Video: “300″ — the second trailer
posted at 3:10 pm on February 17, 2007 by Allahpundit
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Ian posted the first one last month. This one picks up shortly before the battle of Thermopylae, when the citizens of Sparta passed a non-binding resolution of no confidence in Leonidas in an effort to “slow bleed” his defense against the Persians.
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Stephen Pressfield’s Gates of Fire. Read it.
Ugly on February 17, 2007 at 3:18 PM
Next the nutroots claim it is the wingnuts preparing us for war against Iran. It won’t matter that it was published 2 years before 9/11. It is obviously just another Rover conspiracy to get us into another military adventure.
Can’t wait to see it. Blood and guts. Just what my daddy raised me on.
Limerick on February 17, 2007 at 3:21 PM
Also read ‘Fires in the Sky’ by Parotti.
Limerick on February 17, 2007 at 3:23 PM
Fun factoid: Miller’s graphic novel cites to Victor Davis Hanson’s “The Western Way of War” as recommended reading.
In other news: This is warporn at its finest.
armylawyer on February 17, 2007 at 3:38 PM
300? It’s over. Kevin Harvick won. The 500 is tomorrow.
db on February 17, 2007 at 4:00 PM
Now I know what I’m gonna do with that free movie pass I got.
Imagine the democrats standing and fighting. Ha! First they’d threaten “serious consequences” then they’d surrender.
On the plus side, the modern day dems would have been terrific slaves for the Persians back in the day; spineless, weak kneed, minions.
Mojave Mark on February 17, 2007 at 4:00 PM
The Persians are going to push Sparta into the sea, right? Then they’re going to hold a worldwide conference debating if the Socrates Enlightenment actually happened?
At what point in the story does the kid come out of the well?
Nethicus on February 17, 2007 at 4:06 PM
Madness?
THIS.
IS.
SPARTAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!
Yeah, this is warporn. But after all they are spartans. And spartans fight.
Keljeck on February 17, 2007 at 4:07 PM
Yes and Jane Fonda makes a guest appearance on a Persian ballista.
Limerick on February 17, 2007 at 4:08 PM
Herodotus reports that just before the Battle of Thermoplyae, a Spartan warrior named Dienekes was told that the Persian archers could blank out the sun with their arrows. He replied “Good, then we shall have our battle in the shade.”
Glynn on February 17, 2007 at 4:13 PM
Are you serious!
Glynn on February 17, 2007 at 4:20 PM
No Glynn…thank goodness no!
As for your line above;
Unfortunately Marcus Crassus repeated that line to his legions to boost their morale just before they were wiped out a Carrhae.
Limerick on February 17, 2007 at 4:22 PM
Dude, that is so clearly “Islamic Rage Boy” in the screencap on the homepage.
see-dubya on February 17, 2007 at 4:37 PM
Maybe he will be overdubbed yelling Allah ahkbar in the next AQ victory video.
Limerick on February 17, 2007 at 4:39 PM
Thank goodness, is right! I love that line though, don’t you? The whole Spartan history fascinates me. Imagine being raised from birth to die. I should have been born a man!
Glynn on February 17, 2007 at 4:52 PM
As a loyal Spartan, I am extremely proud. ;)
SpartRan on February 17, 2007 at 5:00 PM
Spartan lovers should read VDH’s “A War Like No Other.”
Vinnie on February 17, 2007 at 5:58 PM
I am glad this one was in English.
iNeXuS on February 17, 2007 at 6:15 PM
Ugly,
Shoot, I have that book on my shelf. Need to read it soon.
jaleach on February 17, 2007 at 6:21 PM
Can we start a collection box to buy tickets for Pelosi, Murtha and Co.?
On the other hand there might be other ways to spend the money that would give a greater return on investment.
mkstach on February 17, 2007 at 6:50 PM
Second. Outstanding book.
Slublog on February 17, 2007 at 6:56 PM
I second that … along with a number of other VDH books which are also required reading. ‘The Soul of Battle’ and ‘Carnage and Culture’ are strongly recommended from this corner.
thirteen28 on February 17, 2007 at 7:04 PM
I’ll get to them books right after I get done with these here Shakespears!
sonnyspats1 on February 17, 2007 at 8:37 PM
The “we will fight in the shade” line is in the movie…
armylawyer on February 17, 2007 at 9:15 PM
The world was a better place back then…Islam didn’t exist.
