Word: persianism
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...achievement of epic proportions winds up as a Greek tragedy. Loosely based on the historical battle of Thermopylae, “300” starts with an intriguing premise: A paltry band of Spartan soldiers take on the biggest army the world has ever known, led by the Persian tyrant Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro). Faced with an enemy determined to conquer the ancient world, the Spartans must prove that they really are history’s greatest warriors. With that premise, how could “300” disappoint? Well, to begin with, it’s a painfully overdone...
...were created from scratch. With the kind of computing power directors have at their disposal, editing becomes more like painting than moviemaking. Time speeds up for dramatic effect, then slows down to capture a balletic spear thrust. Computer-generated elephants rear up and plummet off computer-generated cliffs. The Persian King Xerxes becomes 9 ft. tall. In one scene a nubile oracle dances in a trance, her hair and her flowy, filmy wrap swirling surreally around her otherwise nude body (300 earns every inch of its R rating). There's something odd about the image that...
...government to power in Baghdad, prompting panic in the region--and the White House--about Iranian domination of the Middle East. As a result, the Bush Administration is frantically trying to assemble a bloc of friendly regimes to contain Tehran--with Saudi Arabia, Iran's longtime rival in the Persian Gulf, as the linchpin. The Saudis have been working hard to make sure Iran's ally Hizballah doesn't overthrow Fouad Siniora's government in Beirut. They've been trying to reconcile the Palestinians, partly to wean the militant Hamas from its funders in Tehran. Some even speculate that Riyadh...
...sectarian war in Iraq is increasingly blamed on Iran. Taken along with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's nuclear ambitions, Iran's sponsorship of the Shi'ite Hizballah militia in Lebanon and its backing of Hamas, Iran's supposed meddling in Iraq is proof to Arab leaders that their old Persian rivals are determined to reshape the Middle East to suit their own interest...
...Iran's embassy in Damascus - its fa?ade covered in blue tiles arranged like a Persian carpet - is the largest Iranian diplomatic post in the Middle East, and a source of no small amount of intrigue and fascination. It often plays host to the likes of Hizballah leader Hassan Nasrallah and Hamas leader Khaled Meshal. And, according to U.S. and Israeli intelligence, it's also where Iran organizes its arms shipments into Lebanon and the rest of the Levant...