Line #5 Trivia/ThreeHundred


1	* ActingForTwo: Leonidas's father is played by Tim Connolly, who was also Gerard Butler's stunt double.
2	* ActorInspiredElement: Leonidas was not supposed to yell "THIS IS SPARTA!" initially. Creator/GerardButler made several takes saying it on a firm but low-key tone (which is how the line was delivered in the comic) and thought it didn't achieve much effect, then did one take yelling it. Creator/ZackSnyder loved it and they did another take with him yelling it, the one that ended up in the movie.
3	* AdaptationSequence: Actual events —> unreliable historical document by a man who was taking a break from writing about giant ants —> Movie —> Graphic Novel —> Movie —> Video Game
4	* AwesomeDearBoy: Gerard Butler noted that he's wanted the role so badly that when afraid that Alan Horn (president of Creator/WarnerBros at the time) would veto him, he'd prepared an entire speech about how his entire life and career had led to him taking the role of Leonidas.
5	* BannedInChina: This film is banned in UsefulNotes/{{Iran}} because of Persians being portrayed as slavering, inhuman monsters, particularly Xerxes I (who is a revered figure in the country).
6	* BeamMeUpScotty: Two minor examples:
7	** There's a good [[DramaticPause twenty-second pause]] between the Persian emissary saying "This is madness!" and Leonidas responding with his famous line. Understandably, people usually omit the long pause when they're quoting the film. In addition, Leonidas says "Madness? THIS. IS. SPARTA!" but is usually quoted as "No. THIS. IS. SPARTA!"
8	** Leonidas full quote is "Spartans! Ready your breakfast and eat hearty, for tonight we dine IN HELL!", but it has been commonly shortened to "Spartans! Tonight we dine ''in hell''!" as it is in the trailer.
9	* BreakthroughHit: While ''Film/{{Dawn of the Dead\|2004}}'' gave Zack Snyder much notice, it's ''300'' that truly put him on the map.
10	* CastTheRunnerUp: Creator/RodrigoSantoro was auditioning for Astinos, but Creator/ZackSnyder was so impressed that he was offered the part of Xerxes.
11	* DyeingForYourArt: The movie is a gigantic parade of special effects. The monsters, the blood, the surreal colors, none of it is real. But the ludicrously chiselled bodies of the Spartans? [[http://www.gymjones.com/knowledge.php?id=35 Quite authentic.]] The actors playing the Spartans, as well as the stunt crew, went through TrainingFromHell in order to earn those abs the hard way. For a sense of solidarity with his actors and to "feel like a Spartan" himself, director Creator/ZackSnyder did too. Unfortunately, the TrainingFromHell had long-term ramifications and Creator/GerardButler developed a painkiller addiction due to the toll it had on his body.
12	* FakeNationality: There is not a single Greek or Iranian actor in a film about a battle between Greeks and Iranians ([[MyFriendsAndZoidberg And Syrians]]. [[OverlyLongGag And Assyrians]]. And [[LongList Chaldeans, Jews, Egyptians, Phoenicians and everyone else in the Achaemenid Empire]].)[[note]] This is hardly without precedent, though. In British translations of classical Greek literature, it's traditional to render the Spartan's Doric Greek dialect into English with a heavy Scots accent, to give them the feeling of a more rough, "unrefined" culture compared to the Athenians, who usually speak RP. In American translations, the Spartans are usually [[EverythingIsBigInTexas Texans]].[[/note]]
13	* FollowTheLeader:
14	** Follows ''Film/SinCity'', also an heavily stylized adaptation of Creator/FrankMiller comics. Also follows the general SwordAndSandal trend revived by ''Film/{{Gladiator}}'', and more loosely, the action fantasy trend revived by ''Film/TheLordOfTheRings'' trilogy. In the costume drama/adventure film department it wound up making a path of its own by leading to other more hyper-stylized and fantastical Greco-Roman themed films that followed.
15	** ''Series/SpartacusBloodAndSand'' clearly followed the influence of ''300'' with its heavily stylized RatedMForManly depiction of Greek and Roman history (only with [[EverybodyHasLotsOfSex plenty of sex and nudity added in]]). Peter Mensah even starred in the latter as well.
16	* HarpoDoesSomethingFunny: Zack Snyder asked the writers to add more "weirdness" into the movie.
17	* IAmNotSpock: As far as the internet is concerned, Gerard Butler is Leonidas. Even though he actually has had many other notable roles, ''300'' is likely to be the first one you think of when he's mentioned.
18	* PropRecycling: To keep the budget down, many of the weapons props were reused from ''{{Film/Alexander}}'' and ''{{Film/Troy}}''.
19	* RealLifeRelative: Creator/ZackSnyder's son plays the young Leonidas.
20	* RecursiveAdaptation: The film was based on a Creator/FrankMiller comic based on his view of the film ''Film/The300Spartans''... as in he loved it when he saw it as a child, later saw it as an adult and hated it, so he wrote a comic using his childhood memories as the basis - he used a NostalgiaFilter to ''enhance'' the work! The reason it hits the RatedMForManly button is because it's based around that integral process!
21	* ReferencedBy: Most of them are PunctuatedForEmphasis references to the "This! Is! Sparta!" line. But some are not:
22	** ''Fanfic/Homecoming2026'': To kick off a Halloween event:
23	---> This! Is! Halloween!
24	** ''WebVideo/PokemonTalk'': From "Counting", in a ShoutOut to the "This. Is. Sparta!" line of ''Film/ThreeHundred'', Squirtle's response to Bulbasaur's "This is madness!" line:
25	---> '''Squirtle:''' This! Is! Squirtle!
26	* StarMakingRole: For Creator/GerardButler. Subverted with Creator/LenaHeadey and Creator/MichaelFassbender; both would later be cast in roles that would truly define them as actors (Headey landing a major role as Ceresi Lannister in ''Series/GameOfThrones'', Fassbender starring in ''Series/BandOfBrothers'', then later being cast as young [[ComicBook/{{Magneto}} Erik Lensherr]] fron ''Film/XMenFirstClass'' onward.)
27	* StuntDouble: Tim Connolly, who plays Leonidas' father in the flashback intro, also doubled for Creator/GerardButler.
28	* ThrowItIn:
29	** The memetic delivery of the line "[[PunctuatedForEmphasis THIS! IS! SPARTA!!!]]" was actually not that highly emphasized in the comic book novel, nor the original script. According to Gerard Butler, after they'd finished filming the scene as scripted, he asked them to do "one more take" and then delivered the line in the now-famous manner. The crew loved it so much that they used that take instead, and the rest, as they say, is history.
30	** The Oracle's words are actually just ad-libbed gibberish by the actress who played her. Creator/ZackSnyder was delighted that she worked the word "Carneia" into it.
31	* UnderageCasting: The actual Leonidas was over sixty when he died. Creator/GerardButler was well thirty-seven when he played the Spartan king.

Context Trivia / ThreeHundred