Zack Snyder is primarily known for visual bombast — the sort of over-the-top imagery that at least looks striking even if there’s not always a ton of weight behind it. So it’s fairly surprising, especially in retrospect, that the most memorable scene from his breakout movie is iconic because of a performance decision and not just because of striking imagery. In fact, it’s so memorable and iconic that you might have already guessed that we’re referring to “This is Sparta!” from 2006’s 300.

300 was just Snyder’s second feature film (after the surprisingly good Dawn of the Dead remake), and it was the guarantor that later got him Watchmen, which later led to Man of Steel and his divisive take of the DC Comics movie universe. For a powerfully silly film about a community of fascist eugenicists (with the movie itself having some uncomfortably offensive modern undertones), 300 was a huge hit: It made over $450 million worldwide off of a reported $65 million budget, and a good chunk of those millions probably came from audience members who just wanted to see “This is Sparta!” happen on the big screen (making it an obvious framework for the future success of "Release the Kraken.")

What Is the Iconic Quote From ‘300’?​​​​​​​

Image via Warner Bros. 

Everyone remembers it and everyone can likely recite it from memory: The Persian King Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro) has mobilized his armies to take over the world, with a messenger (Peter Mensah) arriving in the Greek city-state of Sparta to give them a heads-up and an opportunity to submit to Xerxes’ rule in advance. He also takes a moment to insult Sparta’s queen, played by Lena Headey (an early breakout role for her, foreshadowing her future career as a regal woman in fantasy stories).

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Sparta’s King Leonidas (Gerard Butler, in what is still likely his most definitive role) rejects the messenger’s proposal and gathers a group of soldiers to kill him. Baffled, the messenger insists that Leonidas’ behavior is “madness” and implores him to think of his next words carefully, giving Snyder a chance to melodramatically drag out the scene, and Leonidas eventually responds (all together now): “Madness? This is Sparta!” And then he kicks the guy into a nearby bottomless pit.

What Else Happens in Zack Snyder’s ‘300’?

Image via Warner Bros. 

Not much else strictly “happens” in 300, though there are a few other scenes with big, dramatic speeches and a few exciting battle sequences. Having been spurned by the Spartans, Xerxes prepares to invade but is met by the largest group of soldiers Leonidas was able to muster without the support of Sparta’s entire government — which ends up being just 300 warriors. What follows is the famous historical event known as the Battle of Thermopylae, but the real version had fewer magic ninjas, giants, and weaponized rhinoceroses.

But that’s okay, because the conceit of 300 is that we are witnessing a fantastical version of the story as told by David Wenham’s Dilios. It’s not supposed to be a depiction of what literally happened, even considering the in-universe events, it’s supposed to be a more heroic dramatization so Dilios can drum up support from the rest of Greece. That means it’s all sort of filtered through Snyder’s over-the-top sensibilities and then filtered through his over-the-top sensibilities again, creating a fascinating distillation of all the stuff Snyder is interested in.

300

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Action

Drama

History

Release Date

March 9, 2007

Runtime

117 minutes

Director

Zack Snyder

Writers

Zack Snyder, Kurt Johnstad, Michael B. Gordon

Sequel(s)

300: Rise of an Empire

Cast

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• 
  Vincent Regan
• 
  Giovanni Cimmino

Franchise(s)

300

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