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In the 50's, in Louisiana, the smart populist, manipulative and wolf hick Willie Stark is elected governor with the support of the lower social classes. He joins a team composed of his bodyguard and friend Sugar Boy; the journalist from an aristocratic family Jack Burden; the lobbyist Tiny Duffy; and his mistress Sadie Burke, to face the opposition of the upper classes. When the influent Judge Irwin supports a group of politicians in their request of impeachment, Stark assigns Jack to find some dirtiness along the life of Irwin, leading to a tragedy in the end.
It is spring 480 BC, Persian King Xerxes, continuing his father Darius'
master plan to conquer the Hellenic city-states, arrives in Hellas. The
previous Persian invasion and diplomatic attempts have already turned
most northern Hellas tribes and states to the Persian side. But the
people of Athens and Sparta, the largest Hellenic powers at the time,
feel quite insulted by the Persian emissaries' request to surrender to
Xerxes, and so slay them. In Sparta, King Leonidas consults the local
oracle, who gives two options: Either a spartan king will have to be
sacrificed, or Sparta will be burned to the ground. A year earlier
(481, BC) a Panhellenic consortium of all southern city-states had
already recognized the superiority of the Spartan army (the best
organized and trained army at the time) and had declared King Leonidas
as supreme commander of the combined Hellenic army. It is then decided
that a small force should block Xerxes' way to southern Hellas in the
Thermopylae passage. This passage was, at that time, 12 meters wide.
The great historian Herodotus, possibly exaggerating, states that there
were 1,700,000 Persians (their true number could have been anywhere
from 100,000 to 1,000,000) against 7,000 Hellenic hoplites and slaves,
including the 300 men of the Spartan King elite guard. King Xerxes
waited four days for the Hellenes to be frightened and eventually
surrender and was quite astonished by his opponents' complete apathy.
Xerxes tried to convince Leonidas to drop weapons, give up his
position, kneel before him and live on as a local governor under
Xerxes. King Leonidas replied "molon lave," which means "Come and get
them." The three-day battle began, with the 300 Spartans and 700
Thespians (the other Hellenes where sent by Leonidas to protect
passages to their flanks) slaying thousands of Persians with minimal
losses. The whole Persian campaign would have failed if it hadn't been
for Efialtes, who showed Xerxes a secret passage to the Hellenic
flanks. After a final battle led by King Xerxes himself, the Hellenic
force was slain and their heroism and glory was written forever in
history. From the beginning of the battle, the Hellenes buried their
dead in the spot where they fell. Then battle signs where made for the
dead of each Hellenic faction. For the Pelloponisians, (including the
300 Spartans) the sign generally read (free translation) "In this place
4,000 Pelloponisians fought 30 millions)." For the 300 Spartans
(Lakaedaemonians), the sign reads (free translation) "Oh foreigner,
tell the Lakaedaemonians that we are buried here obeying their laws,"
meaning that they never hesitated and never retreated from the enemy.
The impact of the battle was enormous for both sides. The Persians'
morale dropped to zero, and the Hellenes lost their fear for the
Persian conqueror and organized their defense. After several successful
battles, the Hellenes ultimately defeated the Persian army and repelled
their invasion in the Battle of Plataea in 479 BC.
DOWNLOAD "300"
Admitted to Mt. Abaddon Hospital for a routine procedure, George
Grieves discovers that his condition is much more serious and
complicated than originally expected; and as his own fears begin to
manifest around him, he learns that Mt. Abaddon is not a place where
people come to get better... it is a place where people come to die.
DOWNLOAD "SUBLIME"
Eight strangers
with no memories find themselves trapped in an abandoned facility. As
they desperately try to find answers and escape, their own Shadows
attempt to consume them from the darkness.
DOWNLOAD "SHADOW PUPPETS"
A pair of rivaling stage magicians are forced to confront their falling
out over a guillotine mishap when they compete in a magic competition.
DOWNLOAD "MAGICIANS"
A hotshot poker player tries to win a tournament in Vegas, but is fighting a losing battle with his personal problems.
DOWNLOAD "LUCKY YOU"
