Blu-ray Review: 300
By
Jon Liu Video Format: 2.40:1 1080p
Audio Formats: English Dolby Digital, Dolby TrueHD 48kHz/16-bit, English LPCM 48kHz/16-bit
Starring: Gerard Butler, Lena Headey, Dominic West, David Wenham
Directed by: Zack Snyder
Release Date: July 31, 2007
General
This movie is a mythical tale of three hundred Spartan soldiers taking on one million soldiers of the Persian Empire. This rendition of the tale is based off of Frank Miller’s graphic novel, 300. Gerard Butler plays King Leonidus who leads the Spartan army to fight to protect and preserve their land against Xerxes’s million-man army in a gruesome battle. Depicted very closely to the particular style of Miller’s, this movie definitely was one of the most unique films of the last year and possibly even within the last couple of years.
I really enjoyed the film. Unfortunately, when I saw this film in the theaters, it had been hyped so much that I didn’t enjoy it as much as I thought I would. Watching 300 for the second time, now on Blu-ray, I was able to enjoy this movie even more. However, this movie definitely is not for the faint of heart. The battle sequences are among some of the goriest I’ve seen.
Tech Specs
Video: This is a hard movie to judge. The movie has a very stylized look to it. Contrast is purposefully overblown causing black crush, the colors are very muted with a sepia overtone throughout most of the movie, and on top of that, artificial grain was added to give the film a gritty feel. The grain is especially apparent in most night sequences and, while it's still there, becomes less noticeable during the daytime shots. Overall, the print looks good, but with the amount of tweaking they did to the picture, it’s hard to say that this is something you’ll pop in to show off your TV. Even though it’s not quite what you would call "reference material", the detail and sharpness are definitely top-notch and will likely still impress.
Audio: The battle sequences were definitely an aural treat. When thrown into fighting sequences, the surround sound becomes very lively and thunderous. The roar of the soldiers yelling and the constant drone of the marching were some things that definitely stood out in my mind. One problem I noted was with dialog. Whether it was during quiet sequences or during battle sequences, it all seemed a bit touchy. Several people I’ve talked to complained that they had to keep their remote close at hand to adjust the volume. I did not quite have that problem, but I can acknowledge there being slight inconsistency.
Extras
This release gets the shaft, especially for the Blu-ray version of the movie. HD-DVD disks get a Picture-in-Picture featurette that allows you to see how the sequences were filmed while watching the movie. The Blu-ray version includes an audio commentary, deleted scenes, and six different featurettes.
Menus/Navigation
Like most films, this movie's navigation and menu system is very basic and easy to use. Everything is laid out simply and labeled accordingly.
Overall Impressions
Overall, this is definitely a movie I can recommend! I really enjoyed this film and this is one of the few films that I really wanted to crank my system up for. The battle sequences kept my heart racing and definitely left me satisfied! Fans of the film will have already decided whether or not to get this movie, but it’s definitely worth a look! If you are trying to decide between the HD-DVD version and the Blu-ray version, you have to weigh whether or not extras matter to you. Is it worth the $5 dollars extra you will pay for the HD-DVD version for the very innovative Picture-in-Picture feature?
Linear Mode
