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300 Directed by Zach Snyder. Written by Zach Snyder, Kurt Johnstad and Michael Gordon, based upon the graphic novel by Frank Miller and Lynn Varley. Cinematography, Larry Fong. Music, Tyler Bates. Starring Gerard Butler, Lena Headey, Dominic West and David Wenham. Warner Bros. Pictures, 2007. R. 117 minutes.

The Spartans, history tells us, were not to be taken lightly. Unlike their soft-bellied Athenian counterparts, who considered them base and ignorant, Spartans emphasized military service from the day male children were born. Obedience, toughness and bravery were the cherished Spartan ideals. So it’s not a little surprising to learn that Spartan women were the most free and independent in Greece, with access to land, education and comfortable clothing. (Athenian women weren’t known for dressing smartly.) Spartan women, like all Spartans, had the gift of the bluntest wit; prior to battle, women handed men a shield and this moving send-off: “With this or on this.” In other words, come home victorious or dead. Read more…