Goofs
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Anachronisms (8) |
Boom mic visible (1) |
Character error (12) |
Continuity (15) |
Crew or equipment visible (7) |
Errors in geography (2) |
Factual errors (7) |
Incorrectly regarded as goofs (13) |
Plot holes (1) |
Revealing mistakes (17) |
Spoilers (14)
Anachronisms
Lucilla's contact lenses are visible in a close-up.
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Locks as portrayed in the movie were not yet invented.
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During the fight with the tigers, Maximus falls and rolls over, revealing Lycra shorts.
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During the chariot battle, a woman in the crowd standing and clapping, near the center of the screen above the entrance, is wearing a pair of modern sunglasses.
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In the film, the streets of Rome are very sandy. In reality, they were paved with stones.
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When Marcus Aurelius (who died in AD 180) tells Maximus his plans to make him his successor, many portraits are visible, including Septimius Severus, who gained power in AD 193.
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During the meeting between Maximus, Gracchus, and Lucilla, a statue of a boxer can be seen behind Maximus. The statue is part of a duo, Creugante and Damosseno, carved by Italian artist Antonio Canova between 1795 and 1806. It is currently in the Vatican Museum.
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During the battle with Germans, Maximus is accompanied by his dog, a German Shepherd. The very first German Shepherd, named Hektor Linksrhein (later changed to Horand von Grafrath), was registered by the Society for the German Shepherd Dog in 1899.
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Boom mic visible
As the gladiators head for the entrance of the Colosseum floor to re-enact the Battle of Carthage, the shadow of the boom mic is visible on the right of the screen during the shot showing Maximus heading for the Colosseum entrance.
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Character error
In the opening scenes, during battle preparations, Quintus says, "The danger to the calvary..." instead of "cavalry".
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After the first fight in the Colosseum, Commodus refers to the battle being reenacted as "The Battle of Carthage." It was actually called "The Battle of Zama," as it took place on the plain of Zama. Carthage stood for decades after Hannibal's defeat, until the 3rd Punic War.
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When Marcus Aurelius asks Maximus to tell him about his home, he says the soil is "black, like my wife's hair". When we see her later, Maximus' wife is a brunette.
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Maximus says Rome is corrupt, to which Marcus Aurelius replies "yet you've never been there". Later, Lucilla refers to her childhood with Maximus. He grew up in Spain, she grew up in Rome. However, many upper-class Romans owned villas outside the city, and Lucilla's family could've had a villa in Spain.
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When Maximus is on his horse, he shouts "Roma Victor!" He should have shouted "Roma Victrix."
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"Maximus Decimus Meridius" doesn't follow Roman naming conventions. A classical Roman man's name consists of a first name (praenomen), family name (nomen gentile), and sub-family name (cognomen). The list of possible praenomen is very short and doesn't include "Maximus", though it includes "Decimus."
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During the Battle of Carthage, Maximus frees a horse from the chariot and rides it. The horse is wearing a saddle, which it wouldn't wear if it was pulling a chariot.
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In Marcus Aurelius' tent, after the opening battle scene, an officer says Rome was founded as a republic. It was actually a monarchy long before it became a republic.
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Commodus tells Lucius about their ancestors, including Emperor Claudius. Commodus' family was not related to Claudius, whose family died with Emperor Nero in AD 68.
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By 180 AD, Emperors were given the honorific "Augustus," with "Caesar" usually reserved for the heir to the throne.
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Gracchus's servant warns him of the Praetorians coming to arrest him by saying, "Praetorians, master!" Earlier in the film, Gracchus's servants were said to be deaf and mute, unable to speak.
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Commodus says Cleopatra died after an asp bit her on the breast. That image comes from William Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra. Earlier sources agree that she was bitten on the arm.
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Continuity
When Maximus enters the Colosseum to fight against Tigris of Gaul, he's holding the sword in his right and the shield in his left hand. And in the last shot you see him walking towards Tigris, the sword is in his left and the shield in his right hand. In the next shot, sword will again be in his right and shield in his left hand.
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Maximus kicks Tigris down, and his mask slides open. In the next shot, Maximus opens Tigris' mask with his ax.
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At the end of the Roma-Carthage reenactment, Maximus picks up a spear and holds it up while mounted on the white horse. Commodus then asks who he is and what he is called. While Maximus explains, he throws the spear into the ground. After Commodus says "I'd like to meet him," Maximus throws the spear down again.
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After Maximus beheads the boar-helmeted enemy with two swords in Zucchabar, he throws one of his two gladius (short-swords) into the spectator's box. When he shouts "Are you not entertained?", his remaining sword changes hands several times.
