 300 is a 2006 American epic fantasy war 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 within the Persian Wars . The film was directed by Zack Snyder , while Miller served as executive producer and consultant . It was filmed mostly with a super @-@ imposition chroma key technique , to help replicate the imagery of the original comic book . 
