If you’ve ever wondered where Frank Miller got the inspiration to do 300, both the graphic novel and the motion picture, then look no further than The 300 Spartans, a 1962 classic motion picture depiction of the Battle of Thermopylae. It was filmed on location with the full cooperation of the Greek Government.
Granted, the style of movies made over forty years ago is quite different; part of the ingredients of a successful film involved a young couple in love, there was NO nudity allowed, and Ephialtes (the traitor who betrayed the Spartans to Xerxes) was a goat farmer who was rebuffed by the Young Woman in Love who accompanied her fiance to Thermopylae (in the modern version, he was a deformed, hunchbacked outcast). Another major difference was that Xerxes was portrayed as what I would term “kingly,” and definitely not metrosexual; oh, and no Battle Burqas either.
The 300 Spartans was filmed before the MPAA rating system was created; therefore, it is Not Rated. In today’s parlance, given the content, it would most likely be rated PG. Definitely a retro movie with the same message that Free Men must stand to oppose Tyranny. My rating: 7