Thermopylae Film!

[Lyceum]

Oh I agree, on some level, but the thing is the Thermopylai angle has been done twice before, why not take the same material and spin is slightly different i.e the rise of Athens?

I think the social implications are much more interesting than the bare military ones. Imagine the stories you can tell in that setting!? its an artistic gold mine. That bland hoplite from Sparta? the lowly rower from Athens? The politicians from Greek cities trying to get a peace of Athen's rising fortune? The agents of the King acting underhandedly in Mikrasia?

[Lyceum]

Yes, I am aware of the slave issue..just playing the blind patriot bit, again! lol
I am actually pretty well read on this, but with so much going on in the last few years, a lot of things are getting blurred.
Been a while since I read the Greek history, as Roman re-enacting took formost,
plus new job, requiring massive learning curve as well. hock:

Hey I know how it is, specialising in the (relatively early) Greeks I can barely remember the Romans since they don't even come onto the radar for me any more and that's without having a separate job or anything.

It's not fun if we're not enjoying it though, eh?

[Ghostmojo]

Oh I agree, on some level, but the thing is the Thermopylai angle has been done twice before, why not take the same material and spin is slightly different i.e the rise of Athens?

I think the social implications are much more interesting than the bare military ones. Imagine the stories you can tell in that setting!? its an artistic gold mine. That bland hoplite from Sparta? the lowly rower from Athens? The politicians from Greek cities trying to get a peace of Athen's rising fortune? The agents of the King acting underhandedly in Mikrasia?

Nah. Just deviation. A different subject altogether. Little mass cinematic audience appeal. Intellectual naval-gazing. Possible limited TV appeal. Who would fund such a thing and why bother?

This thread is about Thermopylai. A postscript might be to mention that throughout history this pass has remained important: later battles occurring in 353BC; 279BC; 191BC; 267AD; and jumping right forward to 1821 and 1941. The place is significant. The events there significant. The concurrent events are incidental.

When making a film about Waterloo - nobody is really interested in Quatre Bras or Ligny (apart from Napoleonic military enthusiasts). To spend time on them would be to make the film twice as long as it needs to be, and to water down the impact of the big event.

It is the big event we are talking about - and the big event was the Battle of Thermopylai 480BC.

[Macedon]

Well... if it is big bucks we are after, how about expanding on the orgy scene of the 300 without the deformity bits? Especially if we get Angelina and Jenifer (up to now this is the single thing we seem to perfectly agree with each other) to bridge up potential personal differences and help each other explore their sexuality... :wink: :wink:

I guess we will have enough time to devote to that scene if we just hurry past the boring parts about politics, combat, and necessary manly challenges. I just cannot seem to decide what garments, Persian or Greek, we should dress them in when they enter the scene...

[Dithrambus]

Well... if it is big bucks we are after, how about expanding on the orgy scene of the 300 without the deformity bits? Especially if we get Angelina and Jenifer (up to now this is the single thing we seem to perfectly agree with each other) to bridge up potential personal differences and help each other explore their sexuality... :wink: :wink:

Well, sex appeal couldn't hurt at the box office I suppose, but I would insist that
Maria Menounos be in that scene as well.. :mrgreen:

[Vindex]

On the strength of this thread I have acquired a copy of Passmore's book and sadly, I have to say, I'm finding it a bit slow.

But early days...

[Gaius Julius Caesar]

Passmore who? :-o

[Dithrambus]

Yes, who is this Passmore you speak of? mile:

[Vindex]

Passmore? Did I say Passmore...well sounds like Pressfield. Sorry. Told you, another fraught Friday :roll:

[Gaius Julius Caesar]

Like real life, events move slow, and fast...it certainly brought it to life for me.

[Dithrambus]

Passmore? Did I say Passmore...well sounds like Pressfield. Sorry. Told you, another fraught Friday :roll:

Passmore sounds like Pressfield? :-? :lol: Sure, what the hell, it is Friday after all. mile:

Give the book a little time to establish the players and remember it is a fictional account of the story, and if you get completely bored then just skip forward to the battle. :wink:

[Draconis]