CyberCipher on February 17, 2007 at 9:55 PM
Alright then! That does it, I will have to see it. The cinematography has a strange quasi-computer animation about it, or is it just me?
Glynn on February 17, 2007 at 10:07 PM
MOLON LABE!!!!
Yakko77 on February 17, 2007 at 10:51 PM
Glynn:
Most of the backgrounds and mass battles (at least the background) were CGI.
I think they had two days of on-location shooting, everything else was on set.
Since Matrix/LOTR, the possibilities for replicating mass drama in a studio have exploded – it saves an awful lot of money, and reduces risk of injury (though on a film like this…).
Merovign on February 17, 2007 at 11:08 PM
You know what this thread needs? Partisan bickering!
Nonfactor on February 17, 2007 at 11:37 PM
I wanna see this movie!
flagwaver on February 18, 2007 at 12:39 AM
Then that explains it. Thanks!
That was a good laugh to end the night!
Glynn on February 18, 2007 at 1:59 AM
Fools, sleep tight……….
I respect you all and pray for all our children, but this movie, has a “wring” to it…..
Some may see my entries to this “Blog” as a “war monger”, yet let the feces from the “Global Warming” crowd go un questioned……
Limerick has a point, and don’t dismiss it……
Let me ask you this question, and I would appreciate it if everyone would answer………..
“Would you fight for your country?”
“Would you die for this country?”
“Would you fight and possibly die for the freedom and lives of your children?”
“Would you take interest, if you could not fight, in the politics of the country that you live?”
“Would you not educate yourself, completely, instead of twenty minutes of the CBS evening news to find out what is going in in this world, to protect, defend, your children?”
Finally……..
“Why, does it take a movie like this, to instll action……. Oh, I thought movies don’t do that, as long as they are liberal…….”
I’ll get the pop corn…….
PinkyBigglesworth on February 18, 2007 at 3:05 AM
{Crickets Chirping………..}
Maybe it’s just too late……….
PinkyBigglesworth on February 18, 2007 at 4:05 AM
Been there. Done that first time around in GW1. Viper driver.
In the infamous words of Patton, I’d prefer to make the other bastard die for his.
As I said, served 8 years already, but dude. Chill. It’s a movie.
Or maybe it’s just too early for such over the top hyperbole over a a cool looking movie. Not everything has to be a metaphor for the current politics of the day. Some days it’s nice to just go to the theater and see some good warporn.
Faith1 on February 18, 2007 at 7:01 AM
Pinky, yes to all your questions. As to this movie instilling action, I guess I don’t get your point. It’s my favorite time in history, the time of the Spartans and they are my favorite subject. In my case, it is as simple as that.
Glynn on February 18, 2007 at 8:05 AM
When you start to dig in to the history of this battle and the conflict in general, some interesting aspects turn up.
The Spartans were not suicidal.
A decision behind the stand of the 300 was to send a force that had sons to continue the bloodline. This decision coupled with other obligations to care for the country comprised a cohesive answer to questions seen above.
In short, there was no ambiguity.
It was not a “We support the troops but not the mission” decision. It was a “We support what is our unique entity that is Sparta”.
So a telling question at the basis of debates past and present should be “Do we (a presumed majority) support without nuance or ambiguity, the unique entity that is the United States?”
The answer at this time, for reasons that may include ignorance, foolishness, cynical self interest or a combination of the three, is no.
fng on February 18, 2007 at 10:24 AM
Pinky,
Good questions, all. The answers you get depend on whether or not one falls into the trap of “Bush Lied – People Died” or not. I never went for that line or the Congressional equivalent (”gee, if we’d only ‘known’ then what we ‘know’ now…” – a real knee-slapper), nor do I get my news from CBS, ABC, NBC, CNN or al-Jezeera. Even so, I’m completely disgusted at the way the war effort in Iraq seems to have been improperly planned, managed and fought. What bothers me even more, however, is the Bush Administration’s inability to get the word out when things in Iraq are going well – and that’s despite the efforts of the media and the Democrats to try to deny any legitimacy to anything the Bush Administration does or tries to do (thereby absolving themselves of any responsibility whatsoever for the results). Bush should have taken the kid gloves off the troops long ago, so that everyone – as in “enemies both foreign and domestic” – understands that we’re fighting to win it and end it, rather than “not to lose,” which, like a prevent defense in football, never works. As for the movie, I don’t consider it a motivator that necessarily spurs one to action. It’s a nice diversion, but that’s all. You’re either determined to do whatever is necessary to win, or you aren’t. I suspect you know which side of the fence I’m on.
SpartRan on February 18, 2007 at 10:51 AM
Pinky:
First of all the answer to your first five questions is ‘yes’. I think I still have a steel pot around here somewhere. The last question, well, I think we read too much into this movie. From what I take from the story(the actual 300 graphic novel by Miller) is that he is taking a look at the ‘warrior’ ethos, period. It was published in 99.
If you think it is about Iran vs the U.S. then you are wrong. It is a 3000 year old tale of ‘days of yore’.
I am not the ‘On Golden Pond’ kinda guy. Give me ‘Rollerball’.
Limerick on February 18, 2007 at 11:13 AM
The Virginian, Owen Wister
Red Badge of Courage, Stephen Crane
Killer Angels, Michael Shaara
Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors, James Hornfisher
High Noon, (1952)
Duty, Honor, Justice
Better yet: New anti-war man Clint Eastwood..’Deserving has nothing to do with it’.
Limerick on February 18, 2007 at 11:24 AM
I enjoy tales of the warrior spirit as much as the next guy, but does the movie show the injustice of the Spartan society towards the Helots?
tommylotto on February 18, 2007 at 12:18 PM
tommylotto,
here we go…..close to 30 centuries later…injustice. Name ONE…just ONE society who didn’t do something to somebody?….21st Century PC horsepotatoes.
Limerick on February 18, 2007 at 12:34 PM
See you guys have it all wrong. Nutroots won’t see themselves as the Spartans they will use the movie to make the analogy that the US = Persians and the terrorists = the Spartans. And thus the circle of self loathing will be complete.
bj1126 on February 18, 2007 at 1:02 PM
Hey, I wasn’t complaining. I was just wondering if this cartoonish version of this story would be cleaned up to make it simply black vs. white, good v. evil, or whether they would show the Spartans as they were.
I wish I had a Helot society slaving away for me so I could enjoy my warrior life of luxury. Oh yea, I live in Southern California. That is what illegal aliens are for.
tommylotto on February 18, 2007 at 2:24 PM
I chuckled at this. But then I realized it’s not funny.
Once upon a time, the one thing any society could be counted on was to support its warriors.
That time is apparently gone.
It is one of the best books I have ever read. Words can’t describe how good it is.
And for the record, everything Pressfield writes is outstanding. His novel about Alcibiades was almost as good, and I’m just starting the one on Alexander the Great – and so far, it’s also outstanding.
But “Gates of Fire” is in a league of its own. Along with The Killer Angels (about Gettysburg), its some of the best historical fiction on the planet.
Professor Blather on February 18, 2007 at 2:39 PM
ΜOΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ indeed!
The Democrats need rework that into a slogan of thier own:
Al Queda: Leave and hand over your weapons!
Democrats: Come get them, we will gladly had them over.
Somebody work that up in Greek.
Lucid1 on February 18, 2007 at 2:48 PM
Molon Labe, baby!!!
Barntender on February 18, 2007 at 2:53 PM
Probably not. It’s their movie, and the writer(s) are paid to write a movie that tells the story they want to tell. Kind of like the media – you know pretty much what sort of slant you’re going to get from any media outlet, regardless whether it’s CNN, ABC et al, or FOX (which I trust more than the others, but I’m at a point where I increasingly see problems with their take on things – which occasionally borders on laughable – as well). FWIW, the continuing decline in newspaper circulation numbers says a lot, and gone are the days when much of America took Walter Cronkite’s word on things. But I’m not sure what the alternative will be down the road.
SpartRan on February 18, 2007 at 4:03 PM
Who the hell cares?
Darth Executor on February 18, 2007 at 4:52 PM
California was practically built on the back of slaves, Indian, Mexican, Chinese, and the list goes on. Look at the Romans. Look at modern day Saudi Arabia.
Glynn on February 18, 2007 at 4:56 PM
Most of the world used slaves at one point or another.
Darth Executor on February 18, 2007 at 5:06 PM
Maybe they will do a sequel about Sparta after the freeing of the Helots and proud Sparta was so disfunctional it was reduced to doing S/M shows for the conquering Roman tourists.
tommylotto on February 18, 2007 at 5:46 PM
Because of the valor and sacrifice of the Spartan 300, which made it possible for the Greeks necessary to defeat the Persians, Greek democracy could live. That is the lesson of the Spartan 300. It was Sparta’s finest moment. Far less glorious chapters followed due to the inequities of Spartan society. But that does not alter the magnificence of the moment of the Spartan 300.
Phil Byler on February 18, 2007 at 5:55 PM
Stand and fight; no retreat. Think United States Marines.
Phil Byler on February 18, 2007 at 6:00 PM
tommylotto: Go play Civ4 and feel morally superior by not choosing the “Slavery” Civic once you research Bronze Working.
In the real world… perhaps you could show where we have a genetic memory of what The Right Thing is or just accept that part of building a civilization has been trying to figure that out. As noted before by others, going to the Spartans to learn about slavery is a bit redundant because there are many other examples you could learn from as well.
I wouldn’t want to be ruled by Spartans. I definitely want my nation’s military to try to be as tough and brave as they were.
Patrick Chester on February 18, 2007 at 6:12 PM
Since we’re suggesting books to each other, along with Mr. Pressfield’s outstanding novel, I would suggest The Prince by Jerry Pournelle and S.M. Stirling. If you can’t find that, try Falkenberg’s Legion by Pournelle (the first half of the omnibus Prince). Good battle scenes, good military theory in the vein of Heinlein and all pretty easy to digest. The Prince has some AWESOME excerpts on terrorism v. insurgency as well. A lot of the beginning chapter quotes are taken from modern and classical military theorists and historians, so ignore the somewhat dated sci fi setting and just enjoy the fighting and information.
Oh, and the final volume was published in 1993, so no modern politics more recent than Gulf War I. Good stuff!
Militant Bibliophile on February 18, 2007 at 7:32 PM
Other than the toughness of their hoplites while fighting in phalax, there was nothing to admire. Sort of like a socialist hippie commune with slaves and spears.
P.S. Civ4 is for nerds, real warriors play Rome Total War. There you can see how the phlanx get cut up by Roman cohorts.
tommylotto on February 18, 2007 at 7:41 PM
I have to say they’re appealing to the proper demographic. After all, two women kissing bracketed by scenes of violence is what it’s all about baby.
NPP on February 18, 2007 at 8:19 PM
The two women kissing look ugly and Persian (redundant, I know).
Darth Executor on February 18, 2007 at 9:14 PM
Lets see tommylotto….
30 centuries of later, with the benefit of all the philosophy and religion and political evolution as a basis of judging the ‘injustice’ of Sparta might make sense to you, but not to me.
Yours is the ‘American Indians were Pan’ argument. No, they were a collection of stone age tribal societies full of all the same ‘injustice’ as the Spartans.
As you are a lawyer I seem to feel that you regret there aren’t any Helot ambulances to chase. Think of the settlement you could have gotten out of the treasury at Delphi. Boggles the mind.
Limerick on February 18, 2007 at 9:27 PM
There is one thing I’m wondering if the movie will show. Granted there were only 300 Spartans but there were also 7000 other Greeks there as well. The Spartans were definitly the front line though.
Faith1 on February 18, 2007 at 9:54 PM
The graphic novel depicts the Greeks involved in the battle.
The movie? Dunno.
Limerick on February 18, 2007 at 9:59 PM
So exactly what type of society was Leonidas fighting for at Thermapole: big government, non-existant families, lebianism, pederasty, and abortion on demand (later term was 18 months old). Sounds more like San Francisco…
I’m not some liberal troll. I’m a history buff and a movie buff. I think Sparta was interesting, but it should not be used as a symbol of the superiority of West over East in today’s geopolitical struggle. They were freaks — and not in a good way. Now, Rome was a civilization. They were bad asses on the battlefield and left thier mark from Scotland to Iraq.
tommylotto on February 18, 2007 at 9:59 PM
tommylotto…
you won’t find a bigger Rome-phile then me. We owe just about everything to her. From our marriage customs to our concepts of military prowness. She was a mess and a great woman all at the same time. I just have a problem with putting 21st century morals on non 21st century society.
Here…let me buy you a beer. I might need your services one day.
Limerick on February 18, 2007 at 10:07 PM
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