The new standard for sword-and-sandal epics

Rating: 10/10 (28 February 2016)

Being somewhat of a history buff, I've always loved historical movies. My only gripe was that up to the 1990s none of those movies really managed to convey a sense of authenticity. The sets, the costumes, the hairstyles, the battles – everything was too polished, too artificial. I think it was with movies like Dances with Wolves (Kevin Costner, 1990), Braveheart (Mel Gibson, 1995), Saving Private Ryan (Steven Spielberg, 1998) and The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc (Luc Besson, 1999) that things finally started to change, and historical films moved towards a more realistic depiction of the various eras – not necessarily in terms of historical facts but the feel. But one thing was still missing: a similar movie set in ancient times, that would reinvigorate the sword-and-sandal genre by matching the epic visuals of Ben-Hur with the new, grittier and more believable look and feel.
Ridley Scott's Gladiator, a wonderfully written, timeless revenge story with gripping performances from Russell Crowe, Richard Harris, and Oliver Reed (plus Joaquin Phoenix, Djimon Hounsou & Connie Nielsen), and accompanied by Hans Zimmer's and Lisa Gerrard's trend-setting, haunting score, was that movie. It truly revived the genre and was quickly followed by a string of similar movies (out of which, unfortunately, only one - Wolfgang Petersen's Troy – measured up to the high standard set by Gladiator). It doesn't really matter that Ridley Scott's movie is full of inaccuracies. It's thrilling, it's heartbreaking, it feels real. I have seen it countless times and it never gets boring.
Note: The extended cut is even better than the theatrical version.