Iran calls Hollywood blockbuster "300" cultural "warfare"
Iran denounced Hollywood's latest blockbuster film, depicting the 480 B.C. battle between the Persian army and a band of Greeks, as "hostile behavior which is the result of cultural and psychological warfare."
Last week's North American opening of "300," while Tehran is embroiled in a standoff with Western nations over its nuclear program, led Iran and its film fans to see the movie as a Western effort to vilify their nation through history.
The film sold an estimated $70 million worth of tickets in its first three days, setting a new record for a March release, the film's distributor Warner Bros. Pictures said on Sunday.
But Iranians were clearly offended at the way their ancestors were portrayed in the film, inspired by the tale of 300 Spartans under King Leonidas who held out at Thermopylae against a Persian invasion led by Xerxes in 480 B.C.
The government, lawmakers and Iranian Web logs (blogs) denounced the movie, which depicts the huge Persian army as ruthless but repeatedly outsmarted by the Greeks who are only defeated in the end by treachery.
Even though the film by U.S. director Zack Snyder has only just hit theatres in the United States, poor quality pirated copies are already available in the Iranian capital.
Read entire article at Breitbart
Last week's North American opening of "300," while Tehran is embroiled in a standoff with Western nations over its nuclear program, led Iran and its film fans to see the movie as a Western effort to vilify their nation through history.
The film sold an estimated $70 million worth of tickets in its first three days, setting a new record for a March release, the film's distributor Warner Bros. Pictures said on Sunday.
But Iranians were clearly offended at the way their ancestors were portrayed in the film, inspired by the tale of 300 Spartans under King Leonidas who held out at Thermopylae against a Persian invasion led by Xerxes in 480 B.C.
The government, lawmakers and Iranian Web logs (blogs) denounced the movie, which depicts the huge Persian army as ruthless but repeatedly outsmarted by the Greeks who are only defeated in the end by treachery.
Even though the film by U.S. director Zack Snyder has only just hit theatres in the United States, poor quality pirated copies are already available in the Iranian capital.