The 300 Spartans

The 300 Spartans, respects the story underneath its action rather than burying it. The length is exactly right for the story it is telling — nothing rushed, nothing dragged out. With 156 viewer ratings on TMDB, this is not a title flying under the radar. Richard Egan is the obvious draw, but the supporting cast gives the action its context. There is no real reason to keep putting it off.

There is a reason The 300 Spartans keeps coming up in conversation. The 300 Spartans moves fast and earns its action sequences rather than just delivering them. The 300 Spartans is an account of the 480 B.C. Battle of Thermopylae, in which the Greek Spartan King Leonidas, played by Richard Egan, led a remarkably small number of Greek Sparta to victory over an invading Persian army led by evil King Xerxes that was thought to number over 25,000. This spectacular conflict gave the Grecians enough time to organize a force to ultimately repel the Persians, and thus change the course of Western civilization. Richard Egan and Ralph Richardson lead a cast that earns every set piece rather than just filling it. It was released in 1962. The geography of every set piece in The 300 Spartans is legible, which is rarer in the genre than it should be. There is real craft here, even in the moments that do not fully land.

The genre has a long history of front-loading its best moments — The 300 Spartans is not one of those. It rewards viewers regardless of what else is in their watch history. Best experienced as a single, sustained watch from start to finish. Richard Egan is the obvious draw, but the supporting cast gives the action the context it needs to land. The action holds up because the character work underneath it never lets up.

The 300 Spartans was released in 1962, directed by Rudolph Maté. The full 114-minute film is available to watch now. Find exactly where it's streaming below, and TV Butler Pro makes it effortless to track your progress as you go. Just search the name, and Butler finds it instantly, tells you which service has it, and remembers exactly where you left off.