OLD HOLLYWOOD MEETS NEW HOLLYWOOD

Rating: 7/10 (17 July 2000)

The great thing about GLADIATOR is the way in which the film combines elements of the classic Hollywood epic with a modern style. It is both respectful of the tradition to which it belongs, and bold enough to step in a new direction. It is not simply a remake of FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE (though outwardly the story is virtually the same), but a combination of all the great Roman epics that graced the screen during the fifties and sixties. You have the gladiator school from SPARTACUS, the horrors of the Colosseum from QUO VADIS, the burning conflict between two former allies from BEN HUR, and countless other references to what we have seen before. But, as well as being an example of solid golden Hollywood storytelling the film is stylistically very much of the age. The epic as a genre invariably stretched the scope of film-making, being at the forefront of the latest technical innovations -be they in colour development, sound, format (eg. CinemaScope) or, as with GLADIATOR, computer-generated imagery. But at the heart of any epic is the conflict between (usually) two opposing forces, represented by two characters. And no matter how fine the effects, the art direction and the staging, it is this conflict that must grab our attention. In GLADIATOR, the characters of Commodus and Maximus represent the two opposing forces of insecurity and stability. The dynamics of this conflict, so wonderfully presented by Joaquin Phoenix and Russell Crowe, are classical in form, though with many ambiguities and cadences that make their conflict far more than a simple battle between good and bad. It is in this aspect that GLADIATOR takes a bold step in using classic Hollywood tradition (goodie versus baddie) to unravel and show the complexities of its characters and their dilemmas. This is a successful strategy because the film holds our interest throughout because of the psychology of the protagonists as much as the grandeur of the staging. Simply big is never enough -there has to be a very identifiable human conflict for the film to be personal too. GLADIATOR is both epic and personal.
The film boasts a number of fine performances. Carrying on the Hollywood convention of having English actors play Romans is an echo of past epics -a reverent ploy. Joaquin Phoenix, though American, speaks with a British accent too ..Roman emporers in Hollywood films invariably did so! Such details give a sense of nostalgia, or at least recognition -always a key factor in genre films. Another example of genre convention is the "bad but loveable" supporting character, in this case played by Oliver Reed. He is an instant reminder of the sheikh in BEN HUR or Peter Ustinov's character in SPARTACUS, and serves the same purpose.
The effects are fortunately never allowed to get before the conflict of the story, but one cannot write about GLADIATOR without mentioning them. I have always been sceptical of computer generated imagery, and I think there is still some way to go before I believe "totally" what I see on screen, but GLADIATOR shows a historical accuracy both in the battle scenes and in those in the Colosseum, which can only be commended. I only wish the film had been made and presented in 70mm, for if ever a picture in recent years demanded it, then it was this.