Gladiatorerna (1969)

Director:

Peter Watkins

Writers:

Nicholas Gosling (writer)
Peter Watkins (writer)

Release Date:

25 June 1969 (Sweden)

Genre:

Drama | Sci-Fi

Plot:

Some time in the future, East and West have stopped maintaining standing armies and nuclear weapons. Instead, to settle their differences they pit different teams of crack combat specialists against each other. |

Plot Keywords:

Military | Assassination | Soldier | Competition | Fictional Game Show

Cast

Arthur Pentelow	...	British General
Frederick Danner	...	British Staff Officer
Hans Bendrik	...	Capt. Davidsson
Daniel Harle	...	French Officer
Hans Berger	...	West German Officer
Rosario Gianetti	...	American Officer
Tim Yum	...	Chinese Staff Officer
Kenneth Lo	...	Chinese Colonel
Björn Franzen	...	Swedish Colonel
Christer Gynge	...	Assistant Controller
Jürgen Schilling	...	East German Officer
Stefan Dillan	...	Russian Officer
Ugo Chiari	...	Italian Officer
Chandrakant Desai	...	Indian Officer
George Harris	...	Nigerian Officer
Jeremy Child	...	B-1
Erich Stering	...	B-2
Jean-Pierre Delamour	...	B-3
Richard Friday	...	B-4
Roy Scammell	...	B-5
J.Z. Kennedy	...	B-6
Terry Whitmore	...	B-8
Eberhard Fehmers	...	B-7
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Keith Bradfield	...	Narrator
Pik Sen Lim	...	C-2
To Van Minh	...	B-10

Directed by
Peter Watkins

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Nicholas Gosling		writer
Peter Watkins		writer

Produced by
Bo Jönsson	....	executive producer
Göran Lindgren	....	producer

Original Music by
Claes af Geijerstam

Cinematography by
Peter Suschitzky

Film Editing by
Lars Hagström

Art Direction by
Bill Brodie		(as William Brodie)

Costume Design by
Chris Collins

Makeup Department
Ann Brodie	....	makeup artist
Bengt Ottekil	....	wigs

Production Management
Jutta Ekman	....	production manager
Bertil Sandgren	....	production manager

Art Department
Eva Blakstad	....	props
Christer Bolling	....	props
Charles Delattre	....	assistant art director

Sound Department
Pierre Björklund	....	sound
Berndt Frithiof	....	sound mixer
Tage Sjöberg	....	sound

Special Effects by
Stig Lindberg	....	special effects

Camera and Electrical Department
Erik Bergman	....	grip
Svend Bregenborg	....	lighting technician
Peter Fischer	....	assistant camera
Per Persson	....	lighting technician
Hasse Seiden	....	still photographer
Ragnar Waaranperä	....	grip

Other crew
Marianne Johnson	....	script girl

Production Companies

• Sandrews

Distributors

• Studio Films (Australia) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• New Line Cinema (1971) (USA) (dubbed)
• New Star (2008) (Greece) (all media)
• Project X Distribution (2005) (Canada) (all media)
• Project X Distribution (2005) (USA) (all media)
• VCI Home Video (USA) (VHS)
• Wizard Video (1982) (USA) (VHS)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

102 min

Country:

Sweden

Language:

English | Mandarin | French | German | Swedish

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:Not Rated | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Kårsta, Stockholms län, Sweden

Company:

Sandrews

Quotes:

British Staff Officer:[addressing the allied team] If I may use a boxing metaphor: you can win on points, but what we want is a knock-out.

Highly overlooked masterpiece from Peter Watkins.

Watkins' Gladiators a.k.a. Gladiatorena a.k.a. The Peace Game (1969) is a very interesting film that features a unique concept.The movie takes place in a alternate reality where warfare has been abolished. Countries that want to settle their disputes handle them inside a high tech arena. Each country sends in a crack squad of highly trained commandos. While inside, they play a game that's similar to "capture the flag". The supercomputer controlled arena is operated by technicians from neutral countries. The computer randomly puts up obstacles in the way of the commandos (adding a bit of intrigue to the game). The generals from the opposing forces (along with their allies) play a game of chess with their commandos, watching the proceedings from the safety of a control room (TV screens and computer monitors follow the action). Around the world, the game is televised (except in Russia, China and The United States). The TV programmers even have a say in the action (they have to satisfy the TV viewers).

Once again, Watkins uses his faux documentary style to capture it all on film. This movie's truly ahead of it's time. A concept like this one would make a great reality T.V. show. Unfortunately, like most of Peter Watkins work it's a hard movie to find. But if you ever get a chance to watch it, I recommend that you do.

Highly recommended.