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When Maximus wounds his 3rd enemy during the second fight in Zucchabar, blood splashes on Maximus' right arm and left hip. In the next shot, the blood is gone.
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In the first battle in the Colosseum, when Maximus turns his horse, blood is on his blade. It vanishes, then reappears in next scene.
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When Tigris hits the floor after Maximus kicks him over, his face is clear. In the next shot, when his visor is lifted, Tigris' face is smeared with blood.
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During the fight with Tigris, Maximus kills the tiger and shoves it off of him to the side and we see clearly a shot of the tiger away from Maximus. However when we cut back to Maximus and he is fighting on the ground, we can see the tiger still on top of Maximus.
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In the "Roma-Carthage" battle, Maximus rides a white horse, with his sword in his right hand and his shoulder armor on his left shoulder. After the "Romans" are defeated, his sword is in his left hand and the armor is on his right shoulder. It changes back in the next shot.
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The soldier who fires the first flaming arrow at the start of the battle changes the orientation of his bow between shots. In the first shot, he is holding it horizontally, like a cross-bow. In the next shot, he is holding it vertically.
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The masks in the play when Cicero meets Lucilla.
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When praying to protect his wife and child, Maximus clearly holds both figures in one hand. When the camera angle switches, he holds one in each hand. When the angle switches back, both figures are in one hand again.
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When Maximus approaches Tigris and he picks up a handful of dirt, the shield disappears from his left hand, then reappears.
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After Maximus stabs his opponent in the foot with the ax, a shot of his feet shows him falling, and the ax has disappeared. In the far shot, Maximus picks up the ax, which is on the ground between the other guy's feet.
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After Maximus, Commodus and the guards are lifted up into the arena; the guards form a circle that cuts across the outline of the closed trapdoor. When Quintus steps up orders the guards the sheath their sword's the outline of the trapdoor is now far away from the outside of the circle even though none guards have moved.
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Crew or equipment visible
During the Rome vs. Carthage battle, a chariot slides sideways and hits a wall. A blanket lifts up just before it hits, revealing a large tank and some pipe fittings on the back of the chariot.
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The morning after the battle, when Maximus is patting his horse, a crew member in blue jeans walks backwards through the space underneath the horse's head and neck.
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At the end of the second battle in Zucchabar, Maximus throws his sword. The next shot shows Maximus and his fallen competitors as he taunts the crowd. A crew man, in blue jeans and white T-shirt, and a camera are visible on the left side of the screen, in the first row.
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In the Roma-Carthage battle reenactment, when one of the archers is cut in two by a chariot's wheel blade, a crew member can be seen kneeling in the chariot.
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A lunge whip is visible when Maximus' horse falls on the ride home.
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During the fight with the tigers, one of them leaps onto Maximus' back. As he falls down to the ground, the tiger is now on top of a tiger-handler dressed as a gladiator, holding up a big piece of meat for the tiger to eat.
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In the extended edition blu-ray release, as the two soldiers who are being sacrificed are being led to their death, there is a long shot showing a sandstone building. Three crew members wearing modern day clothes and holding a boom mic can be seen trying to hide around a corner of the building.
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Errors in geography
In one scene, you can see the Tiber river from the Colosseum. The Colosseum was built near one of Rome's hills, and no road led directly from there to the river.
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The coral snake (played by a non-poisonous milk snake) is native to the Americas; no Roman assassin would have owned one.
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Factual errors
Traditional Roman combat strategy of the era taught soldiers to lunge with their swords while under cover of their shields, instead of the hacking seen in the movie.
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Roman legions always fortified their encampments; they never camped on open space.
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In the film, the emperor and crowd put their thumbs up for "live" and down for "kill." In reality, the emperor would to cover his thumb with his four fingers for "live." The gladiator would also live if the emperor yelled the Latin word for "dismissed," or threw a piece of cloth, showing mercy. When he wanted the gladiator to die, he would put his thumb straight out to the side, symbolizing the sword. Studies of Roman artwork suggest that the "thumbs up" gesture was actually an affirmation to proceed with the kill.
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The opening battle is wildly inaccurate. The Roman legions were trained to fight as a regimented force, and to maintain formation for mutual support. In the film, the formation collapses instantly upon contact with the enemy; in addition to being inaccurate, this would have almost certainly led to a Roman defeat, as, on a solo basis, the barbarians were by far the better warriors. Further, the Roman legions used spears called pila. Doctrine called for them to be thrown while the enemy closed. The Romans would then draw their swords and fight, while remaining in formation. Though the Romans are shown holding their pila in the opening scenes, they are never used against the barbarians, and we see no pila-riddled shields and/or corpses in the background.
