Arka Mukhopadhyay
The 2006 historical war movie ‘300’ is Zack Snyder’s shot-by-shot screen adaptation of the graphic novel of the same name by celebrated comic artist and author Frank Miller and Lynn Varley. The film chronicles Spartans’ hardcore life and times, their codes and morals, and the threat of a hostile world beyond the city-state. King Leonidas and his titular army of 300 valorous Spartan warriors embark upon the ancient battle of Thermopylae against ruthless Persian emperor Xerxes and his giant horde.
The odds are not in favor of the Spartans. When one of their own joins hands with the enemy, the chance of winning seems bleak for the Spartans. Painted with a stylistic golden hue and starring Gerard Butler in the central role of King Leonidas, the film is one of the bloodiest, goriest, and dynamic period pieces to date. Most of the storyline unfolds in the ancient city-state of Sparta. But the director possibly did not have a time machine in his stride. Thus, it is natural for you to wonder where the movie was filmed. If the question has cropped up in your mind, allow us to delve deeper.
300 Filming Locations
‘300’ was filmed in the USA and Canada, especially in Québec and California. Principal photography reportedly commenced on October 17, 2005, and was wrapped up by December 18, 2005. Let us now visit the specific locations where the movie was shot!
Montréal, Québec
The movie takes the viewers to the ancient Greek city-state of Sparta. But the film was primarily lensed in Montréal, an island city between the Saint Lawrence River and Rivière des Prairies. It is the largest city in the dominantly Francophone province of Québec. The production team primarily created the dark and yellow-tinted ambiance in a studio environment. The crew filmed most parts of the historical fiction drama in the Ice Storm Studios, located on 2595 Place Chasse. The property occupies what once used to be the Angus shipyards.
Once an active production site used in films such as ‘The Secret Adventures of Jules Verne,’ Ice Storm Studios was later acquired by Mel’s Cite du Cinema. Reportedly, the production team filmed most of the scenes on a soundstage in Building 3 of the studio. The dynamic fight sequences were captured with a few dozens of soldiers in the studio using bluescreens 90 percent of the time, the green screen being used for only 10 percent of the production. Bluescreens were ideal for the demure lighting and color combination they decided on in the pre-production. Moreover, the color blue highlighted the crimson capes of the Spartans.
The movie demanded that the male actors be stone-carved and in the raw. Thus, according to sources, they had to go through a taxing eight-week training regime. Although blood spills in several scenes in the movie, the shooting did not require much fake blood. The shooting chore used only about a couple of gallons of fake blood and the rest was added via CGI during post-production. Out of 1523 cuts in the movie, around 1300 contained some VFX elements.
Los Angeles, California
In a memorable scene of the movie, we see Persian messengers appear on a hilltop as they ride to Sparta. Although most of the shoot took place in the studio environment, this scene was an exception. The sequence was reportedly filmed on location in the City of Angels, although the footage was later heavily altered in post-production. The Californian metropolis along the west coast is one of the most coveted filming locations globally due to its instrumental role in the international cinema culture and industry.
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