The 300 Spartans - Wikipedia The 300 Spartans From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to navigation Jump to search 1962 film by Rudolph Maté This article is about the 1962 film. For the historical Spartan contingent, see Battle of Thermopylae. The 300 Spartans Theatrical release poster Directed by Rudolph Maté Produced by Rudolph Maté George St. George Screenplay by George St. George Story by Gian Paolo Callegari Remigio Del Grosso Giovanni d'Eramo Ugo Liberatore Starring Richard Egan Sir Ralph Richardson Diane Baker Barry Coe David Farrar Music by Manos Hadjidakis Cinematography Geoffrey Unsworth Edited by Jerry Webb Production company 20th Century Fox Distributed by 20th Century Fox Release date August 29, 1962 (1962-08-29) (US) Running time 114 min Country United States Language English Budget £500,000 (approximately $1,350,000.) Epitaph with Simonides' epigram (modern replica) The 300 Spartans is a 1962 CinemaScope epic film[1] depicting the Battle of Thermopylae. Made with the cooperation of the Greek government, it was shot in the village of Perachora in the Peloponnese. The working title was Lion of Sparta.[2] It stars Richard Egan as the Spartan king Leonidas, Sir Ralph Richardson as Themistocles of Athens and David Farrar as Persian king Xerxes, with Diane Baker as Ellas and Barry Coe as Phylon providing the requisite romantic element in the film. Greek warriors, led by 300 Spartans, fight against a Persian army of almost limitless size. Despite the odds, the Spartans will not flee or surrender, even if it means their deaths. When it was released in 1962, critics saw the movie as a commentary on the Cold War,[3] referring to the independent Greek states as "the only stronghold of freedom remaining in the then known world", holding out against the Persian "slave empire". Contents 1 Plot 2 Main cast 3 Production 4 Release 5 Other adaptions 6 Legacy 7 See also 8 References 9 External links Plot[edit] King Xerxes of Persia leads a vast army of soldiers into Europe to defeat the small city-states of Greece, not only to fulfill the idea of "one world ruled by one master", but also to avenge the defeat of his father Darius at the Battle of Marathon ten years before. Accompanying him are Artemisia, the Queen of Halicarnassus, who beguiles Xerxes with her feminine charm, and Demaratus, an exiled king of Sparta, to whose warnings Xerxes pays little heed. In Corinth, Themistocles of Athens wins the support of the Greek allies and convinces both the delegates and the Spartan representative, warrior king Leonidas I, to grant Sparta leadership of their forces. Outside the hall, Leonidas and Themistocles agree to fortify the narrow pass at Thermopylae until the rest of the army arrives. After this, Leonidas learns of the Persian advance and travels to Sparta to spread the news and rally the rest of the troops. In Sparta, his fellow king Leotychidas is fighting a losing battle with the Ephors over the religious harvest festival of Carnea that is due to take place, with members of the council arguing that the army should wait until after the festival is over before it marches, while Leotychidas fears that by that time the Persians may have conquered Greece. Leonidas decides to march north immediately with his personal bodyguard of 300 men, who are exempt from the decisions of the Ephors and the Gerousia. They are subsequently reinforced by about 700 volunteer Thespians led by Demophilus and few other Greek allies. After several days of fighting, Xerxes grows angry as his army is repeatedly routed by the Greeks, with the Spartans in the forefront. Leonidas receives word sent by his wife that, by decision of the Ephors, the remainder of the Spartan army, rather than joining him as he had expected, will only fortify the isthmus in the Peloponnese and will advance no further. The Greeks constantly beat back the Persians, and following the defeat of most of his personal bodyguard in battle against the Spartans plus the killing/death of Xerxes' own two brothers, Xerxes begins to consider withdrawing to Sardis until he can equip a larger force at a later date. He prepares to withdraw, as advised by Artemesia (who, having a Greek mother, has her own agenda to dissuade the king from continuing the invasion). Xerxes, however, receives word from the treacherous and avaricious Ephialtes of a secret old goat-track through the mountains that will enable his forces to attack the Greeks from the rear. Promising to richly reward the traitorous goatherd for his betrayal (just as Ephialtes had expected) an emboldened Xerxes sends his army onward. Once Leonidas realizes he