f moviegoers thought the adaptation of Frank Miller's graphic novel Sin City was an intense ride, they haven't seen anything yet. 

  Based on the epic novel by the comic book icon, 300 is a ferocious retelling of the ancient Battle of Thermopylae in which King Leonidas (Gerard Butler) and 300 Spartans fought to the death against an invading Xerxes (Lost's Rodrigo Santoro) and his massive Persian army. According to legend, their sacrifice inspired all of Greece to unite against their Persian foe, leading to the origins of democracy. 

  If the story sounds familiar, it's because it was already the subject of a 1962 movie called The 300 Spartans, which Miller watched when he was young. 

  "I saw it when I was six or seven and it formed my whole approach to what heroes were. It gave me a sort of distaste for heroes who got medals at the end," Miller said. "It pointed out more that heroes were willing to fight and die on principle whether they got credit or not." 

  In order to bring Miller's beautifully stylized creation to the big screen, director Zach Snyder (Dawn of the Dead) combined live action with virtual backgrounds. The film was shot entirely on a Montreal blue-screen stage,
actors
Gerard Butler
Lena Headey
Dominic West
Rodrigo Santoro

director
Zack Snyder

location
Montreal
outtake
The film was shot in 60 days but its post-production took almost a year.

with backgrounds inserted later.

  "Frank's books are the exact opposite of technological, because they're so organic," Snyder told Premiere magazine. "But if you're serious about translating his visuals into a movie, CGI is the only way. The landscapes, the perspectives, just don't exist."

  Miller, who spoke to an enthusiastic crowd at San Diego's Comic-Con, agreed CGI allows more leeway when it comes to his work.

  "It (CGI) may not be the only way (to adapt a comic book) but it's a damn good one. It's a way that I want to continue with because there's a lot of pictures that translate very well from cartoon to film by this process. You can get more extreme and more stylized, and it can feel much more like a living drawing."

  While the film might be amazing to watch, Butler, who trained intensely to look the part of the Spartan leader, said it is the plot that makes the film.

  "That's what's wonderful about this. Visually it looks so incredible. It's stunning and yet at the same time it is such an incredible story. And so, to me, it always felt we were onto a winner," Butler said.

  "I think it works from every angle. And also the deeper messages that it gives to the audiences as well in the end. I think it's quite an inspiring, courageous, insane and violent, brutal, artistic film."

- Patricia Mann