Before his name became synonymous with DC, but after he made his directorial debut through the zombie-centered remake, Dawn of the Dead, Zack Snyder brought audiences the historical epic, 300. The action-heavy feature would serve as the filmmaker’s sophomore production, and further solidify his name as one of the best rising visionaries of the genre. With a cast led by one incredibly ripped and beefed-up Gerard Butler, the movie took cinemas by storm, quite like the way the main group of Spartans did against the Persians in the plot. Over the next few weeks, while you’re looking to escape the usual holiday-centered movies and are keeping your eyes open for something a little more bold and bloody, you’ll want to head over to Netflix, where 300 is currently streaming. But – again, just like the Spartans – the title won’t stick around forever, as it will become ancient history in the new year, with its final day on Netflix set for December 31.
Transporting audiences back to the days of the Greco-Persian Wars, 300 largely focuses on the Battle of Thermopylae – but with an incredibly fictionalized lens. Much of the title focuses on the bloody battle, but a bit of history is sprinkled in to fill out the story, which was co-penned by Snyder, Kurt Johnstad and Michael B. Gordon, and is based on Frank Miller and Lynn Varley’s comic series of the same name. For the most part, though, audiences love 300 for its intense and at times gruesome fighting sequences that see the titular number of Spartans, led by Butler’s King Leonidas, face off for glory against the Persian forces that contained over 300,000 warriors. It’s a total guts and glory flick, but that’s why fans have continued to love it for nearly two decades.
Joining Butler in one of the actor’s earlier titles that helped solidify him as a top dog in the genre is a lineup of familiar faces that include Lena Headey (Game of Thrones), Michael Fassbender (The Killer), Dominic West (The Wire), David Wenham (The Lord of the Rings trilogy), Rodrigo Santoro (Love Actually), Vincent Regan (Troy) and Andrew Pleavin (London Has Fallen).
Zack Snyder’s Life After ‘300’
A few years later, when the studio hoped to replicate the hype and financial gain that came with 300, they reached back out to Snyder. Unfortunately for them, the director’s career had fully taken off and he was already tied to DC as the man who would reshape the character Superman with the Henry Cavill-led feature, Man of Steel. Still, Snyder returned to co-pen the screenplay for 2014’s 300: Rise of an Empire, which he also produced. In the years between 300 and its sequel, Snyder’s list of credits only continued to grow with projects including Watchmen, Legends of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole, Sucker Punch, and Man of Steel.
Head over to Netflix before December 31 to stream 300.
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