Based on Frank Miller's graphic novel, this stylized retelling of the Battle of Thermopylae depicts the titanic clash between King Leonidas of Sparta and the massive Persian army led by the god-king Xerxes. Despite being vastly outnumbered, Leonidas gathers 300 of his finest warriors to make a suicide stand in a narrow canyon, hoping their sacrifice will inspire all of Greece to unite against the invading empire.
Information |
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Language |
English |
Country |
United States |
Premiere date |
March 9, 2007 |
Running time |
117 minutes |
Genre |
Action History War Fantasy |
Budget |
$65,000,000 |
Box Office |
$456,068,181 |
Crew |
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Directed by |
Zack Snyder |
Produced by |
Gianni Nunnari Mark Canton Bernie Goldmann Jeffrey Silver |
Written by |
Zack Snyder Kurt Johnstad Michael Gordon |
Music by |
Tyler Bates |
Cinematography |
Larry Fong |
Edited by |
William Hoy |
Production Co. |
Warner Bros. Pictures Legendary Pictures Virtual Studios |
Distributed by |
Warner Bros. Pictures |
Top Cast |
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Official Trailer |
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Movie Collection |
Movie Order: #01 in 300 Collection
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The Plot
The Wolf and the King
The saga begins with the brutal inspection of the infant Leonidas. As is the custom in Sparta, if he had been found puny or misshapen, he would have been discarded; instead, he is deemed fit to serve. At the age of seven, the boy is taken from his mother and inducted into the Agoge, the unforgiving military training regimen of the Spartans. His trials are harsh and violent, showcasing him brawling with other Spartan boys to harden his body and spirit. By the age of fifteen, the young warrior is cast out into the wilderness alone, a final test of survival where the rest of Sparta presumes him dead. In the freezing wild, he is stalked by a massive, demonic wolf. With fearless precision, the teenage Leonidas lures the beast into a narrow crevice and kills it, returning to Sparta not merely as a survivor, but to claim his rightful place as King.
The Persian Threat
Years later, King Leonidas, now a husband and father to a young boy, faces a new threat. An emissary arrives in Sparta accompanied by a heavily armed guard, bringing a message from King Xerxes of Persia. The emissary warns of the impending destruction of Sparta unless they submit to Persian rule. Leonidas, insulted by the threat and the demand for submission, defies the Persian empire. In a display of lethal resolve, he kills the emissary and his bodyguards, casting them all into a deep, bottomless pit within the city, effectively declaring war on the invading forces.
The Oracle's Betrayal
Knowing war is inevitable, Leonidas seeks the approval of the Ephors, the ancient, leprosy-ridden prophets who hold sway over Spartan law, to mobilize the army. He climbs the mountain to their temple, seeking permission to march. The Ephors consult their Oracle, a young woman kept in a trance-like state, and ultimately deny Leonidas permission. They claim that Sparta must honor the sacred religious festival of the Carneia, and that going to war during this time would doom the city to fall. Leonidas suspects the Ephors’ motives are impure and returns home bitterly. It is soon revealed that his suspicions were correct; the Ephors have been bribed with Persian gold by Xerxes’ agents to ensure Sparta remains defenseless.
A Free Man's Choice
Distraught by the shackles of religious law and political corruption, Leonidas laments his predicament to his wife, Queen Gorgo. She offers him wise counsel, urging him to "ask yourself, what would a free man do?" Emboldened, Leonidas formulates a plan. The next day, he gathers 300 of his finest soldiers—men who have already sired sons to carry on their lineage. Although the council has withheld permission for war, they cannot legally deny Leonidas the right to travel with a personal bodyguard. The councilmen know full well he intends to march to Thermopylae to fight, but they are bound by the law and cannot stop him.
The March to the Hot Gates
As Leonidas embarks on his journey with his 299 brethren toward the Hot Gates, Queen Gorgo remains behind in Sparta, taking on the difficult task of rallying the support of the council to send the rest of the Spartan army to aid the King. On the road, Leonidas is pleased to cross paths with a contingent of Arcadian soldiers. They had heard of the Spartans’ movement and sought to join forces against the Persian threat. Leonidas welcomes the Arcadians, though he pointedly highlights their lack of professional soldering compared to the lifelong warriors of Sparta. The combined Greek forces arrive at the Hot Gates just in time to witness a massive storm sink a significant portion of the Persian fleet, a sight that bolsters their morale.