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Maximus has "SPQR" tattooed on his left arm. In real life, it would have said "Legio", with the legion's number. That way the army could keep track of soldiers if they deserted or were lost in battle.
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In the first gladiatorial battle, one gladiator uses a spiked ball and chain (flail). This type of weapon was first used 1300 years later, by medieval knights.
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During a battle in Zucchabar, Maximus cuts off the head of an armored gladiator in a single chop with two swords at once. Both are Roman gladius swords, which were designed for stabbing and not hacking. It would be almost impossible to use this type of sword to cut off the head of an armored foe in a single chop.
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Incorrectly regarded as goofs
During gladiator fights, someone throws bread into the audience. While some claim the bread was handed out by slaves, the film's researchers learned that bread was indeed thrown to the audience. Sometimes snakes were concealed in the baskets.
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After Maximus defeats Tigris, who is clean-shaven, several soldiers lead him out of the Colosseum. One with a beard looks like Tigris, but it's not him.
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Maximus says "Unleash Hell!" Though Hell may not exist in his religion, he might have been aware of the concept, and used the word for rhetorical value. Since the movie is in modern English, "Hell" could be the modern translation of a Latin word for a burning, deadly place. It could also be a translation of the Greek word Hades, which the Romans also used.
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The "Colosseum" was built as the "Flavian Amphitheater," but it got its name from a colossal statue of Nero outside. Sources vary on whether the name only applied to the statue, or if it was also used for the amphitheater at the time.
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Maximus is a general in the professional Roman army (SPQR), but he was Spanish by birth. The Legions were open to any Roman citizen, not just native-born Romans. Since Spain was a Roman province at the time, it's very likely that Maximus was a Roman citizen as well as Spanish native.
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In the "recreation battle" involving chariots vs standing men, there is a very quick shot showing men shooting with crossbows. While the Romans knew the crossbow (or manuballista), they rarely used it; this may have been one of those rare times. Similarly, the mace was rarely used at the time.
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Maximus changes horses on the ride home. He has two horses with him.
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Characters in the movie smoke cigarettes. Tobacco was introduced to Europe in 1600. However, Romans had smoked cannabis since 100 BCE, and opium since 300 BCE. Marcus Aurelius smoked opium regularly, to sleep and to cope with the difficulty of military campaigns.
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Proximo tells the trader he'll give him "2000 for the men and 4 for the beasts", but he then says "that's 5000 total for an old friend". It means discount. He didn't think 2000+4000=5000.
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The disclaimer states that, while based on true events, the story is fictional. Most liberties taken with costume, custom, language, geography, architecture, and biography are not counted as goofs, especially when tied to artistic or dramatic decisions. The Colosseum is bigger than it ever was in real life, for filming convenience. Some historical errors, such as stirrups on the horses, are for the stunt performers' safety.
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At one point in the chariot battle, one of the gladiators calls out, "Maximus!" While most only know him as the Spaniard at that point, at least one gladiator said he fought under Maximus in Vindibona; others may have also fought under him. While the shouting gladiator, Juba the African hunter, probably had not, he may have heard from another gladiator.
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When Maximus kills one of the tigers, it emits the high-pitched scream of an American mountain lion, which is a purring cat (genus Puma). Tigers (genus Panthera) are roaring cats. However, this could be an artistic decision to have a "universal tongue" for cats in movies, equivalent to the humans speaking modern English.
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During the initial battle with the barbarians, Maximus kills one by cutting his head off, but his sword gets caught in the tree he was standing against. In the next shot, his sword is in his hand, then back in the tree. In the extended version of the movie Maximus draws a reserve sword from his horse and continues fighting, then returns for the first sword in the tree after the battle is over.
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Plot holes
When Maximus fights Commodus, rose petals are dispersed evenly across the entire arena. The crowd couldn't throw rose petals hundreds of feet, and they couldn't have been dropped from above. It would've taken hours for workers to distribute the petals that evenly, for no reason.
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Revealing mistakes
When Maximus takes his helmet off at the end of the Roma-Carthage battle, his fingers make indentations in his helmet, revealing that it's made of rubber.
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During Maximus' second fight in Zucchabar, he cuts the stomach of the fourth gladiator he confronts in the first shot. Two shots later, when Maximus thrusts his sword between the man's left arm and torso, there is no wound on the man's torso.
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After the fight against Commodus, a piece of sky appears where the Colosseum's upper tiers should be.
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During the execution scene, if you look closely, Maximus' sword misses both praetorian's heads.
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During the first fight in Zucchabar, Maximus stabs one of the opposing gladiators. The sword passes between the man's side and his arm.
