New on video
‘300’ 4 stars
(2007, Warner Bros.; 117 minutes)
Listen up, men! And women! But not kids! If you thought “Gladiator” was a bit too stingy with the bloodshed, if you felt “Sin City” could have been more stylized, if you HATE it when the masses refer to graphic novels as “comic books,” this is your day because “300” is the “Citizen Kane” of cinematic graphic novels. This is a film that never, not for one second, considers taking its foot off the accelerator. Once the battle is joined, it pretty much keeps going until the final fame, with only a few dialogue-driven scenes placed here and there to allow you to catch your breath, turn to your buddy and say, “Are you #%!#$!* kidding me!” The blueprint for “300” is drawn from ancient Greece and one of the most legendary and important conflicts in recorded history, the Battle of Thermopylae, pitting a small band of Spartan warriors against the massive Persian forces then conquering the world, one blood-spattered territory after another. Rated R. (Richard Roeper) DVD special features: additional scenes and featurettes.