The Wall of the Dead
The following morning, the Spartans are shocked to see that, despite the storm, a massive number of Persian ships have successfully landed on the beaches. To fortify their position at the narrow pass, the Spartans devise a gruesome plan to rebuild the Great Phoenician Wall. They use rocks and timber, but to the horror of a newly arrived Persian emissary, they use the bodies of slain Persian spies as mortar to fill the gaps. The sight serves as a terrifying message to Xerxes' army.
The First Waves
The Spartan's desecration of the bodies further instigates the conflict. Xerxes launches his first wave of troops, but the narrow terrain of the Hot Gates nullifies their numbers. The Spartans, fighting as a single, impenetrable unit, tear through the Persian infantry with ease. That night, frustrated by the failure, Xerxes counters by sending his elite guard, The Immortals. These masked, highly skilled warriors prove to be a much tougher challenge, and in the ensuing chaotic melee, a handful of Spartans are killed. However, the Spartans ultimately prevail, leaving Xerxes impressed and unsettled by their superhuman strength.
An Offer of Subservience
Xerxes seeks a personal audience with Leonidas. Meeting on neutral ground, the towering Persian God-King attempts to bribe the Spartan ruler. He offers Leonidas the title of Warlord over all of Greece, promising him power and wealth if he would only kneel. Leonidas refuses the offer flatly, recognizing that subservience to Xerxes, no matter the title, is in essence slavery. He mocks Xerxes' divinity and returns to his men, ensuring the war will continue.
Monsters and Tragedy
Enraged by the Spartans' boldness and defiance, Xerxes unleashes the full horror of his empire. He sends strange beasts from the farthest reaches of his dominion, including rhinos and elephants, crashing down upon the Greek lines. Despite being beaten back time and again, the sheer attrition begins to whittle down the Spartan forces. The battle takes a heartbreaking turn when Astinos, the young son of Captain Artemis, is brutally decapitated by a Persian cavalry rider. The death shakes the morale of the Spartans, particularly the Captain, but they channel their grief into rage and continue to hold the line.
The Traitor's Path
The fate of the 300 is sealed not by Persian might, but by Spartan betrayal. Ephialtes, a deformed hunchback whose parents fled Sparta to save him from infanticide, had previously approached Leonidas asking to join the fight to reclaim his father's honor. Leonidas was forced to decline, explaining gently that Ephialtes’ deformity prevented him from raising his shield high enough to protect the man to his left, creating a fatal flaw in the phalanx. Embittered and rejected, Ephialtes approaches Xerxes and reveals the existence of a secret goat path that leads behind the Spartan position. Xerxes rewards the traitor and immediately dispatches his troops to flank the Greeks.
The Final Stand
Realizing they are surrounded, Leonidas orders Dilios, his storyteller, to return to Sparta to tell their tale, saving him from the final slaughter. The next morning, Xerxes surrounds the remaining Spartans and offers one last chance to surrender. Leonidas appears to accept, dropping his shield and spear and kneeling before the God-King. However, it is a ruse. As he kneels, he calls out to his loyal soldier Stelios, who leaps off Leonidas’ back, thrusting a spear into a Persian general. In the confusion, Leonidas rises and hurls his spear directly at Xerxes. The weapon soars through the air and cuts across Xerxes' face, wounding him and making good on Leonidas' earlier promise to "make a king bleed." Furious, Xerxes orders his archers to fire. Leonidas and his men are obliterated by a sky-blackening hail of arrows, dying as free men.
The Battle of Plataea
Dilios, having returned to Sparta, stands before the council and the army, recounting the sacrifice of the 300 with inspiring words. His story ignites the fire of resistance across Greece. The film concludes on the fields of Plataea, where Dilios now leads 10,000 Spartans at the head of a massive force of 30,000 free Greeks. With the memory of Leonidas driving them, they charge headlong into the remaining Persian forces to end the war once and for all.
