Executive Decision is a 1996 American action film directed by Stuart Baird in his directorial debut. The film stars Kurt Russell, Steven Seagal, Halle Berry, Oliver Platt, David Suchet, and John Leguizamo. It depicts the rescue of an airline hijacked by terrorists, by a small team placed on the plane in mid flight. The film was released in the United States on March 15, 1996, and grossed $122 million against a $55 million budget.
Ephialtes was the son of Eurydemus of Malis. He betrayed his homeland, in hope of receiving some kind of reward from the Persians, by showing the army of Xerxes a path around the allied Greek position at the pass of Thermopylae, which helped them win the Battle of Thermopylae in 480 BC.
Leonidas I was a king of the Greek city-state of Sparta, and the 17th of the Agiad line, a dynasty which claimed descent from the mythological demigod Heracles and Cadmus. Leonidas I was son of King Anaxandridas II. He succeeded his half-brother King Cleomenes I to the throne in c. 489 BC. His co-ruler was King Leotychidas. He was succeeded by his son, King Pleistarchus.
The Battle of Thermopylae was fought between an alliance of Ancient Greek city-states, led by King Leonidas I of Sparta, and the Achaemenid Empire of Xerxes I. It was fought in 480 BC over the course of three days, during the second Persian invasion of Greece.
The ephors were leaders of ancient Sparta, and its colonies of Taras and Heraclea, and shared power with the two Spartan kings. The ephors were a council of five Spartan men elected annually who swore an oath monthly on the behalf of the city. The kings however, would swear on behalf of themselves.
Gerard James Butler is a Scottish actor and film producer. After studying law, Butler turned to acting in the mid-1990s with small roles in productions such as Mrs Brown (1997), the James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies (1997), and Tale of the Mummy (1998). In 2000, he starred as Count Dracula in the gothic horror film Dracula 2000 with Christopher Plummer and Jonny Lee Miller.
300 is a historically inspired 1998 comic book limited series written and illustrated by Frank Miller with painted colors by Lynn Varley.
Dienekes or Dieneces was a Spartan soldier who fought and died at the Battle of Thermopylae in 480 BC. He was acclaimed the bravest of all the Greeks who fought in that battle. Herodotus (7.226) related the following anecdote about Dienekes:
... the Spartan Dienekes is said to have proved himself the best man of all, the same who, as they report, uttered this saying before they engaged battle with the Medes:— being informed by one of the men of Trachis that when the Barbarians discharged their arrows they obscured the light of the sun by the multitude of the arrows, so great was the number of their host, he was not dismayed by this, but making small account of the number of the Medes, he said that their guest from Trachis brought them very good news, for if the Medes obscured the light of the sun, the battle against them would be in the shade and not in the sun.
Rodrigo Junqueira Reis Santoro is a Brazilian actor. He is most known for his portrayal of Persian King Xerxes in the movie 300 (2006) and its sequel 300: Rise of an Empire (2014). Other famous movies include Brainstorm (2001), Carandiru (2003), Love Actually (2003), Che (2008), I Love You Phillip Morris (2009), and Rio (2011). He also appeared on the television series Lost, portraying the character Paulo, and on HBO's Westworld (2016–2020) as Hector Escaton.
Aristodemus was a Spartan warrior, one of the many sent to the Battle of Thermopylae.
The 300 Spartans is a 1962 CinemaScope epic film depicting the Battle of Thermopylae. Made with the cooperation of the Greek government, it was shot in the village of Perachora in the Peloponnese. The working title was Lion of Sparta. It stars Richard Egan as the Spartan king Leonidas, Sir Ralph Richardson as Themistocles of Athens and David Farrar as Persian king Xerxes, with Diane Baker as Ellas and Barry Coe as Phylon providing the requisite romantic element in the film. Greek warriors, led by 300 Spartans, fight against a Persian army of almost limitless size. Despite the odds, the Spartans will not flee or surrender, even if it means their deaths.
Passenger 57 is a 1992 American action thriller film directed by Kevin Hooks. The film stars Wesley Snipes and Bruce Payne, with Snipes portraying a security consultant who finds himself forced to foil a plot to free a captive terrorist during a commercial airline flight. Critical reviews were mixed, but the film was a box office success and made Snipes a popular action hero icon. It also introduced Snipes's famous line: "Always bet on black."
300 is a 2006 American epic historical action film based on the 1998 comic series of the same name by Frank Miller and Lynn Varley. Both are fictionalized retellings of the Battle of Thermopylae in the Persian Wars. The film was co-written and directed by Zack Snyder, while Miller served as executive producer and consultant. It was filmed mostly with a superimposition chroma key technique to replicate the imagery of the original comic book.
Turbulence is a 1997 American action thriller film directed by Robert Butler and starring Ray Liotta and Lauren Holly. It was distributed by MGM Distribution Co.
Snakes on a Plane is a 2006 American action film directed by David R. Ellis and starring Samuel L. Jackson. It was released by New Line Cinema on August 18, 2006, in North America. The film was written by David Dalessandro, John Heffernan, and Sebastian Gutierrez and follows the events of hundreds of snakes being released on a passenger plane in an attempt to kill a trial witness.
United 93 is a 2006 docudrama thriller film written and directed by Paul Greengrass. The film chronicles the events aboard United Airlines Flight 93, one of the four hijacked flights during the September 11 attacks and the only not to hit its intended target due to the intervention of passengers and crew.
Raid on Entebbe is a 1977 NBC television film directed by Irvin Kershner. It is based on an actual event: Operation Entebbe and the freeing of hostages at Entebbe Airport in Entebbe, Uganda, on July 4, 1976. The portrayal of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was Peter Finch's final performance; he died five days after the film's release.
Meet the Spartans is a 2008 American parody film written and directed by Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer. The film is mainly a parody of the 2007 film 300, although it also references many other films, TV shows, people and pop cultural events of the time, in a manner similar to previous films that Friedberg and Seltzer had been involved in such as Scary Movie, Date Movie and Epic Movie. The film stars Sean Maguire, Carmen Electra and Kevin Sorbo.
300: Rise of an Empire is a 2014 American epic action film directed by Noam Murro and written and produced by Zack Snyder. It is a sequel to the 2007 film 300, taking place before, during, and after the main events of that film, and is loosely based on the Battle of Artemisium and the Battle of Salamis.
Scottish actor Gerard Butler has been in numerous films and television series since his on-screen debut in 1997's Mrs. Brown. After taking minor roles in releases such as the James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) and the horror film Tale of the Mummy (1998), he took the lead in 2000, portraying Dracula in Dracula 2000. Butler co-starred in the films Reign of Fire (2002), alongside Christian Bale, and Lara Croft: Tomb Raider – The Cradle of Life (2003), with Angelina Jolie, before playing André Marek in the adaptation of Michael Crichton's science fiction adventure Timeline (2003). Then he was cast as Erik, The Phantom in Joel Schumacher's 2004 film adaptation of the musical The Phantom of the Opera alongside Emmy Rossum, and Butterfly on a Wheel with Pierce Brosnan and Maria Bello. Although these films were important breaks, it was only in 2007 that Butler gained worldwide recognition for his portrayal of King Leonidas in Zack Snyder's 2007 fantasy war film 300. It earning him a MTV Movie Award for Best Fight and an Empire Award for Best Actor nomination. That same year, Butler starred in the romantic drama film P.S. I Love You with Hilary Swank. After appearing in the 2008 films Nim's Island with Jodie Foster and RocknRolla with Idris Elba, Butler took the lead in several 2009 films including the romantic comedy The Ugly Truth with Katherine Heigl and the thriller Law Abiding Citizen with Jamie Foxx.
