Commence Pants Wetting...

LimpingFish · Sat 09/12/2006 19:52:38

Miller already went head to head with a few, and I stress the term, amatuer historians. If you have access to the original 300 comicbooks, and some of the later Sin City series, you'll know what I mean.

As a visual experience, I'm sure some people will find it the cat's meow. Others will, as people have said, find it a little too familiar. Personally, I think comicbooks should stay comicbooks. As with the story, whatever issues Miller was tackling in his original books are done and dusted. There's no harm in retelling the story in a different medium, but all that can be accomplished is a distilling of the original story down to a 120min battle royale.

Which is fine. Just not earth-shattering.

I'll see the movie, and probably enjoy it too, as I enjoyed Sin City. Can't say the same about Gladiator, though. I nearly died laughing when I saw Russell Crowe blubbing through a big dollop of snot.

EagerMind · Sun 10/12/2006 06:06:27

Quote from: LimpingFish on Sat 09/12/2006 19:52:38Can't say the same about Gladiator, though. I nearly died laughing when I saw Russell Crowe blubbing through a big dollop of snot.

Yeah, the first time I saw this movie, I didn't really care for it. The second time, I realized that if Caesar had let his guards take out Russell Crowe in the colosseum when he found out he was still alive, the spectators wouldn't have cared much, Caesar would have won, and the movie would have been over. Then I changed the channel.

As for 300, it looks pretty kick-ass from the trailers. I don't mind taking in a mindless, "artful" (i.e. cgi-laden) action flick once in a while. But with the Star Wars prequels and Matrix sequels being the busts that they were, I'm not willing to buy into all the summer "blockbuster" hype. If it's good, I'll probably wait for the crowds to thin out a bit, and then go catch it.

Except for the Batman Begins sequel. I'm already excited about that.

Rui 'Trovatore' Pires · Sun 10/12/2006 11:00:27

Quoteif Caesar had let his guards take out Russell Crowe in the colosseum when he found out he was still alive, the spectators wouldn't have cared much, Caesar would have won, and the movie would have been over.

I can't say much about the way the movie portrayed events, but I'm pretty sure the whole thing's historical at its core. There WAS such a general, he was even portrayed by Charlton Heston in "The Fall of the Roman Empire", which covers the Gladiator's story among others (though told a bit differently), and there's even an Italian song called "Il Gladiatore" which preceeds The Gladiator and which talks about the story. So I'm not sure they COULD get the good guy killed before he did his mighty deed at the end of the film, because that's pretty much historical.

EagerMind · Tue 12/12/2006 23:37:30

Quote from: Rui "Trovatore" Pires on Sun 10/12/2006 11:00:27I can't say much about the way the movie portrayed events, but I'm pretty sure the whole thing's historical at its core.

Really? I didn't know this. Still though, I find it highly unlikely that the leader of the largest empire on the planet would step into the ring to go mano-a-mano with basically a slave. A little too Hollywood for my tastes.

On topic: I just realized this move (300) isn't coming out until March 2007. That's like a 4-month wait. Anybody find it annoying when they start hyping this stuff ridiculously far in advance?

voh · Wed 13/12/2006 00:01:19

Quote from: Andail on Sat 09/12/2006 13:57:23
I don't see how you could watch Love Actually "purely for the visual factor", though

I can, however. Keira Knightley

I'm not swayed by this movie. Sin City I really wanted to see, but this one? Meh. I'll probably love it, but I'm not enthusiastic enough to be sliding off of my chair just yet.

Rui 'Trovatore' Pires · Wed 13/12/2006 00:05:55

EagerMind - I got curious and looked it up on Wikipedia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commodus

Actually makes for interesting reading. Here's the bit related to his factual death:

QuoteCommodus was strangled in his bath by the wrestler Narcissus, ordered by Commodus' mistress/cousin Marcia, a day before Commodus planned to march into the Senate dressed as a gladiator to take office as consul. Upon his death the Senate passed a damnatio memoriae on him and restored the original name to the city of Rome and its institutions. However, in 195, the emperor Septimius Severus, trying to gain favor with the family of Marcus Aurelius, rehabilitated the memory of Commodus and had the Senate deify him.

