Long before #ReleaseTheSnyderCut was ever even an idea, Zack Snyder was just a promising director that had exploded onto the screen with his electric remake of the George A. Romero zombie classic Dawn of the Dead. While that film showcased some serious directorial style, it was with his follow-up where he cemented himself as a visionary director with his own unique eye. With 300, Snyder showcased how films could be crafted to bring to life comic books in a way few mainstream films had attempted before. Creative genius Frank Miller had provided the template for Snyder to work from with his groundbreaking graphic novel of the same name, and, much like Sin City, the film transported audiences straight to the page. The results were thrilling, providing a bombastic showcase of stylized violence and engaging storytelling that catapulted the film to be a box office phenomenon. Without the success of 300, it is extremely likely that DCEU would look remarkably different today. As Warner Bros. gives this landmark film the 4K UHD treatment, we look back at what a visceral piece of filmmaking it was.
The story is framed by the Spartan warrior Dilios (David Wenham), who stands proudly as a survivor of the Battle of Thermopylae, as he regales his men with tales from the life of King Leonidas of Sparta (Gerard Butler). Sparta is an unforgiving land of warriors where you must be equipped to kill or be killed. Leonidas knows this better than most, as harsh details from his upbringing are shown in unflinching detail on his path to leadership. Now, with his wife, Queen Gorgo (Lena Headey), by his side, Leonidas rules Sparta with a dignified power that commands the respect of his people. When an envoy to King Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro), supreme ruler of Persia, arrives in Sparta to collect tribute to the good king, a proud and headstrong Leonidas kicks him into a pit setting up a major confrontation. Although Leonidas is told via an Oracle and The Ephors that he cannot mobilize Sparta’s army, Leonidas gathers three hundred Spartans to act as his “bodyguards.” They may be smaller in number, but the Spartans will soon show their adversaries that pure skill can decimate a larger quantity of soldiers under the right leadership.
One of the aspects of 300 that has always stuck with me is how gloriously beautiful the violence is served up against an illustrated background. As odd as it may sound, viewing the film is like watching a ballet of pugnacious excess where every spear thrown and every sword wielded is woven into this delicate dance. If ever there was a movie that benefited from Snyder’s hyper realized style, it is definitely this one. While it is true that he is mostly following the blueprint of the graphic novel, the fact that he was able to breathe three dimensional life into those pages is staggering. He must also be given credit for employing a sure hand in the editing room, as the film moves along at a brisk pace that leaves room for character development without losing the momentum of the action. This movie could have settled on being big, flashy fun, which it is, but there truly is something special going on behind the eyes that keeps the experience from being a flash in the pan.
Aside from the strong work of technical filmmaking at play, the film also delivers in the narrative arc and the performances. Gerard Butler has never been known as someone likely to give an award-winning performance, but he is generally quite good at what he does. Depending on the film, he can typically bring quite a bit of charisma to a two-dimensional role. As Leonidas, Butler delivers arguably his performance due to the ways in which it plays to his strengths. Butler can convincingly play a tough guy, which is most of this film, but he also has enough presence on screen to bring some emotion to the story as a leader of men and as a husband. Lena Headey likewise found a place to shine in her expanded role, giving a bit of a preview of what was to come in Game of Thrones. The story of the three-hundred Spartans at the Battle of Thermopylae is known to history, but the way in which it plays out on film retains its poignancy in the end. Many may try to dismiss 300 as all style and no substance, but nothing could be further from the truth. At the end of the day, the film is one of the most watchable big-budget epics to come out of the 2000s.
