I posted something similar last time, but rediff felt that referring to people attracted to the same gender is somehow abusive. So, a repost :)
It's a visually stunning film, great action sequences. I saw it about a week and a half ago, and it was playing to full houses in the united states. However, I agree with Raja in that it would have been a much better film had they not been so loyal to the dumb cartoon that Frank Miller penned.
Here's what history has to say: Leonidas did lead 300 spartans into war with Xerxes' army at Thermopylae, killing 10,000-20,000 persians. Spartans actually had a lot of armour on them, which helped them against the Persians who fought without it. They were sent to buy time so that the other greek city-states could mount an army (everybody busy with the olympic games, important religious event). They were betrayed by one of their own who showed the persians an alternate path. However, the senators were not bribed.
What was really bad, IMHO, was the depiction of the Persians. They have depicted persians employing an army of slaves. Cyrus, Xerxes' grandfather had made slavery illegal. In fact, Cyrus' cylinder is a famous piece of history, on display at the UN, as the first declaration of human rights. Xerxes himself was probably a Zoarastrian (aka Parsi) and he didnt consider himself as a God. Persians dont even look like that. Most are fair, almost white. A few of arab descent have brown skin. The Persians seem to have an army of mutants, with blades for hands, or extra strong and tall ogres. Gunpower wasnt invented until 1200AD or so in China but it seemed to be used here. I dont know if this part was shown in India, but Xerxes' camp is full of naked women kissing each other and stuff like that. Xerxes himself is portrayed as effeminate. The persians in those days too kept long beards!
If you ask me, it sounded like propaganda for war on Iran, with one side going on about freedom, liberty and democracy and against tyranny and slavery. All very nice, if only it had been true... This could have been a great film had it been true to history instead of Miller's version of history... It is, as it stands a gore fest, like Apocalypto. They could have fictionalized everything or nothing. However, by using real names and events but presenting a distorted version of history, they've reduced what the film could have been. As it stands, a Gladiator it is not.
