Search - Last Stand of the 300: The Legendary Battle at Thermopylae on DVD


Last Stand of the 300: The Legendary Battle at Thermopylae
Last Stand of the 300 The Legendary Battle at Thermopylae
Actors: Jeffery A. Baker, Orion Barnes, Erin Bennett, Kristopher Blount, Joshua Bradley
Director: David Padrusch
Genres: Television, Educational, Documentary
NR     2007     1hr 31min

The legendary battle of Thermopylae is still acknowledged today for its brilliant military maneuvers and the well-trained and fearless soldiers who fought to the death. The History Channel® presents a detailed account of t...  more »
     
     

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Movie Details

Actors: Jeffery A. Baker, Orion Barnes, Erin Bennett, Kristopher Blount, Joshua Bradley
Director: David Padrusch
Creators: David Padrusch, Gabriel Gornell, Linda Beck, Matt Koed, Michael Impollonia
Genres: Television, Educational, Documentary
Sub-Genres: Television, Educational, History
Studio: A&E Home Video
Format: DVD - Color,Widescreen - Closed-captioned
DVD Release Date: 07/31/2007
Original Release Date: 01/01/2007
Theatrical Release Date: 01/01/2007
Release Year: 2007
Run Time: 1hr 31min
Screens: Color,Widescreen
Number of Discs: 1
SwapaDVD Credits: 1
Total Copies: 1
Members Wishing: 0
MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Languages: English

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Member Movie Reviews

James P. (pearldrummerjp) from RUCKERSVILLE, VA
Reviewed on 3/6/2010...
Very good. Lots of info not in the movie!
0 of 2 member(s) found this review helpful.

Movie Reviews

Excellent and Fantastic
Raffaele Vardavas | Los angeles, CA, USA | 03/31/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)

"They showed this documentary on the History channel to accompany the release of the movie 300.

In contrast to the movie 300 (which was ok -see my review) this documentary is excellent. It is really a movie-like documentary with a lot of action.

Graphically it resembles a little the movie 300 since it uses a lot of computer graphics and non-realistic red looking skies. However, here Persians really look like Persians.

The content is excellent. Although I have read about the battle of Thermopylae from many different sources, I learned about things I did not know before and gained a more detail knowledge. However, like in the movie 300 here again Leonidas seems to be much younger than he really was by 480BC.

What I particularly liked was that the documentary focused both on the land battle of the Spartans and sea battle of the Athenian fleet. This really showed how brilliant and well coordinated the Allied Greek strategy was. Most other sources just focus on the land battle and pay minor attention to what happened in the flanking sea. The mastermind Themistocles is well represented and a decent length of the documentary is dedicated to him.

The Spartans and their society are accurately represented. They were not fighting for a new era of freedom which was at the time being brought forward by Athenian democracy. They were fighting to preserve their own, non-free un-democratic system and were hostile to the spread of democracy to other Greek city states. However, their last stand was not solely to seek "a beautiful death" but instead to cover the retreat of their fellow allied soldiers. Maybe, also to give an example from which the allied Greeks would stay united against the Persians for the sake of their sacrifice.

The sound tracks that accompany the scenes are excellent. However, they could have used them more often and they could have raised the volume a little too.

I enjoyed watching this documentary even more than the other two excellent documentaries on the Spartans (one from the History channel and the other by PBS).

Highly - I repeat highly recommended - to people interested in ancient history and battle strategies and warfare.
"
One of the Best Documentaries EVER by the History Channel
RJRo20 | California | 05/25/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)

"The History Channel has presented a mixed of bad and good documentaries, but the "Last Stand of the 300" is definitely one of the best that they've ever produced! I wholeheartedly agree with previous reviewers that this is an excellent and well-researched documentary about the Battle of Thermopylae--one of history's most famous last stands of all-time.

The overall presentation of this epic battle is superb. Great visuals, music, dramatic reenactments, and knowledgeable scholars provide a very enlightening and fascinating account of the events preceding and following the 3-day battle at Thermopylae. The battle itself is examined and analyzed in meticulous detail--military tactics and strategies discussed from both sides of the war (land and sea).

As reviewer, Raffaele Vardavas mentioned, this documentary does resemble a little like the movie "300," which gives it a more appealing and cinematic look. The fighting sequences--especially during the last stand--are wonderfully depicted.

The performance of the 300 Spartans--and approximately 700 Thespian soldiers and unremembered 900 Helots (Spartan slaves)--has been hailed as an outstanding example of courage against insurmountable odds. Among the Greeks, the Spartan defenders were the 'bravest of the brave' and their enormous sacrifice helped saved the future of Greece and unknowningly "altered the course of Western civilization." As one of the world's greatest and most symbolic events in history, this DVD is a must-have for all!

(Note: I have the PBS DVD of The Spartans, and also think this one is NOT as exciting to watch. Instead, the PBS presentation feels like a tedious 3-hour lecture in a history class. "Last Stand...300" is way better!!! Don't hesitate to buy)."
Excellent DVD on ancient Greece.
Rhett D. Sorensen | Provo, Ut USA | 05/21/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)

"Fantastic DVD on Thermopylae and Spartan history. Very well researched and presented. This is the ONLY DVD I have ever seen (using real people) that actually have them keep the phalanx formation. They mention the Spartan agoge and delve quit deeply into the agoge system and Spartan way of life. This is an excellent summarie of Spartan life style. It also covers the Persian side and tells us how the amazing Persian invasion came about, how the crossed the hellespont, how Xerxes was raised, etc. it also addresses all the other city states and battle tactics and takes you through to the conclusion of the battle and the ultimate conclusion of the Greek/Persian wars. (something that my Greek history teacher failed to do :() It also breifly goes over marathon which is nice. The DVD is fun and entertaining. Well worth the buy."