One of my favorite movies of all time is The 300 Spartans, a 1962 movie depicting the Battle of Thermoplyae
. Thermoplyae is a narrow pass where 300 Spartan (and 700 less-mentioned Thespians) held off the slave-army of the Persian Empire of Xerxes, numbering somewhere between 2.5 and 5 million men.
In yet another battle like Watling Street, the 300 Spartans held off the massive waves of men the Persian commanders threw at them. Unlike Watling Street, the defenders broke when a Greek farmer showed the Persians an unused mountain pass in which to flank the defenders. Leonidas and his men held just long enough for the Athenian navy and her allies to crush the Persians at the Battle of Salamis.
In 1962, the movie was form of propoganda showing what the valor of free men united in the cause of liberty could do in the face of tyrrany – even when that tyrrany had overwhelming strength and numbers. There are plenty of great quotes from antiquity, and folks will just have to read to be reminded of them – or possibly discover them for the first time.
In 2007… it is art. Reminds me of the manner of which Gladiator attempted to be at times. Still, you always wonder what the political theme is going to be for movies such as these. Hopefully, more historical than modern-day.