300/300: Rise of an Empire (DVD)

Double bill of fantasy action films. '300' (2006), adapted from Frank Miller's comic book series, is a modern retelling of the Battle of Thermopylae of 480 BC, when the 100,000 strong invading Persian Army of King Xerxes was held back in a narrow mountain pass by 300 Spartans. King Leonidas (Gerard Butler) is given four days by Persia's King Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro) to lay down his arms and surrender. Rejecting the proposal, the battle ensues, and the Spartans are only defeated by the treachery of local shepherd Ephialtes (Andrew Tiernan), who shows the Persians a secret route, enabling them to outflank their opponents. In the second film, '300: Rise of an Empire' (2014), based on Miller's graphic novel 'Xerxes' and set before, during and after '300', Athenian General Themistocles (Sullivan Stapleton) leads the Greek Army in a war against the invasion of King Xerxes I, naval commander Artemisia (Eva Green) and their Persian forces. Themistocles allies with the Spartans but they are still outnumbered by Xerxes' men. Who will be victorious? The film was co-written by Zack Snyder and Kurt Johnstad and also stars Lena Headey, Jack O'Connell and Hans Matheson.