Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)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.
Click Here to see more reviews about: Last Stand of the 300: The Legendary Battle at Thermopylae (2007)
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 this legendary battle, examining the events leading up to the conflict, the tactical expertise that allowed the outnumbered Greeks to stall their mighty foes, and the bloody encounter itself. Find out how an army of a few hundred men overcame impossible odds and witness the conflict that altered the course of Western civilization.
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