will be surrounded, he sends away the Greek allies to alert the cities to the south. Being too few to hold the pass, the Spartans instead attack the Persian front, where Xerxes is nearby. Leonidas is killed in the melée. Meanwhile, the Thespians, who had refused to leave, are overwhelmed (offscreen) while defending the rear. Surrounded, the surviving Spartans refuse Xerxes's demand to give up Leonidas' body. They are then all annihilated as the remaining Immortals rain down a barrage of arrowfire. After this, narration states that the Battle of Salamis and the Battle of Plataea end the Persian invasion, but that the Greeks could not have been organized and victorious without the time bought by the 300 Spartans who defied the tyranny of Xerxes at Thermopylae. One of the final images of the film is the stone memorial bearing the epigram of Simonides of Ceos, which the narrator recites in honour of the slain 300 Spartan men's bravery : "Oh stranger, tell the Spartans that we lie here obedient to their word." Then ends with : "...But it was more than a victory for Greece, it was a stirring example to free people throughout the world of what a few brave men can accomplish once they refuse to submit to tyranny!" Main cast[edit] Richard Egan as King Leonidas of Sparta Ralph Richardson as Themistocles of Athens Diane Baker as Ellas, daughter of Pentheus Barry Coe as Phyllon, Spartan in love with Ellas David Farrar as King Xerxes of Persia Donald Houston as Hydarnes, leader of the Persian Immortals Anna Synodinou as Queen Gorgo of Sparta Kieron Moore as Ephialtes of Trachis, farm worker & Greek traitor John Crawford as Agathon, Spartan spy and soldier Robert Brown as Pentheus, Leonidas' second-in-command Laurence Naismith a Greek delegate Anne Wakefield as Artemisia, Queen of Halicarnassus Ivan Triesault as Demaratus, exiled former King of Sparta Charles Fernley Fawcett as Megistias, Spartan priest Michalis Nikolinakos as Myron, a Spartan Sandro Giglio as Xenathon, a Spartan Ephor Dimos Starenios as Samos, a goatherd Anna Raftopoulou as Toris, Samos' wife Yorgos Moutsios as Demophilus, leader of the Thespians Nikos Papakonstantinou as Grellas, a Spartan in Xerxes' camp John G. Contes as Artovadus, Persian general Marietta Flemotomos as a Greek woman Kostas Baladimas as Mardonius, Persian general Zannino as Athenian citizen, Persian general Production[edit] This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2016) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) The battle scenes were shot around Vouliagmenis Lagoon [4] (north of Loutraki and the Corinth Canal and west of the village of Perachora; northwest of Athens)--not to be confused with the much smaller Lake Vouliagmeni, due south of Athens. The northern Corinthian site doubled as Thermopylae and the surrounding areas as it had become impossible to shoot at the actual location in Thermopylae. The passage of 2,500 years of the receding coastline turned the strait where the actual battle was fought in 480 BCE into a broad coastal plain facing the Malian Gulf adding about 3.5 kilometers of dry land to the coastline by mid-20th century. The Greek Defense Ministry agreed to make available to the producers up to 5,000 members of the Hellenic Army for a pre-negotiated fee. However, the film's budgetary constraints reduced the numbers drawn to only two battalions (approximately 1,100 men). The largest establishing scenes, of the Persian Army entering Greece, utilized many of these soldiers, together with a combined total of several hundred civilian extras, horses, cattle, ox carts, and chariots. For the wider establishing scenes of the battle, one battalion was retained to play both Greeks (about 450 soldier-extras) and Persians (some 650 soldiers). For closer compositions of the fighting and encampments, military extras were called (call-sheeted) by company-size or smaller units, in meeting the specific needs of the day's shooting schedule. Director of Photography Geoffrey Unsworth made good use of the tree groves, which lined the coastal plain aside the Limni Vouliagmeni[5] lagoon, to cover for the obvious deficiency in the number of troops that would have been amassed on the Persian-side of the battle line.[citation needed] Originally developed as an Italian sword-and-sandal project, the cooperation and blessing of the Greek government allowed the producers to both finance and complete the production on a budget of 500,000 GBP (equivalent to £10,745,341 in 2019) or approximately US$1,350,000 (equivalent to $11,410,396 in 2019), roughly twice for what most Italian peplum films were being made at the time. The 300 Spartans was the last film of Richard Egan's seven-year contract with 20th Century Fox. It was also the last film appearance of David Farrar, who then chose to retire from acting.