"The 300 Spartans" is a rousing melodrama drawn from the skeleton of a historical story recounted in Herodotus history of the Peloponnesian War. Historical authenticity is not the tantamount concern here the soldiers look more like Romans in their gold armor with red plumes (as far as I recall, Spartans only wore rudimentary armor and certainly not anything made from plates of steel or bronze) and the Greeks do a lot of talking about how the Greeks will defeat the Persians because they are "free men" while the Persians are "slaves" (that part's true
. If you accept the contemporary definition that the vast majority of people living in Greece at the time were not actually Greeks
because they were slaves). However, it does feel true in spirit to the nature of the times, and the film has a relatively realistic understanding of the difference between Spartans and Athenians so we at least have to give them that much. The film approaches the Greek people with a respect bordering on reverence. Its attitude towards the clash of cultures might already seem "politically incorrect" (a narrator reminds us that these Spartans died for "our" way of life). In the end though the film should probably be judged on its strengths gripping action scenes and unusually strong characterization for a period film.
Rudolph Mate does accomplish something very rare in directors he manages to infuse characters from a long-gone era with some feelings of life and emotion. This is particularly true with regards to the few short sojourns we witness between King Leonidas (Richard Eegan) and his Queen Gorgo (Anna Synodinou), photographed like the caress of the moon on flesh by the exceptionally talented Geoffrey Unsworth. Meetings between the film's two younger lovers (are photographed in a starkly contrasting, and somewhat less effective, exterior daylight style that feels a bit silly within the context of the war about to take place. The film's direction and photography really reach their peak in 2 scenes the war council between the Hellenes and the battle scenes at the film's climax. The council scene is a lesson in master acting I'm not sure who the actor that was playing the guy who debated Themistocles (Ralph Richardson), but the back-and-forth between them was classic. And even better is the scene just after this, where Themistocles and Leonidas confer about the results of the council in a courtyard outside right from the moment Richardson breathes out a hearty sigh of relief and confesses that he thought the other man had bested him by mentioning the oracle's dire prediction for Athens. Here, again, we see the use of contrast between interior/exterior as an expression of psychological differences. In the case of the lovers it was a difference between the public relationship between Leonidas and Gorgo as compared to the private relationship between the two young lovers; in this case it is the contrast between the public face shown by Themistocles and Leonidas in council and the private nature of their friendship which we see in the scene in the courtyard.
This is more than a cosmetic distinction in this film, particularly concerning Leonidas. We see very little of the "private" Leonidas; really only the scenes with Gorgo and the 2 scenes with Themistocles. Leonidas and Themistocles present an interesting contrast in types Richardson's performance is more reserved, his manner suggesting that each word he speaks is carefully chosen. Eegan on the other hand seems to almost radiate confidence and a contrastingly guileless bravado. That's not to say that the film implies Leonidas is less intelligent than Themistocles, simply that his manner is more straightforward and honest. But it's also not to say that Themistocles is underhanded or in any way immoral, even though his gift of control over the Athenian Navy to the Spartans was an empty gesture bordering on a lie I think the implication is that both the diplomatic and reserved and the more aggressive and reactionary types were required to successfully win the war against the mighty Persians. The clue is in the fact that the film-makers have given us this wonderful scene in the courtyard where we see how much in sympathy the two men's goals truly are, even if they differ greatly in their methods and styles. The other interesting aspect of that is that Themistocles seems to gain confidence only in his machinations, his schemes involving coercing others to do what needs to be done -- note how quickly he becomes unnerved in the scene in the tent when Leonidas tells him that only 300 Spartans are coming to Thermopalae, but how quickly he relaxes when he sees that the other Greeks are inspired regardless. This contrasts with Leonidas' style strongly Leonidas is confident in his personal judgment and his own personal abilities, to the extent that he's not only willing to commit his Spartan troops before consulting with the Spartan legislature and that he's willing to personally commit to the battle regardless of their decision. Thus the film gives us more than the usual 2 dimensional picture of the brave soldier, by contrasting him with the diplomat and the loving wife who doesn't want him to leave home.
