Review of The 300 Spartans (1962) by David G — 17 Aug 2010

A nifty swords & sandals epic from their 50's/60's heyday. The story of King Leonidas and the Battle of Thermopylae is now best known via Zack Snyder's adaptation of Frank Miller's graphic novel "300" (Miller was in fact inspired by this very film), and whilst Snyder's homoerotic campfest is hella entertaining, it's nice to see a straight faced version. Also, you have to look at it from a 60's perspective - a handful of heroic free men defending their civilisation from an eeevil slave empire and giving their lives in the name of honour and freedom. You can see why Cold War Hollywood was drawn to the story.

Overall it's really good stuff - authentic costumes and locations (it was shot in Greece), vintage battle sequences (however did we manage before digital blood and fast-mo/slow-mo spamming? That was sarcasm by the way...) and a cast made up of equal parts All-American poster boys and booming Shakespearean thesps. The highlight however is the way they portray the Spartans as psychotically tough motherfuckers. Favourite line: "Remember the Spartan mother who killed her son for coming home with a wound in his back.".