“300″ is the film adaptation of the historically-inspired comic book of the same title which was written and illustrated by Frank Miller.
Both movie and comic book are the fictional versions of the Battle of Thermopylae which occurred in 480 BC. This historical event happened at the pass of Thermopylae where the alliance of Greek city-states fought the invading Persian Empire. The Greeks were then led by a small force commanded by King Leonidas I of Sparta while the Persians massive army was headed by Xerxes of Persia. These events were also the inspiration for the 1962 film “The 300 Spartans” which Frank Miller watched when he was still a young boy. Miller’s fascination with this film led him to write and illustrate the comic book series. This graphic novel was subsequently discovered by Gianni Nunnari who acquired its film rights. Nunnari together with Mark Canton produced the 2007 film adaptation of “300.”
Frank Miller, who is also famous for his work on another graphic novel series entitled “Sin City,” wrote and illustrated “300″ in the late 1990s. It was published as a monthly five-issue comic book limited series by Dark Horse Comics in 1998. The issues entitled Honor, Duty, Glory, Combat and Victory were then collected for a hardcover volume in 1999.
The comic book series “300″ is basically about the battle that happened between the small army of 300 led by King Leonidas of Sparta and the massive army of Persia led by King Xerxes at the pass or hot gates of Thermopylae. However, it illustrated how as few as 300 can actually stand against a powerful army with thousands of soldiers and how brave Leonidas and the 300 Spartans were for defending the hot gates and for dying to the last man by arrows.
Even though Miller’s “300″ was criticized for being historically inaccurate and for its negative take on homosexuality, Gianni Nunnari bought the movie rights and made plans for its production with other producers, writers and director Zack Snyder. Similar to the film version of “Sin City,” “300″ was filmed as a shot-for-shot adaptation of the comic book.
If you are familiar with the comic book, you will see that iconic moments from the illustrations were precisely captured on film. A mixture of live action, animatronics, blue screens and special effects were the factors used to complete the movie version of “300″ which entirety was shot for 60 days with a budget of US$60 million and was released by Warner Bros. in December of 2005.
For some “300 The Movie” costumes, memorablia, and other accessories, drop by the “300 The Movie” section at realmcollections.com.