As far as the final battle sequence, there's not that much to say about it, but it's an impressive piece of film-making. Music by Manos Hatzidakis (whom I'd never heard of before) is extremely effective in setting the tone for the apocalyptic confrontation. The very ending of the battle is handled in such a way as to make it surprisingly tragic the Spartans were too noble and too powerful to be dispatched in such a way, and it made me uncomfortable to watch it happen even though of course I knew what would happen from the history books.
Rudolph Mate does accomplish something very rare in directors he manages to infuse characters from a long-gone era with some feelings of life and emotion. This is particularly true with regards to the few short sojourns we witness between King Leonidas (Richard Eegan) and his Queen Gorgo (Anna Synodinou), photographed like the caress of the moon on flesh by the exceptionally talented Geoffrey Unsworth. Meetings between the film's two younger lovers (are photographed in a starkly contrasting, and somewhat less effective, exterior daylight style that feels a bit silly within the context of the war about to take place. The film's direction and photography really reach their peak in 2 scenes the war council between the Hellenes and the battle scenes at the film's climax. The council scene is a lesson in master acting I'm not sure who the actor that was playing the guy who debated Themistocles (Ralph Richardson), but the back-and-forth between them was classic. And even better is the scene just after this, where Themistocles and Leonidas confer about the results of the council in a courtyard outside right from the moment Richardson breathes out a hearty sigh of relief and confesses that he thought the other man had bested him by mentioning the oracle's dire prediction for Athens. Here, again, we see the use of contrast between interior/exterior as an expression of psychological differences. In the case of the lovers it was a difference between the public relationship between Leonidas and Gorgo as compared to the private relationship between the two young lovers; in this case it is the contrast between the public face shown by Themistocles and Leonidas in council and the private nature of their friendship which we see in the scene in the courtyard.
This is more than a cosmetic distinction in this film, particularly concerning Leonidas. We see very little of the "private" Leonidas; really only the scenes with Gorgo and the 2 scenes with Themistocles. Leonidas and Themistocles present an interesting contrast in types Richardson's performance is more reserved, his manner suggesting that each word he speaks is carefully chosen. Eegan on the other hand seems to almost radiate confidence and a contrastingly guileless bravado. That's not to say that the film implies Leonidas is less intelligent than Themistocles, simply that his manner is more straightforward and honest. But it's also not to say that Themistocles is underhanded or in any way immoral, even though his gift of control over the Athenian Navy to the Spartans was an empty gesture bordering on a lie I think the implication is that both the diplomatic and reserved and the more aggressive and reactionary types were required to successfully win the war against the mighty Persians. The clue is in the fact that the film-makers have given us this wonderful scene in the courtyard where we see how much in sympathy the two men's goals truly are, even if they differ greatly in their methods and styles. The other interesting aspect of that is that Themistocles seems to gain confidence only in his machinations, his schemes involving coercing others to do what needs to be done -- note how quickly he becomes unnerved in the scene in the tent when Leonidas tells him that only 300 Spartans are coming to Thermopalae, but how quickly he relaxes when he sees that the other Greeks are inspired regardless. This contrasts with Leonidas' style strongly Leonidas is confident in his personal judgment and his own personal abilities, to the extent that he's not only willing to commit his Spartan troops before consulting with the Spartan legislature and that he's willing to personally commit to the battle regardless of their decision. Thus the film gives us more than the usual 2 dimensional picture of the brave soldier, by contrasting him with the diplomat and the loving wife who doesn't want him to leave home.
As far as the final battle sequence, there's not that much to say about it, but it's an impressive piece of film-making. Music by Manos Hatzidakis (whom I'd never heard of before) is extremely effective in setting the tone for the apocalyptic confrontation. The very ending of the battle is handled in such a way as to make it surprisingly tragic the Spartans were too noble and too powerful to be dispatched in such a way, and it made me uncomfortable to watch it happen even though of course I knew what would happen from the history books.