVD purchase.

3/12/2007 7:32:25 AM

Quote :

"you're only a nerd if you thought about Stargate once Xerxes started talking...."

Son of a bitch. I guess I'm a nerd then.

3/12/2007 8:35:17 AM

Quote :

"I just wish they'd have shown the "last" battle where they legion of Spartans were running down the hill, that would have been an awesome battle."

I saw the movie and enjoyed it a lot. Only thing I didn't like was that they didn't show the killing of the dude on the horse who killed the son.

God damn that guy looked like a young Keanu Reaves, like Bill and Ted young.

I would've liked if they showed how they took down the elephants too other than somehow convincing them to back off the cliff, but it only mattered that the Spartans were dominating the Persians.

I also loled at how Leonidas referred to the Greeks as philosophical boy lovers.

3/12/2007 9:05:46 AM

You mean Athenians?

Because Spartans ARE greek.

3/12/2007 9:07:50 AM

^ouch.


I also like how the Spartans were the "noble freedom fighters"- "We're not going to be slaves! Thats bad!" when "history" shows that the reason the Spartan forces were so small is because they were fighting their own slave revolt in the city-state to the west of them. The name escapes me at the moment.

Anyone else take that Ancient world history class? 321? 200something? Great class. You should all take it!

3/12/2007 9:14:02 AM

3 part Documentary on the Battle of Thermopylae

3/12/2007 9:16:41 AM

Quote :

"otherwise I thought it was pretty "historically" accurate, they drumed down the spartan numbers a bit and likewise with the persians, but hell there hasn't been more than 2 consistant accounts of anyone from that time period so meh to that."

According to my buddy in West Point, the reason why the Spartans were able to inflict such high casualties was not just because of their superior fighting skills but because they were so heavily armored (heavy infantry, I think is the appropriate term). The bulk of the Persian ranks were made up of light infantry who were unable to utilize their numbers because of the terrain. The combat tactics were supposedly correct though. So yes, minus the slight mistake of the loin-clothed warrior, giant trolls, and maybe the rhino, I'd say that they're on the mark.

3/12/2007 10:31:07 AM

tht was pretty neat. just watched it while waiting for my class


for those keeping score if we go by those numbers the greeks were outnumbered 37:1

and the spartans a meager 834:1

3/12/2007 10:47:12 AM

^^ yep

3/12/2007 10:59:10 AM

^^^ yea im sure that why,

i still like to think they were badass warriors too tho

3/12/2007 11:42:51 AM

well it helped that they were amazingly badass warriors definitly

3/12/2007 11:45:45 AM

saw this at IMAX in montreal on saturday. i'm glad i was able to see it in IMAX, it was damn sweet. it was exactly what i expected: the visuals were great, the battles were intense, and the story was simple.

the one time where i really noticed the overuse of blood was when the captain's son and his friend were killing a bunch of people. there was a bit too much chunky blood flying around, but that kind of goes with the graphic novel depiction.

i thought that there might be a little more resistance in the last battle, they seemed to all die a little too quickly, but it was badass when leonidas got arrowed to close it out.

overall, sweet movie for what it is, and def see it in IMAX if you can.

3/12/2007 12:57:46 PM

Quote :

"I also loled at how Leonidas referred to the Greeks as philosophical boy lovers."

B/c real Spartans are man lovers.

3/12/2007 2:45:33 PM

3/12/2007 5:23:19 PM

I didn't buy into any "hype"

I was out drinking with people and they decided to do this @ 10:30

I probably couldn't follow it because I was wasted honestly

3/12/2007 5:50:37 PM

Quote :

"You mean Athenians? Because Spartans ARE greek."

no, i think he was talking about the OTHER greeks.

3/12/2007 6:15:50 PM

Quote :

"Are you trying to say Gladiator was a bad movie?"

gladiator is an awful movie

3/12/2007 11:36:37 PM

YOU are an awful movie.

3/12/2007 11:37:46 PM

this movie was great

[Edited on March 13, 2007 at 11:54 AM. Reason : and so was Gladiator]

3/13/2007 11:53:19 AM

there was a lot of blood flying from slashing wounds, but practically no blood from decapitated bodies

that struck me as a little odd

3/13/2007 12:12:54 PM

I really really wanted to like this movie. The visuals are great, and the directing is excellent. However there is practically zero characterization, and the dialogue is bad. Real bad. For a minute I thought I was watching a bad impression of William Wallace while the Spartans became "freedom fighters." I can't believe the screenwriter used the phrase, "freedom isn't free."

The politics was bad too, and I guess the reference to the athenians to boy lovers is accurate. But it's interesting hearing it coming from a Spartan, becasue they were not a "woman worshipping" community like the film depicts.

Have I said the visuals were good?

3/13/2007 12:18:37 PM

Quote :

"I can't believe the screenwriter used the phrase, "freedom isn't free." "

Can you tell me exactly what's wrong with that statement...other than the fact that you think it's lame, it makes sense and pretty much fits in line with what's going on in the movie.

