The success of Warner Bros'. '300' has unleashed yet another
movie based on the last stand of the Battle of Thermopylae, as another spoof or
'mockumentary' entitled '305' is now available. The premise of this
comedy is that while an elite unit of 300 warriors from Sparta defends the pass
against the Persian army, five out of shape, nondescript and unassuming
Spartans will guard a goat path which can be used to surround the Greek forces.
Since '300' generated a lot of notoriety about the Battle of Thermopylae, its
revisionism in its portrayal of Xerxes the Great, the Persian and Greek
warriors, etc., provided a wealth of material which has been parodied, as can
be evidenced by the latest entries. Recently in January 2008, we were subjected
to 20th Century Fox's 'Meet the Spartans'which climbed to number one in its
first week of release, however, its box office receipts most likely owed more
to the success of the controversial '300' movie than its inane content.
Shortly thereafter, ‘Meet the Spartans’ which lampooned the aforementioned
film, faded into oblivion as the reviews and word of mouth mercifully ended its
brief run.
As '300' broke movie records around the world, Daniel and David Holechek posted
a five minute video spoof of the Warner Bros. movie on the popular website
YouTube. As this viral attracted over 4 million views, it caught the
attention of Rivet Productions who offered the brothers a chance to expand the
topic, which led to their full-length feature. According to the Internet
Movie Database, the budget for '305' was $250,000 which is a relatively small
figure by Hollywood standards. In addition, it took approximately 4
months to film, employing the same computer generated imagery technology as
'300'.
However, any similarities ended there. It was pretty evident that the
visuals in '305' couldn't compete with the $60-$70 million budget of the Warner
Bros. movie, nor did it try to. This low budget independent flick had
family, friends and even the writers assuming roles throughout the
production. While '300' was touted as the wave of the future due its use
of CGI technology, '305' became a pioneer of sorts because it stepped into
uncharted territory.
'305' DVD
This five-minute clip evolved into a straight to DVD release
indicating that other ideas can be explored via YouTube, if popular enough and
if resonating with the audience. Any subject can be expanded with a
similar budget for distribution to DVD, thereby, bypassing movie theaters.
Unfortunately, it can also mean low budget movies can be made irrespective of
quality or content.
The intent of the ‘305’ movie was to spoof and ridicule '300', therefore, many
of the facts were inaccurately depicted. According to the historian
Herodotus, one thousand Phokians instead of Spartans guarded the goat track,
named the Anopea Path, which played a decisive role in the defeat of the Greek
garrison led by King Leonidas and his 300 Spartans in 480 B.C.E. The
Phokians, overwhelmed by the crack division of Xerxes the Great's royal
bodyguard known as the Immortals, allowed this elite Persian unit to march
unimpeded towards Thermopylae in a flanking movement. As a consequence, this
resulted in the encirclement and annihilation of the Spartan and Thespian
contingents.
One must wonder when these movies about one of history's most renowned last
stands and the unfavorable depiction of the great civilizations of Greece and
Persia and its warriors will come to and end. Hollywood should reconsiderSteven Pressfield's 'Gates of Fire', or even a remake of 1962's 'The 300
Spartans', which many have viewed and consider the most historically accurate
version of this conflict.
John Trikeriotis is a financial consultant in the USA and maintains the website 300 Spartan Warriors.
As a member of the Leonidas Expeditions which is comprised of
academics, authors and scholars, he will be traveling to the
battlefield of Thermopylae to locate several areas pivotal to the
battle.
This article was contributed by JOHN TRIKERIOTIS,Special Contributor for PersianMirror.