I have spent hours slogging through this thread, and its many twists and turns. I too would love to see someting with the whole story, the nuances, lots of historically accurate details, but I fear the mass audience would have to be woken up at the end of it. Speaking of the review done by that young lady I won't bother to look up again. Mention was made of the love scene and that she found it acceptable... well yeah, a lot of women like love stories, thats why they made Sleepless in Seattle. Audiences who have little or no knowledge of or interest in history, if they go will go to be entertained. They won't care about why Sparta had two kings, or all the other details... They will gravitate to what they know, what they can understand without knowing anything about the details of the history... Sadly, we are surrounded by barbarians in the historical sense. In a way we are of a different culture. Yay us... :-) This has led me to consider an alternative to Thermopylae as the main focus, which as we know has been done at least twice already: What about using it and the Persian wars as the beginning of the events that led to the Peloponnesian War. The crumbling of the cooperation that defeated the Persians, the ascent of Athens, and eventually the war and final reckoning. I don't know if this has been pursued. It would probably be too big for one film, but it could be a trilogy or mini series. Lastly, as its very late and I need to go to bed: Jennifer Anniston? Only if you could work in a cameo for Rachel Green... Others may differ, but it seems to me that she has a very limited acting range. Every character I've ever seen her play has been Rachel with different names. Angelina Jolie, sure mostly because she's hot. There have to be actors and actresses out there who could do it justice. It might be a start for a talented unknown to make their name. One device that some people use Re: main characters, is to have some of them major historical figures, like Leonidas, and parallel stories of common foot soldiers and their perspectives and motivations. Somewhere in there, their paths cross. A sort of James Michener approach could be taken with the sons of earlier characters take part in the next chapter, and s on. Anyone who saw the miniseries based on his novel Centennial knows what I mean. Generations of people play their parts in the unfoldng stories. Anyway, its late and off to bed. Its another possibility anyway.

[Dithrambus]

I have spent hours slogging through this thread, and its many twists and turns. I too would love to see someting with the whole story, the nuances, lots of historically accurate details, but I fear the mass audience would have to be woken up at the end of it. Speaking of the review done by that young lady I won't bother to look up again. Mention was made of the love scene and that she found it acceptable... well yeah, a lot of women like love stories, thats why they made Sleepless in Seattle. Audiences who have little or no knowledge of or interest in history, if they go will go to be entertained. They won't care about why Sparta had two kings, or all the other details... They will gravitate to what they know, what they can understand without knowing anything about the details of the history... Sadly, we are surrounded by barbarians in the historical sense. In a way we are of a different culture. Yay us... :-) This has led me to consider an alternative to Thermopylae as the main focus, which as we know has been done at least twice already: What about using it and the Persian wars as the beginning of the events that led to the Peloponnesian War. The crumbling of the cooperation that defeated the Persians, the ascent of Athens, and eventually the war and final reckoning. I don't know if this has been pursued. It would probably be too big for one film, but it could be a trilogy or mini series. Lastly, as its very late and I need to go to bed: Jennifer Anniston? Only if you could work in a cameo for Rachel Green... Others may differ, but it seems to me that she has a very limited acting range. Every character I've ever seen her play has been Rachel with different names. Angelina Jolie, sure mostly because she's hot. There have to be actors and actresses out there who could do it justice. It might be a start for a talented unknown to make their name. One device that some people use Re: main characters, is to have some of them major historical figures, like Leonidas, and parallel stories of common foot soldiers and their perspectives and motivations. Somewhere in there, their paths cross. A sort of James Michener approach could be taken with the sons of earlier characters take part in the next chapter, and s on. Anyone who saw the miniseries based on his novel Centennial knows what I mean. Generations of people play their parts in the unfoldng stories. Anyway, its late and off to bed. Its another possibility anyway.

All good points Tom, and thank you for your input! :-)

[Dan D'Silva]

WI'm sorry to say this - but the Persians are THE baddies. They are invading the territory of independent peoples who object to such militaristic imperialism.

That's a good point, but couldn't much the same be said about the Romans in Western Europe? I don't think most people would accept that they're not free to decide whether to root for the Celts and Germans.

[Robert Vermaat]

WI'm sorry to say this - but the Persians are THE baddies. They are invading the territory of independent peoples who object to such militaristic imperialism.

Nononono.. they were invading the territory of those 'bad' states who illegally supported an uprising among Persian subjects. It wasn't an invasion of independent peoples who minded their own business, but a punitive expedition against those who continued to meddle in Persian affairs. A bit like Caesar invading Britain because of the British Celts supporting the Gauls.
[ducks for cover]

It is the big event we are talking about - and the big event was the Battle of Thermopylai 480BC.

We-ell.. would that not be these same as making a movie about WWII and only showing the Battle of the Bulge? :wink: