300

With the massive army of the Persian empire sweeping across the land and crushing all who oppose it, Spartan King Leonidas (Butler) assembles a defense rather than bow to the foreign Persian King Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro). When his fearless lot of "300" Spartan soldiers fall to the hostile forces of King Xerxes, it prompts a reaction from the Greeks that will shape the concept of modern democracy. Based on the graphic novel by Frank Miller and Lynn Varley. (Stacey Pendry)

Special features include The Complete 300: A Comprehensive Immersion—a multi-path interactive experience with enhanced content, never-before-seen footage, and informative resources directly from the filmmakers' personal archives into three different paths (HD 02:12); the following featurettes: "The 300—Fact Or Fiction?" (HD 24:36)), "Who Were The Spartans?: The Warriors Of 300" (HD 04:32), "Preparing For Battle: The Original Test Footage" (HD 06:43), "Frank Miller Tapes" (HD 14:42), "Making Of 300" (HD 05:51), and "Making 300 In Images" (HD 03:40);
commentary by Director Zack Snyder, Writer Kurt Johnstad, and Director Of Photography Larry Fong; 12 Webisodes (HD 38:23); three deleted scenes with director introductions (HD 03:23); plus up-front previews, BD-Live interactivity, and a digital copy of the film. The disc packaging contains a 40-page booklet with photos.

The 2.39:1 1080p VC-1 picture is highly stylized and true to the filmmakers' intent, for a grainy, gritty look with a muted color palette. Previously reviewed as an anamorphically enhanced DVD by Danny Richelieu, he wrote that "When looking at the picture, it is not in any way inspiring, which makes judging it difficult, since it was exactly the look the filmmakers were after." This is also true with this new edition, but the detail is much better compared to the previously reviewed DVD in Issue 123. The picture is characterized by a sepia hue and appears "unfinished." Blacks are deep and solid, and shadow delineation is generally good, for an otherwise dark film. Still, fans will be pleased, as the film looks the best it has on this Blu-ray Disc™. (Gary Reber)

As with the previous Dolby® Digital 5.1-channel soundtrack, this lossless Dolby TrueHD edition is fantastic, with very good fidelity, impressive dynamic range, and a very lively mix. Phantom imaging is attained around the room, with effects placed everywhere around the stage, with impressive transient SPL energy. While a very in-your-face mix, soundfield depth and dimensionality is impressive on this edition. The .1 LFE channel delivers deep, tight bass, as do the full-range channels, infusing the room with an impressive low-end foundation. Dialogue is nicely presented, with at times, excellent spatial integration, and the narration is perfectly balanced against the other soundtrack's elements. The music score is terrific, with a wide and deep soundstage and an extended reach well into the surrounds. This is a most impressive holosonic® soundtrack that is thrilling throughout, with haunting directionalized atmospheric and battle sound effects bursting out almost continuously. (Gary Reber/Danny Richelieu)