2007 will see the release of "300" - a film based on the graphic novel, written and illustrated by Frank Miller with painted colors by Lynn Varley.
300 depicts the Battle of Thermopylae and the events leading up to it from the perspective of Leonidas I, king of Sparta. The comic, however, takes great liberties in its narrative, for example depicting Xerxes I of Persia as a bald black man with piercings and the traitor Ephialtes of Trachis as a hunchback. The comic was particularly inspired by the 1962 film, The 300 Spartans, a movie that Miller watched as a young boy.
Every page of the comic was illustrated as a double-page spread. When the series was gathered into hardcover form, the individual pages were twice as wide as a normal comic. Miller's art style for this project was similar to his Sin City work, although the addition of color is an obvious difference.
300 was initially published as a monthly five issue comic book series by Dark Horse Comics, the first issue published in May 1998. the issues were titled Honor, Duty, Glory, Combat and Victory. The series won three Eisner Awards in 1999; 'Best Limited Series', 'Best Writer/Artist' for Frank Miller and 'Best Colorist' for Lynn Varley. The work was collected as a hardcover graphic novel in 1999.
Following the success of Robert Rodriguez's Sin City and the forthcoming sequel Sin City 2, we expect that 300 will also be a huge box office success worldwide.
300 is directed by Zack Snyder (Dawn of the Dead [2004]), the film stars Gerard Butler, Lena Headey, David Wenham and Rodrigo Santoro and the trailer can be viewed at official site.
VERDICT: Gladiator meets Sin City. If you enjoyed either movie or are a fan of Frank Miller's work - then definitely check out 300.