3/13/2007 12:21:51 PM

^ I don't have a problem with the phrase itself, I just wish the screenwriter had used a little originality.

3/13/2007 12:36:19 PM

you do know how accurately they follow the graphic novels right....

and there is nothing wrong with using a great line or concept from another movie in an original movie.

3/13/2007 11:30:13 PM

Quote :

""I can't believe the screenwriter used the phrase, "freedom isn't free.""

anyone else laugh a little and start singing some TEAM AMERICA at that point.

freedom cost a buck o' five

3/14/2007 1:13:30 AM

Freedom isn't free....in or oppressive, militaristic society that has slaves and castes

3/14/2007 1:24:34 AM

the king thinks you guys are hippies

3/14/2007 6:31:14 AM

Saw the movie again for the 2nd time last night. Still awesome. The queen is still fine as shit.

And (no homo), but were the bodies of all these guys computer generated or did they just try and find the most ripped actors in the industry (or put them on a diet/exercise plan a year before filming)??? I went to the movie with a female personal trainer friend of mine and she was in awe.

3/14/2007 6:53:06 AM

they trained a shitload, I got the bonus dvd thing from best buy for buying any dvd and they have a bit on their training. i'm sure there was some animation involved too

3/14/2007 6:59:43 AM

trained a shitload, plus makeup can make it look even more exaggerated

3/14/2007 7:04:07 AM

I expected the movie to rock, and it was definitely worth the 5 bucks. I'm not looking for an indepth plot, i just want to see a lot of guys get into an awesome fight, sorta like gladiators' battle scenes but on steroids. The sex scene was pretty damn good too.

3/14/2007 7:57:39 AM

knowing more what actually happened, and after watching a extremely good show on the History Channel about it (similar effects and such) I was only slightly disappointed with the movie. overall it was entertaining though it did have it's moments of whaaa? but then again it's adapted from a comic essentially so I can't fault it too much for over emphasizing the 'never retreat' (horribly wrong) and the 'free men/freedom' mantra (over half the population of Sparta were slaves, and they actually had to kill one and not get caught doing it as one of several rites of passage)

I thought it was pretty decent, and of course the visuals made it very interesting to watch

Quote :

""you're only a nerd if you thought about Stargate once Xerxes started talking...." Son of a bitch. I guess I'm a nerd then. "

lol i was waiting for his fucking eyes to glow once he started speaking...

[Edited on March 14, 2007 at 9:23 AM. Reason : 1]

3/14/2007 9:21:52 AM

hahahahah

3/14/2007 9:43:47 AM

what was the name of the trial that the young spartans went though to become warriors? couldn't quite hear the exact word that he said

badass movie, anyone that says different is dead to me...

3/14/2007 10:58:52 AM

agogi i believe

3/14/2007 11:11:50 AM

its spelled agoge and i believe it lasts from age 7-18

3/14/2007 12:44:36 PM

I just thought of a way to simultaneously revolutionize childcare in this country and control the raccoon population.

3/14/2007 12:51:25 PM

Quote :

" Saw the movie again for the 2nd time last night. Still awesome. The queen is still fine as shit. And (no homo), but were the bodies of all these guys computer generated or did they just try and find the most ripped actors in the industry (or put them on a diet/exercise plan a year before filming)??? I went to the movie with a female personal trainer friend of mine and she was in awe. "

After speaking to a friend about the making and when I went to see it for the second time I noticed things I didn't see the first time.

For one, the guys are really ripped, and I guess they worked out for over a year straight. Like every day and at a grueling pace. But also to make them look even more ripped they airbrushed shadows on their bodies to make them appear bigger then they were. I noticed it more the second time watching it.

Another thing that was cool was the Oracle was filmed underwater. That's how they made that scene so flowy. You can tell when she is holding her breathe and how she changes color when the scene is done and laying on the ground. Was really cool looking I thought...even though they didn't need the excess booby shots.

Also I guess they also touched up the close up scenes and made the eyes really vibrant. If you watch it again check out how intense Leonidas eyes are in some of the scenes.

Overall I really thought the film was made really well, even if it wasn't truely accurate. But face it how many "based off of true story" films are really accurate. If you just watch the film for what it is, you'll probably agree it will probably be one of the better original films this year and will make a ton of money.

3/14/2007 1:37:49 PM

They only trained for like 4 months and it's a movie so obviously they may have added some shadow, but mostly they just had the guys lift some weights right before shooting so they still had a pump.

If you wanna know more about the training, this is a very interesting article on it from the guy that trained them:

http://www.gymjones.com/knowledge.php?id=35

3/14/2007 2:40:04 PM

Quote :

"freedom cost a buck o' five"

3/14/2007 5:16:20 PM

^what the heck are you even talking about???

3/14/2007 6:05:56 PM

^ It's a Team America reference. There's a song about how "Freedom isn't free".

No, it's a mother fuckin' hefty fee?

3/14/2007 8:00:36 PM

oh yeah i think i might have seen that

3/14/2007 8:16:54 PM

watched the movie today and DAMN that was fuckin awesome!!! Watching it again tonite....

3/15/2007 7:27:11 PM