Thrice three times
RAKESH MEHAR
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Critics call 300 a handsome film, if somewhat over-the-top
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GRAPHIC ART A wounded Leonidas roars his defiance at the Persian invaders
Although there is much that fans of graphic novels have to say against film adaptations of their favourite works, it is an undisputable fact that when done right, the transition from graphic novel to movie is one of the most attractive in Hollywood today.
Ample proof of this comes in the form of Zack Snyder's "300", an adaptation of Frank Miller's graphic novel of the same name that critics call handsome, if somewhat over-the-top. The film is based on the tale of the Battle of Thermopylae, in which 300 Spartans led by King Leonidas hold off the million-strong army of the Persian emperor Xerxes; a story that Miller was first inspired by when he saw the 20th Century Fox live action film "The 300 Spartans" as a young boy. By Miller's own admission, that film changed his idea of heroism forever, a fortunate occurrence for the rest of the world that has since received some of the greatest work from the master artist and storyteller.
While Miller's contributions to the comic book universe are many, some few stand far above the rest. In the world of superheroes, Miller is recognised as one of the integral forces that gave heroes like Daredevil, Elektra and most importantly Batman, the kind of status they have today. With Batman, Miller's 1986 four-part miniseries "The Dark Knight Returns", was primarily responsible for giving the classic noir hero a wonderful post-modern perception. While retaining Batman's primarily righteous persona, the series gave him a darker side than had been seen before, and is widely seen as one of the titles that kicked off an era of grittier, less invincible superhero creations.
Miller's most successful effort till date, however, has been the Sin City series, a dystopian 13-part look at urban crime and the dark underbelly of urban life. Partly adapted to the screen by Robert Rodriguez, the novel-to-film transition comes with an interesting anecdote of its own. Having been disillusioned by the Hollywood machinery during his work on "Robocop 2" and "Robocop 3", Miller had for years resisted attempts to convert his most cherished works into film. Rodriguez finally persuaded the artist to allow him to make a short film based on the series, and convinced actors Josh Hartnett and Marley Shelton to star in it. When Miller watched the short film, he was impressed by Rodriguez's faithfulness to the spirit of the graphic novel, and allowed him to make a film out of a script culled from four different parts of the series. The film adaptation was a runaway success, and the sequel is currently under production.
While critical reactions to "300" have been mixed, audience reactions have been unanimously positive, with the film becoming one of the big hits of a year when Hollywood has generally been in a slump. Whether hated or loved, however, one thing "300" has not been is ignored, as a number of debates including possible allegory's for and against today's U.S.A. and possibly-racist depictions of the Persian civilisations have been roaring through the Internet ever since the release of the film in the U.S.
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