Blu-ray Movie Reviews

Retelling the ancient Battle of Thermopylae, it depicts the titanic clash in which King Leonidas and 300 Spartans fought to the death against Xerxes and his massive Persian army. Experience history at swordpoint.

Frank Miller's brutal tale makes its second showing on Blu-ray this time in digi-book form. Snyder did an incredible job with this adaptation, bringing Miller's vision to the big screen in nearly frame by frame perfection. I was curious as to whether we would see a longer cut of this film at some point but I guess this vision is the complete one. I was happy to revisit it though.

The video presentation doesn't look likes its changed at all since the last go around. This is still a great looking disc though. This is a very stylized film with LOTS of added grain, rich contrast and deep dark colors. Because it is so effects heavy fine detail isn't always as razor sharp as you think it could be, but detail is never lacking. The image has a wonderful sense of dimensionality and I loved the rich contrast and inky blacks. This is still one to show off the home theater with.

The soundtrack is also the same as the last go around. The Dolby TrueHD 5.1 mix is demo worthy material with incredible low end presence and spatial design. The battle sequences are a testament to sound design with rich atmosphere, hard hitting bass and plenty of panning effects from the surround soundstage. Nothing at all to complain about here.

This is the second release of Miller’s epic but this time around the Blu-ray gets some new extras including the picture-in-picture blue screen comparison that was on the HD DVD release. You also get a few other picture-in-picture options that delve into the production of the film and interviews with its creators. Other extras include more insight into the creation of the film, its backstory and the truth behind the tale. The webisodes from the production are included along with additional scenes and a feature commentary by the director. This title is also BD-Live enabled for more extras online and includes a digital copy of the film.

300's second go around on Blu is another outstanding presentation but this time around you truly get some next generation features from Blu-ray. The digi-book also provides some great insight and imagery. Easily worth the upgrade!