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What our customer's say!

"300 Times Better Than 300", Unfortunately I saw this shortly before I saw the 2007 release of 300. This Documentary ruined the movie for me. Leaving out the amazing story of the Navies heroic and vital part of the story was a big mistake. IMHO
The more reality based version was so much more accurate and fascinating. Sometimes the truth is more interesting than the fantasy. It was almost like reading a good book before you see the movie. Ninety percent of the time the movie doesn't do justice to the book. I highly recommend this version for entertainment & education. Well done History Channel!

"On the whole...good", On the whole this was an interesting and accurate description of one of the most important battles in history. I especially liked the telling of how this event helped unite the various city states of Greece, the country that planted the seed of democracy.

I only wish the film maker had shown us the actual site today, rather than giving us just maps and computer graphics. It would have been helpful to see just how side the space was between the mountain cliffs and the sea--also that trail around the heights. Since I will never be able to go there, this would have given me a better idea of just what the Spartans and Persians faced.

There was considerable repetition of information, as this was apparently made for television with all its commercials and the lack of attention span, as opposed to those who see the DVD in one fell swoop.

Nonetheless, I would recommend this as an interesting and important depiction of history.

"Absorbing documentary on the Battle of Thermopylae", Easily inspired from the smash theatrical film, "300," this documentary by "The History Channel," is as entertaining as it is informative. Using a panel of historians and actors in sophisitcated, digitally enhanced reenactments, this disc will clearly appeal to the younger set. With a concentration on the battle itself, and to the History Channel's credit, a significant amount of the 91 minute documentary is spent discussing the Spartan philosophy and way of life in contrast to the other Greek city states and the political rivalies they shared.

Considerable air time is also devoted to the weapons and armor used by the Persians and the Greeks as well as the naval battles and the tactical expertise that allowed the Greeks to stave off Xerxes and the Persian army--said to be over 300,000 strong--against a force of about 1,500 men; roughly the legendary 300 Spartans themselves, and a loose confederation of other soldiers from other city states. The commentators and the program itself, in a highly engaging and entertaining manner, illustrate how the Battle of Thermopylae not only changed the course of Western Civilization, but preserved the the concepts of democracy and freedom in the ancient world.

While this installment carries, by no means the depth of Sir Kenneth Clark's "Civilization," (see my review), it is, an acceptable, albeit, glitzy, action-packed, high-tech extravaganza of a documentary no doubt many high school teachers will find useful for the classroom on a slow Friday morning.

I was fortunate to find my copy at Ross-Dress-For-Less for only $4.99 compared to the list price of $12.99 here at Amazon.

"Where few stood against many", The last stand of the 300 is one of history's greatest military tales of bravery, endurance, and valiantness. The history channel's rendition of this heroic battle between King Leonidas and his 300 Spartan soldiers against three-hundred thousand Persians on land was recreated with painstaking detail. But the battle did not take place only on land - Themistocles led the Athenian naval forces against Xerxes at Thessaly and finishing off the Persians at Artemisium.

This documentary does a great job of recounting the beginnings of the war between Persia and Greece - starting with King Darius the Huckster's defeat at Marathon by Callimachus. King Darius grooms his son Xerxes to exact his revenge which led up to the battle of Thermopylae. In 480 B.C. King Leonidas, with his 300 Spartans and roughly 6000 free men of Greece decided to make their stand at Thermopylae "The Hot Gates" (named after the hot thermal springs) It was at this narrow pass flanked on one side by steep mountains and on the other by the sea, the Greeks made their stand.

"Come and get them" were the words that launched this battle. In this narrow corridor, the Persian numbers counted for nothing - they were restricted from using the stableness of their cavalry. It wasn't until the third day when Ephialtes informed the Persians of a route that would allow them to outflank the Greeks. Now surrounded, the brave soldiers at Thermopylae were doomed. It is then that Leonidas was killed and a battle raged over his corpse - with Xerxes ordering that the head be cut off and stuck on a pike.

"Sound and effective retelling of an amazing story", The battle of Thermopylae was one of the most decisive battles in world history, as well as being one of the most awe inspiring. If the beurocrats in Brussels truly want to forge a common sense of European identity then perhaps they should ensure that every schoolchild on the continent is at least aware of the story.

Sadly, the battle isn't really as well known as it should be, or at least wasn't until the blockbuster '300' came out last year. And here we have an American made documentary to companion that film, sticking fairly closely to the events as depicted there (and astonishingly as the events are widely agreed to have actually happened). In contrast to what other reviewers have written, I didn't find this to be particularly low budget. True, talking heads take up much of the time, often stating the merely banal and obvious, but the recreated scenes are effective if brief. In fact, they are so similar in style to the film that I'm sure a lot of the same extras and production team were involved.

