Rating: 
Summary: A Lasting Mark
Review: I saw this film once, when I was 7, late at night. It profoundly impacted me and sent me on a quest to learn all I could about those courageous 300 spartans, the spartans in general, the greco-persian wars, ancient greece in general, Alexander, the Romans, Egyptians, etc. Basically opened up all of ancient history for me. I was never able to see the movie again, although it was a ritual I followed to each week scan the tv listings hoping to see it aired.So, was it good? Well, given the impact on me, I assume it was tremendous, but at this point it has become a bit mythical. I look forward to seeing it on DVD and I'm happy to learn that it made a big impression on others as well. Unfortunately, I learned on another site that there was a problem with the transfer, and the release date has been postponed indefinitely. My fingers are crossed that it gets resolved.
Rating: 
Summary: INFO ON "300 SPARTANS" DVD?
Review: I write a DVD column for the Desert Post Weekly (Palm Springs). A number of readers asked about the insert in current DVDs from Fox Home Video that announced 300 SPARTANS as a "New on DVD" release. Here's what Shari Rosenblum at Fox had to say: The 300 Spartans is being released by Fox Home Entertainment in the future, but we have not made an official announcement regarding a street date. It will likely come out as part of a Father's Day promotion this year, but again, we have no official release date to confirm at this time.
Rating:
Summary: A Genuine Epic!
Review: If you like the big historical epics from the '60s, this is definitely the film for you! The story tells of the fight of the ancient Geek city-states,led by Spartan soldiers, against the invading forces of the Persian Emperor Xerxes.It's full of action, adventure, and epic battle scenes. The film is filled with themes of patriotism, heroism, and the importance of fighting for freedom and what is right. It is basically accurate, and incorporates many small details that actually did happen. In my opinion, this is one of the best historical movies ever made; a story of larger-than-life characters pitted against overwhelming odds, who are ready to sacrifice all to preserve their freedom from foreign tyranny.
Rating:
Summary: Old non computer generated mini-epic
Review: In this age of Vast forces clashing on the screen on a scale that makes the jaw drop (Read LOTR II & III) this movie takes one back to those epic days of snow on your screen while you watch a UHF station.
The epic story of some of the bravest men who ever lived fighting in their ancient Alamo would confuse many today, yet this is another parallel to the LOTR trilogy. It is a story of men faced with an impossible task who put their lives and duty on the line for Greece. This battle is one that determined the course of western civ and deservies all the attention it gets.
The movie itself is formula movie of its time, but it plays the formula well. You like and cheer for these men although their ideals are sadly absent (well not absent see FAITH OF OUR SONS & KEEPING FAITH) today. The plot is simple, good vs. evil and respect between foes. The Spartins were greaters warriors then these men were actors but that doesn't matter. The film is worth seeing and worth buying.
Rating:
Summary: It's coming!
Review: It really is. On DVD. I bought "The Flight of the Phoenix" recently and inside was a flyer entitled "Hollywood Heroes." When I opened it up, the first picture of a DVD was "The 300 Spartans," with a caption stating "Never Before Released." Wow! It's been a long time. But it seemed like it was already out because the back of the flyer said new to dvd. Looking forward to it. As a kid, it introduced me to the history of ancient Greece.
Rating: 
Summary: Memory vs now
Review: Many of us grew up on these Hollywood 'epics' of ancient history. We remember them fondly. "The 300 Spartans" is one such film. Our memories, however, can play tricks on us. Then we see them again as we age, and our opinions change. We have to remember the times in which they were made and the type of audience that eagerly went to see them. As a widescreen epic (and you have to see it in the 2:35x1 aspect ratio which the DVD presents), it stills holds some strange fascination. Sir Ralph Richardson is the one stand-out performance; somehow, British actors seem to be able to deliver stilted dialog in such a way that it seems somehow classical. Richard Egan was also a good actor. As the Spartan king, his performance is consistant and even believable. He is rugged-looking and seems to understand what his character is all about. He brings the character on the page to some sembelence of life. The rest of the cast make their characters seem cut from a comic book, or a very bad high-school production. This is especially true of David Farrar as the Persian King, who tears up the screen without once delving beneath the skin to give his role any dimension. These are supposedly professional actors, able to rise above a bad script. Unfortunately, the director accepted only fair performances and let it go at that. Barry Coe and Diane Baker have the unfortunate roles of the young lovers. They were both young contract players at Fox and neither convinced anyone that they were either Spartans or that they were ever actually in love. Mr. Coe has one unfornutate line: "Have you heard anything about the Persians?" He delivers this like a football player asking his coach about the opposing team. The script does present the story's history with fair accuracy. Once the Spartans get on the march, the pace picks up nicely, and the battle scenes are well staged. As usually happened with these epics, the production values of the behind-the-camera talent clearly outshone those being photographed.
Rating:
Summary: Memory vs now
Review: Many of us grew up on these Hollywood 'epics' of ancient history. We remember them fondly. "The 300 Spartans" is one such film. Our memories, however, can play tricks on us. Then we see them again as we age, and our opinions change. We have to remember the times in which they were made and the type of audience that eagerly went to see them. As a widescreen epic (and you have to see it in the 2:35x1 aspect ratio which the DVD presents), it stills holds some strange fascination. Sir Ralph Richardson is the one stand-out performance; somehow, British actors seem to be able to deliver stilted dialog in such a way that it seems somehow classical. Richard Egan was also a good actor. As the Spartan king, his performance is consistant and even believable. He is rugged-looking and seems to understand what his character is all about. He brings the character on the page to some sembelence of life. The rest of the cast make their characters seem cut from a comic book, or a very bad high-school production. This is especially true of David Farrar as the Persian King, who tears up the screen without once delving beneath the skin to give his role any dimension. These are supposedly professional actors, able to rise above a bad script. Unfortunately, the director accepted only fair performances and let it go at that. Barry Coe and Diane Baker have the unfortunate roles of the young lovers. They were both young contract players at Fox and neither convinced anyone that they were either Spartans or that they were ever actually in love. Mr. Coe has one unfornutate line: "Have you heard anything about the Persians?" He delivers this like a football player asking his coach about the opposing team. The script does present the story's history with fair accuracy. Once the Spartans get on the march, the pace picks up nicely, and the battle scenes are well staged. As usually happened with these epics, the production values of the behind-the-camera talent clearly outshone those being photographed.
Rating:
Summary: Not as good as I remembered
Review: Of course, that is because I was a very young child when this movie was originally being played. It's still fun to watch. The acting is marginal, costumes are poorly done and some of the spoken lines are terrible. It's main redeeming quality...it's a good clean movie that is biased toward the admirable qualities in mankind...duty, honor, country. This is something that you don't get to see very often from Hollywood these days. I waited a very long time for this to come out on DVD, and bought it immediately. It will forever be part of my collection, and I will watch it many more times over the years. It's not The Ten Commandments or Ben Hur, but for me and probable many other baby boomers, it's still a "must have" movie.
Rating:
Summary: Simply AMAZING!!!
Review: One of the best epic movies ever and my personal favorite, The 300 Spartans, brings to the screen THE most heroic battle in world history; the Battle at Thermopylae; a three day battle (August 18th, 480 BCE through August 20th, 480 BCE) for the pass at Thermopylae (the Hot Gates) between an immense Persian host under King Xerxes and a small Greek force dominated by King Leonidas and his 300 Spartans. Unlike the Alamo, Custer's Last Stand and many other glorious battles where the parties involved did not expect to be wiped out, the Spartans and Thespians willingly held their positions knowing that they could not possibly win against such overwhelming numbers. The 300 Spartans is a movie about honor, real men, and real heroes who fought and died in the name of Greece and Freedom.
"Stranger, go tell the Spartans that we lie here in obedience to their laws."
Rating: 
Summary: 300 Lost Spartans
Review: So where is it? When I saw it advertised here last March (for a 3 June, 2003 release date),I immediately included it in my Wish List. Then after about a month it was 'currently unavailable' I have waited for a very long time to watch this again and yet something happened... When is it really coming out??? During the loooong wait, I've read 300 (the comic book by Frank Miller) and Spartan (by Valerio Massimo Manfredi).
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