The 300 Spartans (1962) on Netflix
PG19621h 54mAdventureHistoryWar
King Xerxes of Persia marches a vast army into Greece to avenge his father's defeat. Sparta's Leonidas takes command of the allied Greeks and holds the pass at Thermopylae with 300 men.
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Plot summary
Xerxes I, king of Persia, marches a vast army into Europe to conquer the small Greek city-states and to avenge his father Darius I, beaten at Marathon a decade earlier. Artemisia, queen of Halicarnassus, and Demaratus, an exiled Spartan king, ride with him. Themistocles of Athens wins the city-states over to an alliance at Corinth, secures Sparta the command of the allied forces and takes charge of the Athenian navy. He and Sparta's King Leonidas agree that a vanguard will hold the narrow pass at Thermopylae until the main army arrives. In Sparta, a council of ephors argues for waiting until the harvest festival of Carneia ends, so Leonidas sets out at once with his personal guard of 300 veterans, who are exempt from the council's rulings. About 700 Thespian volunteers under Demophilus and other Greek allies join them.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about The 300 Spartans (1962)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Frank Miller saw The 300 Spartans as a boy and later created the 1998 graphic novel 300, saying the film "changed the course of my creative life"; Zack Snyder then directed a successful 2006 film from Miller's book.
- The real pass at Thermopylae could not be used: after 2,500 years of receding coastline it had become a broad coastal plain, so the battle scenes were shot around Vouliagmenis Lagoon, which doubled as Thermopylae.
- The Greek Defense Ministry made as many as 5,000 Hellenic Army soldiers available for a prenegotiated fee, but budget constraints cut the force to only two battalions, about 1,100 men.
- Cinematographer Geoffrey Unsworth used the tree groves lining the lagoon's coastal plain to hide how few troops were available to fill the Persian side of the battle line.
- The film was the last of Richard Egan's seven-year contract with 20th Century Fox and the final screen appearance of David Farrar, who retired from acting.