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Near the end of the Battle of Carthage, Juba runs towards a "Roman" fighter. As he runs, the metal spike on the top of his helmet waves back and forth, revealing that it's rubber.
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In the pan-and-scan version, when the chariots make their way into the Coliseum during the Roma-Carthage battle, a gladiator calls out. You can see clearly see blue sky and scaffolding above his head, where the remaining CGI tiers of the arena should be.
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During the reenactment of the battle of Carthage, after Maximus yells "Single Column", and kills two more gladiators, you can see his chain mail sleeve slip off, revealing that he is not wearing a chain mail tunic at all. This happens again, right before the battle ends and Maximus holds up his sword in victory.
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When the senators stand at the top of the senate stairs to welcome Commodus and Lucilla from the Germanic campaign, some shots show a dark background (curtains or drapes covering the inside of the senate). However, in a few close shots of Sen. Gracchus, the background drapes are parted, showing the blue sky behind the actors. That means the room is not the entrance to a large cavernous room like the senate (as shown in the next few scenes), but a set standing-in for the senate entrance.
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When Maximus is bound up before the final battle with Commodus, the binding on Maximus' right wrist is large enough to slip off easily.
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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.
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FLIPPED SHOT: When Commodus and Lucilla enter Rome via chariot, Commodus' scar is on the right side.
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The shots of the senate and Commodus' throne room were shot at the same location. The dark pillars with gold bases are strikingly similar.
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When Maximus returns home, the tracks in the wheat field could not have been made by a horse-drawn carriage or trailer. If the vehicle was horse drawn the animal would have left a track between the wheel tracks
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As the body of Maximus is being carried out of the Colesseum his head remains level with his body. As it takes at least 3 hours for "rigor-morti" to begin, Maximus's head would have dropped backwards because no one is supporting his head or neck.
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During the Battle of Carthage, Juba throws a spear to kill a chariot driver. The spear clearly bends in half as the spear strikes the driver, indicating that it is made of rubber.
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During the chariot battle, when Juba takes off his helmet to kill a Roman, the spike on the helmet wobbles around wildly, indicating that it is made of rubber.
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Spoilers
Anachronisms
When Maximus grieves his dead wife and son, a Bouganvillea flower is on the grave. Bougainvillea flowers were discovered in Brazil in 1768.Share this
Continuity
After the final fight when Maximus lies on the ground, Hagen, who died two nights before riddled by arrows, is standing in the crowd. He is even one of the bearers when they carry Maximus out of the arena.Share this
Continuity
When Commodus stabs Maximus before their 1-on-1 fight, Maximus' left chest is covered in blood. However, once the camera gets back to him, his chest is clean.Share this
Continuity
After the final fight sequence with Comodus, Maximus falls onto a patch of flat earth covered with petals. As Lucilla comforts him, a raised "pillow" of earth appears under Maximus' head in subsequent shots.Share this
Continuity
When Cicero is hanged, his arms are at his sides. When Maximus is holding him up, his hands are bound together on the front of his body.Share this
Continuity
When Commodus loses his sword in fight against Maximus, he asks for a sword from the Praetorians. Maximus was holding his sword, but in one shot he stands with empty hands. In the next shot, Maximus holds his sword again, and drops it on ground later.Share this
Continuity
In Commodus-Maximus fight, when Maximus picks up his sword from ground we can see that shadows of two fighters are very small. So it means that sun is on top. When Commodus asks sword from Quintus we can see that their shadows are much bigger, like in sunset. That is impossible because fight was only few minutes long.Share this
Continuity
When Maximus stabs Commodus in the neck, the blood pearl on Commodus' right cheek appears and disappears between shots.Share this
Incorrectly regarded as goofs
When Lucilla shuts Maximus' eyes after he dies, his eyes flicker before they are touched. This could be a death throe, or even a post-mortem muscle spasm.Share this
Revealing mistakes
When Lucilla greets Commodus as the new emperor, Marcus Aurelius is breathing.Share this
Revealing mistakes
When Maximus kills Commodus, his right carotid still pulsates when Lucilla closes his eyes. He is supposed to be dead.Share this
Revealing mistakes
Near the end of the movie, when Commodus and Maximus are struggling for the knife, it bends when both of them grip it, indicating that it's rubber.Share this
Revealing mistakes
In the final scene, when Maximus falls backward and hits the dirt, he moves his left arm inward to allow Lucilla to fall to her knees at his side.Share this
Revealing mistakes
Right before Proximo dies, he looks up and says "Shadows and dust." From the background and his clothes, it's clearly a repeat of earlier footage, when he said the same thing to Maximus before the fight with Tigris. This was necessary because Oliver Reed died during production.Share this
