Gladiator (2000)

User Rating:

8.3/10   

Director:

Ridley Scott

Writers (WGA):

David Franzoni (story)
David Franzoni (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

5 May 2000 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Drama | History

Tagline:

Father of a murdered son, husband to a murdered wife and I shall have my vengeance in this life or the next

Plot:

When a Roman general is betrayed and his family murdered by a corrupt prince, he comes to Rome as a gladiator to seek revenge.

Plot Keywords:

Gladiator | Emperor | General | Death | Revenge

Awards:

Won 5 Oscars. Another 45 wins & 79 nominations

Cast

Russell Crowe	...	Maximus
Joaquin Phoenix	...	Commodus
Connie Nielsen	...	Lucilla
Oliver Reed	...	Proximo
Richard Harris	...	Marcus Aurelius
Derek Jacobi	...	Gracchus
Djimon Hounsou	...	Juba
David Schofield	...	Falco
John Shrapnel	...	Gaius
Tomas Arana	...	Quintus
Ralf Moeller	...	Hagen
Spencer Treat Clark	...	Lucius
David Hemmings	...	Cassius
Tommy Flanagan	...	Cicero
Sven-Ole Thorsen	...	Tiger

Also Known As:

The Gladiators (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for intense, graphic combat.

Runtime:

155 min | 171 min (extended version)

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS-ES | Dolby Digital EX | SDDS

Certification:

Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) (re-rating on appeal) | Canada:14A (Alberta) | Canada:18 (Nova Scotia) (original rating) | Canada:18A (British Columbia) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Iceland:16 | USA:R (certificate #37084) | Malaysia:18SG | Malaysia:U (cut version) | Netherlands:12 (TV rating) | Brazil:14 | Taiwan:R-12 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Chile:14 | Denmark:15 | Finland:K-16 | France:U | Germany:16 (bw) | Hong Kong:IIB | Israel:PG | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:M | Norway:15 | Peru:14 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | South Korea:15 | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | Philippines:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Ait Benhaddou, Ouarzazate, Morocco

Company:

DreamWorks SKG

Trivia:

Writer William Nicholson added the aspects of the film in which Maximus discusses the afterlife, seeking to make the character more accessible to audiences.

Goofs:

Miscellaneous: In the opening battle, when the two armies run together, a Roman soldier in the center of the screen is clearly laughing at the battle, and not taking part. Some report several others laughing.

Quotes:

Maximus: Ancestors, I ask you for your guidance. Blessed mother, come to me with the Gods' desire for my future. Blessed father, watch over my wife and son with a ready sword. Whisper to them that I live only to hold them again, for all else is dust and air. Ancestors, I honor you and will try to live with the dignity that you have taught me.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Mangler 2 (2001) (V)

Soundtrack:

Etruria

Is Crowe the 'next action hero?'

Germania, 150 AD, the setting of Gladiator's opening scene. Far from the blazing sun and dazzlingly beauty of ancient Rome, Ridley Scott shoots the opening sequence in a subdued light. The Roman legions are nonetheless impeccably turned out as they face the comparatively disorganised rabble that inhabits this miserable environment. Caesar's soldiers seem somewhat misplaced here. However, Russell Crowe is at home in this environment of knee-deep mud and merciless snow. He commands the screen with all the virtues of his motto: ‘Strength and Honour.'

The plot, with its hero-to-zero-to-hero nature, runs through Gladiator's every vein. As General Maximus, Russell Crowe is welcomed by Marcus Aurelius Caesar (Richard Harris) to take the Roman throne as Emperor of a new Republic. All does not run smoothly however as mislead heir to the throne Commodus (Phoenix) takes over Rome with ill-gotten domination, having dispatched his own Father. Maximus is cast out to find his family murdered and his Spanish farm burnt to the ground. Taken in as a slave by Proximo (Reed), Maximus becomes a Gladiator and starts his journey to the Coliseum and revenge against Commodus.

Scott's cast is powerful and he is not left wanting as powerful performances are delivered by all. Due to his untimely mid-production death, Oliver Reed is created in some scenes by the grace of computer graphics, which are as convincing as they come; sometimes making it difficult to differentiate between Reed himself and his computerised counterpart.

It is, however, the supporting actors who create many of Gladiator's best dialogue-based scenes. In an accomplished demonstration of her acting ability as Lucilla, Connie Nielsen saves the occasional scene as Joaquim Phoenix shows us that he can ‘do evil', but is less convincing when it comes to the more emotional qualities of his role.

As a vehicle for the plot, Scott's beautifully created and highly symbolic (there is an image of fire in nearly every shot of the film) dialogue scenes are of a certain merit with digitally created backgrounds that encompass the meticulous nature of the Roman Empire. However, dialogue alone does not an epic movie make, and it is in the film's spectacular action sequences that Gladiator come into its own. Shot on location in Malta, Scott's first arena was built by an army of locals and commanded some 5000 extras (a large majority of whom were of a cardboard variety). All of this pales in comparison as we arrive in a digitally created Rome which makes some scenes in Ben Hur some somewhat small scale. The Coliseum is immense, both inside and out, and the computerised provides the electric atmosphere in which Crowe and his feline companions (four sizeable, and real, Bengal tigers) perform.

The battle sequences are perfectly choreographed and shot as iconic masks and typically Roman chariots are abundant in their power and imagery. As swords clash and heads roll, Ridley Scott is triumphant in the application of special effects technology and his directorial prowess.

Always one to embrace technology, Scott's views over Rome's landscape are reminiscent of the beautifully created cityscape of Blade Runner. This is a film that fears so little and boasts so much, even a lady archer being sliced clean in half by a spiked chariot wheel!

All those involved with Gladiator should be delighted and confident with their creation, for indeed this is a convincing and enthralling display with epic proportions to take the wind from James Cameron's titanic sails.