Its such an astonishing story that its hard to tell badly and this documentary does quite a sound job. I'm far from an expert on Ancient Greece but I was suprised at the historians seemingly claiming that the battle of Thermopylae caused the birth of a collective sense of Greek identity which led directly to a united Greece under Phillip II and then the glory of Alexander's empire. Hmmm...I thought the subsequent war between Sparta and Athens (the peloponnesian) left all of Greece easy prey for the Macedonians (who for hundreds of years had never been allowed to participate in the Olympic Games because they were not seen as sharing in the common Greek cultural identity).

That quibble aside, a well made and effective retelling of an incredible story that everybody should know.

Read this reviews before You buy...

"Interesting and historically accurate, but poorly edited", Prior to watching this video, I read the sections of The Landmark Herodotus: The Histories applicable to Thermopylae. This video is remarkably true to Herodotus' description, and avoids the glamorization typical of Hollywood's treatment of the subject. It treats both the Greeks and Persians fairly, and provides an integrated view of both the land and sea battles and the related battles of Marathon and Salamis, which had previously been confused in my mind.

Unfortunately, the battle of Salamis and Themistocles' role is given rather short shrift. A fuller description is provided on the first disk of The History Channel Presents Engineering an Empire - The Complete Series (Collector's Edition), which appears to have originally been part of this disk.

Because the topography around Thermopylae has changed significantly over the past 2500 years, the film relies heavily on graphic representations of the battle, which helps clarify it in the eyes of the viewer. To the extent that actors are used, they look like Greeks and Persians -- dark, swarthy looks, and not inordinately handsome. There is, in the words of Hollywood, no "love interest." This is a film for people with brains.

The authors and scholars who add commentary to the film are generally good, but not excellent. The one exception is Richard Gabriel, author of Empires at War [Three Volumes]: A Chronological Encyclopedia, who is both intelligent and funny.

The reason I gave it only 4 stars, is its sloppy editing. The points at which breaks for advertising were intended in the History Channel presentation stand out and break the continuity of the program. They could have been cut out by any halfway competent editor; clearly no effort was made to do so.

"Banking on that movie. You know which one", There are not nearly enough documentaries that properly document the Spartiates, though several do touch upon such as the Battle of Thermopylae. However, unlike something like "Decisive Battles" which features a "Rome Total War" depiction of the battle, this one is a stale and not greatly done documentary. It is quite blatantly just trying to cash in on the hype behind "300", evident by the filming style and perpetual sunset-esque backdrop.

Kudos to it keeping to history, although it does get wrong several aspects of the battle, and the Spartan nature for soft-spokenness. The documentary claims "it's not in the Spartans' nature to be silent" during battle. This is completely wrong; even Steven Pressfield, author on two historical fiction books on the Spartans, and contributing interviewee on this documentary, claims that silence on the field of battle was what made the Spartans particularly intimidating.

Other than that, it's something of a good attempt, but ultimately inferior to better documentaries already released, and the re-enactments looks very poor due to their attempt to bank on 300's comic-book style.

"Good Companion to 300", Like a lot of people, I checked this out of the library after seeing '300.' The production values are weak, but the information is extremely interesting. The story in '300' seemed oversimplified, and this documentary really helps flesh it out. It's low-budget, to be sure, but I learned a lot from it.

"Better than a movie", The documentary was a well developed work on an old subject.The addition of the sea battle is a well mentioned fact that escapes most presentations of this historical event. This is a splendid addition to any historian library.

"A Stirring Presentation", The history of the 300's last stand at Thermopylae was more intriguing than the movie itself. It involves commentaries of individuals with various doctorates, providing a depth of historical background not presented in the box office film. Information is presented regarding the origin of the disputes between the Persian Empire and the Greek City States, and the events which roused their enmity towards one another, as well as the training that King Leonidas and King Xerxes underwent to assume their responsibilities as military leaders and political rulers. The program provides a rich background of the historical, cultural, and martial disciplines of Sparta and the Persians and the strategic advantages that both had going into the encounter.

In addition to this, the narrators give a more complete picture of the other military and geographic factors of the battle, such as the role of the Athenian Navy; the foolishness of the Phocians and the courage of the Thespians in the battle; the types of armor, weapons that each army underwent, which proved to be advantageous for the Greeks and the tragedy for the Persian army. This is a very good presentation, which will be viewed many, many times.