Tuesday, April 24, 2007

300

I saw this movie and ofcourse liked the computer graphics used throughout the movie. But I do give a hand to the dialogues delivered by the actors and the script writer. Anyways, here are the quotes from the movies in order of appearance.

Spartan King Leonidas: Before you speak Persian, know that in Sparta everyone, even a king's messenger is held accountable with the words of his voice. Now, what message do you bring?
Persian Messenger: Earth and Water.
Leonidas: You rode all the way from Persia for Earth and Water.
Queen Gorgo: Do not be corny or stupid Persian. You can afford neither in Sparta.
Messenger: What makes this woman think that she can speak among men?
Queen Gorgo: Because only Spartan women give birth to real men.
Leonidas: Let us walk to cool our tongues.
Messenger: If you value your lives over your complete annihilation, listen carefully Leonidas. Xerxes conquers and controls everything he rests his eyes upon. He leads an army so massive it shakes the ground with its march, so vast it drinks the rivers dry. All the God king Xerxes requires is this, a simple offering of earth and water. A token of Sparta's submission to the will of Xerxes.
Leonidas: Submission?... That's a bit of a problem. See rumor has it, the Athenians have already turned you down, and if those philosophers and boy-lovers have found that kind of nerve...
Councilman Theron: [Interrupting] We must be diplomatic.
Leonidas: ...and of course Spartans have their reputation to consider.
Messenger: Choose your next words carefully, Leonidas. They may be your last, as King.
(Persian Messenger facing Spartan King Leonidas's sword)
Messenger: Madman, you are a madman.
Leonidas: Earth and Water, you will find plenty of both down there.
Messenger: No man, Persian or Greek. No man threatens a messenger.
Leonidas: You bring the crowns and heads of conquered kings to my city steps. You insult my queen. You threaten my people with slavery and death. Oh, I have choosen my words carefully, Persian. Perhaps you should have done the same.
Messenger: This is blasphemy. This is madness.
Leonidas: Madness? THIS IS SPARTA!


Persian Emissary: Who commands here. I am the emissary to the ruler of all the world, the god of gods, king of kings and by that authority I demand that someone show me their commander. Listen, do you think the paltry dozen you suit scare us. These hills swarm with our scouts. And do you think your pathetic wall will do anything except fall like a heap of dry leaves in the face....
Stelios: Our ancestors built this wall, using ancient stones from the bosom of Greece herself and with a little Spartan help, your Persian scouts supplied the Mortar.
Emissary: You will pay for your BARBARISM.
(After Stelios cuts the arm of the Persian Emissary)
Emissary: My arm.
Stelios: It's not yours, anymore! Go now, run along and tell your Xerxes he faces free men here, not slaves. Do it quickly before we decide to make our wall a bit bigger.
Emissary: No, not slaves. Your women will be slaves, your sons, your daughters, your elders will be slaves, but not you, no, by noon this day you will be dead men. A thousand nations of the Persian empire descend upon you. Our arrows will blot out the sun.
Stelios: Then we will fight in the shade.


Spartan King Leonidas: Let me guess, you must be Xerxes.
Persian God King Xerxes: Come Leonidas, let us reason together; It would be a regretable waste; it would be nothing short than madness for you brave king and your valiant troops to perish, all because of a simple misunderstanding. There is much our cultures could share.
Leonidas: Haven't you notice, we have been sharing our culture with you all morning.
Xerxes: Yours is a fascinating tribe, even now you are defiant in the face of annihilation, in the presence of a God, it isn't wise to stand against me, Leonidas. Imagine what horrible fate awaits my enemies when I would gladly kill any of my own men for victory.
Leonidas: And I would die for any one of mine.
Xerxes: You Greeks take pride in your logic, I suggest you employ it. Consider the beautiful lands that you so vigorously defend, picture it reduced to ash and my whim. Consider the fate of your women.
Leonidas: Clearly you don't know our women! I might as well have marched them up here judging by what I've seen. You have many slaves, Xerxes. But few warriors. It won't be long before they fear my spears more than your whips.
Xerxes: It's not the lash they fear. It is my divine power. But I am a generous God. I can make you rich beyond all measure. I will make a warlord of all Greece. You will carry my belt of standard to the heart of Europa. Your Athenian rivals will kneel at your feet, if you will but kneel at mine.
Leonidas: You are generous, as you are divine, O king of kings, Such an offer only a mad man would refuse. But the idea of kneeling its.. you see.. slaughtering all those men of yours is.. has left a nasty cramp in my leg. So kneeling will be hard for me.
Xerxes: There will be no glory in your sacrifice. I will erase even the memory of Sparta from the histories, every piece of Greek parchment shall be burnt, every Greek historian and every scribe shall have their eyes put out and tongues cut from their mouth. WHY.. Honouring the very name of Sparta or Leonidas will be punishable by death. The world will never know that you existed at all.
Leonidas: The world will know that free men stood against a tyrant. That few stood against many. And before this battle was over, that even a god-king can bleed.

Spartan King Leonidas: Unless I miss my guess, we're in for one wild night.

(Dilios narrates the Battle with the Immortals)
They have served the dark will of Persian Kings for 500 years. Eyes as dark as night, teeth filed to fangs, souless. The personal guard to king Xerxes himself, the Persian warrior elite. The deadliest fighting force in all of Asia. The Immortals.
The God king has betrayed a fatal flaw, hubris, easy to taunt, easy to trick. Before wounds and weariness has taken a toll, the mad king throws the best at us. Xerxes has taken the bait.
Immortals, we put their names to the test.
(Referring to the Arcadians) They shout and cursed, stabbing wildly, more brawlers than warriors. They made a wondrous mess of things. Brave amateurs. They do their part.
Immortals, they failed our king's test, and a man who fancies himself a god, feels a very human chill crawl up his spine.

Stelios: It is an honor to die at your side.
Spartan King Leonidas: It is an honor to have lived at yours.

1 comment:

l t said...

Queen Gorgo: Do not be corny...?
She said: Do not be coy, not corny.

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