So it seems that the Charlot Heston film (where Plummer player Commodus) also had a bit of fiction, and maybe Gladiator took its cue from there. Mind you, this is interesting read. Seems that Commodus did have a penchant for fighting as a Gladiator. And he did seem to have a bit of a screw loose.

QuoteI just realized this move (300) isn't coming out until March 2007. That's like a 4-month wait. Anybody find it annoying when they start hyping this stuff ridiculously far in advance?

When I first heard of the LotR trilogy in the making, and saw it on a magazine, and actually saw a photo of a scene where orcs were fighting, it was still a year away from Fellowship of the Ring, maybe more (probably more). After that, not a lot surprises me. Yeah, I know it's not the same as a trailer, but it still build up the hype.

EagerMind · Wed 13/12/2006 00:20:45

The article actually has a little blurb at the bottom about the movies. Regarding Gladiator:

QuoteThis film took many liberties with Commodus' life; while Phoenix's portrayal of him as a power-mad psychopath who nearly runs Rome into the ground is consistent with historical records, his role in the plot (such as his murder of his father, and death at the hands of protagonist Maximus Decimus Meridius, who did not actually exist) is pure fiction.

I guess it just goes to show: if you want to be remembered through the millenia, make sure you're a power-mad psychopath who runs his nation into the ground. Makes you wonder how long they'll be talking about Bush!

Helm · Wed 13/12/2006 00:47:33

QuoteHehe, what a pile of crap...spartans were warmongers, obsessed with strange ideals and a perverted will to fight, why make them into some sort of freaking freedom force (aren't we all tired of hearing the "we fight for freedom!"?), and why do all "persians" look like either robots or weird aliens?
Sure, if a mixture of Troy, Alexander and whatever other grand "historical" warepics from the recent 5 years - along with some awkward racial eliticism - is all you crave from your cinema experience, then congrats.

As a greek comic book artist, I've been through the '300' comic book discussion a lot of times. The Spartans historically are fascinating for many reasons, though the americanified perversion of their values and philosophy by Frank Miller sadly falls short of delivering on the various premises such a comic/movie would have going for it.

Not only are the spartans made into a US Marine corps. unit, the persians are ridiculous, Efialtis, the traitor is made into a mutant midget, generally, the whole thing is silly. Sadly a lot of people liked the comic, and Frank Miller's work generally to the point where they defend it as an interesting point of view and using historical data to make it. I see it as the semi-incoherent ramblings of a stupid right-wing american and his juvenile 'what would be COOL' methodology in storytelling. Each to their own, I guess.

On a further note, it's highly embarassing for a comic book superstar like Miller to turn his comics into panel-by-panel translations of films. If he had any real love and faith for the medium, he'd keep his comics comics. Now all he's saying with his actions is 'I wanted to be a film-maker, not a comics artist!'. Weak, and stupid. If he wanted to make movies, make something original for that medium, don't copy-paste your comic work.

Rui 'Trovatore' Pires · Wed 13/12/2006 00:50:51

QuoteOn a further note, it's highly embarassing for a comic book superstar like Miller to turn his comics into panel-by-panel translations of films.

I thought it was the film that was a panel-by-panel translation of the comic?

Helm · Wed 13/12/2006 02:13:58

Bad grammar, that's what I ment. Sorry.

Darth Mandarb · Fri 15/12/2006 14:03:39

New trailer...

Now I'm even more geeked to see it!

big brother · Fri 15/12/2006 16:03:46

Quote from: Helm on Wed 13/12/2006 00:47:33
On a further note, it's highly embarassing for a comic book superstar like Miller to turn his comics into panel-by-panel translations of films. If he had any real love and faith for the medium, he'd keep his comics comics. Now all he's saying with his actions is 'I wanted to be a film-maker, not a comics artist!'.

Money it's a hit
Don't give me that do goody good bullshit

For the Gladiator thing, here's a tidbit from imdb:
"The real-life Commodus was in fact the only Roman Emperor in history to fight as a gladiator in the arena. However, he did it several times, not just once. Also, he was not killed in the arena but was strangled in his dressing room by an athlete named Narcissus."