[citation needed] Release[edit] In 1970, despite the attributed Cold War connotations, the film was dubbed in Russian and shown in the USSR. The film proved to be very popular, with 27.1 million total viewers.[6] Other adaptions[edit] Comic book -Dell Movie Classic: Lion of Sparta (January 1963)[7][8] Novelisation - John Burke - The 300 Spartans Signet, New York; First Printing edition (1962)[9] Legacy[edit] Frank Miller's 1998 graphic novel 300 depicts the same Battle of Thermopylae. The comic artist saw The 300 Spartans as a boy and said "it changed the course of my creative life".[10] In 2006, his book was adapted into a successful film of the same name directed by Zack Snyder.[11] See also[edit] List of American films of 1962 List of historical drama films 300, 2006 film 300: Rise of an Empire, 2014 film List of films based on military books (pre-1775) References[edit] ^ Halliwell, Leslie, Halliwell’s Film Guide, second edition, Granada, London, 1977 p. 881 ^ "The 300 Spartans (1962): Notes". Turner Classic Movies. ^ Beam, Alex (8 March 2007). "Meanwhile: Hot times at the 'Hot Gates'". International Herald Tribune. Retrieved 2007-06-03. ^ http://www.western-locations-spain.com/genre/epic/index.htm ^ http://www.western-locations-spain.com/genre/epic/index.htm ^ Kinopoisk.ru. Retrieved from http://www.kinopoisk.ru/top/lists/184/film/64043/page/6/#film64043. ^ Dell Movie Classic: Lion of Sparta at the Grand Comics Database ^ Dell Movie Classic: Lion of Sparta at the Comic Book DB (archived from the original) ^ https://www.amazon.com/300-Spartans-John-Burke/dp/B000MU4J8W%7C ^ UnderGroundOnline interview Archived 2007-03-19 at the Wayback Machine ^ Ito, Robert (November 26, 2006). "The Gore of Greece, Torn From a Comic". The New York Times. External links[edit] The 300 Spartans on IMDb The 300 Spartans (1962) at DBCult Film Institute The 300 Spartans! at AllMovie The 300 Spartans publicity photos at 300spartanwarriors.com v t e Films directed by Rudolph Maté It Had to Be You (1947) The Dark Past (1948) D.O.A. (1949) No Sad Songs for Me (1950) Union Station (1950) Branded (1950) The Prince Who Was a Thief (1951) When Worlds Collide (1951) The Green Glove (1952) Sally and Saint Anne (1952) Paula (1952) The Mississippi Gambler (1953) Second Chance (1953) Forbidden (1953) Siege at Red River (1954) The Black Shield of Falworth (1954) The Violent Men (1955) The Far Horizons (1955) The Rawhide Years (1955) Miracle in the Rain (1956) Port Afrique (1956) Three Violent People (1956) The Deep Six (1958) For the First Time (1959) Revak the Rebel (1960) The 300 Spartans (1962) Seven Seas to Calais (1962) Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_300_Spartans&oldid=996681281" Categories: 1962 films English-language films 1960s historical films American films American historical films Classical war films Battle of Thermopylae American epic films Epic films based on actual events Films set in ancient Greece Films shot in Greece Films set in the 5th century BC 20th Century Fox films Films directed by Rudolph Maté Siege films Films adapted into comics 1960s war adventure films Historical epic films Films scored by Manos Hatzidakis Cultural depictions of Leonidas I Hidden categories: Webarchive template wayback links Articles with short description Short description matches Wikidata Template film date with 1 release date Pages using infobox film with unknown empty parameters Articles needing additional references from March 2016 All articles needing additional references All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from January 2019 Navigation menu Personal tools Not logged in Talk Contributions Create account Log in Namespaces Article Talk Variants Views Read Edit View history More Search Navigation Main page Contents Current events Random article About Wikipedia Contact us Donate Contribute Help Learn to edit Community portal Recent changes Upload file Tools What links here Related changes Upload file Special pages Permanent link Page information Cite this page Wikidata item Print/export Download as PDF Printable version Languages العربية Azərbaycanca Català Deutsch Español Français 한국어 Hrvatski Bahasa Indonesia Italiano Magyar Bahasa Melayu Nederlands 日本語 Polski Português Русский Simple English Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски Türkçe Edit links This page was last edited on 28 December 2020, at 01:47 (UTC). 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