Video Quality
The 4K UHD Blu-Ray of 300 offers a noticeable uptick in quality in almost every respect over the already strong accompanying Blu-Ray. The film has one of the most stylized looks of any film in the last several decades, and this transfer honors the artistic intent beautifully. The improvement in the black levels are especially strong in this presentation, staying deep and inky with excellent detail. When compared to Blu-Ray, the 4K version allows for way more depth, clarity and stability to the image. It must be noted, though, that the film is entirely digitally enhanced with different standards for contrast and real and artificial film grain that makes it difficult to compare to other 4K discs. The image is as gorgeous as the source material will allow, and it makes you appreciate the stylistic choices even more. The highlights are balanced with no instances of blooming to be found. The very specific color palette of the film puts the High Dynamic Range to good use. There is a lot of stubble and facial hair going on in this movie, and with this presentation you can see the fine detail of each gentleman’s face. This is a very natural looking transfer that gives the film a three dimensional feel that’s a marked improvement from the Blu-Ray.
Audio Quality
The 4K UHD Blu-Ray disc comes with a lively Dolby Atmos presentation that handles the action incredibly well. The track offers expert level immersion into the environment so that even the subtlest elements are represented. The Atmos presentation takes full advantage of the expanded channel allotment. Directionality of sound is never an issue with this track, and dialogue is reproduced with supreme clarity. All of the sounds are balanced well during the action sequences from hand-to-hand combat to soaring arrows. The many battles and other such kinetic moments provide a fantastic amount of activity in the low end. Speakers are subjected to a full-on sonic throttling throughout the duration of the presentation while providing a fully realized world to sink into. The audio presentation is just as impressive as the visual one.
Special Features
- Audio Commentary: Director Zack Snyder, writer Kurt Johnstad and director of photography Larry Fong provide a track filled with technically rich details from the production. This track is heavily dominated by Snyder, who walks you through pretty much every aspect of each shot. Snyder is a fanboy in the best way, and you can tell how much care he put into adapting this story.
- The 300 – Fact or Fiction?: A twenty-five-minute look at the film in comparison to real-life historical events with the cast, crew and historians. Snyder and author Frank Miller explain how they tried to stay true to the broad strokes of the facts while creating a compelling narrative. The most interesting part is seeing how accurate large portions of the film are to what history believes to be true.
- Who Were The Spartans? – The Warriors of 300: A five-minute look at the customs of the Spartans and how the cast and creative team used that knowledge to mould the characters. It is enlightening to learn how much they differed from other Greeks.
- Preparing For Battle – The Original Test Footage: A seven-minute conversation with Snyder in which he discusses how he used Miller’s images to convince Warner Bros. to take a chance on the film. The footage that they showed the studio to get the film greenlit is provided here with voiceover work from actor Scott Glenn, and it looks great.
- Frank Miller Tapes: A fifteen-minute look at the career of Frank Miller as explored by those who have worked with him. This is a loving overview of what makes Miller’s method of storytelling so special complete with what inspires him to create and more.
- Making Of 300: A six-minute look at how the cast and crew went about tackling an adaptation of Frank Miller’s epic graphic novel. Nothing too substantive in here, but it is enjoyable to hear the participant speak excitedly about the project.
- Making 300 In Images: A nearly four-minute journey through the production as revealed through rapidly shown stills that detail a lot of fun behind-the-scenes shots.
- Webisodes: Twelve featurettes totaling 38 minutes are provided here covering elements such as production design, wardrobe, stunt work, the actors and more. These offer up many compelling tidbits that should please fans of the film.
- Deleted Scenes: Three scenes totaling three minutes are provided here with an introduction to each by Snyder. Two of these are focused on Ephialtes with a final one being an extra bonkers action scene. According to Snyder, these were cut for either pacing issues or because they didn’t want the film to be even more outlandish.
Final Thoughts
300 is a thoroughly entertaining action epic that stands as a high point in the career of Zack Snyder. This is a film that fully utilizes his incredible visual style to perfection. Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has delivered an incredible 4K UHD Blu-Ray with an A+ audio/visual presentation and fascinating legacy extras. This is by far the best home entertainment release the film has ever received, and fans of the film will find it a most worthy upgrade. Highly Recommended
300 is currently available to purchase on 4K UHD Blu-Ray and Digital.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the 4K UHD Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.
