The Four

Michael Ninn’s grand vision, shot five years ago, has finally seen the light of day. Made on the heels of the mainstream hit “300,” about the defeat of the Greeks by the Persians, it takes up where that tale left off. The widows of four fallen heroes swear vengeance. An oracle gives each “the power of 100 Greek warriors,” turning beautiful women into killing machines.

Brea Bennett plays Queen Gorgo, widow of King Leonidas. Her sisters in arms — representing the archer, the sword and the spear — are Renee Perez, Nikki Kane and Cassidey. Their goal is the death of Persian king Xerxes and his high priestess — two great villains memorably incarnated by Marco Banderas and Jennifer Dark.

A plummy-voiced narrator tells the story in flowery prose: “Born of vengeance, formed by the almighty flame of love, even the gods tremble at their power.” There is a constant flow of strikingly beautiful images. The girls are quite convincing in the stylized fight scenes, a bit less so in their dialogue delivery.

The sex is mostly passionate and intense, but it’s not shot in the ultra-bright, hard-edged porn style. The videography has a lantern-lit, ancient-days look, atmospheric but at times a bit murky. There’s a great deal of CGI work, most of it effective.

The boxed set contains four discs: two for the 3½ hour movie, one for a two-hour behind the scenes, one for in-depth portraits of the four stars (none currently active). This may not be a porn epic for the ages, but it’s the work of a true artist and by any criterion a must-see.