Synopsis:

When Xerxes of Persia launches an invasion of Greece, two of her most legendary warriors - Leonidas of Sparta and Themistocles of Athens - lead the defense of their homeland.

Intentions:

As soon as '300: Rise of an Empire' was announced to take place before, during, and after the original 300, a fanedit was inevitable. Combining the two films was like putting together a big puzzle that was covered in blood and sweat. The end result is, I feel, a war epic that revels in absurd action and doesn't forget to have fun.

Change List:

This is a general list of cuts and edits. You'll notice that more content was cut from 300 than Rise of an Empire. This is because Rise of an Empire was a fair bit shorter and there wasn't really all that much to cut. - All scenes from Rise of an Empire were slightly desaturated and film grain added to bring them closer in appearance to 300. - Added Aztek Fanedit Classics bumper to the beginning. - Added "Earth and Water" to the original title card for 300. - Opens with the battle of Marathon. Trimmed in a few places. - Added "490 B.C." at the beginning of the battle. - Trimmed the first scene in Athens, added "480 B.C." to beginning of scene. - Cut all of Leonidas's back story. The first Sparta scene is him training with his son. - Trimmed scene with the Persian emissary. - Removed Themistocles talking with Dilios when he visits Sparta. - Cut the underwater dancing oracle. - Trimmed the 300 leaving Sparta. - Removed voice over from the night time storm scene. - Combined the first battle between the Spartans and the Persians and the Athenians at sea. - Trimmed the second naval engagement between the Athenians and Artemisia. - Removed voice over from night battle with the Immortals. Fight trimmed a bit. - Trimmed battle before the Captain's son is killed. Removed voice over from scene. - Trimmed the defeat of the 300. - Trimmed scenes with Themistocles talking with Daxos and Ephialtes. - Removed voice over during the sacking of Athens. - Trimmed scene with Xerxes and Artemisia before the final battle. - Removed Gorgo's voice over before the Spartans arrive at Salamis. - New credits, with "The End is the Beginning is the End" by Smashing Pumpkins as the music.

Additional Notes:

Given that 'Rise of an Empire' takes place before, during, and after the original film, I used that as the main body of the film. Despite the films being about the same conflict, both have rather different approaches to how the story is told. I did my best to reconcile these differences, detailed in the cuts and additions, so they truly feel like one film.

Special Thanks: