Most Helpful Customer Reviews
|
|
39 of 40 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This is Sparta! , 27 Nov 2006
This is one powerhouse of a graphic novel! Miller has taken the battle of Thermopylae and added his own unique take on this infamous event. Bodly drawn, superbly coloured and very graphic in its depiction of violence both on and off the battlefield, 300 needs to be read to be believed. This is a very brutal take on the battle and the novel itself takes no prisoners.Miller knows this and runs riot,adorning the book with superb creations such as Ephialtes,his depiction of the God like Xerxes and his own take on the vaunted Immortals. He also adds some further imagination to the tale by introducing some creatures of myth. Please don't construe this as a blow by blow historical account of the battle, it should not be treated this way. Miller is instead telling us of heroism, courage, steadfast devotion and the brutalities of battle,using a real historical event as his canvas for doing so. I cannot speak highy enough of this novel, and with a motion picture of the movie due out next year I predict many more will discover this fascinating tale where few fought against many.
|
|
|
49 of 53 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
RE: M. Bolton, 23 Mar 2007
Sir
I think the fact that you have not read the novel destroys all credibility of your opinion.
Frank Miller's work is about as far from 'Hollywoodised' as you can get in terms of graphic novels being made into films. Robert Rodriguez had to quit the Director's Guild in order to keep Sin City true to the novel.
Nothing was 'adapted', the story is biased to Miller's point of view, that is his right as the author. Nowhere is it claimed that it is completely historically accurate - there are historical readings recommended on the final page, but of course, you didn't even get past the first.
The art work is beautiful and some of the famous quotes are accurate according to Herodotus. All Miller has done is blur the line between fantasy and reality, which surely is the point of a graphic novel and a film - it is not a documentary, nor is it a historical account, it is a story. It may be biased, giving a distorted view of the truth after the fashion of western historians labelling other cultures as savages and barbarians, but this doesn't detract from the fact that it is well illustrated and well told.
It is necessary to remind yourself that this is a work of fantasy, though i believe Frank Miller does the Spartans a disservice in his portrayal of them, and especially of Leonidas (in reality it was because, not in spite of the oracle that he went to war). The portrayal of the Persians is fantastical, but fits in with Herodotus' legendary accounts of dog-headed men and monsters and is justified in that the story is told from the point of view of the Greeks.
|
|
|
45 of 52 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Almost Perfect, 12 Jul 2001
This sounded like an awesome idea, Frank Miller's graphic genius takes on the tale of the battle at Thermopylae in 480 B.C., when 300 Spartans met the armies of Persia at a small pass and held them long enough for Greece to mobilize. Be warned however, that while Miller has retained the bare bones of the story, he's recast it in his standard good vs. evil method which oversimplifies both sides in the battle. Indeed, the battle is presented as the climax of the Grecian general's destiny rather than part of a long-running struggle. This is a story about the Spartans and the honor, glory, etc. and not a simple history-as-comic. The Persians are portrayed as exotic barbarians seeking to lay waste to advanced civilization and the rule of law. This is a very stylized vision of the Greco-Persian conflict, and Miller's Persians certainly don't bear any resemblance to the historical Persians. At times, the internal logic doesn't really hold up either, as when the Greek king violates the accepted "rules of war" and kills the initial Persian messengers and then go on to wax poetic about the primacy of law. While a bit problematic in that sense, Miller's visuals are awesome as usual--especially in this coffee-table book format. The panels are beautiful, brilliantly colored in dark tones and lots and lots of blood. It'd be neat to see Miller take a stab at some Persian mythology from the Shahnameh (Book of Kings).
|
|
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews
|
With an Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificate, you can get them what they want (even if you don't know what that is). 
Amazon Home